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Finding caches in advance for souvenir or streak


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I read the forums a lot and know a lot of you will just tell me to play the game the way I want to play it and not worry about what others do, but this particular scenario bothers me. Is it OK to find an EarthCache months or weeks in advance, do all the required work and then not post your log until there is a souvenir involved? Then write your log in such a way as to make it seem you visited that day? I also am wondering about virtuals in this same regard. Is it OK to log a virtual for some place you visited five years prior to the start of your caching career but because you have a photo of location and you need to fill in a calendar day for a streak and you couldn't get out to find a cache that day because it snowed or rained, is it ok to log it?

 

Again, I'm sure I'll get a lot of "They're just cheating themselves", "It's just a game", etc responses but I am curious to know what others take is on this. It bothers me because I have to plan my day and where I'm going to be in order to find a cache every day (if I was going to do a streak - which I am not - 40 was plenty thank you and yes I did it for the souvenirs) or be somewhere where there is an EarthCache to find that day if there is a souvenir involved.

 

I await your responses.

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Well, I am indeed going to tell you, they're breaking the game spirit.Everyone is allowed to play the game the way they want.

 

Personally, I find that is shows a lack of character. It is just against the geocaching spirit, but these kind of stuff doesn't only happen on Geocaching, this kind of people are everywhere.

 

To free myself from these thoughts, I drive/walk myself to find these "challenge" caches.

 

I managed to get that 31 day streak on August 2013 and it is still really pleasant to look at the 31 souvenirs and rememember that, by that time, I always got a couple of minutes to find, at least, 1 geocache everyday, which is amazing.

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No. Log caches on the day you actually found it. Anything else is against the spirit and logic of the game.

That's the way I generally do it, but I understand why others might use as the "Find date" the day they send the EarthCache owners the required answers. After all, you shouldn't log an online "Found it" for an EarthCache until you: (1) go to the posted location, and (2) send acceptable answers to the owner. Until you do both, the cache isn't "found," so such a dating policy seems to be well aligned with the spirit and logic of the game.

 

But to deliberately delay sending answers to receive a souvenir or to accomplish a challenge does seem cheesy and would diminish the value of that souvenir/challenge for me.

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But to deliberately delay sending answers to receive a souvenir or to accomplish a challenge does seem cheesy and would diminish the value of that souvenir/challenge for me.

Agreed. I personally know of at least two local cachers who do exactly what the OP described. I've overheard them at events discussing "saving" EarthCaches or Virtuals for a rainy day so they can extend their streaks. In fact, I'm fairly confident one of them did this for the EarthCache souvenir on Sunday, where they logged it on Sunday but they likely visited the location over a month ago. Personally, doing that would make the souvenir or streak meaningless and I'd feel dirty, but I guess my personal ethics aren't compatible with theirs.

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No. Log caches on the day you actually found it. Anything else is against the spirit and logic of the game.

 

Welllllllllllll, that outlook leaves me with a major fur ball stuck in my craw.

 

Many times I have been out in the hinterlands and do not get back to a signal for days or weeks.

 

Am I not to log caches as found because my circumstances preclude logging on the day of a find.

 

This curious mind wants to know

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No. Log caches on the day you actually found it. Anything else is against the spirit and logic of the game.

 

Welllllllllllll, that outlook leaves me with a major fur ball stuck in my craw.

 

Many times I have been out in the hinterlands and do not get back to a signal for days or weeks.

 

Am I not to log caches as found because my circumstances preclude logging on the day of a find.

 

This curious mind wants to know

 

The phrase "log caches on the day you actually found it" has two interpretations:

  1. Go to geocaching.com and make your log entry on the same day that you found the cache.
  2. When you go to geocaching.com and make your "Found It" log entry, choose the date for the log entry that matches the date you found the cache.

I think you were assuming Dame Deco meant (1). I read Dame's statement to mean (2). (1) is nice, but is not always possible. (2) leads to a more accurate account of one's caching activities, and is what is being discussed here.

 

And, of course, people will play the game however they want. But I always practice (2), and try to practice (1) as much as possible.

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No. Log caches on the day you actually found it. Anything else is against the spirit and logic of the game.

