Alternate log besides paper?

[Strave]

I seen on youtube a guy who had a cd-rw as the log instead of a piece of paper. He noted on the cache page you would need a laptop.. so it made me wonder what are the rules if any about the log? Can you do something other than paper like he did with the cd or say have to call a number and leave a voicemail? or is there some rule that says it has to be something physical you have to actually sign by hand?

[+Tassie_Boy]

Don't like your chances. I know the rules say something about not allowing anything in caches that needs to go IN a computer. There was also a bloke here a couple of months ago who thought about seeing up a local website to log on and the locals here basically beat him into submission.your options are really only to provide something that can be written on with a pen like implement.

[+Touchstone]

I seen on youtube a guy who had a cd-rw as the log instead of a piece of paper. He noted on the cache page you would need a laptop.. so it made me wonder what are the rules if any about the log? Can you do something other than paper like he did with the cd or say have to call a number and leave a voicemail? or is there some rule that says it has to be something physical you have to actually sign by hand?

The Guidelines don't specify the type of logbook you need to provide, but by far, paper type logbooks are the norm. The electronic signature idea comes up every once and awhile, and the consensus seems to be that it violates the Guidelines per what TB above has mentioned. That being said, if you provided the laptop at the cache site, it might work, but expecting people to put some unknown CD/DVD/USB stick into their personal computer seems a bit of a stretch. I'm guessing that people would just sign the CD with a sharpie and be done with it.

 

Likewise, the voicemail logbook has also been knocked around and been generally regarded to be a "contact the cache owner" type of scenario, in order to log a Find. That being said, I've seen a few Multi's that utilize voicemail greetings as part of a Stage, but they always lead to a physical container and logbook.

[+Imogen Michel]

The @GoGeocaching Twitter account posted a photo of this log book a wee while back from GC3R42X (

)

 

 

I think there was some discussion about how the boards had been attached to the tree and whether this had been done appropriately though.

[+niraD]

I'm guessing that people would just sign the CD with a sharpie and be done with it.

Honestly, that was my first thought.

 

As far as the guidelines go:

 

For all physical caches, there must be a logbook, scroll or other type of log for geocachers to record their visit.

 

Physical caches can be logged online as "Found" once the physical log has been signed.

 

If the CO is going to argue that the CD-RW qualifies as the physical log that a physical cache must contain, then I think signing it with a Sharpie qualifies as "the physical log has been signed".

[+Mudfrog]

There was a cache archived nearby because of something similar. The cache had a thumbdrive which had to be accessed for coordinates to a final container. Our reviewer archived the cache when he found out about this.

[+Mineral2]

The best you might be able to come up with is some sort of NFC device that lets users log the find with their cell phones. Unfortunately there's no way for people without smartphones (or GPS only users) to utilize such technology, but then again, chirp is kinda limited too. So if you need a specific device to find a cache, can you require a specific device to log a cache?

[+jellis]

I know of someone who used copper foil. Can't use stamps or stickers but you can write (indent) with any sharp or pointed object. I think sharpies work on it too.

[+biggles1024]

A retractable tape measure was used on one cache I found a couple of years ago. The hint said something like "you'll find the log a metre away". Of course most cachers started measuring one metre but the log was on the back of the tape, starting at the 1.0m mark and then extending up the tape. A felt tip pen was provided so that we could write on the metal surface. That cache attracted a lot of favourite points.

[+MtnMutt-ProDuckShins]

My Impresshin Logs are made from HVAC Tape, you can scribe your name into it but stickers & stamps do not work.

 

I take two pieces of the tape and stick them together so you have a two sided log.

[+JohnCNA]

One of my favorites has you sign the building itself as the log. Check out the gallery photos.

 

http://coord.info/GC2XZER