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Travel Bug Hogs


knlcox

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Recently a fellow cacher came through my area and grabbed at least 4 local TBs. This person does not live in the local area, in fact I believe he is from about 2 hours away. The thing is, he took 4 TBs from 4 different caches and did not leave a single bug. :ninja: Now these bugs will be transported somewhere, and my area is looking evening shorter on TBs. I'm sure the TB owners don't mind as they want to see them travel, but it only makes sense to make a one for one swap... or at least don't just wisk through and grab things and run. I have about 3 new people I've introduced to caching and they, like me, enjoying finding the TBs so that they can move them along... one by one. So am I being selfish in wanting to see a few TBs in my area at all times, or is this TB bandit being selfish? What are your feelngs about TB etiquette?

Edited by knlcox
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Travel bugs aren't trade items; they are meant to travel. There is no need for a one-for-one swap. The only way that this guy might have done something wrong is if any of those "local" TBs had a tag that indicated that they were meant to stay in your local area.

 

He's not a "bandit". Assuming he drops the bugs off somewhere else, he's doing the right thing and not breaking any TB ettiquette rules.

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When you say "local travel bugs," do you mean that they had a stated goal, attached to the bug, saying that they wanted to remain in the local area? I have one like that. If so, then taking them out of the area in contradiction of their goal would be unfortunate, but that stuff happens.

 

If the travel bugs' goals did not involve staying in the local area, then I'm afraid you have a fundamental misunderstanding of how travel bugs are supposed to work, by traveling.

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No, I don't have a "fundamental misunderstanding" of how travel bugs are supposed to work. All I'm saying is that in all fairness to other cachers wanting to be involved, and getting the opportunity to move a TB, I don't think it was cool to just drive through, grab 4 quick TBs and then depart the area. I'll just be sure that when I drop one off from now on it's more than a 1/1 near a freeway like these were.

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I'm sure the TB owners don't mind as they want to see them travel, but it only makes sense to make a one for one swap...

Thats pretty much the only point of this topic. If its moving toward the goal(s) in an acceptable manner (posting a TB would be unacceptable), then its fine.

Having trade rules that restrict movement is counterproductive. It seems like a lot travelers spend lots of time circling around big cache clusters(cities) till someone traveling an to/from somewhere else grabs them and moves them along. Saying people shouldn't be able to do this might mean TBs will be stuck in big cities forever.

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Now these bugs will be transported somewhere, and my area is looking evening shorter on TBs.

Early on I thought, like you, that tb's in my remote area were a precious commodity that should rationed carefully and thoughtfully. After handling a lot of tb's and watching them come and go for a few years I'm no longer concerned about this. They come, they go.

 

If I'm interested I'll go get it, if not someone else will. Sometimes I gather them all up and take them 700 miles to Seattle, sometimes I'll bring back a bunch to use as bait to encourage visiting cachers. Sometimes I'll do one or the other but no both. Over time it works out quite well and the little buggers keep on moving.

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I agree that travel bugs are ment to travel. I also see the benifit of moving a handful from one place to another. What I don't agree with is one person taking more then one or two bugs out of an area with out exchanging them. Yes bugs are ment to move, but everyone should have a chance. I don't agree with one person coming into town, grabbing as many as he can and leaving with out leaving his fair share in town. The same goes for a cache, if there is 3 in it, should one person take them all? Sailor

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The same goes for a cache, if there is 3 in it, should one person take them all?

Because those bugs all have owners, and those owners want their bugs to MOVE. As much as possible. If people feel obliged to leave bugs when they take them, it's going to slow down the movement overall. It's amazing how slow the daggum things can move as it is.

 

I'll fault somebody for holding bugs too long, or thwarting their goals, but I won't fault anyone just for taking too many.

 

I love the TB part of the caching. It's like a little side-game between me and the bug owner. And that's who I feel obliged to please.

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I'll fault somebody for holding bugs too long

This comes up quite often. I have suggested in a topic that Geocaching.com change TB logging so you don't get credit for the TB until your second log, when you move it on. This would encourage people to keep them moving. This idea has not gone anywhere, nor even had much discussion. So I guess the problem of people holding on to TB's too long, or even forever is only an issue for a few of us.

 

I don't think most people keep TB's to cause trouble. It's just that once they log the find, there is no real incentive to move them on. They get given to the kids, thrown in a backpack or a closet and lost. This has happened to the only TB I sent out. Also to many of the TB's of geocaching acquaintances.

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You are in a REALLY cache dense area! There are 6 pages of caches before you get to the ten mile mark. That means there are also lots of cachers probably. Thus, lots of competition for the sought after items.

 

With TB's IMO, the ones who want them more get them. There is absolutely no need to trade; the idea for them is to move.

 

For example: before I found my first coin, I saw one show up in a cache down the road. I was at classes, so I had to watch it ALL day hoping it wouldn't move. I got out of class and drove to the cache hoping to grab the coin. When I got there, no coin. I didin't fault the person who grabbed it. He wanted it more.

 

No harm, no foul for taking numerous TB's, IMO.

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Recently a fellow cacher came through my area and grabbed at least 4 local TBs.......and my area is looking evening shorter on TBs......or is this TB bandit being selfish? What are your feelngs about TB etiquette?