 

Welllllllllllll, that outlook leaves me with a major fur ball stuck in my craw.

 

Many times I have been out in the hinterlands and do not get back to a signal for days or weeks.

 

Am I not to log caches as found because my circumstances preclude logging on the day of a find.

 

This curious mind wants to know

 

Actually logging the find on a later date is okay, but the date that's attached to the log should be the date the cache was found. When logging caches, there's the "Date Logged" field, and that date should be set to the actual found date. The "Date Logged" is automatically set when using Field Notes via the GPSr, but can also be set individually for each cache. Personally, I have 25+ caches in my Field Notes that need to be logged. Many of them were found over the weekend, including an Earth Cache that was found on Sunday. When I log the Earth Cache as found, the "Date Logged" will be 10/11/2015.

 

Sometimes I see logs on caches where people note what day they actually found the cache, but the log date is different. For example, the log date is 10/1/2015 and the log text says something like "Found this on 8/15, but just getting around to logging it now". In such cases, they could've just set the "Date Logged" to 8/15/2015. Besides being accurate in terms of statistics, it also helps reflect the true history of the cache. In the noted example, the cache logs would be confusing if there were a bunch of DNF's in September, but then the cacher logs a find dated 10/1. Other cachers might think the cache was found on 10/1, even though the cacher had found it before it went missing.

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No. Log caches on the day you actually found it. Anything else is against the spirit and logic of the game.

 

Welllllllllllll, that outlook leaves me with a major fur ball stuck in my craw.

 

Many times I have been out in the hinterlands and do not get back to a signal for days or weeks.

 

Am I not to log caches as found because my circumstances preclude logging on the day of a find.

 

This curious mind wants to know

 

No, of course not. You log it on the correct date by backdating it to the day you found it, not the date you made it back to civilization.

 

I wonder, sometimes, if everyone knows that you can do this...

Edited by Dame Deco
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But to deliberately delay sending answers to receive a souvenir or to accomplish a challenge does seem cheesy and would diminish the value of that souvenir/challenge for me.

Agreed. I personally know of at least two local cachers who do exactly what the OP described. I've overheard them at events discussing "saving" EarthCaches or Virtuals for a rainy day so they can extend their streaks. In fact, I'm fairly confident one of them did this for the EarthCache souvenir on Sunday, where they logged it on Sunday but they likely visited the location over a month ago. Personally, doing that would make the souvenir or streak meaningless and I'd feel dirty, but I guess my personal ethics aren't compatible with theirs.

 

I remember two local cachers who found 30+ caches in a series more than 30 miles from their home, all in the same day. Yet they logged them on separate days so they could fill in their calendar. They think no one knows. But we do know. And that kind of thing spills into other aspects of life and caching. Now only people who think like they do will go caching with them.

 

Without integrity to go with your cup of coffee, all you have is a cup of coffee.

 

But cache Happy however you do it.

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Is it "OK"? I'm not sure what you're asking. Should you do it? No, of course not. Only idiots do things like that. But you knew that.

 

But if your asking me to validate some kind of outrage you might feel, I can't do it. "They're just cheating themselves", "It's just a game", or, to put it more broadly, what's it matter to you? My main reaction is to feel sorry for them that they can't see that the souvenir has no value beyond commemorating the accomplishment.

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My most fun of this game is our streak. I make sure to sign a log for a cache I qualify for everyday. I know others who do it differently. The day I can't find and sign one I will end it. I am very strict on that.

 

However for this earthday cache I could care less about the souvenir but I have been to this one earth cache about 5 times over the years and looked at it. Taken pictures but never came up with the answers. I was there checking one of our caches a couple of days before and looked at it again but never worked on the answers. Earth caches are not really our thing. On the earthcache day I decided it was time to finally try and come up with the answers to the questions. I put in the log and message to the CO if they were wrong to go ahead and delete them because I really didn't care about the souvenir. I picked that day for the found it because that is the day I figured out the questions. If not for the earthday cache thing it still would be unclaimed as a find. I otherwise wouldn't know what day to pick. The first day I was there, The second? I just logged it on that day. I found other caches for the streak that day. If that is cheating I will definitely change the date. Earth caches don't help with our streak because it could be denied anyways with a question being wrong or something.

