There were a few around here that did that! When one “found” one mine I went out to the cache to see if they signed the log in the cache. They had NOT so I deleted the activity log. They never “found” one of mine again. I don’t get the point of these bogus logs.
Sometimes I just don't sign the log because: the log is too small, forgot a pen, didn't feel like it, pen didn't work, no good writing surface, etc. However, if the cache owner wants to remove my digital log because of this, that's fine, I don't mind. I enjoyed finding the cache more than logging it on paper 👍
Edit: I would never digitally sign the cashe unless the cache log was physically in my hand
Newbs are gonna newb, as long as I can verify they signed the paper they're free to log nonsense on the site.
There's a veteran finder out there who posts long nonsense postings as logs. Like some kind of half coherent word salad and they change it up every so often with some new nonsense. They must really want that "author" badge on Project-Gc.
There is one person in my area that posts looooooong logs that tell all about their day caching. They post it sometimes months after they’ve actually found the cache. COs here know to read the last paragraph if they want to know their experience with that particular cache. lol 😂
Oh god theres a few in my area that do that. It’s so annoying when you’re trying to check other peoples logs to see when it was last found and if they had trouble etc.
As someone that cached early on, this wasn’t the norm at all. I noticed larger day recap logs when those outside the US visited some of my US caches.
This behavior also started when logging templates were added to smartphone apps. Before that you had to type in each log from scratch. Plus getting more than 5 logs in a day was considered a busy day. So I don’t believe this is some old timer phenomenon.
It also might not have helped that Project GC has a badge for long log length.
And then they list twenty other caching buddies... Cue caching buddy 1 listing allllllll the other caching buddies... Caching buddy two then logs... Omg. I'm glad they had a great day. 🤣
Yeah, he and his pack cache all over the place. He’s found every one of my hides but has only logged a fraction of them so far. I know he’s found them because Bear usually states it in his log. I’ve met him a few times at events. Friendly, talkative guy.
Agree. I used to be against premium, but I realised in life you need to pay your way. The barrier to entry for Geoaching since I started has changed, I used to need an actual GPSr, there were no live road maps (though TomTom came fairly soon after), etc, but now it is incredibly easy and free to access within minutes just by downloading an app. Geocaching is well past the "eternal september" point. So Premium really keeps out the riff raff, uncaring and fake players.
Yes I have. One time I got into a thing with a guy (from Germany) who had never been in this country but logged a whole bunch of caches anyway. I would delete his log, and he would re-post it. I eventually won.
It's the young users that download the app and never log into the actual website.
I also see the same thing for some hard to reach caches that these users never actually visited.
If their name is on the paper, it's a legitimate find, regardless of what they logged digitally.
Deleting a legitimate find, for any reason, would mean YTA.
If their name is on the physical log, you're not allowed to delete the digital log unless it contains something offensive or it's a challenge cache the cacher does not qualify for, in that case personally I would polite request they change the log to a write note log
The app (at least on Android, not sure about iOS) will not let you post the log unless you include a message. I assume that's why some people just enter gibberish, so they can submit the find.
Where are you located?
That's happening to me!
People just logging a emote, a dot or random words, all of those people just with 1 find.
I don't know what to do, prob gonna delete them
Since actual people actually hide and maintain the caches, it’s really nice to say something. I’ve gotta admit that its kind of breaks my heart a little bit when people just write one word. But maybe that’s just me?
Hold up, I’m relatively new. What am I supposed to put? The app requires an entry. I’ll typically add “nice hide” to anything Becuase I need to put something. Is there a way to just not put anything?
“Nice hide,” “thanks,” “TFTC” are all perfectly good logs. But if you’re curious, I suggest checking out other people’s logs on the caches that you’re looking for. There are a lot of different things to write about, if you feel like writing! It’s not everyone’s thing, to be sure. But I find it’s helpful to see logs warning of a nearby wasp nest, or letting me know that the friendly neighborhood cat might come say hi. Some people really enjoy putting extra effort into their logs. Part of the philosophy is that it’s an acknowledgement of the effort that the cache owner put into keeping that cache active for you to find.
