Team breakup... Looking for way forward.

[+team moxiepup]

My partner in life and geocaching, and I broke up a few years ago. I've been thinking of getting back into caching, but I am wondering if there is any way each of us could still keep our history,  yet going forward, we would each have our own account and geocaching name? 

I'm hoping this makes sense! 

Thanks,

Moxiepup

Edited January 5 by team moxiepup

[RuideAlmeida]

45 minutes ago, team moxiepup said:

... any way each of us could still keep our history,  yet going forward, we would each have our own account and geocaching name? 

 

You can have one... or another, but not both at the same time.

Perhaps you can keep logging with the old profile, even separated. By instance, my player profile belongs to a family of three. We used to live all in Lisbon, but now I live in the Amazon, my ex-wife still in Lisbon (rarely searching caches these days) and our son in Stockholm.

 

If you create another profile, your "caching history" will restarts from zero.

Edited January 5 by RuideAlmeida

[Keystone]

Welcome back to the Forums, and I'm glad to hear you're thinking of taking up geocaching again.  I originally started as a healthy post-divorce activity to do with my daughter.  A few years later she decided she wanted a separate account, as I was often finding caches without her.  We were able to log her finds on her new account within a matter of hours using some semi-automated shortcuts, but she only had 400-something finds at the time.  Your account has 3,490.

 

Typically in these situations, one half of the team keeps the main account and keeps geocaching under it, while the other half creates a new account and copies over their finds.  If you're interested in doing that, discussion participants can advise further on the methods for mass-logging of finds under the new account, and the associated etiquette protocols like using the correct date and including an explanation in the new log.  Note that the existing account can do a name change if the person who keeps the account doesn't want to be called "team moxiepup."

 

As for your current account's 61 cache hides, the archived caches will remain on the existing account.  Active caches can be adopted over to another account, if desired.

[+team moxiepup]

Thanks for the help. It looks like I will have a new project to work on! If anyone knows of any easier way to log over 3,000 caches other than using cut and paste, (with a bit of tweaking to follow etiquette) please let me know! 

[Keystone]

Do you use GSAK, or would you be willing to try?  If so, there's a fairly automated process for this, using the API to bulk upload the logs from GSAK to each cache page.  Begin with an "All Finds" pocket query in a database.  See this thread for details.

 

For step by step instructions without using GSAK, and some etiquette tips, see this post that I wrote nearly ten years ago.

 

 

[+Lissi&Gusti]

Keystone, could you add some info on the "edge cases" in this process?

Some of these are:

- it is possible to re-log archived caches (I think that's a "yes")

- it is possible to re-log locked caches (I think that's a "no")

- and are there any that can't be transfered -- benchmarks?

 

(I do use GSAK -- also, as a note to Team Moxiepup: GSAK is now free, but wasn't at the time some of the threads were written).

 

Gusti

[Keystone]

Archived caches: Yes, go ahead and log them!  That's why the explanation note is important.

Locked caches: Sorry, that's a hard no.

Benchmark finds - there's nothing to transfer.

[+Lissi&Gusti]

Okay -- I'm running into trouble here... not with the process but with some owners.

 

I have the old account. We found some caches with our children who have their own account: P+M, basic membership, and pretty much inactive now.

 

Now the GSAK macro is currently logging the new account.

 

One owner deleted the new logs, the original logs, and the children's logs as well, as they were mentioned in the original log, citing that they suspect cheating. (We would find a cache, write and post a log, and then log the kids with a simpler "found it with Lissi&Gusti"...). I have asked the owner to reinstate logs, but haven't had a response -- to be fair, this was only a few minutes ago.

 

Another says "this isn't fair, no way can one re-log a cache!" And that they will delete the new logs... I responded by saying that this is at Groundspeak's suggestion.

 

Gusti

[Keystone]

@Lissi&Gusti, assuming that your new logs had the recommended "etiquette note" to explain the reason for the late logs, you have a good case for reaching out to Geocaching HQ for assistance via the Help Center.  Select the "Geocacher Disagreement" option as the reason for your inquiry, so that your message will route to the correct team that can help you.  Your message should contain an explanation like what you've posted above (you can even link to this forum thread), plus the GC Codes of the caches where log(s) were deleted, and the account names of the related accounts.

[+Lissi&Gusti]

Thanks, Keystone. I wrote, and HQ reinstated the logs!

 

This seems to be one of the more recent threads on the topic of team account split, separation, relogging team caches found as an inidvidual or however you'd describe it. I'll wrote down what I learned...

• Make that "etiquette note" as explanatory and detailed as possible!
• If you cached different countries: use a translation service to translate it into the local language of any caches you found. GSAK allows sorting by country, so one could log with an appropriate text, or one could use the same text for all, but then include several languages in the note.
• Some owners will delete the new logs anyway: because it's long ago, archived, looks suspicious, ...
• Some owners will delete the new logs, the original logs, and also the logs of any folks who you mentioned in your log as well. Having copies of the original logs helps -- so keep a copy of the orginal "My Finds Pocket Query", or some other record. You will receive a mail notifying you of any deletions.
• Some owners will write and ask the original account owner if the new log(s) is/are legit, so be prepared to be answering messages. Don't wait and let these folks worry you've been hacked -- these will tend to be folks that know you!
• Odd "edge cases" *will* turn up: Caches with DNF logs. "Will Attend" logs at event caches with a waiting list that you didn't make, and so never "attended", "write note", ... deal with it:-)

To get deleted logs reinstated, HQ will ask: where/which cache, who's involved, log date, and any proof that you were really there. This could be photos, other cachers, a description of the container or location, bonus numbers, answers to questions, etc.