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I put in the log and message to the CO if they were wrong to go ahead and delete them because I really didn't care about the souvenir.

 

The souvenir is awarded as soon as you post your found log.

 

If the log is deleted, the souvenir remains.

 

Some people use this to their advantage in order to gain a souvenir they have no entitlement to, knowing that it won't be retracted.

 

I've even seen Found logs posted and deleted seconds later - just to get a souvenir.

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I can see how people might log an EarthCache using the date that the questions were answered, if the brainwork was finished on a later date than when the location was visited...BUT, I disagree with this concept. Geocaching is about going to a physical location. EarthCaches are, of course, still geocaches; all EarthCaches have a physical location that you are expected to visit in order to best answer the questions. With that in mind, I think EarthCaches should be logged in a manner consistent with the logging practice for all other geocaches (including virtual caches): the date you got your butt out to the physical location is the date that you "found" the cache.

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I picked that day for the found it because that is the day I figured out the questions. If not for the earthday cache thing it still would be unclaimed as a find. I otherwise wouldn't know what day to pick. The first day I was there, The second? I just logged it on that day.

 

This is a pretty unique situation; I don't blame you for logging it as "found" on the date on which you figured out the answers. But why did you return to the cache site multiple times? Was it because you needed more information to answer the questions? If this is the case, I guess the first visit, and each subsequent visit, to the site would technically be DNFs. The final visit to the site, when you got all the information needed, would be the date on which you "found" it.

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No. Log caches on the day you actually found it. Anything else is against the spirit and logic of the game.

 

Welllllllllllll, that outlook leaves me with a major fur ball stuck in my craw.

 

Many times I have been out in the hinterlands and do not get back to a signal for days or weeks.

 

Am I not to log caches as found because my circumstances preclude logging on the day of a find.

 

This curious mind wants to know

 

In one case, technology is preventing you from logging on the say day of the find.

 

In the other, someone is intentionally gaming the system so that they can add some digital artwork to their profile.

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Geocaching is all about honesty to yourself.

There are and always will be geocachers that will bent the guidelines and visit or log caches in a way that is considered bad form.

I wouldn't give it any extra thought and when you meet other geocachers talk about experiences and adventures rather than about numbers.

In my opinion those are the best stories to share anyway.

 

As for the logging on internet of earth caches (or virtual caches) with assignments.

I consider my internet logs a personal dairy and I like to log each cache on the date I visit(ed) it.

I write a note on the cache page until I get the "okay" from the cache owner for the answer to the questions asked.

After that I change my note into a find.

 

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My most fun of this game is our streak. I make sure to sign a log for a cache I qualify for everyday. I know others who do it differently. The day I can't find and sign one I will end it. I am very strict on that.

 

However for this earthday cache I could care less about the souvenir but I have been to this one earth cache about 5 times over the years and looked at it. Taken pictures but never came up with the answers. I was there checking one of our caches a couple of days before and looked at it again but never worked on the answers. Earth caches are not really our thing. On the earthcache day I decided it was time to finally try and come up with the answers to the questions. I put in the log and message to the CO if they were wrong to go ahead and delete them because I really didn't care about the souvenir. I picked that day for the found it because that is the day I figured out the questions. If not for the earthday cache thing it still would be unclaimed as a find. I otherwise wouldn't know what day to pick. The first day I was there, The second? I just logged it on that day. I found other caches for the streak that day. If that is cheating I will definitely change the date. Earth caches don't help with our streak because it could be denied anyways with a question being wrong or something.

 

Boy, did you twist yourself into a pretzel to get the EarthCache souvenir! Geocaching is about finding a place with your GPS, even if you answer questions about that place for virtual and EarthCaches. You didn't visit an EarthCache on International Earth Day, you shouldn't be claiming a souvenir for it. If EarthCaches aren't your thing, why bother with an internet souvenir? I don't have any of the CITO souvenirs. You are pretty regular on the forums--you didn't know that even if the owner deletes your log, you still get the souvenir?

