Discovered It = Didn't Discover It

[+frinklabs]

The Found It = Didn't Find It thread is much gentler about not identifying the offenders.

 

I lack that kind of tact.

 

Of course I am delusional to believe that full disclosure will discourage this behavior, but lets give it a try:

 

2014-07-10 T I ITI discovered it

Visit Log

 

Hi there,

i found this Code somewhere in the Internet. I got about 400 Codes this way now so im so free to bulk-log them. If this is not okay for you please feel free to remove my log =)

Thank you for sharing them.

With kind Regards from Germany,

Tim

[cezanne]

Of course I am delusional to believe that full disclosure will discourage this behavior, but lets give it a try:

 

I do not think that it will change anything. After many events lists are distributed with a large number of trackables

that every attendant can log and typically has never seen.

 

Nowadays there are so many bogus logs of all kinds that I'm not any longer surprised about anything.

Couch logging the Block party from another country to earn the icon,

fake-dating cache logs to obtain the 2013 August souvenirs,

fake-logging rare cache types to get the 2014 August souvenirs (just yesterday someone logged my virtual and deleted his log quickly to get the last missing

souvenir and the achiever one),

at least once per month (!) I encounter a log where someone reports that he/she met a single cacher X at a cache and that later in the log book and the online logs

there is a log by cacher X and cacher Y who claim to have been there together (what really happens is that X typically signs for Y too and vice versa to

increase the find counts of both),

logging all caches of a power trail as finds regardless of whether there is a cache or not etc

[etarace]

Of course I am delusional to believe that full disclosure will discourage this behavior, but lets give it a try:

 

I do not think that it will change anything. After many events lists are distributed with a large number of trackables

that every attendant can log and typically has never seen.

 

Nowadays there are so many bogus logs of all kinds that I'm not any longer surprised about anything.

Couch logging the Block party from another country to earn the icon,

fake-dating cache logs to obtain the 2013 August souvenirs,

fake-logging rare cache types to get the 2014 August souvenirs (just yesterday someone logged my virtual and deleted his log quickly to get the last missing

souvenir and the achiever one),

at least once per month (!) I encounter a log where someone reports that he/she met a single cacher X at a cache and that later in the log book and the online logs

there is a log by cacher X and cacher Y who claim to have been there together (what really happens is that X typically signs for Y too and vice versa to

increase the find counts of both),

logging all caches of a power trail as finds regardless of whether there is a cache or not etc

Yes, I have seen and rolled my eyes at all of these. Also, there is an account logging caches near me, and on the caches which require any sort of hike there is a log to the effect of "oh yeah, we found this last year but never logged it yet, TFTC!"

Sure, maybe that is true once or twice. Not two hundred times.

 

It's a bunch of finds and discoveries that are either probably or definitely fake. Yeah, it makes me eject a disgusted and contemptuous sigh. Yeah, I roll my eyes.

In the long run, it doesn't actually hurt me or my loved ones, nor does it influence my game.

 

These people are all getting smilies and little various TB icons on their page. And they're all lies. And sometimes I like to complain about that.

At least they're not destroying caches and stealing geocoins.

[+narcissa]

When I reported someone for doing this to my travel bug, Groundspeak told me they won't do anything about it.

 

Meanwhile, I had someone delete my log from a travel bug I did find, four years after the fact, for no apparent reason. Nothing I can do about that either.

 

I used to be quite enthusiastic about trackables, but I'm losing interest.

[+313JTG]

What's even worse than this is "discovered it = stole it".

 

Can't blame the intro app cachers because it seems these trackable items go missing in caches where recent finders were experienced. Don't know why people feel the need to keep trackable items. What good is a small trinket or keychain going to do for you? Just something accumulate in the junk drawer? I could see people wanting to keep the geocoins, I would never release mine into the wild. Regular TBs going missing so frequently just puzzles me.

 

Of course this has been discussed for ages. Armchair logging on trackables though? Weak.

Edited August 15, 2014 by SuhStomp90

[+The A-Team]

I've just had a couple of discovers on one of my TBs that seem suspicious. The TB was picked up by a noob 2 years ago at their first (and only) find, and they promptly disappeared from the game. The TB has never been heard from again. Then, in the last couple of days, I received two discovers for it, both from Germans. Their logs (translated from German) state that they're just catching up on logging their list of TBs that they discovered long ago. I feel it's pretty likely that they actually got it from a list and never actually saw it, but since they didn't say that, I don't really have grounds to delete their logs. However, if I continue to receive similar discovers for it in the near future, the probability of several cachers all "catching up" around the same time are low enough that I think I'll trash the lot of them.

