How Long before moving a TB?

[+nelageleets]

A little protocal here. How long should a bug be held before it moves on to another cache? I personally don't hold a bug for over a week; but I have some that have been out a month and the person that retrieved them still have them in their posessions. Do I email them and ask them when they are going to move them on or do I just grin and bear it? guidance please.

[+Cumberworthcachers]

GC.com prompts the user to notify the TB owner after 14 days of inactivity. On the my account page it gives the following message:

 

"* No activity in the last 14 days - Please drop off this travel bug in a new cache or contact the owner as a courtesy. If the Travel Bug has been lost, the owner can change the bug's status to an unknown location."

 

I know this because I have had a bug for 4 weeks now (due to unforseen circumstances). I emailed the owner explaining and will drop off asap.

 

If it was my bug and I hadn't heard after two weeks I would drop a short note to check on well being.

[+BlueDeuce]

You shouldn't hold a bug longer than two weeks, but sometimes life gets in the way of caching and a cacher holding a bug for a month does happen from time to time. I wouldn’t be concerned.

 

(Besides if you are going to be emailing people for hold a bug for two weeks you're probably going to be sending out a lot of emails.)

 

Personally I don’t even consider contacting someone until a full three months have passed and then I simply ask them for status.

Edited April 30, 2007 by BlueDeuce

[+nelageleets]

Two weeks to three months, Those out a month I'll check on. After three months I'd consider the cacher either dead or bug lost by then.

[+BlueDeuce]

Two weeks to three months, Those out a month I'll check on. After three months I'd consider the cacher either dead or bug lost by then.

 

Since you asked I thought I would provide you a realistic timeline. Bugs don't get moved around all that fast.

 

Should your bug go missing from a cache, re-releasing a copy after only three months is far far too early. So unless you know your bug has been destroyed (Like a cache lost from a grass fire) you shouldn’t replace an MIA bug for about a year.

 

You are certainly free to contact cachers who have held your bug for more than 14 days but personally I don’t want the extra worry and effort just so I can enjoy my bugs. If a cacher can’t get around to dropping my bugs after three months that’s when I need to get involved. In my (not so) humble opinion.

Edited April 30, 2007 by BlueDeuce

[+caver53]

I normally don't like to hold bugs for more than a week or two, but if I know I'll be travelling soon I'll hold them longer because I figure it's more fun if they wait a while and travel some distance than if they just keep getting passed around the same local area. I currently have several bugs I've been holding onto for about a month, and I'll be travelling for the next two weeks, dropping them as I go.

[+Eartha]

I checked the profile of the person holding the bug, and I wouldn't worry about it, they cache enough, they have moved enough bugs. If they haven't gone caching recently there is probably a good reason. You could send an email say something like "Thank you for picking up my (insert TB name here) TB, I look forward to seeing where it heads next." A gentle reminder, because sometimes, not always, but sometimes, they fall to the bottom of the backpack, and people need a small nudge.