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How important is it that your TB move?


Chi-Town Cacher

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I was chatting with another geocacher this morning and we ended up having to agree to disagree on a subject. Since I have an inquiring mind I'm curious what other people think. The cacher I was speaking to prefered his TB to sit in a cache for months at a time if people were not able to move it in a direction that would help the TB achieve its stated goal. On the other hand I'd prefer it move towards achieving the goal, but given the choice of moving in the wrong direction or not moving for more than a week I'd prefer it to move even if it is moved in the "wrong" direction. So the obvious question is where do you stand on this issue? Do you agree with one of the above positions or are you somewhere in between? Personally I look at my TBs missions as being requests and not a mandate that must strictly be followed with no room for flexibility. It's always interesting to know what the "norm" is so I'm looking forward to reading your replies. Thank you and happy caching everybody!!!! :angry: (edit: I can't edit the post title but it should read, "How important is it that your TB move?")

Edited by Michigan Cacheman
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"How important is it that your TB move?"

 

I am happy if I know where my TB is, most of the time. If it is sitting in a cache and several visitors come by and don't take or mention the TB I start to worry because I am fairly certain that pretty soon I am going to see a log that says "No TB's or geocoins in this cache."

I just like to see it mentioned.

I also don't mind too much if I know another geocacher has my TB but might send an email after a few months politely asking if they intend to move it along. I might send a couple of emails over a year to see what is up.

I have one TB that consists of three tags and a .50 cal ammo can, it cost about $40 to put together and was a lot of work. The same geocacher has had it for just over two years now, I have asked about it but they never respond to emails and just keep the TB. My youngest son has a TB that was taken by another geocacher almost three years ago now and has never been released, they do respond every time I write them but they still have the TB, my youngest son has stopped asking about the TB and I can't say that I blame him.

 

I like to see my TB's move and I don't care what direction they are going, I just like to know they are going somehwere. The mission is nice but I know that the logs which tell me where the TBs are are more important to me than the mission. I really love it when I see the logs that mention the mission and they help my TB with that mission, that is the greatest thing.

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I like to see my TBs move. I don't get too worried if they go off-road, in the wrong direction... as long as it's not too wildly off mission :) It's very frustrating when one gets to within 50 miles of its target and then some silly soandso takes it 800 miles to another country :huh: but you have to just grin and bear it :)

 

Recently one of my TBs, which has a mission to travel to each English county, ended up being taken to Bratislava... Don't ask me how - It was very clearly labelled - and I'm currently 'in negotiations' to have it posted back to me. Normally I wouldn't bother but it's part of a little game (and there's a small prize involved for each person who drops it into a new county) and it had been going really well.

 

C'est la vie, and all that...

 

MrsB :D

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I haven't made a TB yet, but have picked up a few. 2 out of the 3 had no mission card so I didn't know which way they were going till I got home. But I figure a responsible person that at least logs it and moves it to the best of their ability is better than letting it sit around waiting to get stolen. I meant to print off a mission card for one that I dropped today, but didn't get around to it so I just mentioned it in my visit log.

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I was chatting with another geocacher this morning and we ended up having to agree to disagree on a subject. Since I have an inquiring mind I'm curious what other people think. The cacher I was speaking to prefered his TB to sit in a cache for months at a time if people were not able to move it in a direction that would help the TB achieve its stated goal. On the other hand I'd prefer it move towards achieving the goal, but given the choice of moving in the wrong direction or not moving for more than a week I'd prefer it to move even if it is moved in the "wrong" direction. So the obvious question is where do you stand on this issue? Do you agree with one of the above positions or are you somewhere in between? Personally I look at my TBs missions as being requests and not a mandate that must strictly be followed with no room for flexibility. It's always interesting to know what the "norm" is so I'm looking forward to reading your replies. Thank you and happy caching everybody!!!! :D (edit: I can't edit the post title but it should read, "How important is it that your TB move?")

 

If you want to get it there fast, try FedX.

 

It's the "Journey" not the "destination" .......... pick it up and move it.

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Movement is better than just sitting around.

 

Not moving a traveler because you "can't help it on its way" (i.e. I'm not headed to Paris so I won't pick up the TB headed to France) is silly. The next visitor to the next cache you place the traveler in *may* be headed to Europe. You can never tell.

 

I've had TBs take some very direct routes with only minimal jumps to reach the destination, and others take long round-about paths, but eventually making their destination. It's all good.

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The mission for my trackables (approx 100) is to move. It is very rare when I pick up a bug or coin that the mission is on any attachment to the trackable, only find out it wanted to go to the moon (and as luck would have it I just returned from there last week) when you are logging the retrieval.

On a sad note there was a trackable placed in my cache in CT (I'm from ON) that was within one state of completing its goal when the container went missing, it may have met a mischief with an wood chipper having been unwittingly involved in a park clean up and it was not a CITO. There was a child involved (not in the chipper) in the bug's mission. So sad, I let the owner know.

Some bugs have such complicated missions I have no idea how they could be completed. Remember if you travel west far enough you eventually end up in the east. :D

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We found a couple travel bugs, but because we aren't going anywhere till summer, can we pass them off to our son, who caches in another state, just to keep them moving? Iam not sure that is legit, but I don't want to hang on to them too long. Found a bug yesterday but didn't take it till I know the answer.

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We found a couple travel bugs, but because we aren't going anywhere till summer, can we pass them off to our son, who caches in another state, just to keep them moving? Iam not sure that is legit, but I don't want to hang on to them too long. Found a bug yesterday but didn't take it till I know the answer.

My personal opinion would be that you should contact the TBs owner and ask them. If it were my TB I would probably ask you to hold it and not mail it since I don't want my TBs logging miles via the postal system. Now on the other hand if somebody could personally hand off a TB of mine to somebody that would be driving or flying to another state that would be fine with me. I realize that to a lot (maybe even most) of the people they may think that my stand is kind of silly to draw a distinction at not wanting a TB to get miles via the postal system and maybe it is, but that's just my personal preference. When in doubt you can't go wrong by contacting the TB owner and asking what they'd prefer since it is them you are trying to assist. Happy caching!!!! :mad:

Edited by Michigan Cacheman
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We found a couple travel bugs, but because we aren't going anywhere till summer, can we pass them off to our son, who caches in another state, just to keep them moving? Iam not sure that is legit, but I don't want to hang on to them too long. Found a bug yesterday but didn't take it till I know the answer.

 

Absolutely! Let your son have the bugs and he can log a "grabbed it" from you and then he can place them into caches.

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I've got quite a few travel items out, and had just been looking at the log. Started to be bent for a second on the ones that haven't moved. Then again, when I put them out into the wind, I can't have any real expectation. So I've come to the point that I like the traveling stuff, so I put it out, and trade them around when I can. After that if you start to get too fired up about them, it's too much like work.

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