Jump to content

Proposal: International Travel Bug Rescue League


rxzephyr

Recommended Posts

Everyone who wants to be a part of this - make sure that you sign up at the Frappr! website.

 

I see lots of people saying that they want to take part and then aren't signing up on the map. Just hit the URL below and sign up yourself! I think it's crucial for people to sign up there so that people know what area you're available in.

 

http://www.frappr.com/internationaltravelbugrescueleague

 

And make sure you tell other geocachers to promote the group. Maybe someone can design a logo for us and we can create cards to stash in geocaches to promote the group. (Someone could take a stab at creating them as well.)

 

I'm also tracking the number of "open cases" that are posted in this thread.

I'm not sure how to publish them to the League, but I am certainly open to suggestions.

 

RXZ

Link to comment

And since we're posting this - I too have a travel bugs which appear to have gone into limbo. I haven't seen nor heard from a number of my Travel Bugs in months. Emails to those people who have it in their hand go unanswered.

 

RXZephyr's Model Railway Travel Bug

Last seen in the hands of killick/lpn after they took it from Come 'Splore These Falls (Nova Scotia, Canada) on August 26, 2005.

 

The Borg Travel Bug

Last seen in the hands of shelmybell after they took it from Rattlesnake Ledge (Rhode Island, USA) on September 25, 2005.

 

RXZephyr's Railway Travel Bug

Last seen in the hands of Ladybug JMC after they took it from The Real Easy Encounter (Newfoundland, Canada) on October 19, 2005.

 

Posting FYI & Entering them into my "Open Cases" file.

 

RXZ

Link to comment

Just signed up on Frapper, my TB that is MIA is:

 

Tigger Too Tracking #TBGJXA taken from Castell de Montjuïc (Barcelona) GCGG4C by cacher Partiolainen, from Helsinki, Finland. Tigger Too was removed from the cache on January 13,2005 and we have not seen him since. PLease help Tigger Too get home.

Link to comment
How about some kind of icon or something identifying us as members so that we can include it in our profiles? Just a thought, I think this is a great idea and I will do my best to help bugs along

I personally think this group/league 1st has to prove that it works before Groundspeak can even recognize it.

 

This is not a sport were you get a letterman jacket. :huh:

Link to comment
How about some kind of icon or something identifying us as members so that we can include it in our profiles?  Just a thought, I think this is a great idea and I will do my best to help bugs along

I personally think this group/league 1st has to prove that it works before Groundspeak can even recognize it.

 

This is not a sport were you get a letterman jacket. :huh:

I agree 110%!

This will only work if people actually get out there and do it!

 

To prove that we're actually making a difference, we need a way to track our successes/ Anyone have any suggestions?

 

And we need to find a way to promote the group. We're getting good coverage in the existing areas (as things spread by word of mouth), but I'd really like to see worldwide coverage!

 

RXZ

Link to comment
This will only work if people actually get out there and do it!

 

To prove that we're actually making a difference,

we need a way to track our successes.

Anyone have any suggestions?

I started last week by liberating 6 TBs that were stranded in a TB Hotel.

 

I am liberating more this week-end,

and droping a GeoCoin I have held for more then 2 weeks. :shy:

 

For tracking, we could creaye Sock Puppet,

and once Jeremy Irish has implemeted his new "Spotted" feature.

One of us could get the Tracking Number from whoever liberated a TB,

and perform a "Spotted" on it with the Sock Puppet account.

However, that would only count each individual TB once,

even if it had been liberated twice.

Link to comment

RXZephyr's Railway Travel Bug

Last seen in the hands of Ladybug JMC after they took it from The Real Easy Encounter (Newfoundland, Canada) on October 19, 2005.

 

Great News - RXZephyr's Railway Travel Bug is back in circulation. I wasn't too worried about this one. A great cacher with a good history had the bug and a gentle reminder resulted in her getting it out in a cache this weekend:

 

"Hi GeoJoe

 

Just to let you know that I placed the TB in the Yukon TB Inn the weekend.