 

EarthCaches are about learning something in addition to visiting a place with a GPS in hand. I looked at the EC--it could be a little confusing, but it's shorter than many I've seen, and it basically asks you one question. Google or a library book would probably have helped you learn what you needed to know to come up with the answer. The very first day you visited, you could have logged a note, taken pictures, sent your observations and ideas to the owner, and gotten help with an explanation about what you had seen. After tweaking your answer based on that help, you could have gotten the find the very first time. Anyone who makes an honest effort on one of my ECs can claim it as a find--I'll help them come up with the right information because I want them to learn. I only delete the logs of people who don't even try--don't ever email or message me. An EC isn't a test you can fail where they chop off your head (or delete your log) if you're wrong.

 

You don't state in your log that visited that day--but you don't state in your log that you didn't, either. Of course stating that you didn't actually visit that day would allow the CO to delete your log, and GS to delete your souvenir. Because, you know...that's against the guidelines. If you VISITED the site that day, logging it on your sixth try is fine, same as any other cache you dnf'ed. If you didn't visit that day, it's the same as people on a streak logging a find for a cache they visited one day but logged another when they needed it.

 

So which is it? Did you figure it out and send in the answers without visiting the site to claim the souvenir? Or did you visit the place for the 6th time? Your post would seem to indicate you visited some time at the end of the week rather than Sunday. If you don't care about the souvenir, go ahead and change the log date and email GS asking them to delete the souvenir. That would allow you to uphold your "a streak only counts if you sign the log every day" standard.

Edited by Dame Deco
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Ask in the forums and folks will tell you it's "lame" or "dishonest" or "against the spirit of geocaching".

Ask just about any other geocacher who doesn't really visit the forums and I suspect your question will be met with mixed responses...but weighted heavily on the side of "meh...that's fine. Who cares?"

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Ask in the forums and folks will tell you it's "lame" or "dishonest" or "against the spirit of geocaching".

Ask just about any other geocacher who doesn't really visit the forums and I suspect your question will be met with mixed responses...but weighted heavily on the side of "meh...that's fine. Who cares?"

 

I suspect the degree of honesty here will be higher than in those face-to-face exchanges.

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But to deliberately delay sending answers to receive a souvenir or to accomplish a challenge does seem cheesy and would diminish the value of that souvenir/challenge for me.

I agree 100%. I work to keep my caching history as accurate as possible and doing these sorts of things to "earn" a Souvenir would violate that principle.

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If folks are saving caches for later, yeah its not accurate but really, am not sure its a big deal. I do have one friend who I know saved logging an earth cache for a special day, but really, its not something I worry about. If someone was totally butchering their numbers to qualify for say a 2 year streak and they only cache once a week, that would probably get noticed and if I learned that about someone it might make me feel less about their integrity but really, I do not feel its worth worrying about. I like my dates to be accurate so its a record of when/where I was so if I logged I went to Blank State Park I would not like my date to be a week off.

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Of course it's wrong, but what are you going to do? It's not like you can tell who they are from the logs, and as Mockingbird says, people who do that tend to flock together. You just have to move on and cache with those with more integrity.

Edited by Path Pacer
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I wouldn't go so far as to say it keeps me up nights or anything, but if someone asks for an opinion...well, I'll give my opinion. And if someone posts that logging physical caches on the day visited are sacrosanct to keep a streak alive, but fudging on EarthCaches is fine to earn a souvenir...well, I'll give my opinion on that, too. Why go for a souvenir if it isn't important to you? I didn't do all 31 days 2 summers ago, I haven't done the CITO souvenirs, and some others, because I don't care about them. I like and value EarthCaches, so I took most of a Sunday afternoon to get one because there were none closer. When folks say, "I don't care about souvenirs, but I violated the guidelines to get one," there's a clear contradiction in their statement.

Edited by Dame Deco
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When folks say, "I don't care about souvenirs, but I violated the guidelines to get one," there's a clear contradiction in their statement.

Just to be clear, in the case presented by the OP, there is no guideline that specifies what the "proper" date is for logging an EarthCache "Found it." Different people have different preferences, but there is no GS guideline.

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The day I can't find and sign one I will end it.

Well, no, you won't end it: the definition of "streak" will end it.

 

I picked that day for the found it because that is the day I figured out the questions.

