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Are goals considered instructions?


Notags

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Ideally, the finder should have o.k.'d it with you before deviating your bug from its mission. HOWEVER, unless there was an attachment to your bug describing its mission, the deviation may have been completely innocent. If the finder did not know the bug's mission and merely picked it up and dropped it at his next cache find, I would lean more toward gratitude than resentment.

 

Question: Were the pick up and drop off logged to the web page at the same time? If so, it would tend to indicate the finder may not have known the mission until after the fact.

 

Worldtraveler

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Doesn't sound innocent to me...more like irresponsible. Did you read the cache page? They didn't even leave it in a cache.. they left it on a bench at a bus station..they heard about the cache afterwards and posted it to give the bug some sort of coordinates. I geuss if it ever showed up again you could have yourself a great adventure there but how likely is it? That stinks... but it's better at least having some kind of story then just vanishing. Good Luck!

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quote:
Originally posted by lorax184 (on Lord Baltimore's tracking page):

"we left him at a busy bus stop in Reykjavik. Hope he turns up again someday."


 

WTF???? The more I read about the things that happen to many travel bugs, the more regret I feel about the bugs that I have released...and the less faith I have that I'll ever see any of them again. icon_eek.gif

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quote:
Originally posted by lorax184 (on Lord Baltimore's tracking page):

"we left him at a busy bus stop in Reykjavik. Hope he turns up again someday."


 

WTF???? The more I read about the things that happen to many travel bugs, the more regret I feel about the bugs that I have released...and the less faith I have that I'll ever see any of them again. icon_eek.gif

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Plus, after leaving the bug at a public bus stop, they've logged it into a cache...which'll be sure to confuse some unsuspecting cacher who goes there to look for him, and will undoubtedly go away empty handed. If the bug were mine, I'd "grab" the bug, to remove it's attachment to the Iceland cache, and update his page, stating that he's gone AWOL from the geocaching community, and giving instructions on the off chance that whoever finds him will be curious enough about his travel bug tag to log onto the site, and put him back into circulation.

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Gah. Yeah, I think goals are instructions. I went on a TB binge last weekend in NY since I knew I was going to Michigan. I found two that said "I want to see as many states in the U.S. as possible" and we found another that said it would like to see as much of NY as possible. I left the NY bug w/ a caching buddy there and I'm taking the other two to Michigan where they will find new homes and help me get going on caching in my new home.

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Hiya Notags,

 

Looks to me like another newbie mix-up with the travel bugs. Some folks just aren't sure what to do with these things.

 

However, in this case the folks who grabbed it did at least know something about travel bugs i.e. they're supposed to travel. Odd though, they didn't log the cache they found it in and then did log the cache they left him near as their first find even though they never actually found the cache. It would also seem that they didn't even know the Iceland cache existed until after they left the travel bug!

 

For the life of me I can't fathom how one could be able to locate/find geocaches, and at least have a basic understanding of the concept behind geocaching and travel bugs, and then just carelessly leave him laying in a bus stop half way 'round the world.

 

Go figure? I think it would be safe to say that it'll be a miracle if Lord Baltimore ever shows up again.

 

Not that it would do any good, but have you considered emailing lorax184? They should probably at least be made aware of their faux pas lest they repeat the mistake again.

 

See this thread for ideas on idiot-proofing any future TB's you may be planning on placing.

 

Regards,

Tedoca

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quote:
Originally posted by Zuckerruebensirup:

Plus, after leaving the bug at a public bus stop, they've logged it into a cache...which'll be sure to confuse some unsuspecting cacher who goes there to look for him, and will undoubtedly go away empty handed.


Don't worry about that the cache has not been successfully found since July... 3 unsuccessful hunts since then.

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I think most people try to move the travel bugs iaw the owners wishes. The folks that left Lord Baltimore on a bench in a bus station in iceland probally don't fit in this category though. Whether by ignorance or spite I think he'es gone. But you never know. The bug has Groundspeak.com on it so maybe some well meaning icelander will log on and possible get into the game! GOTTA STAY POSITIVE!

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I will say that whatever fate Lord Baltimore has in store for him, you can always use your "copy" tag (or create your own with the number), and continue with another attached character. Not the best solution, I agree, but at least there is one.

 

Jeremy

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I have been stunned and appalled at the amount of confusion that surrounds travel bugs. I have seen few cases of malicious intent, but confusion and apathy abound. Between the 5 I have found and watching Markwell's Superfriends, 2 were never logged into the cache I got them from (Oink and Curious George), 1 has gone missing (WonderWoman), and 1 had been missing but suddenly appeared (Moun10Bike's Geocoin #13). Only 2 were without problems. (Sully and Cache Cart 5) Several of them have been out of caches (i.e. in someone's possesion) for what I consider way too long. 3 or 4 weeks and longer!! icon_mad.gif

 

The instruction for picking up and dropping off travel bugs were clear to me, but they are apparently not clear enough to others. Perhaps those instructions need to be easier to find and much more explicit.

