Home  Geocaching 101 Writing Great Online Logs
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Writing Great Online Logs |
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Written by Bret Hammond
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Page 1 of 3 | Writing Great Online Logs | | "A writer should concern himself with whatever absorbs his fancy, stirs his heart, and unlimbers his typewriter.... A writer has the duty to be good, not lousy; true, not false; lively, not dull; accurate, not full of error. He should tend to lift people up, not lower them down." E.B. White | | MY day job requires that I do quite a bit of writing, most of it creative. Thankfully it's something I love to do and for which I have developed a certain amount of skill. Geocaching has allowed me to carry my love of writing into new areas. From designing this website to serving as a  Moderator in the Groundspeak forums, and ultimately to my online logs, I've discovered new avenues for expressing myself, and whole new reasons to worry about typos and grammar mistakes! It occurred to me recently that for many people posting their geocaching finds online constitutes their first endeavor in creative writing and online publishing. Depending on the individual, that reality can either present a great amount of freedom or fear—freedom of expression or fear of saying the wrong thing or making the wrong impression. Perhaps this is why many people whittle their logs down to such basic sentences that you can hardly tell whether or not they enjoyed the experience of finding the cache. |
| It's been amazing to watch geocaching evolve over the years. In the early days it wasn't uncommon to find full-sized notebooks inside a cache and see logs that took up whole sheets. Geocachers would make notes about their day, the hike, even write poems and sketch drawings in the logbook. Somewhere along the way though, the push for more cachers, more micros, and more numbers has made detailed logs a rarity. Somehow in the wake of that change online logs have shrunk too. We've even developed our own little shorthand that does little more than say "Kilroy was here." Online logs like "TNLNSL," "TFTC," and even "DPM" do little more than simply record that you were there and managed to find your way back home to your computer. There's so much more that your online log has to offer.  The reality is online logs do more than just rack up another Smiley on your stats page. If that were all they did, then only you would see them. Your online logs are there for the benefit of the community. Specifically, they record your experience and enable you to share it with others. They exist to benefit other cachers in their search. Whether you include actual spoilers or not, your logs can provide tips that help future seekers know what to look for and what to avoid. You might mention certain hazards or problems that you had and save the next cacher a lot of hassle.
| Geocaching Shorthand Over the years some very geocaching-specific terms have come into our vocabulary. Most of these terms are simple shorthand designed to make cache logging a little quicker. Very often, though, they seem to confuse new cachers and the uninitiated. Some of these terms are: - TNLNSL - Took nothing, left nothing, signed log
- TFTC - Thanks for the cache
- FTF - First to find
For a handy reference to these and many other geocaching terms, check out The Lexicon of Geocaching, provided by Prime Suspect or the Geocaching Glossary available on this site. | | Your log also benefits the cache owner. The owner has placed that cache there in the hopes that you'll enjoy the experience, or at least come away with something new. Your log can tell the owner how you felt about the visit and give details about whether or not he needs to make a maintenance trip, what the area surrounding the cache is currently like, and any obstacles or hazards he might not know about. And of course, your log also provides benefits to you. As you continue in your geocaching experience, from time-to-time you'll go back and re-read those older logs. They can provide you with a lot of great memories as you relive those caching experiences. They express the growth and change that you experience as you become more familiar with the game. Personally I find it especially satisfying during those long winter months to go back and re-read my logs from summer caches. It takes me back to those thoughts of warmer weather and longer days. Sometimes it even makes me miss the bugs and weeds!
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