Comment left in one of my Caches

February 20, 2017

Hi,

I am not sure what I should do, if anything. A local cacher joined this past weekend. They found 8 caches, 3 of which are mine and left a comment on one of my caches that I find offensive. I checked the other 7 caches and found the typical "Sweet" and "cool" found it their comments. What bothers me, is the Found It Comment of "gay" on one of my caches. That's all it said, just one word. I know if I delete the Log than the person will get an e-mail and I am afraid they will steal my cache. Can I edit the cache by replacing the comment with nothing? Does modifying the comment also send them an e-mail? Or maybe I am just being over sensitive and should ignore the comment?

7.8k · February 20, 2017

Hi,

I am not sure what I should do, if anything. A local cacher joined this past weekend. They found 8 caches, 3 of which are mine and left a comment on one of my caches that I find offensive. I checked the other 7 caches and found the typical "Sweet" and "cool" found it their comments. What bothers me, is the Found It Comment of "gay" on one of my caches. That's all it said, just one word. I know if I delete the Log than the person will get an e-mail and I am afraid they will steal my cache. Can I edit the cache by replacing the comment with nothing? Does modifying the comment also send them an e-mail? Or maybe I am just being over sensitive and should ignore the comment?

The relevant article from the Help Center is here: 6.15. Delete logs.

If you're hesitant to delete the log, I'd suggest sending the finder a message (not an email in this case, because they haven't validated their email) explaining your concerns and asking them to change their log. If they refuse or ignore you, I'd just go ahead and delete the log. Since they haven't bothered to validate their email address, they probably won't even notice if you delete their log because they won't receive an email alerting them to that fact.

5.7k · February 21, 2017

Why is "As always, keep an eye on your children" posted on the cache page? :unsure:

I would just delete the log and move on, and they won't get an email because their account has not been validated.

February 21, 2017

Why is "As always, keep an eye on your children" posted on the cache page?

I would just delete the log and move on, and they won't get an email because their account has not been validated.

It's by a road so I always remind parents to keep an eye on their children.

5.7k · February 21, 2017

Why is "As always, keep an eye on your children" posted on the cache page?

I would just delete the log and move on, and they won't get an email because their account has not been validated.

It's by a road so I always remind parents to keep an eye on their children.

Well, I asked because of the subject of your topic, and I have seen similar signs on public restrooms where lewd things are known to have happened. :anicute: Just delete the comment and move on would be my advice.

4.8k · February 21, 2017

Hi,

I am not sure what I should do, if anything. A local cacher joined this past weekend. They found 8 caches, 3 of which are mine and left a comment on one of my caches that I find offensive. I checked the other 7 caches and found the typical "Sweet" and "cool" found it their comments. What bothers me, is the Found It Comment of "gay" on one of my caches. That's all it said, just one word. I know if I delete the Log than the person will get an e-mail and I am afraid they will steal my cache. Can I edit the cache by replacing the comment with nothing? Does modifying the comment also send them an e-mail? Or maybe I am just being over sensitive and should ignore the comment?

I didn't see your last question regarding editing a log. The answer is no, your choices are deletion or encryption.

February 21, 2017

Thanks for the advice as I did delete the log. Life is good now.

10.1k · February 21, 2017

Not sure why you were so offended by the log. That word has many meanings, including 'lighthearted'. Deleting that log is rather pompous. I would ask Groundspeak to reinstate and lock the log.

5.7k · February 21, 2017

Not sure why you were so offended by the log. That word has many meanings, including 'lighthearted'. Deleting that log is rather pompous. I would ask Groundspeak to reinstate and lock the log.

Yeah, but it was a DNF by a UVM. It would have to be a found log from a validated members. I do agree that "gay" in the context it was left meant lame. :unsure:

7.4k · February 21, 2017

Deleting the derogatory log was the right choice. I hope their vandalism was limited to the cache page.

4.6k · February 21, 2017

Not sure why you were so offended by the log. That word has many meanings, including 'lighthearted'.

Not commonly in the 20th century.

Deleting that log is rather pompous. I would ask Groundspeak to reinstate and lock the log.