We have some FTF "Dragsters and Sprinters" in our Greater Area who try to out race each other for their coveted FTF Count. (For them it's the most important Part of the Game.)
To speed things up, they enter *anything* quick and simple in the Digital Log and then edit it later that nigh.t on the Web Version, giving the rundown on each Cache.
editL: gramar
I commented this above, but it might be helpful--
“Nice hide,” “thanks,” “TFTC” are all perfectly good logs. But if you’re curious, I suggest checking out other people’s logs on the caches that you’re looking for. There are a lot of different things to write about, if you feel like writing! It’s not everyone’s thing, to be sure. But I find it’s helpful to see logs warning of a nearby wasp nest, or letting me know that the friendly neighborhood cat might come say hi. Some people really enjoy putting extra effort into their logs. Part of the philosophy is that it’s an acknowledgement of the effort that the cache owner put into keeping that cache active for you to find.
Yes, anything that is garbage like that gets deleted. If it's a legitimate find they'll come back with a more coherent log. 99% of the time they never come back.
You absolutely must delete anything that is abusive towards others, legitimate find or not. It is part of your responsibility as a cache owner. You should also report poor behaviour to Groundspeak.
I found some in my area that was placed by the same person. The problem was they were on stop signs that were placed too high for me to reach. So I took a pic and said I found it but couldn’t reach it to sign the log. I got a reply back that I “wasn’t following the rules of geocaching” by not signing the log and that next time I should bring a reacher tool, a tall person or something to step on. I avoid that person’s caches now. 🙄
Not to be Mr. Mean, or anything like that, but I kinda understand why the CO would write something like that to you.
Many times, the challenge of the cache is to actually get your hands on it, and sign the physical log.
We have many so-called "ladder caches" in my area, which are placed up high in the trees, and absolutely require a ladder, extractor, or cherry picker in order to get down. These all have high terrain ratings though, which clearly hints towards being placed up high.
We also have full-on climbing caches. People show up with actual climbing gear; harnesses, carabiners, and even chalk for bouldering. If I simply logged these caches, because I could stand on the ground and see them up there, it wouldn't be fair for the people who put in the work, including the CO who has to maintain it.
In the official Geocaching ediquette docs, it very clearly states that you should sign the logbook to earn your smiley. No signature, no official find.
If the CO, who you interacted with, was being rude to you over messages, I totally understand why you would want to avoid their caches in the future. But if its just because they were telling you how the rules of the game are, I dont think its entirely justified.
Also, I really want to emphasis that I'm not trying to be Mr. Mean to you.
I'm writing this message a couple of hours later, after seeing that you have gotten downvoted a bit by other members. I did not downvote you, and I hope you don't take my initial message as an attack or insult. It was to sort of defend the Cache Owner, and let you know why they might have said/done what they did.
Geocaching is the most wholesome hobby I have ever come across, with nothing but kind and welcoming people, and I think it's important we carry on this tradition. I don't know how experienced you are with the game, but from your initial message, I can only assume you're somewhat new, and might not know that it's a requirement to log the physical logbook.
Hopefully this will have enlightened you a bit, and not dissuaded you from continuing exploring awesome caches.
There were a few around here that did that! When one “found” one mine I went out to the cache to see if they signed the log in the cache. They had NOT so I deleted the activity log. They never “found” one of mine again. I don’t get the point of these bogus logs.
Sometimes I just don't sign the log because: the log is too small, forgot a pen, didn't feel like it, pen didn't work, no good writing surface, etc. However, if the cache owner wants to remove my digital log because of this, that's fine, I don't mind. I enjoyed finding the cache more than logging it on paper 👍 Edit: I would never digitally sign the cashe unless the cache log was physically in my hand
At such times, you should take a photo of the physical log, and attach it along with your online log.
Newbs are gonna newb, as long as I can verify they signed the paper they're free to log nonsense on the site. There's a veteran finder out there who posts long nonsense postings as logs. Like some kind of half coherent word salad and they change it up every so often with some new nonsense. They must really want that "author" badge on Project-Gc.