I will list it today. Hope that is OK."

 

Any other updates?

 

GEO.JOE

Link to comment

Great news about my travelbug. I was pleased as punch to see that one go back into circulation - though absolutely amazed as to how far it made it. :D Pretty much from one side of the contentent to another....

 

Anyway, here are the other "open files"....I track more information, but until we get a better way to list them, I'll only post the names of the TB's & last known location. Not the best. :lol:

 

His Addictions: South Carolina, USA @ 03/23/2005

Her Addictions: New Hampshire, USA@ 04/23/2005

TwoPolarBears: 270 McDougal Road, Fort Smith, NWT, Canada @ 08/09/2005

Free Long Distance: New York, USA @ 09/02/2005

International Cache Change: Alberta, Canada @ 05/07/2005

Plato Platypus: Oregon, USA @ 07/01/2004

Tigger Too: Barcelona, Spain @ 12/28/2004

RXZephyr's Model Railway Travel Bug: Nova Scotia, Canada @ 26/08/2005

The Borg Travel Bug: Rhode Island, USA @ 25/09/2005

 

If anyone has any additions to this list, please let me know.

 

Since it's inception, the league has grown to 48 members! Best coverage, right now, is un the UK - kudos to them for such a keen interest. Please continue to promote the team and get us more global coverage.

 

RXZ

Link to comment

Hi all !! THIS is a GREAT idea !! :P A SAR group for TB's !! How cool !! :D

 

We had no idea that this was such a prevalent problem. (as is evident by my post from last night...) So when we found this topic, we certainly felt the gravitational pull. We would LOVE to help repatriate some TB's !!

 

I know that we are new cachers, and that we haven't been very active, (our spirit was pretty low after Elliot Moose TBKNGQ, went missing !) In finding this group, we have felt some renewed motivation. Perhaps there is hope... and it's cool to know that other people have had the same issues.

 

So sign us up !! (we already did the Frapper! thing !)

 

I am a DBA/ database developer, so I was thinking that a database to help track these rescues might be helpful. Let me know if anyone else thinks this is a good idea.

 

And if we can be of any help in the SW USA, let us know...

 

ManD

Link to comment

A database that we can easily access, of lost, stalled and missing Tbs would be great. Someone could check on how they could help in their area. It might be as simple as telling your best caching friend "Hey, remember that Tb you picked up 3months ago?, It's way past time to move it on!" Or it might be as simple as doing a cache you were going to anyway and move a TB along. A database to record "recovered", or unstalled TBs would also be good. People could see the size of the problem and it might encourage others to help out.

Team Dragon Racing!- :P

Thanks in advance for sundays efforts!

Link to comment
I am a DBA/ database developer, so I was thinking that a database to help track these rescues might be helpful. Let me know if anyone else thinks this is a good idea.

Nice... I can already see a place where you can log in a missing TB others can view it sort by state or more defined depending how detailed your willing to go. Once a person makes a rescue/retrieval it can be log as well to change the TB status.

 

Humm the ideas.......

 

:lol::lol::lol:

Link to comment

I believe that we can give ourselves legitimacy by setting some standards for the rescue and recovery of lost or inactive travel bugs. I have a few ideas that I would like to put forth and see if anyone else agrees.

 

Here are some ideas for classifications for missing or lost bugs. Please add your own ideas and let’s get something together.

 

CI (Cache Inactivity): Travel bugs that have been left in a cache that has had no activity for a prolonged period of time. My suggestion would be to launch a rescue mission after one month of inactivity to get the bug moving again.

 

MIA (Missing in Action): Travel bugs that have gone missing from the last cache they were logged in. Some may not log the bug for some time so again I would suggest bugs missing with no log activity for over one month start the SAR investigation.

 

HR (Hostage Rescue): Travel bugs that have been in the hands of a cacher for an extended period of time. Again my suggestion would be one month before a rescue mission is launched.