That's the spirit - fight fire with fire :laughing:

2k · February 21, 2017

Deleting the derogatory log was the right choice. I hope their vandalism was limited to the cache page.

Vandalism?

7.4k · February 21, 2017

Deleting the derogatory log was the right choice. I hope their vandalism was limited to the cache page.

Vandalism?

Not sure what the question is here. Posting nasty logs is vandalism in my books. I suppose it is technically "cybervandalism," but using "cyber" as a prefix seems so 90s to me. Spray-painting "gay" on someone's wall or writing it on a public website, it's all the same destructive, impulsive stupidity.

I hope their bad behaviour didn't extend to the cache itself, because that has been known to happen in cases like these - miscreants damage or steal the cache, and write a nasty log to match.

1.9k · February 21, 2017

They are new. Send them a nice welcoming email mentioning that you saw their log and that they were new. Invite them to attend the next event. Then you can mention that it's always nice to read a longer log that gives a little more detail on their adventure.

I bet they don't even know that anyone sees whatever they write.

4.6k · February 21, 2017

Send them a nice welcoming email

Non-verified member? No email address provided?

1.9k · February 21, 2017

Send them a nice welcoming email

Non-verified member? No email address provided?

Right, message center then.

February 21, 2017

From Urban dictionary.

A slang term usually used to describe something stupid or just all around bad, or someone who is being stupid...

Let the log stay and move on.

7.4k · February 21, 2017

From Urban dictionary.

A slang term usually used to describe something stupid or just all around bad, or someone who is being stupid...

Let the log stay and move on.

We are all adults who know darn well that this term, used this way, is an inexcusable slur against a specific group of people. It has no place in this game, and it is appalling to see the forum trying to defend this.

4.6k · February 21, 2017

From Urban dictionary.

A slang term usually used to describe something stupid or just all around bad, or someone who is being stupid...

This Urban Dictionary?

Citations, no matter how potentially offensive, should at least be accurate.

7.5k · February 21, 2017

We are all adults who know darn well that this term, used this way, is an inexcusable slur against a specific group of people.

Honestly, we don't. In fact, I can't even imagine why someone would comment on someone's sexual preferences based on what they found at a cache. And even if they thought they made some logical conclusion about sexual preferences and should state it -- impossibly unlikely, frankly -- I don't see why saying someone is gay is automatically a slur. Deciding any use a single magic word cannot possibly be interpreted as anything but a negative sexual reference is just the illogical politically correct knee jerk reaction. The logical conclusion is that they were just using "gay" as a synonym for "lame".

Alas, because a geocaching log will be read by a wide range of people, it's probably entirely appropriate to delete the log just because of the number of people that will have the same reaction as you. Being politically correct is, after all, wildly popular.

7.4k · February 21, 2017

We are all adults who know darn well that this term, used this way, is an inexcusable slur against a specific group of people.

Honestly, we don't. In fact, I can't even imagine why someone would comment on someone's sexual preferences based on what they found at a cache. And even if they thought they made some logical conclusion about sexual preferences and should state it -- impossibly unlikely, frankly -- I don't see why saying someone is gay is automatically a slur. Deciding any use a single magic word cannot possibly be interpreted as anything but a negative sexual reference is just the illogical politically correct knee jerk reaction. The logical conclusion is that they were just using "gay" as a synonym for "lame".

Alas, because a geocaching log will be read by a wide range of people, it's probably entirely appropriate to delete the log just because of the number of people that will have the same reaction as you. Being politically correct is, after all, wildly popular.

Using a word like "lame" or "gay" to signal that something is bad is derogatory to those people. If the cache is gay because the cache is bad, then the ultimate meaning is that gay is bad. Similarly, if the cache is disabled because the cache is bad, then the ultimate meaning is that disabled is bad. It isn't terribly difficult to understand why this is hurtful to specific groups of people.

If the cache is gay because it prefers other caches of the same gender, that's fine, but I highly doubt that this is what the log means since caches are inanimate and, in English anyway, non-gendered.

I also highly doubt that the word gay was used in a jaunty, high-spirited fashion to simply denote happiness at the find.

The word "gay" has a long history of being used in a derogatory fashion. It's disgusting that the forum would use semantics to excuse such behaviour.