Interesting idea, like the idea of not claiming a puzzle cache find until the day you solve the puzzle, and dating the found log that day. (I can't argue with that, but it drives me crazy when that kind of log muddies the investigation of a container that can't be found.)

 

I don't buy it for an EarthCache, though. For one thing, isn't the point of an EarchCache to take you somewhere because that location will give you the answers? If you're figuring it out sometime later, is that much different that figuring it out without even going to GZ?

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No. Log caches on the day you actually found it. Anything else is against the spirit and logic of the game.

 

Welllllllllllll, that outlook leaves me with a major fur ball stuck in my craw.

 

Many times I have been out in the hinterlands and do not get back to a signal for days or weeks.

 

Am I not to log caches as found because my circumstances preclude logging on the day of a find.

 

This curious mind wants to know

 

No, of course not. You log it on the correct date by backdating it to the day you found it, not the date you made it back to civilization.

 

I wonder, sometimes, if everyone knows that you can do this...

 

Yep, just about everyone I know trying to break the streak record (not me) for sure knows about this. But I won't name names. :ph34r:

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It is not for a streak, but with the latest earth cache souvenir it was fir the 11th. The closest unfound earth cache to me was in a fossil park that is only open on Saturday (10th) this time of year. So I found it on the 10th (Saturday) and waited to log it until Sunday morning. Should have had the souvenir for both days.

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I read the forums a lot and know a lot of you will just tell me to play the game the way I want to play it and not worry about what others do, but this particular scenario bothers me. Is it OK to find an EarthCache months or weeks in advance, do all the required work and then not post your log until there is a souvenir involved? Then write your log in such a way as to make it seem you visited that day? I also am wondering about virtuals in this same regard. Is it OK to log a virtual for some place you visited five years prior to the start of your caching career but because you have a photo of location and you need to fill in a calendar day for a streak and you couldn't get out to find a cache that day because it snowed or rained, is it ok to log it?

 

Again, I'm sure I'll get a lot of "They're just cheating themselves", "It's just a game", etc responses but I am curious to know what others take is on this. It bothers me because I have to plan my day and where I'm going to be in order to find a cache every day (if I was going to do a streak - which I am not - 40 was plenty thank you and yes I did it for the souvenirs) or be somewhere where there is an EarthCache to find that day if there is a souvenir involved.

 

I await your responses.

 

I'd like to turn the tables a little bit and ask you what the value of a "streak" or a souvenir is if you earned it that way?

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I don't buy it for an EarthCache, though. For one thing, isn't the point of an EarchCache to take you somewhere because that location will give you the answers? If you're figuring it out sometime later, is that much different that figuring it out without even going to GZ?

 

In my experience it's more often the case that after visiting an EarthCache it's necessary to do some later research back at base to find the answers, e.g. http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC27W7E_helical-ridges you have to go there to observe the stone & fossils, as this is just a regular building there are no "information boards" so you must research online or elsewhere to come up with the answers (unless you happen to be an expert paleontologist) .

 

In the "old days" where you had to wait to have your homework marked before you could log it, then it would be natural to date the log on the day you sent in the answers and got the green light, though things are somewhat different now and I always log my find immediately and send in the answers when I've worked them out.

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I'm not getting why everyone cares so much about what souvenirs people have on their list and how they got it. Maybe I don't get it because I barely know what souvenirs I have, and I never check or compare anyone else's.

The only time I care about souvenirs is if they encourage people to power cache and treat my cache hides like all they matter for is to get someone a badge (or qualify for a challenge....but that's another issue).

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I'm not getting why everyone cares so much about what souvenirs people have on their list and how they got it. Maybe I don't get it because I barely know what souvenirs I have, and I never check or compare anyone else's.

The only time I care about souvenirs is if they encourage people to power cache and treat my cache hides like all they matter for is to get someone a badge (or qualify for a challenge....but that's another issue).

 

Someone posted a topic. They asked for opinions. People gave their opinions. It's how forums work.

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I'm not getting why everyone cares so much about what souvenirs people have on their list and how they got it. Maybe I don't get it because I barely know what souvenirs I have, and I never check or compare anyone else's.

