puppyboy Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 i have 2 travel bugs that were picked up in september 2008 that have not logged any miles due to the people who have them have not dropped them off, both parties have also not been logged in on geocaching.com since september 2008 and i was wondering about the polite way of finding out their status without sounding like i am getting impatient. my other question is about the "unknown location" i have one tb who has had this put next to its name and i was wondering is it not the person who changes the tbs status to "unknown location" duty to contact the owner of the tb to let them know? I was shocked to find the one as "unknown location" and no email to inform me that they were going to put the tb as such. Quote Link to comment
Keystone Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 I am moving this thread from the Geocaching Topics forum to the Travel Bug forum. Quote Link to comment
+wavector Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 i have 2 travel bugs that were picked up in september 2008 that have not logged any miles due to the people who have them have not dropped them off, both parties have also not been logged in on geocaching.com since september 2008 and i was wondering about the polite way of finding out their status without sounding like i am getting impatient. my other question is about the "unknown location" i have one tb who has had this put next to its name and i was wondering is it not the person who changes the tbs status to "unknown location" duty to contact the owner of the tb to let them know? I was shocked to find the one as "unknown location" and no email to inform me that they were going to put the tb as such. A cache owner has marked your bug as missing because it is not in the cache where the records show it to be. This is a matter of routine for most cache owners. I wait until I can visit my cache but if the Travel Bug isn't there I mark it as missing which changes the location to "?Unknown". Having your bug marked as Location unknown has no impact on the bug. It can still be Grabbed and dropped by anyone who has the secret code engraved on the tag. What it does do is remove the bug from the cache page so that visitors do not see it as being in that cache when it actually isn't. I wouldn't worry about not getting an email, the cache owner isn't doing anything to the bug but confirming for other searchers that it isn't in their cache. It removes the bug from the cache page and removes the icon from the cache listing page, that way people looking at the listings don't see an icon showing a bug is in the cache when it actually isn't. I hope it shows up, don't give up hope, many bugs return from the unknown. Quote Link to comment
+Team_Maxwell Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 I hope this is the right place to post this. I have a travel bug that has been doing very well and traveling all over the place. Currently it is in another province than I am in which is exciting and that's what I want it to do but there is someone that currently has it and I have sent numerous emails to them asking them very nicely if they can please place it in another cache soon. I could understand that maybe the weather has not been very nice but maybe even getting an email back from this person that has it would've been considerate and to say something like that they will on their next travels would've sufficed. But I have not heard anything from them. I have forgotten to put a coin in a cache one time when I retrieved it and the owner did send me an email. I just sent them an email right away and apologized to them and that weekend I put it in another cache. These things happen I can understand but to say nothing I think is rude and inconsiderate. Their last visit on the website geocaching.com was Jan 7, of this year so I know they have been on since I last emailed them. But they have not said or done anything. What can one do about this please??? Quote Link to comment
+Team_Maxwell Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 I hope this is the right place to post this. I have a travel bug that has been doing very well and traveling all over the place. Currently it is in another province than I am in which is exciting and that's what I want it to do but there is someone that currently has it and I have sent numerous emails to them asking them very nicely if they can please place it in another cache soon. I could understand that maybe the weather has not been very nice but maybe even getting an email back from this person that has it would've been considerate and to say something like that they will on their next travels would've sufficed. But I have not heard anything from them. I have forgotten to put a coin in a cache one time when I retrieved it and the owner did send me an email. I just sent them an email right away and apologized to them and that weekend I put it in another cache. These things happen I can understand but to say nothing I think is rude and inconsiderate. Their last visit on the website geocaching.com was Jan 7, of this year so I know they have been on since I last emailed them. But they have not said or done anything. What can one do about this please? Quote Link to comment
+Harry Dolphin Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Umm.. Don't harass them. They've only had the bug a few months. I wouldn't have e-mailed them until they'd held the bug for three or four months. Yes. The guidelines say 'two weeks', but two months is not unrealistic, nor unreasonable. And, they are newbies. That was their first cache, and their first travel bug. Yes. We do feel paternalistic/meternalistic for quite a while about our children out in the world. But, there is nothing you can do about it. You might try a very friendly e-mail in another couple of months, and see if tha thelps. Quote Link to comment
