Possible BUG: Favorite Points Total Incorrect

[+spooko13]

Hello!

 

I am a premium member with (fortunately) a nice, even number of finds which makes the math here very easy. It seems like my favorite point total is off by one and the number of caches I need to receive another point is incorrect. I have an idea as to what may have caused this which I will soon explain.

 

I have 1,790 finds, 40 of which are lab caches. Since lab caches don't count toward earning favorite points they are subtracted from the total bringing me to 1,750 eligible finds. All of these are finds of distinct caches. According to the help topic, I should have received 1 point for being a premium member and 1 point for every 10 caches I have found, resulting in a grand total of 176 fav points. At this time I would need to find 10 caches before another point is added to my total.

 

Currently, I am sitting at 175 fav points, and I need 7 to get another one added. This doesn't add up.

 

Recently I posted some notes to caches so I could add a "visited" log to some TBs I had. (It's a long story as to why I did it this way. I'll just briefly say I didn't have time to write the Found It logs right away but wanted to give the TBs their miles.) Later, I went back and changed those "Notes" to "Finds". What I'm thinking is that those finds are not being included in my total as far as the fav point calculation is concerned. I tried deleting the log from one of the caches and then entered a brand new Found It log to see if it would be counted, but the number needed to receive another fav point did not change. It's almost as if those caches have been "locked in" with the original note that I posted.

 

I hope I have given enough detail to help in researching this. Thanks!

[+Bear and Ragged]

Deleted any Found It logs?

 

They start to count against you...

[+Pinkpiggy7]

Had you found some caches before you became a premium member, from what i can work out they wont add to your favourites

[+spooko13]

Bear and Ragged...as far as I can remember I have deleted two "Found It" logs, the one I mentioned in my post that I deleted recently as a test and one over a year ago. (I had logged the wrong cache by mistake. Doh!) I'm pretty sure those are all the Finds I've ever deleted.

 

Pinkpiggy7...I was wondering the same thing. However, I had found this in the FAQ section for Favorite Points:

 

Q: "If I purchase a Premium Membership later, will I be awarded Favorite Points for the geocaches I found when I was a Basic Member?"

 

A: "Yes - for first-time subscriptions! If you upgrade to Premium Membership we will add up your past geocaching finds and award Favorite Points accordingly."

 

I started off as a basic member and had a few finds under my belt before I upgraded. I was given a fav point when I became a PM, and the finds I had at the time I upgraded were included toward my total count.

 

One thing I should have added to my original post is that things had been in sync until recently, which is part of the reason why I think it has to do with changing the "Notes" to "Finds".

 

Thank you both for your suggestions/comments!

[+Bear and Ragged]

OK. Some thoughts.

Finds before you become PM do count when you upgrade to PM.

One point for becoming PM.

IF you let PM lapse, and then renew, finds during the lapse period don't count.

 

I think it's "If you delete a Found log, you then have to find 2 caches to get back to where you were..."

 

So, get 9 finds, delete a Found It, now you have to get 2 more caches rather than 1 more, to get your Fav point.

Even if you re-log the deleted cache, you need 2 more caches, over the re-logged cache.(Does that make sense?)

 

* Not sure what happens if a CO deletes your Found log?

Edited September 6, 2014 by Bear and Ragged

[+Lil Devil]

Later, I went back and changed those "Notes" to "Finds". What I'm thinking is that those finds are not being included in my total as far as the fav point calculation is concerned.

I think you nailed it here. Oh well. Go find 7 more caches.

Edited September 6, 2014 by Lil Devil

[+spooko13]

Hmmm... Very interesting, Bear and Ragged. I wasn't aware that this would happen. I guess it's possible (maybe even probable) that I may have deleted more than the two Found It logs that I've already mentioned, which would explain the discrepancy.

 

Seems like a bizarre rule, though, IMHO. I can understand the first part of what you said (if I'm sitting at 9 finds and I delete a log I would need two caches to get the fav point). That makes perfect sense. It just seems a bit strange to me that I wouldn't get "credit" if I entered another Found It log to replace the one I deleted. If 1 is subtracted when a log is deleted, 1 should be added when the find is reentered. I would still only have one find on that particular cache.

 

Oh, well. If that's the way they do it, that's the way they do it!

 

Anyway, thank you once again for your input! I appreciate it!

[+spooko13]

Thanks for your suggestion, Lil Devil. I can certainly go out and find more caches (and most definitely will!) to get more fav points added to my total.

 

The main reason I posted this, however, is that I thought a bug may exist in the way this is calculated. If it did, I figured Groundspeak would want to know about it, and if it didn't...well, I would probably learn something new about how all of this works.

 

Thanks for posting!

[+Corfman Clan]

You also have attended 14 event caches and it is my understanding that event caches are not used in computing the number of favorite points you have earned.

[+The A-Team]

You also have attended 14 event caches and it is my understanding that event caches are not used in computing the number of favorite points you have earned.

While Event Caches cannot be awarded Favourite Points, they still count as "finds" for the purpose of earning points. I confirmed this with my own account. I currently have 4147 finds and have earned 414 Favourite Points, which is the correct 10:1 ratio. As part of those finds, I've attended 98 "Event"-types. If those Events weren't being counted, my total should be about 10 points lower, but it isn't.

[+Bear and Ragged]

Hmmm... Very interesting, Bear and Ragged. I wasn't aware that this would happen. I guess it's possible (maybe even probable) that I may have deleted more than the two Found It logs that I've already mentioned, which would explain the discrepancy.

 

Seems like a bizarre rule, though, IMHO. I can understand the first part of what you said (if I'm sitting at 9 finds and I delete a log I would need two caches to get the fav point). That makes perfect sense. It just seems a bit strange to me that I wouldn't get "credit" if I entered another Found It log to replace the one I deleted. If 1 is subtracted when a log is deleted, 1 should be added when the find is reentered. I would still only have one find on that particular cache.

 

Oh, well. If that's the way they do it, that's the way they do it!

 

Anyway, thank you once again for your input! I appreciate it!

 

Seem to remember, it's to stop people 'Gaming the system' and awarding more points than they are allowed to.

Down side is, should you make a genuine mistake with a log and delete it, then re-log, that cache no longer counts as one towards your finds for points...