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Who's watching my cache


baack40

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Wish I knew who was watching my cache. Two watchers are on there. The travelers from this cache seem to come up missing so I try to get to them before they do. I think someone is stalking it to grab travelers placed. I just marked one missing from it and the other one listed is not in the cache but was placed less than a month ago so hesitant in marking that one missing so just added a note to trackable page that it wasn't in the cache.

 

I have now made that cache premium member only so I can at least see who is looking at the page perhaps. This is so frustrating to me, as I hate to see travelers go missing, especially from one of my caches.

 

Anyone else have this problem with a cache? What did you do to stop it? The cache is almost an hour away from me so don't always get there quick enough to pick up the travelers before they come up missing. I didn't like making it premium only as it is a nursery rhyme cache and cache is decorated to match the nursery rhyme and easy to find for kids.

 

Rant over. Thanks

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A smart trackables stalker will monitor your cache via bookmark lists, pocket queries and/or the API -- never visiting the page to show up in the audit logs on PM-only caches. There's then a risk that the cache owner might falsely accuse those persons appearing in the audit log.

 

Personally, I wish that the audit log feature would be discontinued, for the same privacy reasons explained here in the Help Center with respect to watcher identities.

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You've marked two trackables missing from your rhyme cache, and apparently you think another is missing. Given the number of very novice finders on this, I'd say it's done okay re inventory. Thanks for paying attention to the trackable inventory.

 

I think it HIGHLY unlikely that anyone is stalking your hide to steal trackables. I'd go way out on a limb and bet 100,000 quatloos that nobody is..

 

Novices pick them up, and don't log them, don't know that they're supposed, or can't figure it out. Or find a few caches, pick up a few trackables, and never cache again.

And more experienced cachers pick them up and space out on logging them. Eventually they may just drop them again.

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Personally, I wish that the audit log feature would be discontinued, for the same privacy reasons explained here in the Help Center with respect to watcher identities.

 

The audit log flies in the face of the privacy issue used as an excuse to not allow cache and trackable owners know who has a cache or trackable on a watchlist.

 

The audit log function should be abolished because of the privacy reasons.

 

It's shocking that Groundspeak continues to allow this major discrepancy.

 

 

B.

Edited by Pup Patrol
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Personally, I wish that the audit log feature would be discontinued, for the same privacy reasons explained here in the Help Center with respect to watcher identities.

 

The audit log flies in the face of the privacy issue used as an excuse to not allow cache and trackable owners know who has a cache or trackable on a watchlist.

 

The audit log function should be abolished because of the privacy reasons.

 

It's shocking that Groundspeak continues to allow this major discrepancy.

 

 

B.

 

I agree 100%, and have for years. I just never knew before today the guy you're quoting did too. :o

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I know there is no way to know who's watching but... I wish I knew why someone was watching this cache page. LOL I also know that newbies are unaware of what to do with trackables. I try to keep my caches up to date on trackables as I know I don't like to go to a cache that supposedly has a trackable and its not in the cache.

 

It just is bugging me that trackables are coming up missing from that particular cache with 2 people watching it.

 

I wouldn't actually accuse anyone of stealing the trackables but thought by making it Premium only would stop the newbies and maybe would give me a clue as to who is watching.

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I know there is no way to know who's watching but... I wish I knew why someone was watching this cache page. LOL I also know that newbies are unaware of what to do with trackables. I try to keep my caches up to date on trackables as I know I don't like to go to a cache that supposedly has a trackable and its not in the cache.

 

It just is bugging me that trackables are coming up missing from that particular cache with 2 people watching it.

 

I wouldn't actually accuse anyone of stealing the trackables but thought by making it Premium only would stop the newbies and maybe would give me a clue as to who is watching.

 

You *might* be able to find out who's watching your cache simply by posting a Note log an asking. It doesn't guarantee that whoever is watching the cache will respond but you can try. I did that on one of my caches and one person responded that he was watching it because he wasn't a premium member, thus couldn't use bookmarks, and put watches on caches as an alternative to a bookmark list.

 

I doubt that the person watching the cache is doing so in order to steal trackables. It could be just someone that enjoys moving trackables and a cache which actually as *room* for trackable items would be one that someone that enjoys that aspect of the game might want to watch.

