Listing in geocaching - important information

That Listing is the to German the cache description. In addition to the descriptive text, which can be very important, there are also many other hints that can help you find the cache. We would like to describe some of the tips to you here today.

The company Groundspeak also has a specification for the listings as to what they may and may not contain. Of course, the list of rules for laying a cache must be followed. However, the listing must also not contain any commercial advertising. At events, this can sometimes affect the link to the restaurant….

Components of the listing

The first thing you see when looking at the listing is the title of the cache. This should not be underestimated, as it sometimes provides valuable information. Directly below you can see who owns the cache. If you want to know more, you click on the name and the profile of the owner opens. You can also write a message to the owner and see in the top line when the cache was created. This is important information, especially if you want to fill the cache matrix.

The next line shows the cache's D and T rating, size, and favorite point count. While everything used to be set values, the favorite score is changing. The size of the cache container can be an important clue for on-site searching, the Favo score an indication of the quality of the cache.

The coordinates of the cache can finally be found in the fourth line. Depending on the type of cache, this is either the start, already the final or a coordinate in the vicinity.

A rough indication of the location of the cache is also included. However, this only means where the cache is listed. The state or country of the final may differ.

Then you have print and download options for the cache and a field for your own notes. Many cachers make a note of the solution to mysteries, for example. This field is not visible to other cachers.

This is followed by the actual text about the cache and possibly also a hint.

If a background image is stored, it can be seen on the right and left of the listing.

The right column of the listing includes the option to log the visit to the cache, displays the attributes and indicates whether TBs are currently stored online in the cache. A little further down a map section with the location of the cache appears. The listing coordinates are shown here, but sometimes also a parking lot or waypoint.

Under this information, the actual listing, you will find the texts of the previous loggers, from which you can often find important information.

Text, Hint

Depending on the owner's wishes, the text in the listing can be longer or shorter. It often contains the riddle for mysteries, a story for multinationals and a lot about the history of the cache can also be found here for all other types of cache. CAN! Because sometimes the listing is also empty - but as everyone has now understood, only the text area is empty. There are, however, many other indications.

The same applies to the hint, which may be found at the end of the listing. This is usually encrypted, with a light click you can decrypt it. Why is that? If you don't want a hint and want to get involved first, you don't have to look at it like this.

D/T rating

The D stands for English Difficult (German Difficulty) and describes how difficult it is to find the cache. I.e. how difficult it is to see him. You don't have to have it in hand for that.

All events have a D-rating of 1 since December 2017 because they are always found.

The T stands for Terrain (English) and means how to get to the cache. In German: terrain. A T-rated 1 cache is wheelchair accessible, a T5 is a hard-to-reach cache that requires special assistance.

Attribute

These little characters can be very helpful when considering whether to tackle the cache (alone). There is a list with a total of 66 positive characters and 41 negative characters. About the link https://www.geocaching.com/about/icons.aspx you will find a very good list (in English) of what each character means.

With the attributes you can also find out whether you need special equipment for the corresponding cache or whether tools are required. You can also find information about the extended geocacher equipment in our blog article http://www.cacher-reisen.de/geocaching-zubehoer/

Favoritenpunkte

Another popular part of the listing is the favorite points the cache has received so far. A high percentage or the total number of “blue hearts” awarded usually says something about the quality of the cache. For newly placed caches, the percentage is more meaningful than the total number of points. The cache cannot have an enormous number in a short time. But a high percentage in relation to the number of visitors says something about how the cache has been felt by each individual so far.

pictures, logs

Under the actual listing you will find the previous logs and also pictures that individual finders have uploaded with their log. The logs also show how previous finders found the cache. Sometimes they also contain a hint if you can't find what you're looking for on site or if you can't solve the puzzle.

listing generator

If you ask yourself why there are listings that come up with lots of pictures, colorful animations or a special font, then the listing generator is often involved. Some owners use a so-called listing generator. For all those who are not familiar with Html

aWe know a good way to easily create attractive listings in German. Various versions can be found free of charge on the Internet. They are mostly in German, have a list of features and are easy to integrate with Groundspeak Company.

Whether created with or without a listing generator, a lot of information can be found in the listing of a cache. A listing is always worth reading. The Cacher-Reisen team wishes you lots of fun reading the listing and of course the outdoor search!