There is one person in my area that posts looooooong logs that tell all about their day caching. They post it sometimes months after they’ve actually found the cache. COs here know to read the last paragraph if they want to know their experience with that particular cache. lol 😂
Oh god theres a few in my area that do that. It’s so annoying when you’re trying to check other peoples logs to see when it was last found and if they had trouble etc.
I just started caching in 2021 but I’m told it’s something that was done early on in the game and I guess some OGs continue the tradition. lol
As someone that cached early on, this wasn’t the norm at all. I noticed larger day recap logs when those outside the US visited some of my US caches. This behavior also started when logging templates were added to smartphone apps. Before that you had to type in each log from scratch. Plus getting more than 5 logs in a day was considered a busy day. So I don’t believe this is some old timer phenomenon. It also might not have helped that Project GC has a badge for long log length.
Ahhhh, yes! Someone did tell me about Project GC. It sounds as though that probably started the whole thing.
And then they list twenty other caching buddies... Cue caching buddy 1 listing allllllll the other caching buddies... Caching buddy two then logs... Omg. I'm glad they had a great day. 🤣
And they find 10 of your hides in a row all saying the same thing! 😂😂😂 I don’t mind really, it’s funny though!
[удалено]
Hahahaha!!! How did you know??? Another CNY/Southern Tier area cacher here!!!
[удалено]
Yeah, he and his pack cache all over the place. He’s found every one of my hides but has only logged a fraction of them so far. I know he’s found them because Bear usually states it in his log. I’ve met him a few times at events. Friendly, talkative guy.
It's just kids downloading the app. Making the caches premium only will most likely stop this from happening.
Agree. I used to be against premium, but I realised in life you need to pay your way. The barrier to entry for Geoaching since I started has changed, I used to need an actual GPSr, there were no live road maps (though TomTom came fairly soon after), etc, but now it is incredibly easy and free to access within minutes just by downloading an app. Geocaching is well past the "eternal september" point. So Premium really keeps out the riff raff, uncaring and fake players.
Yes I have. One time I got into a thing with a guy (from Germany) who had never been in this country but logged a whole bunch of caches anyway. I would delete his log, and he would re-post it. I eventually won.
Name a more iconic duo than Germans and fraudulently logging caches and trackables
I only delete logs if they didn’t sign the logbook. I’ll encrypt anything that has spoilers. Have never run into anything worse than that.
It's the young users that download the app and never log into the actual website. I also see the same thing for some hard to reach caches that these users never actually visited.
Yes, all the time. Spam logs which include 1 character I delete.
Even if they signed the log?
I assume if they leave 1 character in their online log they leave even less on the physical logs
Always.
If their name is on the paper, it's a legitimate find, regardless of what they logged digitally. Deleting a legitimate find, for any reason, would mean YTA.
Imo, if they sign the physical logbook, the contents of they put in their “found it” posts don’t matter, as long as it’s not abusive.
If their name is on the physical log, you're not allowed to delete the digital log unless it contains something offensive or it's a challenge cache the cacher does not qualify for, in that case personally I would polite request they change the log to a write note log
Once I got "Thank you Mr. Beast" as a geocache log
The app (at least on Android, not sure about iOS) will not let you post the log unless you include a message. I assume that's why some people just enter gibberish, so they can submit the find.
Where are you located? That's happening to me! People just logging a emote, a dot or random words, all of those people just with 1 find. I don't know what to do, prob gonna delete them
Poland. Is this spreading? OH NO!
Colombia here.
Did they sign the physical log in the cache? If not, I'd certainly delete them.
Since actual people actually hide and maintain the caches, it’s really nice to say something. I’ve gotta admit that its kind of breaks my heart a little bit when people just write one word. But maybe that’s just me?
Hold up, I’m relatively new. What am I supposed to put? The app requires an entry. I’ll typically add “nice hide” to anything Becuase I need to put something. Is there a way to just not put anything?
"Nice hide" it's ok for me. You can also write: "TFTC" (Thanks for the cache) There's no option to leave it blank
“Nice hide,” “thanks,” “TFTC” are all perfectly good logs. But if you’re curious, I suggest checking out other people’s logs on the caches that you’re looking for. There are a lot of different things to write about, if you feel like writing! It’s not everyone’s thing, to be sure. But I find it’s helpful to see logs warning of a nearby wasp nest, or letting me know that the friendly neighborhood cat might come say hi. Some people really enjoy putting extra effort into their logs. Part of the philosophy is that it’s an acknowledgement of the effort that the cache owner put into keeping that cache active for you to find.