 

 

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I know there is no way to know who's watching but... I wish I knew why someone was watching this cache page. LOL I also know that newbies are unaware of what to do with trackables. I try to keep my caches up to date on trackables as I know I don't like to go to a cache that supposedly has a trackable and its not in the cache.

 

It just is bugging me that trackables are coming up missing from that particular cache with 2 people watching it.

 

I wouldn't actually accuse anyone of stealing the trackables but thought by making it Premium only would stop the newbies and maybe would give me a clue as to who is watching.

 

I'm not so sure you got the point made by The Leprechauns in post #3. People can "watch" your cache via bookmark lists, pocket query's or the API without ever being counted as the two people watching the cache that you see on the cache page.

 

The negative responses dominate so far, but dozens of people over the years have asked if they can find out who is watching their cache, and, since the audit log has been brought up, dozens of people have asked if that feature can be extended to all caches, not just premium member only caches. It's impossible to tell what the percentages of people who want to see who is watching a cache, or want to see the audit log on all their caches, but keep in mind, this is the forums. There are known curmudgeons here. :ph34r:

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I know there is no way to know who's watching but... I wish I knew why someone was watching this cache page. LOL I also know that newbies are unaware of what to do with trackables. I try to keep my caches up to date on trackables as I know I don't like to go to a cache that supposedly has a trackable and its not in the cache.

 

It just is bugging me that trackables are coming up missing from that particular cache with 2 people watching it.

 

I wouldn't actually accuse anyone of stealing the trackables but thought by making it Premium only would stop the newbies and maybe would give me a clue as to who is watching.

baack40, I'm watching a bunch of your caches (but, as it happens, not the one you're having the problem with).

 

Whenever I visit a cache, regardless of the outcome (a Find or DNF), I put that cache on my Watch List. If I found the cache, I'd like to confirm that the next seeker could find it, too. It's just nice to know that some unseen muggle wasn't watching and made off with the cache or its contents. If I DNFed the cache, I want to read the logs of cachers who come after me. That can (hopefully) tell me whether the cache is still there to be found, and might give me a clue as to where and how to look the next time. LEGO's log of your Rock Stall cache was what inspired me to return and look again. Once the cache has been found by another cacher, it usually goes off my Watch List.

 

I also have a ton of caches in any of 15 Bookmark Lists that I maintain for various reasons (none of which involve the potential theft of travelers :P) . Most of those lists are private, and a cache owner wouldn't have any way of knowing I'm monitoring those caches.

 

I guess the bottom lines are:

 

1. The fact that someone is Watching a cache says nothing about their reason for watching it.

2. There are quite a few legitimate reasons for someone to Watch a cache.

3. There are plenty of ways to monitor a cache other than using the Watch List or actually visiting the cache page and leaving an entry in the Audit Log.

 

I've lost more than 120 of my own travelers through mysterious disappearances, so I can feel your pain, but the Web site doesn't really provide any useful tools for dealing with it.

 

--Larry

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A smart trackables stalker will monitor your cache via bookmark lists, pocket queries and/or the API -- never visiting the page to show up in the audit logs on PM-only caches. There's then a risk that the cache owner might falsely accuse those persons appearing in the audit log.

Personally, I wish that the audit log feature would be discontinued, for the same privacy reasons explained here in the Help Center with respect to watcher identities.

I agree with that 100%. I been falsely accuse because I show up on their audit log(s). :ph34r:

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A smart trackables stalker will monitor your cache via bookmark lists, pocket queries and/or the API -- never visiting the page to show up in the audit logs on PM-only caches. There's then a risk that the cache owner might falsely accuse those persons appearing in the audit log.

Personally, I wish that the audit log feature would be discontinued, for the same privacy reasons explained here in the Help Center with respect to watcher identities.

I agree with that 100%. I been falsely accuse because I show up on their audit log(s). :ph34r:

 

I also agree, and I own a couple of PMO caches.

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I know there is no way to know who's watching but... I wish I knew why someone was watching this cache page. LOL I also know that newbies are unaware of what to do with trackables. I try to keep my caches up to date on trackables as I know I don't like to go to a cache that supposedly has a trackable and its not in the cache.

 

It just is bugging me that trackables are coming up missing from that particular cache with 2 people watching it.

