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Fess Up, are you a Keeper or a Giver?


90%Angel

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Hi, I would like to know how common it is for people to Keep Travel Bugs and Geo-coins that they find. I have come across sooooo many caches that say there are TB's / Geo-Coins in them, only to find they are not there. I have placed some that have traveled thousands of Miles and they still have not been 'replaced'. Personally I think that is not good Sportsmanship. If a TB has a goal/destination, I find it a thrill to be part of forwarding it on it's journey. If it doesn't have a specific goal, I will move it along where ever I think would be a good place for it to be picked up. Do you 'Keep' some favourite TBs you find? If so, doesn't that kind of spoil it for those who like honor the CO's wishes?

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Hmmm?

I try to move a TB or coin as soon as possible but sometimes it takes a while. I discover coins and TB's, so I don't have to worry about misplacing the item and I've done several times but they got placed some time later.

 

I have only kept one coin as it was a gift of sorts. I lost one, bad puppy! :unsure:

 

I place my coins out in hard to get areas and they are currently named for certain Cachers. I hope that they can find them and it's nice to know they are picked up by them and if someone else does the grab they are moved, so someday the coin/cacher meet.

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If I find a coin that is not trackable, can I keep it as a collectable or should it be passed on or left in the cache?

 

Fairly sure that a non-trackable would have been left as swag. We have picked up a few left as FTF prizes (but that was noted as such on the cache page). :lol:

 

Is best to check prior logs to see who deposited the coin. Am pretty sure they would mention it, or of course to read the cache page itself -- not saying you don't but have noticed a lot of people don't.

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Hi, I would like to know how common it is for people to Keep Travel Bugs and Geo-coins that they find. I have come across sooooo many caches that say there are TB's / Geo-Coins in them, only to find they are not there. I have placed some that have traveled thousands of Miles and they still have not been 'replaced'. Personally I think that is not good Sportsmanship. If a TB has a goal/destination, I find it a thrill to be part of forwarding it on it's journey. If it doesn't have a specific goal, I will move it along where ever I think would be a good place for it to be picked up. Do you 'Keep' some favourite TBs you find? If so, doesn't that kind of spoil it for those who like honor the CO's wishes?

 

Travel bugs are meant to move. Do what you can to keep them going.

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Hi, I would like to know how common it is for people to Keep Travel Bugs and Geo-coins that they find. I have come across sooooo many caches that say there are TB's / Geo-Coins in them, only to find they are not there. I have placed some that have traveled thousands of Miles and they still have not been 'replaced'. Personally I think that is not good Sportsmanship. If a TB has a goal/destination, I find it a thrill to be part of forwarding it on it's journey. If it doesn't have a specific goal, I will move it along where ever I think would be a good place for it to be picked up. Do you 'Keep' some favourite TBs you find? If so, doesn't that kind of spoil it for those who like honor the CO's wishes?

 

Keeping someone else's property is considered theft. And it definitely spoils the fun of the purpose of sending them out to travel.

 

Icons that show up on cache pages for TBs and coins that have long since not been in the cache can be moved to "missing" by either the owner of the traveler or the owner of the cache. But many people do not seem to know they can do this.

 

As for the cachers who may have your travelers but haven't released them back into a cache, a polite email asking them to do so can work wonders. Many people just forget they have them and need a gentle reminder to get them moving again.

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Hmmm?

I try to move a TB or coin as soon as possible but sometimes it takes a while. I discover coins and TB's, so I don't have to worry about misplacing the item and I've done several times but they got placed some time later.

 

I have only kept one coin as it was a gift of sorts. I lost one, bad puppy! :)

 

I place my coins out in hard to get areas and they are currently named for certain Cachers. I hope that they can find them and it's nice to know they are picked up by them and if someone else does the grab they are moved, so someday the coin/cacher meet.

 

Good for you, with soooo many that seem to disappear into thin air, I can't help but think there are those cachers who have a 'collection' going on somewhere. It would be nice if they did the 'honorable thing' and moved them along.... in a perfect world I guess eh? LOL... Happy Caching!~

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If I find a coin that is not trackable, can I keep it as a collectable or should it be passed on or left in the cache?