 

Gusti

[+Hynz]

On 1/23/2024 at 1:28 PM, Lissi&Gusti said:

Make that "etiquette note" as explanatory and detailed as possible!

FWIW I checked your account and found that you copied your (BTW rather short) original logs and just put in front: "Nachlog von früherem Account Lissi&Gusti" (translated: "Subsequent log from older account Lissi&Gusti")

To me this is definitely not following a propper etiquette and I would confront you with questions if I would receive such log.

 

IMNSHO the new log should explain the relation the new profile has with you and also the profile page of the new account should mention in the "About" area how it comes that this new account has (many) old logs. At least here a diligent cache owner should get an answer if he/she wonders why somebody is retroactively logging.

 

[+Lissi&Gusti]

3 hours ago, Hynz said:

FWIW I checked your account and found that you copied your (BTW rather short) original logs and just put in front: "Nachlog von früherem Account Lissi&Gusti" (translated: "Subsequent log from older account Lissi&Gusti")

 

You did not check my account, you checked the new one -- *I* did not write that etiquette note. That's why I wrote to make it expanantory and multilingual. Placing info into the new profile is a good one! 

 

Some owners deleted the original logs as well as the new one. Some owners deleted not only the old original logs, and also the logs of other cachers mentioned in those logs, logs that were entered many years ago.

 

All deleting owners received a long explanation immediately after their deletion message. Where I still could remember, or where I had noted it, I added details of the hide that only someone who had really found it would know -- details that the log didn't mention because it would spoiler the hide. In one case I pointed out a log by some cachers I had met while searching who mentioned meeting me.

 

*None* of these owners responded, much less reinstated the original log.

 

Gusti

[+niraD]

7 hours ago, Lissi&Gusti said:

*None* of these owners responded, much less reinstated the original log.

For the record, once a CO deletes a log, the CO has no way to reinstate the deleted log.

[+Hynz]

On 1/26/2024 at 3:51 PM, Lissi&Gusti said:

 

You did not check my account, you checked the new one -- *I* did not write that etiquette note. That's why I wrote to make it expanantory and multilingual. Placing info into the new profile is a good one! 

I should have written that I checked your accounts (plural) and I expected that when you come here to the forum it was you who administered the relogging for the new account "namu_12".

If it was not you then I hope you did communicate to your children (the person who wrote the new logs) what we are talking here about and that the short etiquette note was suboptimal and probably lots of wrongly deleted logs could have been avoided with a more transparent explanation.

[+Lissi&Gusti]

On 1/23/2024 at 1:28 PM, Lissi&Gusti said:

This seems to be one of the more recent threads on the topic of team account split, separation, relogging team caches found as an inidvidual or however you'd describe it. I'll wrote down what I learned...

• Make that "etiquette note" as explanatory and detailed as possible!
• If you cached different countries: use a translation service to translate it into the local language of any caches you found. GSAK allows sorting by country, so one could log with an appropriate text, or one could use the same text for all, but then include several languages in the note.
• Some owners will delete the new logs anyway: because it's long ago, archived, looks suspicious, ...
• Some owners will delete the new logs, the original logs, and also the logs of any folks who you mentioned in your log as well. Having copies of the original logs helps -- so keep a copy of the orginal "My Finds Pocket Query", or some other record. You will receive a mail notifying you of any deletions.
• Some owners will write and ask the original account owner if the new log(s) is/are legit, so be prepared to be answering messages. Don't wait and let these folks worry you've been hacked -- these will tend to be folks that know you!
• Odd "edge cases" *will* turn up: Caches with DNF logs. "Will Attend" logs at event caches with a waiting list that you didn't make, and so never "attended", "write note", ... deal with it:-)

To get deleted logs reinstated, HQ will ask: where/which cache, who's involved, log date, and any proof that you were really there. This could be photos, other cachers, a description of the container or location, bonus numbers, answers to questions, etc.

 

With hindsight, and with the suggestions from others in the thread, I'm going to add to the list (while quoting myself to keep it all in one post).

• An explanation of the team split and re-logging on your old and new profile pages (in addition to the "etiquette note").
• If using GSAK to re-log: run it for a few caches, and then go check the results for formatting. Then wait, to give cache owners a chance to react,  and mabe show what you might phrase more clearly and transparently.
• Note that a log deletion will also make any photo that you posted with your log unavailable, and you may need that photo to support your claim that you actually found the cache.
• If a cache owner deletes a log, you will either have to re-log it (ideally after coming to an understanding with the cache owner) or ask HQ to reinstate/unarchive the log. The cache owner has no way to reinstate the deleted log.