[+NanCycle]

I'd like to know what others think of this situation.

 

I have a Geocoin Proxy that has been getting a lot of "Discovered" logs lately. So far, it seems that the discoveries were made at an Event--whether from actually seeing the Proxy or from a list that was passed around at the Event, I have no way of knowing and don't have a problem either way.

 

My question concerns what happens next. If a copy of such a list gets out of the Event and is posted publicly somewhere and I start getting logs from all over, am I being hypocritical in objecting to fake logs on a fake coin? I don't want the fake logs, but it feels kinda wrong to get all righteous over them, since the item being logged is itself an imposter.

 

Opinions?

[+frinklabs]

I've just had a couple of discovers on one of my TBs that seem suspicious. The TB was picked up by a noob 2 years ago at their first (and only) find, and they promptly disappeared from the game. The TB has never been heard from again. Then, in the last couple of days, I received two discovers for it, both from Germans. Their logs (translated from German) state that they're just catching up on logging their list of TBs that they discovered long ago. I feel it's pretty likely that they actually got it from a list and never actually saw it, but since they didn't say that, I don't really have grounds to delete their logs. However, if I continue to receive similar discovers for it in the near future, the probability of several cachers all "catching up" around the same time are low enough that I think I'll trash the lot of them.

 

My sister had a discover ("Greetings from Germany") on her personal trackable that has never been exposed to the public.

 

It is our opinion that someone has written a script to send random characters at the API until they get a hit.

[+-CJ-]

I actually suspended logging trackables after I witnessed several examples of how they were logged at geocaching events. Few people have been really interested to see the items and ask questions about their origin, owners, missions, etc. The majority was happy to get the list of codes only. I believe that some (many?) people haven't ever seen trackables they "discover". Bulk logging and formal phrases, no special attention to any trackable or photos.

 

So, the value of this action has decreased in my eyes and I cancelled this way of "discovering" trackables at my side.

[+SwineFlew]

When I reported someone for doing this to my travel bug, Groundspeak told me they won't do anything about it.

 

Meanwhile, I had someone delete my log from a travel bug I did find, four years after the fact, for no apparent reason. Nothing I can do about that either.

 

I used to be quite enthusiastic about trackables, but I'm losing interest.

Once your tracking number is out on the web... its a lost case.

 

Wish GS locks all the logs that are over 6 months old. That way they won't get deleted.

[+NanCycle]

Personally, I don't see the point is "Discovering" trackables. I have posted a grand total of 13 "Discovered" logs; 8 of those are cachers' vehicles, 2 are dogs, and 3 misc. other things.

[+L0ne.R]

Personally, I don't see the point is "Discovering" trackables. I have posted a grand total of 13 "Discovered" logs; 8 of those are cachers' vehicles, 2 are dogs, and 3 misc. other things.

 

I discover TBs in order to add a photo of the TB to the gallery. Photos are rare, so I hope the owners enjoy them. I don't like taking TBs because I tend to forget them in my backpack. If we can post a photo without "discovering" a TB, it would be fine with me if they did away with the feature.

[+niraD]

Personally, I don't see the point is "Discovering" trackables. I have posted a grand total of 13 "Discovered" logs; 8 of those are cachers' vehicles, 2 are dogs, and 3 misc. other things.

For trackables in the wild, a "discovered" log is more efficient than a "grabbed" log followed by a "dropped" log. You might discover trackables in the wild when you can't help them with their goals, but you want to let the owners know they're okay.

 

For trackables intended for discovery (name tags, clothing, car decals, hiking sticks, etc.), a "discovered" log saves the owner the hassle of grabbing the trackable back every time someone else discovers the trackable.

[Keystone]

I discovered this thread in the Geocaching Topics forum. I am moving it, virtually, to the Travel Bug forum. I did not actually touch this thread, but I did see it on the internets.

 

Greetings from Geocaching HQ.

[+cerberus1]

Personally, I don't see the point is "Discovering" trackables. I have posted a grand total of 13 "Discovered" logs; 8 of those are cachers' vehicles, 2 are dogs, and 3 misc. other things.

For trackables in the wild, a "discovered" log is more efficient than a "grabbed" log followed by a "dropped" log. You might discover trackables in the wild when you can't help them with their goals, but you want to let the owners know they're okay.

 

For trackables intended for discovery (name tags, clothing, car decals, hiking sticks, etc.), a "discovered" log saves the owner the hassle of grabbing the trackable back every time someone else discovers the trackable.

+1

I seem to find trackables in distant hides.

