Logging GCs multiple times - DIY system for kids school runs etc?

[+BethDaddyKaty]

Hi all,

 

Hope you are well.

 

Me and my daughter really enjoy geocaching - however, at five years old, we do a lot of journeys the same, e.g. school run, cycling to the shops, etc.

 

Beth wants to find all the geocaches every single time which is fine and we pretend to "write" in them. However, obviously (correctly) she can only get a smilie face once.

 

I was wondering what etiquette would be for writing my own program (I'm a web developer) and attaching a QR code to my own Geocaches that could be scanned so she could unofficially log GCs multiple times? My plan would be to link it in with her Fitbit badges so the more Geocaches she collects, the more badges she gets.

 

I would possibly (depending on GCs terms) also tell her school friends about it if they want to join (because being 5yo, otherwise she'll tell them anyway).

 

Would love to hear thoughts. Not sure whether the QR code needs to be labelled so regular GCs don't wonder what it is for. Just know it's great to get kids out, my 5yo happily does long walks if she knows there are multiple GCs on route but I don't want to have to drive every single day to find new GCs to do it.

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited November 24, 2019 by daddybeth

[+niraD]

I don't see a problem with including something like that in your own geocaches, and it would probably be a good idea to label the QR code so others know what's up. I think about the way trackables are labeled (both those that are intended to move and those that are intended to stay in the cache for people to discover). I also think about the way stamps have been labeled in letterbox hybrid caches, or the way stamps have been labeled in a local series where finders can collect stamps on their "passports", and then turn in a fully stamped "passport" for a geocoin created for the series by the open space district.

 

One issue would be if your system became big enough to be a competitor to geocaching.com, in which case, references to it in the cache description would be prohibited, just like references to [censored] and [censored] are prohibited today.

[+BethDaddyKaty]

Thanks for your advice. Never going to be big enough to be a competitor unless a lot of people start doing my boring journeys

[+cerberus1]

Similar to niraD, on occasion we find qr codes to another location game attached to geocaches.

We notify the CO JIC, and obviously you'd be okay with it.  Expect that maybe someone else might "help" by removing it for you.

In your case, if your smalls are large enough for swag, maybe realize some additional maintenance if little kids share your cache locations with others outside your group. Kids being kids.   

We used to see that sometimes with scouts, looking to befriend others by showing them "cool stuff in the woods", and later the container's gone.

[+Max and 99]

4 hours ago, daddybeth said:

 

I would possibly (depending on GCs terms) also tell her school friends about it if they want to join (because being 5yo, otherwise she'll tell them anyway).

I've seen this, on more than one occasion, leading to the disappearance of caches. Kids will be kids, I know! 

[+niraD]

1 hour ago, cerberus1 said:

In your case, if your smalls are large enough for swag, maybe realize some additional maintenance if little kids share your cache locations with others outside your group. Kids being kids.   

We used to see that sometimes with scouts, looking to befriend others by showing them "cool stuff in the woods", and later the container's gone.

Yep. That's the reason why I take kids to a park well away from the local neighborhood when I introduce them to geocaching. Even if I trust all the kids I'm with, I don't necessarily trust their friends and classmates who will hear about the cool hidden treasure boxes.

[+Goldenwattle]

54 minutes ago, niraD said:

Yep. That's the reason why I take kids to a park well away from the local neighborhood when I introduce them to geocaching. Even if I trust all the kids I'm with, I don't necessarily trust their friends and classmates who will hear about the cool hidden treasure boxes.

I left a TB with small bear attached in a cache. Then a scout group came by and this was logged, " We have taken the bear hostage. ". I sent an email to the one who logged this and also to who I suspected was the adult with them. No reply and the bear TB has not been heard from since .  Certainly no cause for that smiley with the hostage note.

[+Ragnemalm]

Extreme case of my "revisit" suggestion, and I think we all agree that we don't want a "found" log every day from a cacher. But for a child who wants to find it, I would gladly put in a separate log book to write in.

 

Although I want to defend my hobby, Turf is more appropriate for the situation. But it is not at all as fun and no physical container. Pokemon Go, maybe...

 

Speaking of logging on paper only, I recently visited a cache I have in a cave. It was only logged once or twice in a year or more. Several months after the last online log, I wondered, is it still there? It was sad to see a cache in such a nice place being so rarely logged.

 

I got a lovely surprise when I got into the cave! The cache was (almost) in place, just a bit too visible... and  the log was *crowded* with signatures! The expected 2 or 3 was more than 30! So what had happened? Well, one way or the other, people are finding the cache, and *everybody* neatly sign and put it back! Have I made a cache that is used as guest book? Fine by me!

[+DerDiedler]

My emotion- free oppinion on this: We have a game called Geocaching. This game is played on may platforms. Each platform hast they´re own rules and regulations. Some more, some less strict.

The platform we are discussing here is geocaching.com, the word´s largest (and of course best ) provider. This provider has not foreseen a cache to be found more then once. Once you loged a cache as found, you can not log a found again.

You want to built a childs play that´s working different then the "captured" parts of the game explanided above. I mean, you can do so. Just as you can list youre Geocaches on other services. But that´s just working with your owned caches. And of cours there is no guarantee that this child play is appreciated by co-players of the original game. 

 

I don´t get the point of achivin badges or so, only made up for me. But I´m a little older then 5 and I don´t have kids as well. So yea, go for it if you find a way without affecting the original game.

[+BethDaddyKaty]

Thanks all for your ideas.

 

The reason why this came about is because for a while we've been finding caches multiple times and just logging them on a sticker sheet, basically a low tech version of this, every time a cache is found we get a sticker. However, I've been a bit cautious of this because I know other COs caches aren't meant/designed to be found every day, so I've started placing my own caches locally so we don't damage other COs caches.

 

Recently my daughter's primary school - which in common with much of the UK has loads of parents converging in cars, parking on every available corner/verge/pavement, and generally making it very difficult to actually walk to school was suggesting ideas to try and solve the gridlock. Unfortunately all of their ideas were basically "make it easier to drive to school", which irked me.

 

So my original idea was to basically take the idea of geocaches, but do my own thing, so Beth could have a league table/badges with a handful of friends. But then I thought, as a cacher, if there were effective geocaches hidden that weren't competing with Geocache (as it's only going to be one village), would I want the chance to find them? Or course yes. And the only addition needed would be a log book.

 

I might do them as geocaches, include a laminated QR code with a note on the back explaining it's to encourage a few kids in the village to walk to school and normal cachers can ignore it. Worst case scenario is people dislike it or start removing the QR codes in which case I'll just archive them all and use them just for Beth.

 

On a separate note, I'm really looking forward to a few years time when we can go on longer walks and start doing a lot more caches and for me, the more the merrier. Even our least favourite caches have been fun to find, more fun than walking past blissfully unaware there's a log book with a space for you on it  Thank you all for your advice.

Edited November 25, 2019 by daddybeth