 

I wouldn't actually accuse anyone of stealing the trackables but thought by making it Premium only would stop the newbies and maybe would give me a clue as to who is watching.

 

You *might* be able to find out who's watching your cache simply by posting a Note log an asking.

 

One method I've used is posting something to the cache page (PMO caches only) then checking the audit log a couple hours later to see who visited after I posted the note. It's definitely not 100%, but it'll bring a few folks out.

 

As for me...I don't use the normal watchlist. Instead, I set up a Bookmark List called "Stealth Watchlist" and check the box to notify me whenever a new log is posted on those caches. Then I just read the logs in the emails that come to me and I never show up in the audit list.

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Learned alot as to how to "sneak" around the site if I ever decide to do that. LOL Well, will never know who is watching and will never know where the trackables went I suppose. Such a shame.

 

About a year ago there was a cacher in my immediate area that bragged about going to all the caches in the area and grabbing the trackables. Said he had a whole stack of them. Someone finally convinced him to let a few of them go but he wouldn't let go of the coins unfortunately. Don't know if he ever did or not but he is no longer caching. Thank goodness. At least I don't think he is.

 

So, that's probably why I got a little suspicious with someone watching this cache. That came to mind.

 

Thanks all for your input and will put this one to rest.

 

Larry, you are watching my caches? LOL Stalking me lol Hope to see ya soon at a meeting. Alsways enjoy conversations with you.

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Me - I'd love to see the "Number Watching this cache" abolished. It's not even a valid number given the multitude of ways to watch a cache.

 

For example, I get updates on over 2,000 caches. I have none in my watch list.

New feature request: I want to know which reviewers are watching my caches! :laughing:

 

Personally, I'm of the same opinion as you. The number isn't accurate and seems to cause more problems than good these days. Likewise for the audit list.

Edited by The A-Team
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I know there is no way to know who's watching but... I wish I knew why someone was watching this cache page. LOL I also know that newbies are unaware of what to do with trackables. I try to keep my caches up to date on trackables as I know I don't like to go to a cache that supposedly has a trackable and its not in the cache.

 

It just is bugging me that trackables are coming up missing from that particular cache with 2 people watching it.

 

I wouldn't actually accuse anyone of stealing the trackables but thought by making it Premium only would stop the newbies and maybe would give me a clue as to who is watching.

 

You *might* be able to find out who's watching your cache simply by posting a Note log an asking. It doesn't guarantee that whoever is watching the cache will respond but you can try. I did that on one of my caches and one person responded that he was watching it because he wasn't a premium member, thus couldn't use bookmarks, and put watches on caches as an alternative to a bookmark list.

 

I doubt that the person watching the cache is doing so in order to steal trackables. It could be just someone that enjoys moving trackables and a cache which actually as *room* for trackable items would be one that someone that enjoys that aspect of the game might want to watch.

 

An old caching buddy of mine used to put any cache he DNF-ed on a watch list, so he could go out and look again if someone else found it.

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I know there is no way to know who's watching but... I wish I knew why someone was watching this cache page. LOL I also know that newbies are unaware of what to do with trackables. I try to keep my caches up to date on trackables as I know I don't like to go to a cache that supposedly has a trackable and its not in the cache.

 

It just is bugging me that trackables are coming up missing from that particular cache with 2 people watching it.

 

I wouldn't actually accuse anyone of stealing the trackables but thought by making it Premium only would stop the newbies and maybe would give me a clue as to who is watching.

 

You *might* be able to find out who's watching your cache simply by posting a Note log an asking. It doesn't guarantee that whoever is watching the cache will respond but you can try. I did that on one of my caches and one person responded that he was watching it because he wasn't a premium member, thus couldn't use bookmarks, and put watches on caches as an alternative to a bookmark list.

 

I doubt that the person watching the cache is doing so in order to steal trackables. It could be just someone that enjoys moving trackables and a cache which actually as *room* for trackable items would be one that someone that enjoys that aspect of the game might want to watch.

 

An old caching buddy of mine used to put any cache he DNF-ed on a watch list, so he could go out and look again if someone else found it.

 

I do that very thing...bookmark them to a list called "My DNFs" and get notifications on the list.

