Is it OK to make my own Travel Bug type object/website?

[+St. Blaize]

Would it be OK to set up a website for myself to track the movements of a travel bug type object?

 

Maybe leave a note on it saying to goto my website and ask people to enter where its at and possibly take a picture with it. I guess in reality it would be exactly the same as a Travel Bug just that it would only be a site for maybe a couple of them I made myself with IDs that I decided on and they would not be trackable from this website. I am not against buying tags for Travel Bugs, but just if I could do my own thing I would like to do that.

 

Really I would like to make sure this would not be frowned upon.

 

Thanks

[+Miragee]

A local cacher did that with the cache, "Traveling Globes." The cache was placed a long time ago, 12/02/02, but the Globes are still traveling around and being logged on that cache page.

Edited June 15, 2007 by Miragee

[+StarBrand]

I've come across several such things over the years - some were done nicely - others were bizarre and confusing. I found that some people logged them - others did not.

[+Snoogans]

Really I would like to make sure this would not be frowned upon.

 

Thanks

 

 

What you do with your own database is your own business. You don't need to ask permission.

 

 

I have been thinking of doing something similar now that I have a website to build. What software will you be using?

[+Gator Man]

Over the years, I've handled several "Unofficial" TBs like that, and a couple of coins too. I've also handled TBs that were both trackable on GC.com and on a special website. Those were typically RACING TBs trying to get somewhere first.

[+Renegade Knight]

Would it be OK to set up a website for myself to track the movements of a travel bug type object?

 

Maybe leave a note on it saying to goto my website and ask people to enter where its at and possibly take a picture with it. I guess in reality it would be exactly the same as a Travel Bug just that it would only be a site for maybe a couple of them I made myself with IDs that I decided on and they would not be trackable from this website. I am not against buying tags for Travel Bugs, but just if I could do my own thing I would like to do that.

 

Really I would like to make sure this would not be frowned upon.

 

Thanks

 

It's doable, been done, and ok to do.

 

The key problems are twofold. First the lack of integration. Nobody can see the travelers you are tracking on this site or any other cache listing site. So it's a suprise to find one of your travelers. Next, YAFLITT applies. That's short for Yet Another F'ing Log In To Track. If people have to sign up just to track a traveler they are only going to find once in their life time, most won't bother. If they could log it without the log in...so much the better.

[+007BigD]

Heres the Digital Fish tracking page- I managed to real in one of these while in Temecula, fishin at the Library! It moved once already and I should probably release this guy again, but I just really like it! And you can keep em or release em...its up to you! There are over 6500 Digital fish out there! And they are all tracked on Geofish.net

 

You can also track your sig items on Sigitem.com if ya dont have your own site.

Edited June 15, 2007 by 007BigD

[+dochummer]

My buddy and I just put one together last week. We were bored one day, and thought we'd give it a try...

 

helpparisrun.blogspot.com

[+dark_onyx1982]

My buddy and I just put one together last week. We were bored one day, and thought we'd give it a try...

 

helpparisrun.blogspot.com

 

wait...............................................................when I stop laughing I will type a respone...................................................................................................................................................................................

 

I LOVE YOUR IDEA. I checked out your site. It is very creative! I hope she does well and the law does not get her. If she was near me I would let her hang out with Bear on the Run who is curentlly hiding out at my place.

[+Confucius' Cat]

I have one "alternative travel bug" out there and it has been logged once. I then found out the free forum I had created to track it changed URL somehow so now, though the tracking site still exists, finders have no idea how to get to it.

 

I also provided my main email address so people could email me of its progress. I got one so far.

 

It has been MIA for about 3 years.

 

i also think it fell victim to the YAFLITT mentioned earlier.

 

An experience of one lost bug is not really a good indicator of the viability of the class, but I kinda learned my lesson and will stick with the "official" bugs. - Even they get "failed to log" a lot of times and disappear off the planet.

[+St. Blaize]

Thanks for all of the comments.

 

The only reason that I thought it might be frowned upon was because I don't want people to think I was too cheap or trying to get around buying a travel bug. I'm not sure if there are people out there that would sabotage it just because it wasn't official.

