"Sent from my mobile device"

[Yurt]

I'm seeing this log show up everywhere lately. Mainly on caches on my watchlist.

Do you think it would be out of line to state on my cache description pages that all such logs will be deleted? I do feel a little the same way about 'TFTC' but at least that's more than "sent from my mobile device" which doesn't even indicate they found the cache.

Edited to add an example. It must be some iPhone glitch. What it means is that the cacher gets credited with two finds on the one cache so there would be no problem with deleted the additional log.
See link (11 October):
http://coord.info/GC1P08K

[Damo.]

Yeah. Personally I think you would be out of line.

Do you think punishing new players who are merely ignorant of the high expectations placed on them by existing players is really going to achieve anything?
There are more important things in life to stress over. Move on!

[CraigRat]

The 'Appification' of Geocaching will mean there will be more of this than ever before.

The other effect of reducing this pursuit to an app is that some people only access the site to obtain an account, and subsequently never end up engaging the community in the same way most of us do now, so they will basically continue to do things that are deemed not good by the community in general.

Here's an interesting thing that happened to me a few weeks ago: Customer at one of the sites I look after saw my GCA sticker on the car. Said to me 'I have a Geocaching Game on my iPhone', had a look and it was the GC app. He wasn't aware of ANYTHING about the game other than he needed to go to the site for an account and never bothered to look around the site to see what to do and I suspect he's not on his own. (He's now been filled in on this, and now has even done 3 or 4 GCA caches too )

Some of the people who have been introduced to the game via the apps are probably not aware of what is 'expected' of them in a log, (nor do they probably care). You can play the game in almost complete isolation now.
If you plan to contact some of these people. prepare to get a blank stare (or the email equivalent) in return.

[ian-and-penny]

I'm with you Yurt!

These logs are an aberration. If those finders are not told of any "expectations" of the game in general then they will never learn!!

[Team Wibble]

Similar thread here:
http://forum.geocaching.com.au/viewtopi ... =2&t=15032

In which there were some examples of some successful and not-so-successful communication with teams that do this.

So, yes, you can try to contact the teams and let them know that expectations are that they should write something. In the case of my successful communication with a team I focused on the fact that placing caches took effort and I saw that what people wrote as a measure of how much they enjoyed my cache, and that I was concerned they weren't taking much away from my caches. So not chiding, more of a concern and gentle nudge.
It has worked a couple of times for me. More often than not though, I simply get no reply at all.

It would be out of line to delete the logs I think, but it's oh so frustrating.

Craigrat's example was like a lightbulb going off for me though, in understanding where some of these people come from. I never really thought about the situation where a cacher's only introduction is the app, and that they've never really looked at the website at all. It's entirely possible that these people don't realise that caches are actually put out by, you know, REAL people who actually care about what is said about their caches. It's just a game on their phone where they find things that they might actually think are put there by... some organisation or company or something. It would explain a lot.

[CraigRat]

I never really thought about the situation where a cacher's only introduction is the app, and that they've never really looked at the website at all. It's entirely possible that these people don't realise that caches are actually put out by, you know, REAL people who actually care about what is said about their caches. It's just a game on their phone where they find things that they might actually think are put there by... some organisation or company or something. It would explain a lot.

If you look at the current angst on the forums it's nearly all around logs that appear to come from the mobile platforms.
The guy in my anecdote didn't know who put the caches out.

Theres nothing in any of the Geocaching apps ('official' or otherwise) that I've seen that encourage good logging practices. (Might be a good thing for someone who cares to suggest on Groundspeak's Get Satisfaction page)

[Coffee and Cache]

I too am disappointed at very short logs or the canned "iphone" message. If the maker of the app had been more concerned about the feelings of the cache owner, the message might have been something more along the lines of "Found this cache at hh:mm - Detailed log to follow". You get the impression that the most important thing on the app writers mind was advertising the iphone!