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I know there is no way to know who's watching but... I wish I knew why someone was watching this cache page. LOL I also know that newbies are unaware of what to do with trackables. I try to keep my caches up to date on trackables as I know I don't like to go to a cache that supposedly has a trackable and its not in the cache.

 

It just is bugging me that trackables are coming up missing from that particular cache with 2 people watching it.

 

I wouldn't actually accuse anyone of stealing the trackables but thought by making it Premium only would stop the newbies and maybe would give me a clue as to who is watching.

baack40, I'm watching a bunch of your caches (but, as it happens, not the one you're having the problem with).

Whenever I visit a cache, regardless of the outcome (a Find or DNF), I put that cache on my Watch List. If I found the cache, I'd like to confirm that the next seeker could find it, too. It's just nice to know that some unseen muggle wasn't watching and made off with the cache or its contents. If I DNFed the cache, I want to read the logs of cachers who come after me. That can (hopefully) tell me whether the cache is still there to be found, and might give me a clue as to where and how to look the next time. LEGO's log of your Rock Stall cache was what inspired me to return and look again. Once the cache has been found by another cacher, it usually goes off my Watch List.

 

I also have a ton of caches in any of 15 Bookmark Lists that I maintain for various reasons (none of which involve the potential theft of travelers :P) . Most of those lists are private, and a cache owner wouldn't have any way of knowing I'm monitoring those caches.

 

I guess the bottom lines are:

 

1. The fact that someone is Watching a cache says nothing about their reason for watching it.

2. There are quite a few legitimate reasons for someone to Watch a cache.

3. There are plenty of ways to monitor a cache other than using the Watch List or actually visiting the cache page and leaving an entry in the Audit Log.

 

I've lost more than 120 of my own travelers through mysterious disappearances, so I can feel your pain, but the Web site doesn't really provide any useful tools for dealing with it.

 

--Larry

If a cache was noteworthy in any way, I often like to see what happens in the future. I also like to continue to follow some trackables i've moved.

 

I don't understand this paranoia about a watch list leading to stolen TBs. There are probably a few low-lifes that steal TBs, and there are some n00bs that carelessly lose them.

 

But why would a thief need a watch list to steal TBs?? Any list of nearby caches tells which have TBs.

 

Watching the history of caches you know and love (or not, I suppose) can itself be an interesting part of the game, especially for "low-numbers" cachers. Why read sinister intent into it?

 

Someone with 10,000 finds, especially where power trails and cache-&-dash caches are involved, cannot possibly remember every find. Someone with 100 finds definitely can. Why take away the watch list and turn the game into a staccato barrage of unrelated, isolated events?? A person can "follow" caches with or without a watchlist, it just takes longer to call up each cache separately without the watchlist.

 

And cache crime will exist no matter what you do.

Edited by wmpastor
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Me - I'd love to see the "Number Watching this cache" abolished. It's not even a valid number given the multitude of ways to watch a cache.

I don't see the disadvantage, so I don't know why you'd want it abolished. It is a valid number: it's the number of people publicly watching the cache. That's an interesting number. More interesting, in my opinion, than the number of people that will be notified of activity on the cache. Watching is an explicit action; it's not the same thing as asking for notifications even though it results in the same notifications.

 

The time I use the watch count most commonly is when I have trouble with a new puzzle cache that makes me think the puzzle is broken. I'll put the cache on my watchlist so I see what happens next, and I'll look at how many other people put it on their watchlist because that might indicate that other people reached a similar conclusion.

 

If I solve the puzzle, I put it in a solved bookmark list for other reasons, but I have enabled that list for notifications. The watch number would be useless if it included all the people that have done that. When I'm looking at the watch number, I'm interested in the number of people that have declared openly that they are watching the cache. I could care less about people that are secretly monitoring the cache.

 

I have to admit I find it a little creepy that people want to know how many people are being notified about logs to a cache, so I'm not terribly worried if any of them are being fooled by the fact that the watch count doesn't tell them that.

Edited by dprovan
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Me - I'd love to see the "Number Watching this cache" abolished. It's not even a valid number given the multitude of ways to watch a cache.

I don't see the disadvantage, so I don't know why you'd want it abolished. It is a valid number: it's the number of people publicly watching the cache. That's an interesting number. More interesting, in my opinion, than the number of people that will be notified of activity on the cache. Watching is an explicit action; it's not the same thing as asking for notifications even though it results in the same notifications.