2.8k · February 21, 2017

We are all adults who know darn well that this term, used this way, is an inexcusable slur against a specific group of people.

The logical conclusion is that they were just using "gay" as a synonym for "lame".

Did you say that on purpose? Now the thread will tangent to slandering those that have physical disabilities Oh boy, here it comes!

6.1k · February 21, 2017

The cacher who placed that log is in the habit of writing one word logs, among the logs they have written are:

Cool
Nice
Yay
Liy
Gay

I think that some of you are reading far too much into the word "Gay" as used by this person, or would you also like to critique Liy & Yay too?

2.8k · February 21, 2017

The cacher who placed that log is in the habit of writing one word logs, among the logs they have written are:

Cool

Nice

Yay

Liy

Gay

I think that some of you are reading far too much into the word "Gay" as used by this person, or would you also like to critique Liy & Yay too?

Nicely done! Should delete the LIY one - seems very derogatory. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=LIY

Cool is so vague. Did they mean the cache location was cool, the container was cool to the touch, it was cool outside? Delete it!

6.1k · February 21, 2017

Nicely done! Should delete the LIY one - seems very derogatory. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=LIY

Cool is so vague. Did they mean the cache location was cool, the container was cool to the touch, it was cool outside? Delete it!

Interestingly the Urban Dictionary still lists the first meaning of Gay as:

1. jovial or happy, good-spirited

Nothing controversial there.

7.4k · February 21, 2017

The cacher who placed that log is in the habit of writing one word logs, among the logs they have written are:

Cool

Nice

Yay

Liy

Gay

I think that some of you are reading far too much into the word "Gay" as used by this person, or would you also like to critique Liy & Yay too?

I think that in a game that is supposed to be inclusive, deleting that log was the correct course of action. That kind of language is just needless.

I'm old and not familiar with a similar history for the other words in your list. Is there a particular group of people that are often labelled with those words? Are those words typically used to compare other people to those groups for the purpose of insulting or oppressing them?

4.6k · February 21, 2017

Interestingly the Urban Dictionary still lists the first meaning of Gay as:

1. jovial or happy, good-spirited

Nothing controversial there.

Urban Dictionary is a crowdsourced online dictionary of slang words and phrases that was founded in 1999 as a parody of Dictionary.com and Vocabulary.com by then-college freshman Aaron Peckham.

A high calibre reference indeed <_<

7.4k · February 21, 2017

Interestingly the Urban Dictionary still lists the first meaning of Gay as:

1. jovial or happy, good-spirited

Nothing controversial there.

It's not particularly surprising that the Urban Dictionary did that, given its target audience. The very first defense that anyone uses to defend their use of a word like that is to back-pedal and claim they meant it in some other way. I'm sure everyone is talking about cigarettes and bundles of sticks too.

2.8k · February 21, 2017

Of course the cacher was logging it as "Yay" but his phone auto-miscorrected it to "Gay" and you are now discussing sexual orientation. But hey, that's the agenda of some posters in the forum - discuss how evil cachers are why can't we all just get along, even though there's no intent.

Edited February 21, 2017 by Team DEMP

February 21, 2017

Why don't we all just have a gay old time?

7.8k · February 21, 2017

Of course the cacher was logging it as "Yay" but his phone auto-miscorrected it to "Gay" and you are now discussing sexual orientation.

That's entirely possible. However, these forums are populated by people that are experts in pulling volumes of information out of a single word. The word in question could have been a typo, an auto-correct mistake, or a simple non-derogatory comment on their dislike of the cache, but today's overly-PC world dictates that the word must be interpreted by default as derogatory toward an entire segment of the population until otherwise indicated. Basically, guilty until proven innocent.

Personally, I still stand by my recommendation to contact the finder in question. Then you don't have to worry about assumptions or default interpretations.

14k · February 21, 2017

If the cache is gay because it prefers other caches of the same gender, that's fine, but I highly doubt that this is what the log means since caches are inanimate and, in English anyway, non-gendered.

What do we know about the container used for this cache. Maybe it was a soda bottle pre-form.