The only time I care about souvenirs is if they encourage people to power cache and treat my cache hides like all they matter for is to get someone a badge (or qualify for a challenge....but that's another issue).

 

Someone posted a topic. They asked for opinions. People gave their opinions. It's how forums work.

 

I agree. I'm not trying to stifle discussion. It's an honest question.

Edited by L0ne.R
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Honestly--I only think of it when someone posts a topic. It's not something that bothers me on a daily basis or that I think about when I meet a new cacher, etc. Souvenirs are sort of silly--but they should still mean something. They should be an accurate representation of what someone did. But you're right--I don't go looking at what folks have.

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...though things are somewhat different now and I always log my find immediately and send in the answers when I've worked them out.

 

Things are indeed somewhat different.

 

These days the indication from Earthcache reviewers (in my experience) is that an Earthcache can require only minimal research on the part of the seeker and that in fact the Earth Science Lesson on the cache page should actually provide most of the 'answers' - or at least guide the experience at GZ in such a way that the seeker should stand a very good chance of qualifying.

 

Also logs can be posted immediately answers are provided - whether they are right or wrong - which puts the CO in an awkward position when the answers are clearly wrong. ECO's are encouraged to correct wrong answers for the seeker too.

 

Personally I'll tend to do some research before I even leave home bound for an Earthcache - because I want to make sure I learn as much as possible. This often means that I've good responses for 80% of the logging tasks before I even get to GZ.

 

It does gall me though when a log comes through on an EC which indicates that the amount of effort applied to qualifying was virtually zero, and the cache is being logged just for the sake of a souvenir and not for the learning opportunity offered.

Edited by Team Microdot
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Personally I'll tend to do some research before I even leave home bound for an Earthcache - because I want to make sure I learn as much as possible. This often means that I've good responses for 80% of the logging tasks before I even get to GZ.

 

It does gall me though when a log comes through on an EC which indicates that the amount of effort applied to qualifying was virtually zero, and the cache is being logged just for the sake of a souvenir and not for the learning opportunity offered.

 

As an owner of ECs, I try to think of my caches as being for folks like yourself. You are my audience, people who want to learn. I have to wade through the lazy logs at souvenir times, but I take satisfaction from the fact that many enjoy them and learn from them.

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I'm not getting why everyone cares so much about what souvenirs people have on their list and how they got it. Maybe I don't get it because I barely know what souvenirs I have, and I never check or compare anyone else's.

The only time I care about souvenirs is if they encourage people to power cache and treat my cache hides like all they matter for is to get someone a badge (or qualify for a challenge....but that's another issue).

 

That's an interesting question.. I loudly state that souvies provide no discernible benefit to me at all yet I find myself joining my geocaching friends on those days in order to collect them. Shrug...

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No. Log caches on the day you actually found it. Anything else is against the spirit and logic of the game.

 

Welllllllllllll, that outlook leaves me with a major fur ball stuck in my craw.

 

Many times I have been out in the hinterlands and do not get back to a signal for days or weeks.

 

Am I not to log caches as found because my circumstances preclude logging on the day of a find.

 

This curious mind wants to know

Right, but you can enter the *actual date found* once you're back.

Edited by wmpastor
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Honestly--I only think of it when someone posts a topic. It's not something that bothers me on a daily basis or that I think about when I meet a new cacher, etc. Souvenirs are sort of silly--but they should still mean something. They should be an accurate representation of what someone did. But you're right--I don't go looking at what folks have.

 

I don't look at other people's stats, and I don't care what other people think of me. I like earning souvenirs and various accomplishments well enough, but they don't have much meaning if I didn't actually earn them. The only person I'm competing against is myself!

 

International Earthcaching Day falls on Canadian Thanksgiving. Last year we got away from the cottage for a while to find an Earthcache, but this year we didn't bother. I guess I could have found one on Monday and claimed it on Sunday, but what's the point? I would always know.

 

That being said, it has literally no impact on me if others do this. I choose not to be particularly riled by lame logs, because ultimately, the person who is most affected by those is the cacher who writes them.