 

I'm going off of memory here, way back in the days when Groundspeak had like 5 employees, and the CEO interacted here frequently. I believe he once said he MIGHT someday eliminate "x mumber of people watching his cache" if too many people kept asking if they could find out who they were. Implying, I suppose, that the mere existence of the sentence on the cache page makes people curious.

 

Hey, every time there's an "audit list is an invasion of privacy, and inconsistent with other Groundspeak policies" thread, several "I like it to see who is working on my puzzle cache" people post. Where are you people, you missed the boat on this one. :P

 

(Of course people can use PQ's and the API to look at your puzzle caches on a daily basis, without you stalking them.)

Edited by Mr.Yuck
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I believe he once said he MIGHT someday eliminate "x mumber of people watching his cache" if too many people kept asking if they could find out who they were.
Because this question crops up so often and its usefulness limited, we'll most likely remove the # of people watching the cache from the page entirely.

Link

Interesting history. I notice that as soon as he posted that, a whole bunch of people asked him not to do that. (I didn't know there were that many cachers in 2005. ;) )

 

It looks like this happened at about the same time bookmark lists were invented, and it appears obvious that at the time, people thought of the watchlist as a poor man's bookmark list, so they saw bookmark lists as replacing watchlists, hence various comments about the watch count being obsolete because of bookmark lists. But I still claim there's a difference between watching a cache and bookmarking a cache, the difference specifically embodied in the watch count: watching a cache is a public declaration of interest in a specific cache, while listing a cache in a bookmark list with notifications is a way to get notifications without announcing your interest. I find that a very useful distinction.

 

Besides, the arguments saying the watchlist count is irrelevant are really supporting the claim that the watchlist itself is irrelevant since there's nothing you can do with the watchlist that you can't do with a private bookmark list...except stand up and be counted. (Well, and you can even be counted by making the bookmark list public, but in that case everyone can see who's interested.)

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Me - I'd love to see the "Number Watching this cache" abolished. It's not even a valid number given the multitude of ways to watch a cache.

I don't see the disadvantage, so I don't know why you'd want it abolished. It is a valid number: it's the number of people publicly watching the cache. That's an interesting number. More interesting, in my opinion, than the number of people that will be notified of activity on the cache. Watching is an explicit action; it's not the same thing as asking for notifications even though it results in the same notifications.

 

The time I use the watch count most commonly is when I have trouble with a new puzzle cache that makes me think the puzzle is broken. I'll put the cache on my watchlist so I see what happens next, and I'll look at how many other people put it on their watchlist because that might indicate that other people reached a similar conclusion.

 

If I solve the puzzle, I put it in a solved bookmark list for other reasons, but I have enabled that list for notifications. The watch number would be useless if it included all the people that have done that. When I'm looking at the watch number, I'm interested in the number of people that have declared openly that they are watching the cache. I could care less about people that are secretly monitoring the cache.

I have to admit I find it a little creepy that people want to know how many people are being notified about logs to a cache, so I'm not terribly worried if any of them are being fooled by the fact that the watch count doesn't tell them that.

We hear regularly that some COs think it's "creepy" that people are interested in their cache. Interesting twist that the interest of the COs could be considered creepy.

 

IMO none of this is creepy because watchlists don't increase geocrime. The tiny percentage of geocrooks would do their deeds regardless of watchlists.

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I have a bunch of caches on my watch list. Sometimes I get logs from them and can't even remember why they are on there. Sometimes I will add them there because I want to go for the FTF and check if someone has found it. Others I DNF and want to see if someone found it and I hardly ever go threw and remove them. Believe me I have no interest at all about the trackables that are in the cache. I would think the missing trackables and the watchers have nothing in common.

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I have a bunch of caches on my watch list. Sometimes I get logs from them and can't even remember why they are on there. Sometimes I will add them there because I want to go for the FTF and check if someone has found it. Others I DNF and want to see if someone found it and I hardly ever go threw and remove them. Believe me I have no interest at all about the trackables that are in the cache. I would think the missing trackables and the watchers have nothing in common.