Why someone would put one in a hide that's visited maybe fives times a year...

Just a regular phone, if someone doesn't have a mission/goal with it, I'll discover it so they at least know it's not missing.

I used to grab 'em from less-visited hides, until a problem with one that was supposed to stay there (to be discovered) came up and I sent their tribute trackable to parts unknown.

[+kunarion]

I'll discover it so they at least know it's not missing.

+1

 

It could help a Trackable Owner know the true status of a TB, when it's logged by multiple persons. If it's listed in a cache and there's no mention of it, the TO begins to wonder where it is.

 

I sometimes will "Discover" all the trackables on an Event table (or as many as I have time for), while nearby cachers browbeat me over doing so . Most TBs have no posted photo until I log them. Many have logs that make it unclear where the TB is, so my Discover log specifies where I saw them. That's what I would appreciate if my TB were spotted somewhere: an update. And a nice photo .

 

Genuine "Discover" logs (including a photo at the cache area) are especially good for Events. TBs have a rough time at Events, and for some of mine, being logged into an "Event" was their death knell.

Edited August 16, 2014 by kunarion

[+NanCycle]

Personally, I don't see the point is "Discovering" trackables. I have posted a grand total of 13 "Discovered" logs; 8 of those are cachers' vehicles, 2 are dogs, and 3 misc. other things.

 

For trackables in the wild, a "discovered" log is more efficient than a "grabbed" log followed by a "dropped" log. You might discover trackables in the wild when you can't help them with their goals, but you want to let the owners know they're okay.

 

For trackables intended for discovery (name tags, clothing, car decals, hiking sticks, etc.), a "discovered" log saves the owner the hassle of grabbing the trackable back every time someone else discovers the trackable.

 

Oh, I get the concept. It just doesn't interest me, unless it's the cars, clothing, etc type. If I find one in the wild, I'll nearly always take it (unless it has a mission tag that is contrary to what I could help with.)

[+Ma & Pa]

Personally, I don't see the point is "Discovering" trackables. I have posted a grand total of 13 "Discovered" logs; 8 of those are cachers' vehicles, 2 are dogs, and 3 misc. other things.

 

Oh, I get the concept. It just doesn't interest me, unless it's the cars, clothing, etc type. If I find one in the wild, I'll nearly always take it (unless it has a mission tag that is contrary to what I could help with.)

 

We feel the exact same way. We grab all the TB's that we find and help them move. That means emptying TB hotels and insuring no TB's are left at events. We have no interest in discovering them, not even at events. I am amazed when I read logs from cachers who discover TB's that have been sitting in a cache for a long time. I recall one TB hotel where the locals would go on a regular basis to discover the new TB's that were deposited. The Cache Owner got upset when I emptied the cache.

 

Our profile shows that we have moved/discovered 1455 trackables. I wish I could figure out how many of those we discovered.

 

.

Edited August 16, 2014 by Ma & Pa

[+kunarion]

I get the concept. It just doesn't interest me, unless it's the cars, clothing, etc type. If I find one in the wild, I'll nearly always take it (unless it has a mission tag that is contrary to what I could help with.)

That's a common practice, and a huge problem around the TB forum: People taking a TB and "now what?". I don't take TBs just because they are there (yes, I know everybody but me does). I take it only if I have a specific plan to place it, and will then do so, promptly. That is, not "after two weeks", I do not "lose" it nor "forgot" it, and will not leave the owner wondering what I intend, I place it in a decent cache with plenty of photos and all the proper logs. This also means a lot of unscrambling of bad logs, research, and emails, since so many TBs aren't logged correctly. It's a lot of work to do it right. If I'm not up to the challenge, I make a "Discover" log. And if I know in advance that there should be trackables in a cache, I check the contents thoroughly and log what I find or don't find.

 

Doesn't have anything to do with the OP, but it's a consideration.

[+Ma & Pa]

I get the concept. It just doesn't interest me, unless it's the cars, clothing, etc type. If I find one in the wild, I'll nearly always take it (unless it has a mission tag that is contrary to what I could help with.)

That's a common practice, and a huge problem around the TB forum: People taking a TB and "now what?". I don't take TBs just because they are there (yes, I know everybody but me does). I take it only if I have a specific plan to place it, and will then do so, promptly. That is, not "after two weeks", I do not "lose" it nor "forgot" it, and will not leave the owner wondering what I intend, I place it in a decent cache with plenty of photos and all the proper logs. This also means a lot of unscrambling of bad logs, research, and emails, since so many TBs aren't logged correctly. It's a lot of work to do it right. If I'm not up to the challenge, I make a "Discover" log. And if I know in advance that there should be trackables in a cache, I check the contents thoroughly and log what I find or don't find.