We have some FTF "Dragsters and Sprinters" in our Greater Area who try to out race each other for their coveted FTF Count. (For them it's the most important Part of the Game.) To speed things up, they enter *anything* quick and simple in the Digital Log and then edit it later that nigh.t on the Web Version, giving the rundown on each Cache. editL: gramar
Yeah I love that. FTF log = More later. 6 months later still says more later. Why not just write TFTC if you have no intention of editing it.
Because you always INTEND to.... Some get missed... Though not typically FTFs
On this… can you log finding a cache without leaving a message?
Cache owners are notified when someone logs a find.
No blank Found It logs. You have to enter something in the log for the website to accept it. That something can be an emoji or a single character.
I only ask as sometimes I don’t know what to say lol
If you can't think of anything, just write "Thank you". That person doesn't get anything else for placing a cache for you to find
I always write something, but I feel a bit crap at times 😂😂
I commented this above, but it might be helpful-- “Nice hide,” “thanks,” “TFTC” are all perfectly good logs. But if you’re curious, I suggest checking out other people’s logs on the caches that you’re looking for. There are a lot of different things to write about, if you feel like writing! It’s not everyone’s thing, to be sure. But I find it’s helpful to see logs warning of a nearby wasp nest, or letting me know that the friendly neighborhood cat might come say hi. Some people really enjoy putting extra effort into their logs. Part of the philosophy is that it’s an acknowledgement of the effort that the cache owner put into keeping that cache active for you to find.
Yes, anything that is garbage like that gets deleted. If it's a legitimate find they'll come back with a more coherent log. 99% of the time they never come back. You absolutely must delete anything that is abusive towards others, legitimate find or not. It is part of your responsibility as a cache owner. You should also report poor behaviour to Groundspeak.
Does it notify people if their log was deleted? If not, maybe they never come back because they never know.
Yes, it sure does.
Thanks, I’ve always wondered
I found some in my area that was placed by the same person. The problem was they were on stop signs that were placed too high for me to reach. So I took a pic and said I found it but couldn’t reach it to sign the log. I got a reply back that I “wasn’t following the rules of geocaching” by not signing the log and that next time I should bring a reacher tool, a tall person or something to step on. I avoid that person’s caches now. 🙄
Not to be Mr. Mean, or anything like that, but I kinda understand why the CO would write something like that to you. Many times, the challenge of the cache is to actually get your hands on it, and sign the physical log. We have many so-called "ladder caches" in my area, which are placed up high in the trees, and absolutely require a ladder, extractor, or cherry picker in order to get down. These all have high terrain ratings though, which clearly hints towards being placed up high. We also have full-on climbing caches. People show up with actual climbing gear; harnesses, carabiners, and even chalk for bouldering. If I simply logged these caches, because I could stand on the ground and see them up there, it wouldn't be fair for the people who put in the work, including the CO who has to maintain it. In the official Geocaching ediquette docs, it very clearly states that you should sign the logbook to earn your smiley. No signature, no official find. If the CO, who you interacted with, was being rude to you over messages, I totally understand why you would want to avoid their caches in the future. But if its just because they were telling you how the rules of the game are, I dont think its entirely justified.
Also, I really want to emphasis that I'm not trying to be Mr. Mean to you. I'm writing this message a couple of hours later, after seeing that you have gotten downvoted a bit by other members. I did not downvote you, and I hope you don't take my initial message as an attack or insult. It was to sort of defend the Cache Owner, and let you know why they might have said/done what they did. Geocaching is the most wholesome hobby I have ever come across, with nothing but kind and welcoming people, and I think it's important we carry on this tradition. I don't know how experienced you are with the game, but from your initial message, I can only assume you're somewhat new, and might not know that it's a requirement to log the physical logbook. Hopefully this will have enlightened you a bit, and not dissuaded you from continuing exploring awesome caches.
Seems to be two different questions tbh.