+1. Seeing things that happen in the community is part of the *fun* of the game. Again, I don't understand the motivation to steal trackables, and I think carelessness is far more often to blame for missing TBs, but you don't need a watchlist to steal trackables. In fact, it's probably not even the most efficient way to commit geocrimes.

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I believe he once said he MIGHT someday eliminate "x mumber of people watching his cache" if too many people kept asking if they could find out who they were.
Because this question crops up so often and its usefulness limited, we'll most likely remove the # of people watching the cache from the page entirely.

Link

Interesting history. I notice that as soon as he posted that, a whole bunch of people asked him not to do that. (I didn't know there were that many cachers in 2005. ;) )

 

It looks like this happened at about the same time bookmark lists were invented, and it appears obvious that at the time, people thought of the watchlist as a poor man's bookmark list, so they saw bookmark lists as replacing watchlists, hence various comments about the watch count being obsolete because of bookmark lists. But I still claim there's a difference between watching a cache and bookmarking a cache, the difference specifically embodied in the watch count: watching a cache is a public declaration of interest in a specific cache, while listing a cache in a bookmark list with notifications is a way to get notifications without announcing your interest. I find that a very useful distinction.

 

Besides, the arguments saying the watchlist count is irrelevant are really supporting the claim that the watchlist itself is irrelevant since there's nothing you can do with the watchlist that you can't do with a private bookmark list...except stand up and be counted. (Well, and you can even be counted by making the bookmark list public, but in that case everyone can see who's interested.)

 

Interesting history? Awesome history, Team Cotati posted to that thread. Any thread he posted to was awesome! :P

 

That was indeed when the bookmark list and ignore list was implemented, a February, 2005 update. Most people don't use it, but the ignore list is nothing more than a bookmark list.

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That was indeed when the bookmark list and ignore list was implemented, a February, 2005 update. Most people don't use it, but the ignore list is nothing more than a bookmark list.

It's a bookmark list with at least two significant differences from all other bookmark lists: You can use it to prevent caches from being included in pocket queries, and the Ignore List can include far more than 1,000 caches, the usual limit for a bookmark list.

 

--Larry

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That was indeed when the bookmark list and ignore list was implemented, a February, 2005 update. Most people don't use it, but the ignore list is nothing more than a bookmark list.

It's a bookmark list with at least two significant differences from all other bookmark lists: You can use it to prevent caches from being included in pocket queries, and the Ignore List can include far more than 1,000 caches, the usual limit for a bookmark list.

 

--Larry

 

True, thanks for the clarification. It's awesome for those of us who use it, isn't it? You can't even see the caches if someone else finds them. I mean if you're looking at their list of finds, it's not even in there. :)

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You can't even see the caches if someone else finds them. I mean if you're looking at their list of finds, it's not even in there. :)

That aspect has come back to bite me a couple of times. I'll see a forum or Facebook post about a cache that piques my interest, and when I try to look at the cache page I can't find the blasted thing.

 

--Larry

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You can't even see the caches if someone else finds them. I mean if you're looking at their list of finds, it's not even in there. :)

That aspect has come back to bite me a couple of times. I'll see a forum or Facebook post about a cache that piques my interest, and when I try to look at the cache page I can't find the blasted thing.

 

--Larry

 

If it piques your interest, why did you put it on your ignore list? :unsure:

 

:laughing:

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You can't even see the caches if someone else finds them. I mean if you're looking at their list of finds, it's not even in there. :)

That aspect has come back to bite me a couple of times. I'll see a forum or Facebook post about a cache that piques my interest, and when I try to look at the cache page I can't find the blasted thing.

 

--Larry

 

If it piques your interest, why did you put it on your ignore list? :unsure:

 

:laughing:

 

Probably because it was a parking lot micro that was blown up by the bomb squad? :P

 

You know how I noticed this? I get very few lame newbie smartphone logs (i.e. Tftc or Found it), but when I do, I'll usually click on the profile link in the find notification email to see what the newb is up to, and how much "experience" they have. I'll see some with I don't know, 25 finds, and when I go to their list of finds, it will only show me like 5 caches found. Implying they're finding mostly parking lot micros on my ignore list.

 

OK, it's back to who's watching my cache for me, before I get whipped with a wet noodle.