 

I just went to my first meeting last week and was told that 'those type' that are not trackables, you can keep and are often meant as a 'gift' of sorts. So if you are sure it's not a TB or Geo-Coin, then I'd say it's yours!

Happy Caching!

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Hi, I would like to know how common it is for people to Keep Travel Bugs and Geo-coins that they find. I have come across sooooo many caches that say there are TB's / Geo-Coins in them, only to find they are not there. I have placed some that have traveled thousands of Miles and they still have not been 'replaced'. Personally I think that is not good Sportsmanship. If a TB has a goal/destination, I find it a thrill to be part of forwarding it on it's journey. If it doesn't have a specific goal, I will move it along where ever I think would be a good place for it to be picked up. Do you 'Keep' some favourite TBs you find? If so, doesn't that kind of spoil it for those who like honor the CO's wishes?

 

Travel bugs are meant to move. Do what you can to keep them going.

 

I agree, but apparently not every Cacher does... I think it's kind of sad, especially if one has travelled thousands of miles only to end up in someones collection! Happy Caching!

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If I find a coin that is not trackable, can I keep it as a collectable or should it be passed on or left in the cache?

 

I just went to my first meeting last week and was told that 'those type' that are not trackables, you can keep and are often meant as a 'gift' of sorts. So if you are sure it's not a TB or Geo-Coin, then I'd say it's yours!

Happy Caching!

 

then I'd say it's yours! - To trade even or up for.

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Hi, I would like to know how common it is for people to Keep Travel Bugs and Geo-coins that they find. I have come across sooooo many caches that say there are TB's / Geo-Coins in them, only to find they are not there. I have placed some that have traveled thousands of Miles and they still have not been 'replaced'. Personally I think that is not good Sportsmanship. If a TB has a goal/destination, I find it a thrill to be part of forwarding it on it's journey. If it doesn't have a specific goal, I will move it along where ever I think would be a good place for it to be picked up. Do you 'Keep' some favourite TBs you find? If so, doesn't that kind of spoil it for those who like honor the CO's wishes?

 

Keeping someone else's property is considered theft. And it definitely spoils the fun of the purpose of sending them out to travel.

 

Icons that show up on cache pages for TBs and coins that have long since not been in the cache can be moved to "missing" by either the owner of the traveler or the owner of the cache. But many people do not seem to know they can do this.

 

As for the cachers who may have your travelers but haven't released them back into a cache, a polite email asking them to do so can work wonders. Many people just forget they have them and need a gentle reminder to get them moving again.

 

I agree completely! I did try and message the people who have them but have had no response. It would be nice if all Cachers shared your (our) thoughts on this matter and moved them along.... just isnt always the case. Happy Caching.

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Hi, I would like to know how common it is for people to Keep Travel Bugs and Geo-coins that they find. I have come across sooooo many caches that say there are TB's / Geo-Coins in them, only to find they are not there. I have placed some that have traveled thousands of Miles and they still have not been 'replaced'. Personally I think that is not good Sportsmanship. If a TB has a goal/destination, I find it a thrill to be part of forwarding it on it's journey. If it doesn't have a specific goal, I will move it along where ever I think would be a good place for it to be picked up. Do you 'Keep' some favourite TBs you find? If so, doesn't that kind of spoil it for those who like honor the CO's wishes?

 

Keeping someone else's property is considered theft. And it definitely spoils the fun of the purpose of sending them out to travel.

 

Icons that show up on cache pages for TBs and coins that have long since not been in the cache can be moved to "missing" by either the owner of the traveler or the owner of the cache. But many people do not seem to know they can do this.

 

As for the cachers who may have your travelers but haven't released them back into a cache, a polite email asking them to do so can work wonders. Many people just forget they have them and need a gentle reminder to get them moving again.

 

I agree completely! I did try and message the people who have them but have had no response. It would be nice if all Cachers shared your (our) thoughts on this matter and moved them along.... just isnt always the case. Happy Caching.

 

we move them as quickly as possible

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Hi, I would like to know how common it is for people to Keep Travel Bugs and Geo-coins that they find. I have come across sooooo many caches that say there are TB's / Geo-Coins in them, only to find they are not there. I have placed some that have traveled thousands of Miles and they still have not been 'replaced'. Personally I think that is not good Sportsmanship. If a TB has a goal/destination, I find it a thrill to be part of forwarding it on it's journey. If it doesn't have a specific goal, I will move it along where ever I think would be a good place for it to be picked up. Do you 'Keep' some favourite TBs you find? If so, doesn't that kind of spoil it for those who like honor the CO's wishes?