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So which is it? Did you figure it out and send in the answers without visiting the site to claim the souvenir? Or did you visit the place for the 6th time? Your post would seem to indicate you visited some time at the end of the week rather than Sunday. If you don't care about the souvenir, go ahead and change the log date and email GS asking them to delete the souvenir. That would allow you to uphold your "a streak only counts if you sign the log every day" standard.

 

I changed the date and wanted to hide the souvenir but don't see that option anymore that I thought used to be there. I'm not sure it is worth wasting GS time to get them to delete it. If that is something easy for them I will do that as well. I didn't visit the site all those times trying to figure out this Earth cache but I have a cache right next to it so looked at it a few times. The main question I had was what 2 rocks to be certain as there are a bunch popping up there and if you look at it as one big rock it looks like strait up but if you look at it close it has smaller rocks in the big rock that look to be more at a 45 degree angle. I am still not sure and why I never logged it before. One reason I avoid earthcaches in general.

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Honestly--I only think of it when someone posts a topic. It's not something that bothers me on a daily basis or that I think about when I meet a new cacher, etc. Souvenirs are sort of silly--but they should still mean something. They should be an accurate representation of what someone did. But you're right--I don't go looking at what folks have.

 

I don't look at other people's stats, and I don't care what other people think of me. I like earning souvenirs and various accomplishments well enough, but they don't have much meaning if I didn't actually earn them. The only person I'm competing against is myself!

 

International Earthcaching Day falls on Canadian Thanksgiving. Last year we got away from the cottage for a while to find an Earthcache, but this year we didn't bother. I guess I could have found one on Monday and claimed it on Sunday, but what's the point? I would always know.

 

That being said, it has literally no impact on me if others do this. I choose not to be particularly riled by lame logs, because ultimately, the person who is most affected by those is the cacher who writes them.

 

I pretty much agree with everything here except that last paragraph.

 

As I see it, I am playing a game called geocaching, which is being played by geocachers, of which I am one. Some other geocachers are being dishonest in how they play by claiming finds on caches they didn't actually find, or claiming to have found something on a specific day when they didn't, or basically exhibiting a lack of integrity. Not only that but there are many others that don't care if they're being associated with others that are dishonest. Maybe, the most affected is the person (who likely doesn't care) that is being dishonest, but every time it happens is soils the reputation of the game. Personally, when I tell someone who I might care what they think of me that I play a game called geocaching I would like to describe a game played by honest people that care about the environment (through CITO events), are respectful of land managers and the places where they play the game, and are people that are kind, courteous, and generous. I might be explaining the game to a land manager or a LEO and if the game has a reputation of being played in a dishonest manner by people that don't care what others think or how they play impacts others, then it's going to look bad on my just by me and everyone else that plays that game with integrity just by association.

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For me, I do care in general if geocachers broadly follow the guidelines/spirit. For example, if completely false armchair logging became the norm, it would hurt the game (in my view).

 

But often there is grey area, and don't want to put my own interpretation as only answer others must follow.

 

The case of visiting on Saturday, doing some homework and sending the writeup on Sunday with Sunday's date is in the gray area as far as I am concerned.

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For me, I do care in general if geocachers broadly follow the guidelines/spirit. For example, if completely false armchair logging became the norm, it would hurt the game (in my view).

 

But often there is grey area, and don't want to put my own interpretation as only answer others must follow.

 

The case of visiting on Saturday, doing some homework and sending the writeup on Sunday with Sunday's date is in the gray area as far as I am concerned.

 

For me it is black and white - I visited GZ on a specific date and that's the date that goes on my found log.

 

If I had to visit a location multiple times before I had the confidence to provide logging task responses I would log my find as the date of my final visit to the location - because that was the date when I completed the EC.

 

If my answers were lacking in some way though and day(s) later I managed to provide acceptable answers (which hasn't happened so far), I would still log the find at the date I last visited the location.

 

We are often reminded on here that geocaching is about location, and I think my personal standard fits with that - so I'm happy :)

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I think it's a shame that they make the souvenir only available one day, and a Sunday at that. In many areas, they are few and far between, or folks have everything nearby. Why not let folks find one over at least the weekend, and perhaps even over the course of a week. This isn't like International GC day or February 29 where any kind of cache counts.

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