3.5k · February 22, 2017

I hope their bad behaviour didn't extend to the cache itself, because that has been known to happen in cases like these - miscreants damage or steal the cache, and write a nasty log to match.

As mentioned in an earlier post, the cacher didn't find the cache, so they probably didn't vandalize the cache.

What is the ultimate purpose of labelling and denigrating people ("miscreants") because you think they logged a cache the wrong way? How does this improve geocaching?

We are all adults who know darn well that this term, used this way, is an inexcusable slur against a specific group of people. It has no place in this game, and it is appalling to see the forum trying to defend this.

From the comments in this thread, I'm not sure we all "know darn well that this term, used this way, is an inexcusable slur" or that it's even being used as a "slur" at all. For all we know, the cacher could've used that word to reflect on their own search performance, since they didn't find the cache. My personal preference of that word's use doesn't mean that I expect everyone else to have the same preference. The only person's preference that really matters is the CO's and I'd leave it up to them whether to allow, encrypt, or delete such a log.

2.6k · February 22, 2017

Interesting discussion about language and how it evolves.

If someone says a cache is lame, I don't see that as a slur against the disabled. In "proper" dictionaries, lame has a second, commonly used meaning. Sure, the use of the second meaning evolved from the first meaning, but when used in this context, lame simply means (of an explanation or excuse) unconvincingly feeble.

"it was a lame statement and there was no excusing his behavior". Synonyms: feeble, weak, thin, flimsy, poor, sorry.

When someone is talking negatively about something, and says "that is so gay" I'm uncomfortable with that. It is different than lame, at least to me.

As this was a DNF, it is highly likely that the log was using the word in a negative context. Sure, it could be a typo/auto correct. Or less likely, they felt lighthearted and carefree about the DNF. So I don't think the log was appropriate.

2.6k · February 22, 2017

Oh and on the auto-correct theory, some light relief. A friend of mine wrote a log where we meant to say he was carrying his wellies (a type of footwear in the UK) in case he needed them.

It was auto-corrected to say "Rob and I walked to the cache with our willies in our hands, but we were able to find the cache without them".

The CO sent them a message suggesting they might want to edit their log.

4.6k · February 22, 2017

Oh and on the auto-correct theory, some light relief. A friend of mine wrote a log where we meant to say he was carrying his wellies (a type of footwear in the UK) in case he needed them.

It was auto-corrected to say "Rob and I walked to the cache with our willies in our hands, but we were able to find the cache without them".

The CO sent them a message suggesting they might want to edit their log.

Same thing happened to a cacher I know :laughing:

7.4k · February 22, 2017

Oh and on the auto-correct theory, some light relief. A friend of mine wrote a log where we meant to say he was carrying his wellies (a type of footwear in the UK) in case he needed them.

It was auto-corrected to say "Rob and I walked to the cache with our willies in our hands, but we were able to find the cache without them".

The CO sent them a message suggesting they might want to edit their log.

:santa:

5.7k · February 22, 2017

Interesting discussion about language and how it evolves.

If someone says a cache is lame, I don't see that as a slur against the disabled. In "proper" dictionaries, lame has a second, commonly used meaning. Sure, the use of the second meaning evolved from the first meaning, but when used in this context, lame simply means (of an explanation or excuse) unconvincingly feeble.

"it was a lame statement and there was no excusing his behavior". Synonyms: feeble, weak, thin, flimsy, poor, sorry.

When someone is talking negatively about something, and says "that is so gay" I'm uncomfortable with that. It is different than lame, at least to me.

As this was a DNF, it is highly likely that the log was using the word in a negative context. Sure, it could be a typo/auto correct. Or less likely, they felt lighthearted and carefree about the DNF. So I don't think the log was appropriate.

Regarding "lame," I agree. One rarely hears the term used to describe the state of someone's physical abilities these days. (On the other hand, I'm sure that there are folks who are less mobile than I, who are more sensitive to such things, and would disagree.)

Regarding "gay," also concur. I used it all the time when I was a teen, without even thinking about it. I'd like to say it has disappeared from my vocabulary, but now and again my brain still lets it get out there, to my chagrin. Kind of along the same lines as the word "retarded." I once flippantly used that around close family friends whose son has Downs syndrome. I felt about a millimeter tall after that.