 

I think this is a good start and I think as members of the ITBRL we can give this activity a place in good standing in the geo-caching world. If you make a rescue or recovery or initiate an investigation into a particular lost bug, place a note in the bug’s history so that the owner knows that there is a rescue effort in progress where the bug went missing from.

 

I suggested having an identifying icon for members so that when we do something people will recognize our efforts. The response was that we needed recognition from Ground Speak. I think that once it is seen how successful we can be with our efforts that this activity will become a standard activity and Ground Speak will embrace it.

 

In my humble opinion.

Link to comment
ICI (Cache Inactivity): Travel bugs that have been left in a cache that has had no activity for a prolonged period of time. My suggestion would be to launch a rescue mission after one month of inactivity to get the bug moving again.

This while is a long time might not be long enough. The more remote caches sometimes only see 1 person every two months. I would suggest two months wait before they qualify.

 

1 month time frame would probably be a large number of caches in my area.

Link to comment
Create a bookmark list like this one

link

That's a great Idea!

 

I created such a list for all caches with Stranded Travel Bugs in Quebec.

 

My definition is any cache with Travel Bugs that have not been visited in 2 weeks.

2 weeks??

That doesn't make tham stranded!

It's winter time, and caching activity slows down.

I think a TB is stranded if unmoved after a period of months (several) not weeks.

 

Just my .02

 

Ed

Link to comment
2 weeks??

That doesn't make tham stranded!

It's winter time, and caching activity slows down.

I think a TB is stranded if unmoved after a period of months (several) not weeks.

 

Just my .02

 

Ed

I agree, it also depends on the number of caching done in the area, some places don't see much caching at certain times of the year. I will on the other hand rescue TBs in my area where I know for sure will not be accessible in the heavy winter months.

Link to comment

I think that each cacher should decide for themselves if they want to move a TB along. Based on a TBs goal and the cachers knowledge of the local area, the local rescuer can decide. Seasonal conditions are also important, as well as cacher migrations. Lots of cachers and TBs come here to florida for the winter and back north for the summer. If you think a TB needs to move, move it, the amount of time its been in one place can't be the deciding factor alone. If you see TBs in seldom visted caches take them to ones that will help them reach their goal.

 

FREE THE BUGS! :laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing::laughing:

Link to comment
i dont think you can have a set rule some caches dont see alot of activity some alot but people dont pick up bugs

And that, to me, is the definition of a Travel Bug being stranded. :laughing:

 

If I had a bug sitting in an infrequently visited cache for a couple months, I'd consider it being stranded. Likewise, if I had a bug that was supposedly in a cache and no one was picking up the bug, I'd wonder if the bug was really there.

 

Remember: these are travel bugs. They are meant to move and not sit in someone's hand or in an infrequently visited cache.

 

To me, unless the TB owner says that their bug is "in trouble", I woudn't bother with it. In absense of that sort of notice/complaint, I'd say that any travel bug that has not moved in 6 months is in need of rescuing.

 

My 2 cents.

RXZ

Link to comment
Looking for an opinion please...

 

I visited a cache this morning where 3 TB's are reported to be in captivity for over a year. Got to the cache and verified the TB were AWOl. Sent an email to the owners through the GC website and posted a note on the cache that the TB's were missing.

 

Did I miss anything?

Looks good to me.

 

After a year it would be very hard to track down who might have taken them.

Link to comment
Looking for an opinion please...

 

I visited a cache this morning where 3 TB's are reported to be in captivity for over a year.  Got to the cache and verified the TB were AWOl.  Sent an email to the owners through the GC website and posted a note on the cache that the TB's were missing.

 

Did I miss anything?

Looks good to me.

 

After a year it would be very hard to track down who might have taken them.

I took a quick glance at the logs for That Dam Cache, and it was actually pretty easy to track down who took them.