Of course, most cachers who write nice logs know this and follow up with a decent log, and I've got no problem with that. If I manage an FTF, I often write a short note first if I'm pressed for time, just so other cachers won't be too disappointed if they find the cache thinking it's still unfound. I follow up later with a good log, particularly if for an FTF. That said, I'd say you can probably judge how much I enjoyed a cache by counting the words, and yes, I always do thank the cacher by name.

It's probably difficult to offer advice to a new cacher in a diplomatic way as has been noted in previous posts. Sometimes, particularly when one of our caches has been a first for a new cacher, I'll send them a note welcoming them to the activity, and give them the URL for the gca forums. Hopefully, this will get them engaged with the community and the rest will rub off.

[belken]

I was pointed to the Groundspeaks terms of use after I was looking for a way to protect my caches from what I called the "unwashed masses". Thats when its was pointed out to me that I don't have any say at all what GS wished to do with cache listings. The phone apps are a product sell and they are also doing deals with GPS manufacterers in preloading cache listings into new GPS units.

The upshot of all this was that giving your cache listing to GS is tantamount to agreeing to them publishing for every available muggle that they(GS) can get hold of. Making the cache PMOC is no good as it seems that the phone app will still show the cache and GS does not support the implied principal behind them anyway. PMOC do not even get a mention on the benefits of membership and you have to really dig to find them.

All in all I believe GS has turned very grubby and this sort of thing will continue.

[Yurt]

My concern was that the log wasn't even saying they found the cache so perhaps it could have been sent by an accidental press of a button on the phone.

I wasn't saying going out and delete at will but if it's clearly a double log like in the example I posted then it's a good way to clean it up. I guess the 'official' way to do it would be to PM them to delete it first but my experience tells me that 90% of such cachers will never reply. Still should give them a chance.



Have noticed a few more notes in logbooks that look like 'muggle' logs. Usually a list of teen names and then some stupid statement or swearing. They are not in caches that muggles are likely to find so I'm guessing they are "muggles that cache" like mentioned elsewhere.

[gmj3191]

It's a worry that these apps give people with no interest in caching an easy method to find and vandalise caches if that's their intention. A "bored youth of today" activity.

[CraigRat]

It's a worry that these apps give people with no interest in caching an easy method to find and vandalise caches if that's their intention. A "bored youth of today" activity.

The $10 pricetag on the Groundspeak App probably stops the casual user with evil on their mind.

[Yurt]

Here's another example of a multiple log by the same user. Not a "sent from my mobile device" log but they've obviously accidentally logged it three times. May also be a mobile device glitch.
http://coord.info/GC2G8TT
I assume this counts incorrectly as three finds for them and three additional finds for the cache. Would you delete the additional logs?

[Team Wibble]

Here's another example of a multiple log by the same user. Not a "sent from my mobile device" log but they've obviously accidentally logged it three times. May also be a mobile device glitch.
http://coord.info/GC2G8TT
I assume this counts incorrectly as three finds for them and three additional finds for the cache. Would you delete the additional logs?

How odd. Just an hour ago I got notifications on a cache on my watchlist for five identical logs for a cache, from a newbie.
I also got a log from them for one of my caches that consisted entirely of "pencils need sharpening".

I sent them an email, giving them a heads up about the multiple log, and my now almost cut-n-paste email asking if they didn't like my cache, given that they had nothing, positive or negative, to say about it (nicely worded).
I haven't heard back from them as yet, but their multiple logs on the cache have either been deleted by them, or the cache owner.

[Gowza]

The latter two could be a glitch but the first one isn't the same as the second and third! A grammar pedant like you should have noticed!

I'd say it was in aid of changing the date... I'd delete them if they were all identical, but in this case probably worth an email.

[gmj3191]

I've had a few multiple logs, each identical, today from watchlist caches, some from experienced caches.
Possibly there's been a glitch at GC.com.
The logs weren't just very basic, some were a sentence or two.
I'm talking about log emails, not actual logs.