Team stamps/signatures

[+JiMari]

A group of four cachers visited several caches. They have a “team stamp” without any of their names on it, just initials of their  unregistered team name.

Ok or not?

[+niraD]

I've used "unregistered" team names on group geocaching trips, mainly to save space so the logs of micro-caches don't fill up faster when everyone signs individually.

 

I know people who use stamps as their legal signatures, which is accepted by banks, government agencies, etc. I know many geocachers who use stamps to sign logs.

 

What is it that you object to? The use of "unregistered" team names? The use of stamps? The use of both together? The use of either separately?

[+SW00P]

Personally I just sign the log. That's what the guidelines says to do. I'm not against stamps. But I would think it should have there caching name on it. 

 

I would assume your post is maybe pointing to only one member present but stamping for the other three?

 

 

[+CAVinoGal]

2 hours ago, JiMari said:

A group of four cachers visited several caches. They have a “team stamp” without any of their names on it, just initials of their  unregistered team name.

Ok or not?

 

Quite often, when caching with a group of 3, 4 or more, we will come up with a "team name" and use that to save space on logsheets.   I make a note in my log that we signed as "team name" and then list the other cachers who were in the group.  Some groups often go together and have ahd a team stamp created - it saves time.  And in my neck of the woods (Bay Area, San Francisco, California) it's quite common.

 

[+BFMC]

7 hours ago, JiMari said:

A group of four cachers visited several caches. They have a “team stamp” without any of their names on it, just initials of their  unregistered team name.

Ok or not?

 

I don't see an issue with it. We cached as a group travelling to a mega last month, a minivan full of cachers so we got a team stamp made for the purposes of efficiency and saving space in logbooks, especially with so many other cachers around. We made sure we mentioned in our logs who was in the team. We also submitted answers for EC's/virtuals as a team, took a webcam photo as a team. I also get logs from teams of 2-4 accounts semi regularly (and some of them cache together quite often)

 

That's probably about the biggest team I would sign up for though. There was a group of 37 cachers working as a team around here recently, I cant see how that works logistically...

Edited March 15 by BFMC

[+Hynz]

Thankfully as owner I'm rarely plagued with such logs but this:

5 hours ago, CAVinoGal said:

I make a note in my log that we signed as "team name" and then list the other cachers who were in the group.

would be my minimum requirement for all team members.

[+lee737]

We've logged as a combined-team before - generally only if power-trailing.... only to save time and log space. To avoid confusion in this situation people should probably state who they are caching with and/or what name is going in the log, given these are probably powertrails the cut-paste shouldn't be too arduous.....

[+ivss_xx]

Completely OK, IMHO.

With the condition that they do state in their logs what they signed as, and the members of the team.

E.g. I was once part of a 14-cacher crew, walking around an island, finding the caches there, and we cane up with a team name, so I formatted all my logs like this:

https://coord.info/GL16FQWBF

 

As a cache owner, I would actually appreciate logs like this, if it's a micro cache placement, to save logbook space. And oh boy, if your cache happens to be near a bigger event, or even a Mega...

 

 

[+JiMari]

10 hours ago, niraD said:

I've used "unregistered" team names on group geocaching trips, mainly to save space so the logs of micro-caches don't fill up faster when everyone signs individually.

 

I know people who use stamps as their legal signatures, which is accepted by banks, government agencies, etc. I know many geocachers who use stamps to sign logs.

 

What is it that you object to? The use of "unregistered" team names? The use of stamps? The use of both together? The use of either separately?

I just wanted to see what others think about this. 

[+thebruce0]

Pretty common practice, for multiple reasons.  Technically there's no requirement that a person identify their team name in the online log or who else was in it, however that is a very helpful tool to weed out piggybackers who may claim the find and group but weren't actually there. Really it just means that if the CO were to verify that every person who logs it was with the group, at least one person would verify that person's 'attendance', which then becomes the 'proof' hq would accept to allow the log to stand were it to head to appeals.

 

We have a big group monthly caching event, usually 20-30 people, and the find logs fort hat day are 95% copy/paste on all the caches on 'the list'. It irks many. And there may often be mistakes as someone bulk logs a cache found that may not have been found, or was skipped, or just not on the list yet nearby. Sometimes a person just wanting a specific cache find for a challenge statistic might piggyback claim a find they didn't even at least go to, claiming the find under the group name. There's no way for a CO to verify that find, annoyingly, if someone else in the group were to say "yep they were with us", because the 'group signature' covers all that.