 

 

I think most cachers that take trackables move them along to a new location. There are some exceptions. Some may be new to the sport and don't understand what they have found. We found a bug called Red Hook that hadn't been logged in over a year. After some research I found the owner in Afganistan. The numbers on the bug had been rubbed off so I contacted the owner and he sent me the tracking number. He had quite a story about what had happened. It was fun to be able to get the bug back in circulation.

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Keeping someone else's property is considered theft.

If someone leaves something somewhere with no intent to retrieve it, it is called abandoned property. I'd love to see someone try and get theft charges to stick to someone holding a Travel Bug or Geocoin.

It isn't about the law, it's about ethics.

With some few possible exceptions, "trackables" are clearly meant to be moved around, and not kept by anyone except the owner. So your "leaves something somewhere with no intent to retrieve it" is not entirely correct.

Anyone who keeps a trackable, knowing full well what it is and what it is meant for, is pretty low.

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My wife (Jammy911) and I (Dr. Long) just got into Caching and s far have found two bugs. One we are going to mail to some Friends that cach in Ohio because the goal for it was to see as many space related sites before returning home. Ohio is home to the Wright Brothers. The other we placed in another cach. I agree tht it is poor sportsmanship to keep them!

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My wife (Jammy911) and I (Dr. Long) just got into Caching and s far have found two bugs. One we are going to mail to some Friends that cach in Ohio because the goal for it was to see as many space related sites before returning home. Ohio is home to the Wright Brothers. The other we placed in another cach. I agree tht it is poor sportsmanship to keep them!

In general you should not mail trackables unless you have permission/consent from the owner of the trackable. Trackables are normally intended to move from cache to cache by whomever finds them. But moving a trackable in an unusual manner is certainly better than keeping it.

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Keeping someone else's property is considered theft.

If someone leaves something somewhere with no intent to retrieve it, it is called abandoned property. I'd love to see someone try and get theft charges to stick to someone holding a Travel Bug or Geocoin.

It isn't about the law, it's about ethics.

With some few possible exceptions, "trackables" are clearly meant to be moved around, and not kept by anyone except the owner. So your "leaves something somewhere with no intent to retrieve it" is not entirely correct.

Anyone who keeps a trackable, knowing full well what it is and what it is meant for, is pretty low.

It is pretty low. But it's hardly theft.

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It is pretty low. But it's hardly theft.

 

If you are talking about filing a police report over missing trackables, I agree that the police aren't going to look into it.

 

However using your own logic ("If someone leaves something somewhere with no intent to retrieve it, it is called abandoned property"), when I leave my credit card information on a web site or in a store and someone uses it without my permission, it isn't theft either. And we all know that is patently false. :)

 

Aren't semantics fun? B)

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I pass them on, but sometimes it takes a little while to figure out which cache I want to move them to, especially if the trackable has a specific goal.

 

I agree, I try to get them moving as soon as I can keeping the 'goal' in mind as much as possible. Im starting to send out a few of my own and want to get my first Cache out there soon. I sure 'HOPE' my TB's and their goals 'fair well' and don't get muggled or scooped up by someone that doesn't have the courtesy to play the game fairly.

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Hi, I would like to know how common it is for people to Keep Travel Bugs and Geo-coins that they find. I have come across sooooo many caches that say there are TB's / Geo-Coins in them, only to find they are not there. I have placed some that have traveled thousands of Miles and they still have not been 'replaced'. Personally I think that is not good Sportsmanship. If a TB has a goal/destination, I find it a thrill to be part of forwarding it on it's journey. If it doesn't have a specific goal, I will move it along where ever I think would be a good place for it to be picked up. Do you 'Keep' some favourite TBs you find? If so, doesn't that kind of spoil it for those who like honor the CO's wishes?

 

 

I think most cachers that take trackables move them along to a new location. There are some exceptions. Some may be new to the sport and don't understand what they have found. We found a bug called Red Hook that hadn't been logged in over a year. After some research I found the owner in Afganistan. The numbers on the bug had been rubbed off so I contacted the owner and he sent me the tracking number. He had quite a story about what had happened. It was fun to be able to get the bug back in circulation.

