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Feature Request: Make the logs more social


konsumschaf

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Today there is no need for any cacher to write interesting or even funny logs. It does not matter if he just writes TFTC or a short story about his last find.

 

This is because there is no reward for him to do so. And if there is a useful log you will not find it beneath all the +1 and TFTC-Logs.

 

So, why not reward him? Offer a possibility to rate the logs. Just like online shops or steam. Ask if this log is useful or funny or helpful.

 

So you could put the useful ones on the GPS and leave the useless ones (+1) behind.

 

Sort the logs by date, usefulness and fun factor. Same goes for pocket queries.

 

Offer to view other logs from this cacher.

 

Become a top logger. :D

 

Earn a souvenir for helpful logs. :grin:

 

Follow the top loggers. B)

 

Make the reading of logs more fun. :lol:

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[...]

 

This is because there is no reward for him to do so.[...]

 

Of course not. We are not in school here. :rolleyes:

The real award is to know the owner's and others joy in reading the logs and have fun doing so. Fullstop.

 

Hans

Edited by HHL
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Today there is no need for any cacher to write interesting or even funny logs. It does not matter if he just writes TFTC or a short story about his last find.

 

This is because there is no reward for him to do so. And if there is a useful log you will not find it beneath all the +1 and TFTC-Logs.

 

So, why not reward him? Offer a possibility to rate the logs. Just like online shops or steam. Ask if this log is useful or funny or helpful.

 

So you could put the useful ones on the GPS and leave the useless ones (+1) behind.

 

Sort the logs by date, usefulness and fun factor. Same goes for pocket queries.

 

Offer to view other logs from this cacher.

 

Become a top logger. :D

 

Earn a souvenir for helpful logs. :grin:

 

Follow the top loggers. B)

 

Make the reading of logs more fun. :lol:

 

What a really bad idea.

 

Just like the other suggestions for "likes" for logs...

 

B.

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Funny, I never felt a need to be rewarded for a log longer than four letters.

To me, it makes no sense to load a couple thousand caches in the GPSr if they're not worth heading out to.

I only go after caches I'll do, and for me (the reason I started and continue with this hobby), I'm rewarded with most of the caches having good views or interesting locations.

:)

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Sort the logs by date, usefulness and fun factor.

 

Looks like a new "side game" -- winning the logging contest. :ph34r:

 

Really good caches tend to have very creative logs. But some poor caches do too. A low-quality cache in a seedy area may have logs about almost being mugged, approached by pimps or pushers, etc. Reading those at home gives a vicarious thrill. So logs with a high "fun factor" won't translate into caches with a high "fun factor."

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"A low-quality cache in a seedy area..."

 

Yes, I just recently had reason to create such a log. Insurance company was not amused. On top of everything else, stupid cache was MIA, too, and the owner wasn't dealing with it. Check my log here, complete with photos in the gallery >> https://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?wp=GC5RR3X&title=alley-cat-series-2-a-crack-pipes-paradise log date of 9/16/15.

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The original post is a fine idea and clearly there are persons who would enjoy that. As such Groundspeak might see this as something positive for those who would enjoy interacting this way.

 

As log-writer, I would probably not enjoy this as proposed. I can see having my feelings hurt by someone evaluating and judging my log. In which case I, and probably many others, would simply not write logs, even short ones. So this could back-fire.

 

But what I would find useful if others could rate a particular log as "useful", particularly to have others note if coordinates or photos attached to a log are useful. My main use for logs is that I have as many in my GPSr as possible and I scan down through them when I cannot find a cache. At that point it would be helpful for me to note the ones that others have found "useful".

 

And as I think about it, if logs had some indication of favoriteness or likability or degree of enjoyment, then I might set my software (eg GSAK) to not purge those logs. So I guess I would use the feature, even if don't like all facets of it.

 

As such I see merit in the core proposition.

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But what I would find useful if others could rate a particular log as"useful", particularly to have others note if coordinates or photosattached to a log are useful. My main use for logs is that I have as many in myGPSr as possible and I scan down through them when I cannot find a cache. Atthat point it would be helpful for me to note the ones that others have found"useful".

 

 

I agree. When out in the field, and in need of some useful logs, it would be nice to sort so that the logs marked useful float to the top.

 

As a cache owner, sometimes a group of 20 or 30 will come and leave cut-n-paste logs that speak of the days experience, but says nothing about the cache.

 

Useful comments that help advertise my cache like:

 

Very cool. I quite enjoyed this one. We spotted the redirect and figured it had to be it but weren't sure. Then I examined it a little more and saw what we were looking for. Final was a neat container too.

 

are lost, because they are 30 logs away. I would mark useful logs in our cache hides, to float them to the top and help people determine if they would like to find my cache.

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I agree as well. Marking logs as "useful" (or whatever word) would be something like FP for logs. And the great thing would come afterwards - the possibility to sort the logs on the cache page according to "useful" points gathered.

 

I like to read nice logs on the cache pages, but it is annoying (and devastating my mouse roller :)) to go down through logs like:

 

"."

":-)"

"TFTC"

"Found on our trip with ***"

"Found quickly, thank you."

"Today we decided to go for a caching trip. The weather was fine...

(10 more lines about the trip copy'n'pasted to every log that day).

This was a quick and easy find. TFTC."

 

It's nothing against people who don't support the idea, they just could ignore it (just like I ignore FPs on caches due to using GCVote). For the rest it would be really "useful" feature. :)

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As a cache owner, sometimes a group of 20 or 30 will come and leave cut-n-paste logs that speak of the days experience, but says nothing about the cache.

 

Useful comments that help advertise my cache like: [/size][/font]

 

Very cool. I quite enjoyed this one. We spotted the redirect and figured it had to be it but weren't sure. Then I examined it a little more and saw what we were looking for. Final was a neat container too.

 

are lost, because they are 30 logs away. I would mark useful logs in our cache hides, to float them to the top and help people determine if they would like to find my cache.

 

I rely on the cache location, description, photographs, or title to determine if I will want to find a cache. To the extent the logs are helpful for that, I can learn more by seeing if people are just writing initials or copying and pasting than I could by reading hand picked logs. But then again, my definition of a good log has little to do with the cache - did anyone write better logs than Oregone, although sadly he deleted a lot of his best.

 

I write logs to say what is important for me and not to advertise a cache. Sometimes that may be a stream of consciousness, sometimes very little. Some of my logs are not as important as the photo, some caches don't inspire anything in particular and my legs are nothing more than a quick note. In any case, I like that they are impermanent and will migrate off the main view. If logs became more "social "or the CO had the ability to mark "useful" logs, I think I would do what I have never done before and use only a few initials. Not everything needs to be "liked."

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