February 22, 2017

Hi,

I am not sure what I should do, if anything. A local cacher joined this past weekend. They found 8 caches, 3 of which are mine and left a comment on one of my caches that I find offensive. I checked the other 7 caches and found the typical "Sweet" and "cool" found it their comments. What bothers me, is the Found It Comment of "gay" on one of my caches. That's all it said, just one word. I know if I delete the Log than the person will get an e-mail and I am afraid they will steal my cache. Can I edit the cache by replacing the comment with nothing? Does modifying the comment also send them an e-mail? Or maybe I am just being over sensitive and should ignore the comment?

Just be like, "Hey, I didn't appreciate your comment after finding my cache so therefore I'm deleting your log. Feel free to log it again without being offensive" then commence to deleting the log. And if something happens to your cache in retaliation well I suppose you'll just have to deal with that too.

7.5k · February 22, 2017

Regarding "lame," I agree. One rarely hears the term used to describe the state of someone's physical abilities these days.

I hear "lame" all the time to describe someone's physical abilities, but it's nearly always to describe a temporary condition, not a permanent disability. But either way, what's wrong with that? It's only political correctness that makes us presume that someone observing a disability must automatically take that as a sign of inferiority.

"gay" is even weirder. "gay" is allowed when used to refer to sexual preference, in case you've forgotten "gay pride" or what LGBT stands for. Political correctness only bans it when used with other meanings.

7.4k · February 22, 2017

I hear "lame" all the time to describe someone's physical abilities, but it's nearly always to describe a temporary condition, not a permanent disability. But either way, what's wrong with that? It's only political correctness that makes us presume that someone observing a disability must automatically take that as a sign of inferiority.

"gay" is even weirder. "gay" is allowed when used to refer to sexual preference, in case you've forgotten "gay pride" or what LGBT stands for. Political correctness only bans it when used with other meanings.

When someone deliberately equates these words with negative meanings, the implication is that being gay or disabled is negative.

That horse with a broken leg is lame. No problem!

That person who enjoys romantic or sexual relationships with other people of the same gender is gay. No problem!

I don't like your cache therefore it's lame. Not okay! It's used here to denote negativity, therefore implying that having a disability is negative. (It seems unlikely that a cache is physically disabled.)

I don't like your cache therefore it's gay. Not okay! It's used here to denote negativity, therefore implying that being gay is negative. (It seems unlikely that a cache has romantic or sexual preferences.)

If something is bad, say it's bad. If you don't like something, say you don't like it. Don't indicate that something is bad by equating it with groups of people who already face daily discrimination.

Political correctness is a term that people pull out of their hat when they don't want to acknowledge that they've been careless with their language. We all make mistakes and hurt people without meaning to. Why not try to do better?

2.8k · February 22, 2017

In one thread we are lectured on what is or isn't okay to post but in another thread we are told by the same poster "I'm arguing people shouldn't tell others what to do".

Edited February 22, 2017 by Team DEMP

7.5k · February 23, 2017

If something is bad, say it's bad. If you don't like something, say you don't like it. Don't indicate that something is bad by equating it with groups of people who already face daily discrimination.

"gay" and "lame" mean it's bad. They are real words in the English language with meanings. Contrary to your PC training, those meanings do not include "...and I hate completely unrelated PC declared victim X."

Political correctness is a term that people pull out of their hat when they don't want to acknowledge that they've been careless with their language. We all make mistakes and hurt people without meaning to. Why not try to do better?

Political correctness is a specific affliction of believing something because it's politically popular even though you can't actually justify it.

2.6k · February 23, 2017

"gay" and "lame" mean it's bad. They are real words in the English language with meanings. Contrary to your PC training, those meanings do not include "...and I hate completely unrelated PC declared victim X."

Language evolves. I'm sure there are other words we use today which are accepted, but if you trace the origin of the word one could find it offensive. But I can't think of a good example.

It also could be regional. But as I said before, I see a difference between lame and gay. If I use the Oxford Dictionary : For lame there are accepted definitions. Also, I don't see the word lame in common use to describe disabled people. It is more used for a short term condition or injury - e.g. "the horse stumbled and came up lame", or "The hike to the geocache was difficult for me, and with my bad knee I came up lame and had to be helped get down from the mountain".