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You can't even see the caches if someone else finds them. I mean if you're looking at their list of finds, it's not even in there. :)

That aspect has come back to bite me a couple of times. I'll see a forum or Facebook post about a cache that piques my interest, and when I try to look at the cache page I can't find the blasted thing.

 

--Larry

 

Then you are looking wrong. Put the cache identifier in Google and you get it.

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You can't even see the caches if someone else finds them. I mean if you're looking at their list of finds, it's not even in there. :)

That aspect has come back to bite me a couple of times. I'll see a forum or Facebook post about a cache that piques my interest, and when I try to look at the cache page I can't find the blasted thing.

 

--Larry

 

Then you are looking wrong. Put the cache identifier in Google and you get it.

That is exactly how I track down these things, once the reason for my not finding the cache page using normal methods dawns on me. I have more than 700 caches on my Ignore List right now. I can't remember all of them, and I don't want to. :rolleyes:

 

--Larry

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Me - I'd love to see the "Number Watching this cache" abolished. It's not even a valid number given the multitude of ways to watch a cache.

I don't see the disadvantage, so I don't know why you'd want it abolished. It is a valid number: it's the number of people publicly watching the cache. That's an interesting number. More interesting, in my opinion, than the number of people that will be notified of activity on the cache. Watching is an explicit action; it's not the same thing as asking for notifications even though it results in the same notifications.

 

The time I use the watch count most commonly is when I have trouble with a new puzzle cache that makes me think the puzzle is broken. I'll put the cache on my watchlist so I see what happens next, and I'll look at how many other people put it on their watchlist because that might indicate that other people reached a similar conclusion.

 

If I solve the puzzle, I put it in a solved bookmark list for other reasons, but I have enabled that list for notifications. The watch number would be useless if it included all the people that have done that. When I'm looking at the watch number, I'm interested in the number of people that have declared openly that they are watching the cache. I could care less about people that are secretly monitoring the cache.

I have to admit I find it a little creepy that people want to know how many people are being notified about logs to a cache, so I'm not terribly worried if any of them are being fooled by the fact that the watch count doesn't tell them that.

We hear regularly that some COs think it's "creepy" that people are interested in their cache. Interesting twist that the interest of the COs could be considered creepy.

 

IMO none of this is creepy because watchlists don't increase geocrime. The tiny percentage of geocrooks would do their deeds regardless of watchlists.

Twist?

Micro-managing COs abusing the audit function have been discussed for years.

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I know there is no way to know who's watching but... I wish I knew why someone was watching this cache page. LOL I also know that newbies are unaware of what to do with trackables. I try to keep my caches up to date on trackables as I know I don't like to go to a cache that supposedly has a trackable and its not in the cache.

 

It just is bugging me that trackables are coming up missing from that particular cache with 2 people watching it.

 

I wouldn't actually accuse anyone of stealing the trackables but thought by making it Premium only would stop the newbies and maybe would give me a clue as to who is watching.

 

You *might* be able to find out who's watching your cache simply by posting a Note log an asking. It doesn't guarantee that whoever is watching the cache will respond but you can try. I did that on one of my caches and one person responded that he was watching it because he wasn't a premium member, thus couldn't use bookmarks, and put watches on caches as an alternative to a bookmark list.

 

I doubt that the person watching the cache is doing so in order to steal trackables. It could be just someone that enjoys moving trackables and a cache which actually as *room* for trackable items would be one that someone that enjoys that aspect of the game might want to watch.

 

An old caching buddy of mine used to put any cache he DNF-ed on a watch list, so he could go out and look again if someone else found it.

 

I do that very thing...bookmark them to a list called "My DNFs" and get notifications on the list.

 

After a DNF, the cache either goes on my watch list or my ignore list.

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Personally, I wish that the audit log feature would be discontinued, for the same privacy reasons explained here in the Help Center with respect to watcher identities.

 

The audit log flies in the face of the privacy issue used as an excuse to not allow cache and trackable owners know who has a cache or trackable on a watchlist.

 

The audit log function should be abolished because of the privacy reasons.

 

It's shocking that Groundspeak continues to allow this major discrepancy.

 

 

B.

To me it's like a Peeping Tom, kinda not fair if they are watching (stalking) your cache page you should have the right to see who they are. If you want to abolish audits then they should abolish watchlists too.