 

Doesn't have anything to do with the OP, but it's a consideration.

 

What you do is incredible.

 

However, I think caching style and amount of caching affects how many TB's a person can handle and how they handle them. We will perhaps find 4000 caches this year which gives us lots of opportunity to grab TB's and move them. For example on one of our trips to California, we took over 50 with us and brought another 50 back home with us.

 

I don't really see your point about the huge problem with the common practice. As I have said, we take them all. We do not forget them and we do not lose them. We do a lot of caching and often do not always know in advance which exact caches we will be hitting and we don't often have the time to find out in advance about possible TB's available. However before a trip we will check popular caches and also inform local cachers of our plans so they can get TB's to us at events. No matter how many we grab, we log them the day we get them and we check their goals and their travels. In some cases we will contact the owner.

 

.

[+kunarion]

What you do is incredible.

Thanks! I think if someone placed a TB to travel, there should be a picture of it at the place it's visiting, and logs about where it goes. All those blank logs seem so... empty...

 

I don't really see your point about the huge problem with the common practice. As I have said, we take them all. We do not forget them and we do not lose them.

Good plan! . The typical problem is the TBs evaporate without a trace, when these things are taken and that's all -- the cacher's new or irresponsible or just plain can't figure out what to do next, so they forget about it. My point is, if one is going to lose the TB (that is, not commit to placing it into a cache and logging it, whatever it takes), it's best to leave it there (and, the horror, to Discover it instead ). People who move and log TBs properly are cool. But it seems the common philosophy is to take things all the time, just to take things.

Edited August 17, 2014 by kunarion

[+Crow-T-Robot]

 

Our profile shows that we have moved/discovered 1455 trackables. I wish I could figure out how many of those we discovered.

 

.

 

Go to your profile page, click on the "show all logs for Trackable Items" link and then click on the Discovered It link. It will give you the total number of logs right on that page.

[+Ma & Pa]

 

Our profile shows that we have moved/discovered 1455 trackables. I wish I could figure out how many of those we discovered.

 

 

Go to your profile page, click on the "show all logs for Trackable Items" link and then click on the Discovered It link. It will give you the total number of logs right on that page.

 

Thanks

 

Seems we have only discovered 9 of the 1455 we have handled. The 9 include 3 Moun10bike coins, a Groundspeak coin and and a couple of vehicles

[+GeoLog81]

You discover the trackable code, not the trackable item. It's simply so made.

 

The problem is, there are badges for discovery, although it makes no sense, really. Blame Project-GC. GeoKrety are rarely 'discovered' because you get 'credits' for moving and distance made, not for 'discoveries'.

[+cerberus1]

You discover the trackable code, not the trackable item. It's simply so made.

 

The problem is, there are badges for discovery, although it makes no sense, really. Blame Project-GC. GeoKrety are rarely 'discovered' because you get 'credits' for moving and distance made, not for 'discoveries'.

Maybe not as simple as you imply...

As per Groundspeak's Help Center on Trackables:

"You also have the option to 'Discover' a Travel Bug under the 'Found it? Log it!' menu. This log type is used when you see a Travel Bug in person, but are not planning to move it to another geocache.

- So the item is really what you've discovered.

Logging the code supposedly shows you did.

[+cerberus1]

GeoKrety are rarely 'discovered' because you get 'credits' for moving and distance made, not for 'discoveries'.

What does this have to do with Geocaching.com's trackables?

- Never mind, I'll answer the question myself. Nothing.

Edited August 18, 2014 by cerberus1

[+fuzziebear3]

I will discover an item if I see/touch it and am not planning to retrieve it.

 

This may occur because it is 'discoverable only' -- such as a name tag or vehicle bug; because it is in someone's personal collection that they have shown to me; because it is at an event and so am I and I took a look at it but didn't take it with me; or because it was in a cache I visited but I didn't take it with me.

 

(I won't discover from a list passed around without the associated item, or from a list or photo from the internet).

 

I think the discover logs are important, as it helps the owner know that the item is really there or still there.

[+kunarion]

I think the discover logs are important, as it helps the owner know that the item is really there or still there.

Yes, if there is useful info in the log. Some of mine had "Discover logs" which actually made it harder to tell where the TB was... It was in a cache forever, then verified "not there", then "Discovered in the forest", then never heard from again. So... I guess it's still in that cache, or maybe another cache, or just somewhere on the ground. That sure helped.

Edited August 18, 2014 by kunarion