 

To get around YAFLITT, I was thinking of just putting some type of password that went with the bug that would allow someone to post its whereabouts on my site. That hopefully would be enough to keep hooligans at bay. I would have no required registration at all and putting any type of name would be completely optional.

[+rdaines]

As you can see it is possible and is being done. I have even run across some personal trackable items but I rarely use the provided website. Not sure why I don't. I also don't like TBs that have complicated instructions or say "do this or do that in this time or don't take this bug". So I don't. Kind of kills the fun aspect.

[+Harry Dolphin]

YAFLITT. Or, the way I put it: One-stop Shopping. I don't want to go to various sites. So I don't (and that includes Whymarking.) I did move one babbling fish. I ignore any others that I run across. I moved one rubby ducky tracked on someone's personal page. Never again. I ignored a geocoin only trackable on another site. Someone offered me a PATHtag. I declined. People have enough troubles logging TBs in and out. Don't expect much continuity on trackables at other sites.

[+rdaines]

OK you got me on this one, YAFLITT?

 

Yet another........

[+Team GeoBlast]

Thanks for all of the comments.

 

The only reason that I thought it might be frowned upon was because I don't want people to think I was too cheap or trying to get around buying a travel bug. I'm not sure if there are people out there that would sabotage it just because it wasn't official.

 

To get around YAFLITT, I was thinking of just putting some type of password that went with the bug that would allow someone to post its whereabouts on my site. That hopefully would be enough to keep hooligans at bay. I would have no required registration at all and putting any type of name would be completely optional.

 

You've already gotten some very good input up to this point. You can do it, but the issue is participation. No matter how you frame this you are asking the finder to do some extra work. Personally if I found your unofficial bug, I wouldn't consider your YAFLITT (thanks RK for expanding my vocabulary) solution a solution. While you offer an abbreviated version, after trying to understand "the why," I am still lugging it back to my computer and hand typing in the URL and trying to follow your special instructions. I don't think I'm unique in that you are going to have "to sell the idea" to the people that find your TB.

 

Another hurdle that the information that you put with your bug is it's only lifetime. If a TB's instruction card gets removed from the bug you can look it up on GC.com and find out what you've got. Your TB tag gets lost it's just another object in a cache. Perhaps engraving on the item or being very permanent with the information is a good idea.

 

I suppose that the real potential downside of this idea is going through all the trouble of putting together a website and getting like two logs on the thing. How about this as a twist? One website.. a lot of things that you can track there. So you put a dog, a bell, a fish, a radiator out there with the same URL on them. You go to the site and there's a link to each of the items. It might make things a little more exciting. With either idea.. don't make a long and boring URL or participation will shrink even further. How about www.WhereISmystuff.com? or www.GarageSaleGoneWrong.com?

[Luckless]

I was also wondering if you could do this. Maybe sometime.

[Mr.Yuck]

As you can see it is possible and is being done. I have even run across some personal trackable items but I rarely use the provided website. Not sure why I don't. I also don't like TBs that have complicated instructions or say "do this or do that in this time or don't take this bug". So I don't. Kind of kills the fun aspect.

 

I've only seen one individual cacher in my general area do his own tracking (when he was a newbie), and he lost interest pretty quickly. As you have heard, it has been done, and no one has a problem with it. Just expect a high loss rate, and low logging rate.

 

There's all sorts of more organized alternative tracking out there, for example Traveler tags have been around for a while, and probably isn't going away. Can't say the same for some of their competition though, like geotagtracker.com, which is 404.

 

I've also seen Northern New York wooden nickles, trackable on their own website. I've logged one in the past, but darned if I can find their website right now. Also, the original Canadian Geocoins were (and still are) trackable only on their website at Geocoins.ca, but they also have all sorts of ones trackable at geocaching.com now too. I've never seen TPTB threaten any of these people with lawsuits or anything, so I say if you have the skilz, go for it.

Edited June 19, 2007 by TheWhiteUrkel