The negative use of "Gay" has also entered that same dictionary. You will see the definition "Light-hearted and carefree" is shown as "dated". While the definition "Foolish, stupid, or unimpressive" is listed as "informal, offensive".

Personally I don't use either word in this way. But I find lame to be acceptable, and gay (used in the 3rd definition) to be indeed offensive.

7.4k · February 23, 2017

If something is bad, say it's bad. If you don't like something, say you don't like it. Don't indicate that something is bad by equating it with groups of people who already face daily discrimination.

"gay" and "lame" mean it's bad. They are real words in the English language with meanings. Contrary to your PC training, those meanings do not include "...and I hate completely unrelated PC declared victim X."

Political correctness is a term that people pull out of their hat when they don't want to acknowledge that they've been careless with their language. We all make mistakes and hurt people without meaning to. Why not try to do better?

Political correctness is a specific affliction of believing something because it's politically popular even though you can't actually justify it.

It doesn't seem that my explanation of why this is hurtful is very popular. But it is illuminating to know that in some quarters, it's deliberate and not merely careless.

It's so easy to switch to other words. I've used these words too, until it was pointed out to me by affected people that they were hurtful. I certainly have the freedom to keep using these words, but now that I know better, why would I?

7.4k · February 23, 2017

"gay" and "lame" mean it's bad. They are real words in the English language with meanings. Contrary to your PC training, those meanings do not include "...and I hate completely unrelated PC declared victim X."

Language evolves. I'm sure there are other words we use today which are accepted, but if you trace the origin of the word one could find it offensive. But I can't think of a good example.

It also could be regional. But as I said before, I see a difference between lame and gay. If I use the Oxford Dictionary : For lame there are accepted definitions. Also, I don't see the word lame in common use to describe disabled people. It is more used for a short term condition or injury - e.g. "the horse stumbled and came up lame", or "The hike to the geocache was difficult for me, and with my bad knee I came up lame and had to be helped get down from the mountain".

The negative use of "Gay" has also entered that same dictionary. You will see the definition "Light-hearted and carefree" is shown as "dated". While the definition "Foolish, stupid, or unimpressive" is listed as "informal, offensive".

Personally I don't use either word in this way. But I find lame to be acceptable, and gay (used in the 3rd definition) to be indeed offensive.

I didn't think lame was a big deal until it came up with someone who had good reason to feel hurt by it. I think it's hard for most of us to appreciate how these small things can really wear of people who are already downtrodden. It's such a small adjustment to avoid using a word that can easily be replaced with many other words.

6.8k · February 23, 2017

It's so easy to switch to other words. I've used these words too, until it was pointed out to me by affected people that they were hurtful. I certainly have the freedom to keep using these words, but now that I know better, why would I?

You can of course choose whichever words you wish, however using lame e.g. in the sense of a lame verse cannot be replaced by bad verse or anything else which means exactly the same. If someone feels hurt by this usage I guess it is because these people are not familiar with all the nuances of lame.

When one uses the term "limping comparison" it's also anything else than disrespectful to people who limp or go lame.

The problem with a one word log is of course that context is missing and context is very important in language usage.

2.8k · February 23, 2017

Amelia Bedilia interrupts yet another thread

4.6k · February 23, 2017

Amelia Bedilia interrupts yet another thread

I personally feel that as a non-native speaker of English Cezanne's use of English is somewhat better than some native speakers of English here.

In any case it's perhaps apt, given the direction this thread has taken that I consider your comment inappropriate and unhelpful.

2.8k · February 23, 2017

Amelia Bedilia interrupts yet another thread

I personally feel that as a non-native speaker of English Cezanne's use of English is somewhat better than some native speakers of English here.

In any case it's perhaps apt, given the direction this thread has taken that I consider your comment inappropriate and unhelpful.

My post was not attributed to Cezanne.

I could post just the word "black" in a thread and a group of individuals would argue the word for pages.

Edited February 23, 2017 by Team DEMP

Comment left in one of my Caches

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