Encrypting logs - still possible?

[+DarkZen_EvilCowPie]

(I did a search and couldn't find a similar topic...)

 

I tried to encrypt a log today but there is no longer an option for that. Is that feature no longer available?

[+barefootjeff]

34 minutes ago, DarkZen_EvilCowPie said:

(I did a search and couldn't find a similar topic...)

 

I tried to encrypt a log today but there is no longer an option for that. Is that feature no longer available?

 

In the Release Notes thread for the new logging flow, it says:

• We have removed the ability to encrypt logs on cache logs and trackable logs moving forward. Cache logs and trackable logs were not encrypted on the mobile app and very few users used the encryption feature. We have decided to streamline this functionality.

So this is no longer available.

[+DarkZen_EvilCowPie]

OK, thank you, I appreciate the response. So sad...

[+DarkZen_EvilCowPie]

Follow up question: So what to do now if someone posts a DNF with completely inaccurate, misleading and potentially harmful (to potential future finders) information regarding the cache? Delete them? 

[Keystone]

17 minutes ago, DarkZen_EvilCowPie said:

Follow up question: So what to do now if someone posts a DNF with completely inaccurate, misleading and potentially harmful (to potential future finders) information regarding the cache? Delete them? 

 

You can write to the logger and ask them to edit their log.  If they refuse or take no action within a reasonable time, you can delete the log.  But, this sometimes triggers a back-and-forth contest, ending in someone reaching out to Geocaching HQ to act as a referee in a logging dispute.  That's time consuming, and not much fun.  So, a further alternative is to post a note as the cache owner, explaining in a fact-based way why the information in the log is inaccurate, misleading and potentially harmful.  If the logger responds by posting a rebuttal note, you can safely delete that.  They're entitled to a DNF log, but they're not entitled to turn your cache page into a discussion forum.

[+arisoft]

2 minutes ago, Keystone said:

They're entitled to a DNF log, but they're not entitled to turn your cache page into a discussion forum.

 

Some cache owners systematically delete DNF logs. Do you mean that HQ will reinstate DNF logs if deleted without reason? Or how this entitlement works?

[+DarkZen_EvilCowPie]

Thank you for your response, Keystone. 

[Keystone]

56 minutes ago, arisoft said:

Some cache owners systematically delete DNF logs. Do you mean that HQ will reinstate DNF logs if deleted without reason?

 

Please see this Help Center article.  Note that it doesn't distinguish about cache page log types.  A prior version of this article said that only "Found it" logs (or equivalent) would be restored by HQ where appropriate.  That language is no longer there, so it appears possible to appeal the deletion of a DNF log to Geocaching HQ.

 

I know from past experience with my player account that HQ will restore DNF logs when appropriate, but that happened for me back in 2009, when the Help Center was just a twinkle in Signal the Frog's eye.

Edited February 23 by Keystone

[+JL_HSTRE]

On 2/22/2024 at 7:06 PM, Keystone said:

a further alternative is to post a note as the cache owner, explaining in a fact-based way why the information in the log is inaccurate, misleading and potentially harmful.

 

That is what I did some years ago.

 

I had a roadside cache by the entrance to a scout camp. It was on the road ROW behind a tree. There was plenty of room on the road shoulder to safely pull off, the coordinates put you in the correct area, and the description explicitly stated you did not need to enter the camp. I even asked the camp manager, who was fine with it as long as it wasn't on the camp's property. 

 

So of course someone (probably following their navigation app) drove into the camp, got told to scram by the staff, and left a DNF complaining the geocache needed to be removed from the scout camp. I left a OM addressing the situation, figuring this wouldn't be the last time it happened.

 

Thankfully, I don't think there were any further such issues (at least not that were logged), and the cache lasted a few more years before being muggled or washing away.