 

Wow, That's cool! Kuddo's to you for making the effort to contact the owner. I'll bet that must have felt like you were Super slueth eh? LOL

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And do you really expect anyone to come in here and admit stealing TBs/geocoins?!?

Soonest is not always the best, unless the owner insists. Otherwise, I try to find good caches to put them in. It's sad to see people put them in caches where several trackables have been muggled. That's only inviting disaster.

 

LOL.. no, I guess not everyone, however I thought maybe some people would 'fess up' to having kept one or two maybe in their 'early caching days'. I can understand if it's an issue of ignorance more than greed. I have wondered about those caches I've read entries for that have several TB's in them at once. Do people usually just take one? .. maybe two?... or do some take them all?

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It is pretty low. But it's hardly theft.

 

If you are talking about filing a police report over missing trackables, I agree that the police aren't going to look into it.

 

However using your own logic ("If someone leaves something somewhere with no intent to retrieve it, it is called abandoned property"), when I leave my credit card information on a web site or in a store and someone uses it without my permission, it isn't theft either. And we all know that is patently false. :blink:

 

Aren't semantics fun? ;)

Apples & Oranges.

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It seems that lately up here in the Maple Valley area of Washington State, there has been a rash of missing tbs and coins so I launched a new tb called "Steal This!!(TB2ANVG)

It has a cheap clip attached to it. If you like it you can keep it and attach something else to the tag and then post a pic of the new item. I will update the default pic as it(hopefully) moves along. I don't know how far it will get before it disappears but what the heck.

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Bug collectors should be exterminated! shakecane.gif

 

But seriously, it's just so pathetic to keep someone's travel bug. How sad does your life have to be before you can find pleasure in collecting bugs. ;)

 

My favorite bug has been held for the past 1-1/2 years by a cacher in Oregon. He used to at least acknowledge my (always polite) emails. Now he just ignores me and keeps my bug. But that's how it goes. If he needs it that badly then I hope possessing it helps him cope. :blink:

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It seems that lately up here in the Maple Valley area of Washington State, there has been a rash of missing tbs and coins so I launched a new tb called "Steal This!!(TB2ANVG)

It has a cheap clip attached to it. If you like it you can keep it and attach something else to the tag and then post a pic of the new item. I will update the default pic as it(hopefully) moves along. I don't know how far it will get before it disappears but what the heck.

 

Maple Valley eh? .. I better warn my friend who lives out that way and is planning on putting out a few new caches!.....I do like the idea though, like another fellow geo-cacher said, he might start up a 'shape-shifter' TB, since it seems so many of them 'change' anyways... it will be interesting to know how that goes.

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Bug collectors should be exterminated! shakecane.gif

 

But seriously, it's just so pathetic to keep someone's travel bug. How sad does your life have to be before you can find pleasure in collecting bugs. :rolleyes:

 

My favorite bug has been held for the past 1-1/2 years by a cacher in Oregon. He used to at least acknowledge my (always polite) emails. Now he just ignores me and keeps my bug. But that's how it goes. If he needs it that badly then I hope possessing it helps him cope. :P

 

yeah, I agree, it's sad that some people seem to have no conscience about keeping fellow geo-cachers TB's or switching the cool hitch-hikers for something 'lame'. I've only just started putting out a few of my own and 'HOPE' they are not pocketed somewhere along the way~

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What generally happens when a bug reaches the owner's stated destination for it? Does it keep moving randomly at that point?

 

It can vary. If the goal was to reach, say Washington DC, the bug can still travel around visiting various locations as it is pick up by cachers. Lot's of opportunities for stories and photos in a place like that.

 

If the goal was to reach one specific location I would hope the owner had a plan for when that happened. Send them an email and ask them what they would like you to do with it. Maybe they'll say let it go and let others try to do the same. Maybe they'll say send it back, or maybe they'll change the goal and you set it on its way.

 

Not every bug has a final destination as a goal but if you do happen to have one and you met it, contact the owner. If they don't respond, just place it in another cache and don't worry about it.

Edited by BlueDeuce
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