 

Ultimately it comes down to the spirit of the game. If the CO truly doubts a find log, they can delete it and take it to appeals if necessary to hash it out.  But it is allowed practice to claim a find under a group name that isn't itself a registered account. (otherwise you need to address acronyms, short forms, illegible names, etc)

[Pup Patrol]

Just went through this...."team name" abbreviation signed in the log, but each team member logged paste & copy logs online using their own accounts. And, yes, one of them got the description of the location mixed up with another location.

 

That's better than the "tftc" that logged the cache online, but didn't sign the actual paper log in the cache.   Tempted to delete that one.

 

Pup Patrol

Edited March 15 by Pup Patrol

[+cerberus1]

17 hours ago, JiMari said:

A group of four cachers visited several caches. They have a “team stamp” without any of their names on it, just initials of their  unregistered team name.   Ok or not?

 

The rare time we worked as a "team" having one person sign the log was at events. 

 - One fun one was in winter, and dozens of people walking in knee high snow a sight to see.  

We always said what "team" we cached with, but most didn't.  Guess the COs knew about the event and all...

Our understanding for "team finds" is only one space is taken by each "team", rather than a full log every time a group finds it.

 

Edited March 15 by cerberus1
Explainification

[+SW00P]

Here is what I found in the guidelines. Doesn't mention team names. So a CO could decide not to accept made up names to save space. Per the guidelines.

 

Found it

You can log caches online as "Found" after you visited the coordinates and signed the logbook. You can also add a photo or a Favorite point to your online log.

Please take time to write at least a few sentences when you log your find — this is how you say “thank you” to the cache owner for creating and placing the geocache.

EarthCaches and Virtual Caches have different logging requirements.

 

[+barefootjeff]

1 hour ago, SW00P said:

Here is what I found in the guidelines. Doesn't mention team names. So a CO could decide not to accept made up names to save space. Per the guidelines.

 

It just says "sign the logbook", it doesn't say what that signature has to be. On nanos and smaller micros, I often sign BFJ because my full player name won't fit. I've also seen some newer players put their real name in the logbook rather than their caching name, and a few years back there was a cacher around here who would only put a hand gesture emoji in their online log and draw the same thing in the logbook as their signature.

 

 

Common sense should prevail. If there's something written in the logbook that corresponds with the online log, there shouldn't be a problem.

[+arisoft]

17 hours ago, SW00P said:

So a CO could decide not to accept made up names to save space.

 

Right, a CO really can decide but HQ will reinstate logs if the CO deletes team finds for this reason.

[+niraD]

23 hours ago, SW00P said:

So a CO could decide not to accept made up names to save space.

Be careful what you wish for...

 

 Owner attention requested

The log sheet is completely full. Knowing the owner's habit of deleting the logs of everyone who uses team names, we didn't use our team name to save space. Instead, all 18 of us signed and dated the log sheet using our full geocaching names. CUTWTA actually wrote out "Caching Up The Wrong Tree Again" (something I've never seen him do, even with a full-size log book). And GeoMamaX4 had all four of her kids sign the log too, since they may want to create their own accounts someday. It took a while for everyone to sign, especially when some started including comments about our geocaching day. Anyway, the person who retrieved the cache (maybe EagleEyeSprinter, but I'm not sure) was long gone by the time I signed it. Since I was the last to sign the log, I replaced it where I thought it should be hidden.

[+lazyuncle]

When I sign logs with other than my official caching name I make sure to make a note of that prominently in my logs IE "Thanks for the quick downtown micro, log doesn't have so much room so signed LazyUnc" or "TFTH QEF Nano on beautiful urban art installation, signed LZU because log's getting full." That's just the generally accepted practice around here in Seattle. Just my €0.02

[+SoonerCardsFan]

I cache fairly often with groups. 
One group is four of us that go out at least once a month. We're Nash-Chloe, burg•girl, Beare16 and SoonerCardsFan. So one of us signs logs as NCBGBRSCF. One or more of us will log the names of all of us in our online logs.

Another group goes out on random Sundays and finds a list of hard to find, high up or otherwise difficult. No matter how many people attend the logs get signed as SAGFG (Sunday afternoon grid filler group). Everyone  posts "Found as part of the (group name)" in their online log. 

The third group is randomly formed at our local club's monthly lunch meeting or other vents and can be 2 to 20 or more people. The logs get signed something like "COG after lunch group". Everyone posts "Found as part of the (group name)" in their online log. 

 

Saves a lot of time and log space.

Edited March 26 by SoonerCardsFan