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To me it's like a Peeping Tom, kinda not fair if they are watching (stalking) your cache page you should have the right to see who they are. If you want to abolish audits then they should abolish watchlists too.

 

A cache listing is voluntarily published on a publicly available website designed for cachers to search, share, review, and download cache listings. To then assert an expectation of privacy is a far-fetched.

 

If someone drives by a house on their way to work/school/hobby (once or many times) and see and enjoy the seasonal display someone has in the yard, they are not "peeping toms". However the owner of said display, lurking in the garage noting down licence plate numbers and wondering who drives by to look at their seasonal display X times a day is ...

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To me it's like a Peeping Tom, kinda not fair if they are watching (stalking) your cache page you should have the right to see who they are. If you want to abolish audits then they should abolish watchlists too.

 

A cache listing is voluntarily published on a publicly available website designed for cachers to search, share, review, and download cache listings. To then assert an expectation of privacy is a far-fetched.

 

If someone drives by a house on their way to work/school/hobby (once or many times) and see and enjoy the seasonal display someone has in the yard, they are not "peeping toms". However the owner of said display, lurking in the garage noting down licence plate numbers and wondering who drives by to look at their seasonal display X times a day is ...

+1

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To me it's like a Peeping Tom, kinda not fair if they are watching (stalking) your cache page you should have the right to see who they are. If you want to abolish audits then they should abolish watchlists too.

 

A cache listing is voluntarily published on a publicly available website designed for cachers to search, share, review, and download cache listings. To then assert an expectation of privacy is a far-fetched.

 

If someone drives by a house on their way to work/school/hobby (once or many times) and see and enjoy the seasonal display someone has in the yard, they are not "peeping toms". However the owner of said display, lurking in the garage noting down licence plate numbers and wondering who drives by to look at their seasonal display X times a day is ...

+1

But yet if someone is vandalizing your home you would want to have a camera and motion detected lights so you know who maybe vandaling YOUR home since it was mentioned that you OWN your caches and you want to protect them.

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To me it's like a Peeping Tom, kinda not fair if they are watching (stalking) your cache page you should have the right to see who they are. If you want to abolish audits then they should abolish watchlists too.

 

A cache listing is voluntarily published on a publicly available website designed for cachers to search, share, review, and download cache listings. To then assert an expectation of privacy is a far-fetched.

 

If someone drives by a house on their way to work/school/hobby (once or many times) and see and enjoy the seasonal display someone has in the yard, they are not "peeping toms". However the owner of said display, lurking in the garage noting down licence plate numbers and wondering who drives by to look at their seasonal display X times a day is ...

+1

But yet if someone is vandalizing your home you would want to have a camera and motion detected lights so you know who maybe vandaling YOUR home since it was mentioned that you OWN your caches and you want to protect them.

 

In that scenario all of the people that drive by your house are not necessarily vandalizing it.

 

There have been times when someone hides something in a really awful spot, likely to be noticed quickly. Then when it does go missing, they jump to the audit logs and make an erroneous assumption. Exposing the people watching would have the same effect. The only way it could work was if Groundspeak also gave info on who had it in a PQ, as well as viewed it on an app, as well as on a hidden bookmark list, and closed all of the doors. That's what the NSA would do.;)

Edited by 4wheelin_fool
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But yet if someone is vandalizing your home you would want to have a camera and motion detected lights so you know who maybe vandaling YOUR home since it was mentioned that you OWN your caches and you want to protect them.

I thought we were talking about "Who's watching my cache". Okay, let's do this again and forget about the house because there is a significant difference between home ownership and cache ownership with respect to the related rights and expectations of each while on your own private property and that of public space.

 

If someone places their "property" on public land (for the sake of argument with permission) and publishes it online for the purposes of the public to view, find, and interact with such "property" there is no expectation of privacy. In fact you are knowingly putting your "property" at risk. If someone is uncomfortable with that risk they can take some measures to mitigate the risk (or just not do it), HOWEVER that "desire" for surveillance and protection does not trump others expectations (not to mention legal rights) of privacy in public.

 

Seriously, 99.9 percent of people are fine citizens and to assume guilt before innocence is contrary to societal values. I fail to see how any amount of "amateur profiling" of who drove past my parked car five times in the Walmart parking lot; provides any peace of mind let alone prevents any wrong doing.

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