 

All three bugs (Ding-A-Ling, What the Heck?, and Old Camera) were placed in the cache on 6/26/2004. The next day, there's a log by Moongirl_05 that says "We took the three travel bugs and will send them on their way in due time."

 

She never did log the bugs out, though. She has only logged two caches since then, both about a week after she picked up those three bugs. Those logs don't mention dropping the bugs, so she may still have them. She has logged on to the gc site sa recently as this past September, so it still may be possible to contact her.

 

Did I miss anything?

Other than attempting to contact Moongirl_05, you might also want to log a note on each of the three TB pages to let the owners and watchers know that they are not in the cache, and who picked them up.

Link to comment

Very good detective work I think that is great if you cannt recover them at least know helps some.

Send them an e-mail from Travel Bug International Recovery Detachment asking that the bugs be returned unharmed.

It realy is a shame though that people take a bug with the good intentions of moving them on and then dont and just ignore emails asking about them

Link to comment
Very good detective work I think that is great if you cannt recover them at least know helps some.

Send them an e-mail from Travel Bug International Recovery Detachment asking that the bugs be returned unharmed.

It realy is a shame though that people take a bug with the good intentions of moving them on and then dont and just ignore emails asking about them

I really think we need to standardize on a name and co-ordinate efforts when going after a travel bug. If we have 18 people contact a cacher, all claiming to be from different named "rescue" organizations (when in reality all of them are from the same people) it can be confusing and overwhelming. Especially for a new cacher.

 

So......

 

We need to finalize on a name. Everything we have done, including these couple pages of discussions, have been done under the banner of the ITBRL name so I'm in favour of keeping it. (And not just because it was my original concept name.) If there's a good reason to change it - I'll call on people to make their case now as I did in the very first page of this chat.

 

We need a logo! People really identify with a picture, so I think that a logo would be very cool. Anyone with artistic ability want to take a stab at this? We've already had one attempt - which was very cool! Keep in mind the three themes we want our logo to contain: geocaching, travel bugs, rescue. Maybe take a look at some SAR logos and use them as a concept? *shrugs*

 

We need a website & tracking method! We really need an online presence that we can point to when talking about who we are and what we do. The Frappr! site is a great start, but we need some place we can post policy, process, mission statements. I noticed that we have a DBA/DBD onboard - welcome! Now we just need some place we can put his talent to use.

 

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE THIS A SUCCESS!

 

RXZephyr

Link to comment
Looking for an opinion please...

 

I visited a cache this morning where 3 TB's are reported to be in captivity for over a year.  Got to the cache and verified the TB were AWOl.  Sent an email to the owners through the GC website and posted a note on the cache that the TB's were missing.

 

Did I miss anything?

Looks good to me.

 

After a year it would be very hard to track down who might have taken them.

I took a quick glance at the logs for That Dam Cache, and it was actually pretty easy to track down who took them.

 

All three bugs (Ding-A-Ling, What the Heck?, and Old Camera) were placed in the cache on 6/26/2004. The next day, there's a log by Moongirl_05 that says "We took the three travel bugs and will send them on their way in due time."

 

She never did log the bugs out, though. She has only logged two caches since then, both about a week after she picked up those three bugs. Those logs don't mention dropping the bugs, so she may still have them. She has logged on to the gc site sa recently as this past September, so it still may be possible to contact her.

 

Did I miss anything?

Other than attempting to contact Moongirl_05, you might also want to log a note on each of the three TB pages to let the owners and watchers know that they are not in the cache, and who picked them up.

 

A couple of other possibilities to try:

 

(1) Moongirl_05 owns one cache ("Boon" Jug Cache, GC5F58). Sometimes if you're trying to contact a cacher who doesn't respond to email, posting a (polite) note on their cache page can get their attention.

 

(2) On June 2, 2002, Moongirl_05 visited three caches. Another cacher named Uncle Willy visited those same three caches on that same day; his logs are right next to Moongirl's logs for all three. It's possible, then, that they know each other. You could try emailing Uncle Willy to see if he knows how to reach Moongirl. (Uncle Willy was last at the gc.com site two weeks ago, so he's still active.)