+Chi-Town Cacher Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 I hope this is the right place to post this. I have a travel bug that has been doing very well and traveling all over the place. Currently it is in another province than I am in which is exciting and that's what I want it to do but there is someone that currently has it and I have sent numerous emails to them asking them very nicely if they can please place it in another cache soon. I could understand that maybe the weather has not been very nice but maybe even getting an email back from this person that has it would've been considerate and to say something like that they will on their next travels would've sufficed. But I have not heard anything from them. I have forgotten to put a coin in a cache one time when I retrieved it and the owner did send me an email. I just sent them an email right away and apologized to them and that weekend I put it in another cache. These things happen I can understand but to say nothing I think is rude and inconsiderate. Their last visit on the website geocaching.com was Jan 7, of this year so I know they have been on since I last emailed them. But they have not said or done anything. What can one do about this please? The Op says it's rude to not respond to an E-Mail inquiry. One possible explanation is maybe that E-Mail account is no longer one they check on a regular basis so maybe they never got your message. I know most people on here will disagree, but for me I think to wait a couple months before contacting the person holding a TB is to long (mabe I just need to learn to be more patient, but if you wait 6 months then the TB could be lost in their home since the longer it sits around somebodys home the more likely it is to become truely lost). Luckily it hasn't happened to me yet, although I know it will, buy I've thought about it and when it does happen here's what I'm planning on doing. After 1 month I'll send them a nice E-Mail thanking them for picking up my TB and telling them I'm looking forward to seeing what cache they place it in next. Then I'll wait a month and then I'll try a more direct route and send a friendly E-Mail asking them to move it on to a new cache. Of course is the person lives up North and it's Winter I would not contact them at all until the weather has moderated since I don't expect anybody to go caching in the freezing cold. Yes, I think we should understand that sometimes people have things come up that prevent them from immediately placing a TB in a cache, but I think the above strategy is more than patient enough. Thats my personal opinion anyways. Happy caching!!! Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 I know most people on here will disagree, but for me I think to wait a couple months before contacting the person holding a TB is to long (mabe I just need to learn to be more patient, but if you wait 6 months then the TB could be lost in their home since the longer it sits around somebodys home the more likely it is to become truely lost). I don't contact the holder for at least three months. Then I simply ask if they'll have a chance to move it on. If not I can pay for postage or find someone local to take hand off. I understand that sometimes life gets in the way of caching. I might send another email later, but if they do or don't read the emails additional ones will probably be treated in the same manner as the first. I highly recommend waiting one full year before considering a TB lost and can be re-released. This also include ones that disappear from caches. If the bug can be confirmed as missing such as due to a destroyed or stolen cache then the bug can be re-released immediately. Quote Link to comment
CLV3 Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 I have someone who has picked up 3 of my bugs in like October or November. They have moved one on and still have 2. I am not worried yet, the fact that they moved one on is a good thing and caching does slow down here in the Winter months. I will wait until Spring before I really start panicking. Quote Link to comment
+dwightb99 Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Hi, I also have had a problem with my TB not being placed. This person has had it since April 08. I have sent numerous e-mails. The first one was polite and I got a response saying she was sorry she forgot and would place it immediately. Months went by and nothing. I started sending more emails and get no response. There should be some way of taking away their premium memberships for not following the rules. Quote Link to comment
7rxc Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 Their last visit on the website geocaching.com was Jan 7, of this year so I know they have been on since I last emailed them. But they have not said or done anything. What can one do about this please??? If it was LPD one of your two... it was placed 2008/01/25 near Edmonton... but you probably got the note of that... Patience.... it also seems that they were lucky to be able to do that... from their log. Doug Quote Link to comment
+Belfrypotters Posted January 30, 2009 Share Posted January 30, 2009 If it was LPD one of your two... it was placed 2008/01/25 near Edmonton... but you probably got the note of that... Patience.... it also seems that they were lucky to be able to do that... from their log. It was -29C when they dropped off the bug, so I'd say they really were concerned about getting it back in action. And something about the wording of their log makes me think they DID reply to the owner earlier, explaining the problem. Emails don't always reach their destination. I love a happy ending! Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.