Wow, behind the people who lose TB’s, your attitude demonstrates exactly the breakdown in the whole TB system. It is not up to you to impose rules on someone else’s TB. As mentioned, they are not a trade item, they are designed to be moved, and the faster the better. This is pretty much the same attitude we see from ‘TB hotel’ owners who insist you not take more than you leave or set a minimum number of ‘guests’ that must be in the hotel.

 

Try this, set up a PQ to show only caches in your area that have TBs in them. You can then run out and grab a few to boost your numbers if you need it so badly. If you’ve already found the cache, log them out with a note.

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Recently a fellow cacher came through my area and grabbed at least 4 local TBs. This person does not live in the local area, in fact I believe he is from about 2 hours away. The thing is, he took 4 TBs from 4 different caches and did not leave a single bug. :rolleyes: Now these bugs will be transported somewhere, and my area is looking evening shorter on TBs. I'm sure the TB owners don't mind as they want to see them travel, but it only makes sense to make a one for one swap... or at least don't just wisk through and grab things and run. I have about 3 new people I've introduced to caching and they, like me, enjoying finding the TBs so that they can move them along... one by one. So am I being selfish in wanting to see a few TBs in my area at all times, or is this TB bandit being selfish? What are your feelngs about TB etiquette?

Funny, I have the exact opposite situation at my cache here cache full of bugs . I collected a bunch of bugs one weekend and put them here, and it has drawn little interest. I kinda hope someone would come and take them and get them moving since I am out of caching commision taking care of a gimpy Luckybear.

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Recently a fellow cacher came through my area and grabbed at least 4 local TBs. This person does not live in the local area, in fact I believe he is from about 2 hours away. The thing is, he took 4 TBs from 4 different caches and did not leave a single bug. :rolleyes:  Now these bugs will be transported somewhere, and my area is looking evening shorter on TBs. I'm sure the TB owners don't mind as they want to see them travel, but it only makes sense to make a one for one swap... or at least don't just wisk through and grab things and run. I have about 3 new people I've introduced to caching and they, like me, enjoying finding the TBs so that they can move them along... one by one. So am I being selfish in wanting to see a few TBs in my area at all times, or is this TB bandit being selfish? What are your feelngs about TB etiquette?

OMG! Not a whole FOUR TB's! How dare they come to YOUR area from two hours away, do your cache and take your TB's! Heaven forbid if they could actually HELP those bugs on to their goal. The horror!

 

You'd probably pop a few blood vessels if you knew I recently picked up THIRTY TB's in and around the Raleigh-Durham area in NC. And then pop some more if you knew a friend of mine recently picked up MORE THAN THIRTY TB's from the Seattle/Tacoma/Olympia area in WA.

 

I'm pretty sure I didn't drop off one single bug in trade for those that I took... but I helped EVERY SINGLE ONE on to their goal, which was to travel west.

 

The key thing to remember here is that TB's are not trade items, nor have they ever been. Their goal is to move toward some set location. Not to sit and rot in someone's cache in the middle of nowhere so everyone would have a chance to log the bugs or b/c someone didn't have a bug to trade.

 

Essentially, it sounds like you don't want someone else to be the bug-hog... you want to be one yourself by keeping them in your area so you can get the warm fuzzies (and 'points') from touching them all and draw people to your caches.

 

An idea:

 

Buy some TB tags. Attach them to some cute little things and specify that they can only be traded bug for bug and can only travel within your area so everyone there can get some extra bug points.

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Man, you ask a few questions and people are real quick to be a--holes here. Of course I could be rude too, but I only ask that people actually read the post, think about the post, and then reply. I am new to Geocaching and I am not trying to take over the TB world. I had a concern that myself, and believe it or not, others in my unimportant area were wanting some input on. I'm by no means super sensitive, in fact I can be quite the grumpy SOB sometimes too. But when you post a concern, question, or comments and you get attacked by every Tom, Dick, & Harry wanting boost their post numbers... it just makes you wonder if this really is such a wonderful community to join. Hopefully these so called "REAL" Geocachers that want to "stick their tongue out" at people asking quesitons aren't a true representation of the overall Geocaching community. Let us all count how many responses I get to this one too!!! Happy posting!!!

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...you get attacked by every Tom, Dick, & Harry wanting boost their post numbers...

I'm trying to figure out how to make mine go down actually.

 

You might have been better off thinking about the question you were asking rather than demand that the responders (100% against your opinion BTW) think about their responses.

 

You didn’t ask what the etiquette on TBs is, you attacked the ‘fellow cacher’, calling him/her a ‘bandit’ and throwing the :D face in for effect. The ‘bandit’ was doing the right thing and you attacked him for it. If you open with an attack, you will likely be met with one in return. Were you hoping for a pat on the back? If you want input, ask for input, you were not.

 

Don’t take it too personally, nobody was trying to bash you (the person) but the attitude that somehow everything should be even and fair. That doesn’t apply to TBs.

 

BTW, you can call me an a-hole if you so desire. I only ask that you don’t call me such an a-hole. <--inside joke you wouldn’t understand but someone here would.

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