Link to comment
If there's anyone in Oregon, could you please look into doing an HR for Bugaroo Banzai, last seen in the hands of laurelg2

 

Emails have gone unanswered.

Actually the cache that this bug was removed from is in east central Washington state. Laurelg2 also appears to be from somewhere in Washington. She is not active, (last visit June 05) and owns no caches, so may be hard to contact. Maybe someone knows her, or maybe her husband who gave her the GPSr, is an active cacher. This one looks like a toughie!

Link to comment
We need to finalize on a name. Everything we have done, including these couple pages of discussions, have been done under the banner of the ITBRL name so I'm in favour of keeping it.  (And not just because it was my original concept name.)  If there's a good reason to change it - I'll call on people to make their case now as I did in the very first page of this chat.

I think that abreviation is hard to remember,

and it only includes Travel Bugs.

 

Are we not also going to try and help Trackable GeoCoins?

 

If so, Hitchikers International Liberation League, or H.I.L.L.

is easier to remember, and includes both Travel Bugs and GeoCoins.

 

Just my 2 geocoins,.. :wacko:

Link to comment

Hey all !!

 

GOOD NEWS !!!!! :blink::blink::blink::lol:

 

The people that picked up Elliot, had some personal issues that, of course, have to take priority !! They have responded to an email we sent, and have informed us that he is happy and safe with them. They have let us know that they intend to drop him back off at his original Hotel, Resort and Spa so he can continue his travels !!

 

We have since responded to their email, and let them know that that is cool, or they can move him to another suitable cache, as his origin is in Chicago...and that cache might see less traffic now that it may be covered in snow !!

 

They seem like VERY responsible cachers, and our faith in humanity has since been restored !!

 

M an D

Link to comment

I like saying International Travel Bug Rescue League, but I have found that those that I have told about it do not remember the name.

I like the idea of a name with a catchy acronym, however Hitchhikers International Liberation League and Travel Bug International Rescue detachment just don't seem to flow off my tongue.

 

I put together some synonyms for what we had:

 

International, Global, Universal

 

Travel Bug, Hitchhiker

 

Rescue, Liberation, Emancipation

 

League, Alliance, Coalition, Partnership, Society, Service

 

Assistance, Support

 

These are what I came up with:

 

Universal Travelbug Rescue & Assistance Partnership – Un.T.R.A.P

 

Travelbug Rescue & Assistance Partnership – T.R.A.P

 

International Travelbug Rescue & Assistance Coalition – I.T.R.A.C.

 

Travelbug Rescue & Assistance Coalition – T.R.A.C

Link to comment
International Travelbug Rescue & Assistance Coalition – I.T.R.A.C.

 

Travelbug Rescue & Assistance Coalition – T.R.A.C

These two I really like, placing favour on the ITRAC because of it's inclusion of the "International" designation and it becomes what we do ("I track missing Hitchhikers.").

 

One of the previous posters said that "International" just adds bulk and is unnecessary. I disagree. With all the different regional GC Associations out there, I wanted to make sure that people knew that this group wasn't focused on a particular region. Not just in Eastern Canada or Midwest USA or North Wales or the Outback of Australia: We are a global association of concerned cachers who want to see travel bugs work the way they intended to.

 

 

Anyway - I will eventually put up a poll and we'll all have a say.

Nominations thus far:

 

ITBRL : International Travel Bug Rescue League

TRIP: Travelbug Rescue International Posse

HILL: Hitchikers International Liberation League

TBIRD: Travel Bug International Rescue Detachment

ITRAC: International Travelbug Rescue & Assistance Coalition

TRAC: Travelbug Rescue & Assistance Coalition

 

Any more? I'll post the poll tomorrow evening (Eastern Cdn. Time :))

 

RXZ

Link to comment
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...