 

Also, the goals/instructions/directions for an individual bug should be attached to the bug so there can be no doubt in the finder's mind what the mission is.

 

Because of their very nature, I don't see what else you could do. It's not like you can go retrieve or check on them like a cache.

 

Before I learned of the Superfriends, I was considering starting four travel bugs at the corners of the country with the goal of getting them all back together again. But now I think I would be lucky to get 2 or 3 of them back in the same state again. icon_rolleyes.gif

 

I still like finding bugs and still want to have a few of my own, but there has GOT to be a way to reduce the headaches.

 

(Wow, that got long and passionate.)

 

rdw

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I have been stunned and appalled at the amount of confusion that surrounds travel bugs. I have seen few cases of malicious intent, but confusion and apathy abound. Between the 5 I have found and watching Markwell's Superfriends, 2 were never logged into the cache I got them from (Oink and Curious George), 1 has gone missing (WonderWoman), and 1 had been missing but suddenly appeared (Moun10Bike's Geocoin #13). Only 2 were without problems. (Sully and Cache Cart 5) Several of them have been out of caches (i.e. in someone's possesion) for what I consider way too long. 3 or 4 weeks and longer!! icon_mad.gif

 

The instruction for picking up and dropping off travel bugs were clear to me, but they are apparently not clear enough to others. Perhaps those instructions need to be easier to find and much more explicit.

 

Also, the goals/instructions/directions for an individual bug should be attached to the bug so there can be no doubt in the finder's mind what the mission is.

 

Because of their very nature, I don't see what else you could do. It's not like you can go retrieve or check on them like a cache.

 

Before I learned of the Superfriends, I was considering starting four travel bugs at the corners of the country with the goal of getting them all back together again. But now I think I would be lucky to get 2 or 3 of them back in the same state again. icon_rolleyes.gif

 

I still like finding bugs and still want to have a few of my own, but there has GOT to be a way to reduce the headaches.

 

(Wow, that got long and passionate.)

 

rdw

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When I travel I usually print-out some geocaching pages before I leave. Last week I did this and upon visiting one of the caches I found a TB had been placed in the intervening day or so. I did not know the bug's goal so I left him/it behind but it sure would have been nice to have had the goal attached to the TB. As it turns out, my taking it would have gotten closer to the goal.

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I'm one of those dreaded *newbies* (had second find yesterday!:rolleyes:) but not all of us are incapable of researching things before heading out. We were travelling this past weekend to visit relatives and found a cache not far from our destination with a travel bug. I love the idea of travel bugs and really wanted to find one. I did read about them first, however, and made sure the one listed in the cache had a goal that I could further along. It did and I now have it! I will find him a new cache next weekend.

 

I do like the idea of goals being listed right on the TB's. It would help if you were to run across one you weren't expecting and it might help people understand that these aren't ordinary trade items. Won't completely solve the problem of ignorance, laziness, or just plain inconsideration but it might help those who understand the game and want to move the travelers along on their intended journeys.

 

Hoosiermom - team leader of GeoStars

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I'm one of those dreaded *newbies* (had second find yesterday!icon_biggrin.gif) but not all of us are incapable of researching things before heading out. We were travelling this past weekend to visit relatives and found a cache not far from our destination with a travel bug. I love the idea of travel bugs and really wanted to find one. I did read about them first, however, and made sure the one listed in the cache had a goal that I could further along. It did and I now have it! I will find him a new cache next weekend.

 

I do like the idea of goals being listed right on the TB's. It would help if you were to run across one you weren't expecting and it might help people understand that these aren't ordinary trade items. Won't completely solve the problem of ignorance, laziness, or just plain inconsideration but it might help those who understand the game and want to move the travelers along on their intended journeys.

 

Hoosiermom - team leader of GeoStars

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quote:
Originally posted by Notags:

Iceland it kinda _cool_ I guess.

 

Should I be upset that my TB is not "on-track" or happy that it has logged over 2900 miles?


You could contact the cachers in Iceland and ask around.....Maybe it was placed in a cache but it just was not logged IN that receiver cache? I know this seems like a lame thing to do, but ya nevah nevah know.

 

Luck may be on your side.

 

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dartfrogsmall.jpg

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quote:
Originally posted by MissJenn:

 

Maybe it was placed in a cache but it just was not logged IN that receiver cache?


 

Why would a person place it into a cache and NOT log it...then turn around and LOG the travel bug into a cache that they admit they never visited? (They specifically said they left the bug at a bus stop. Unless there is a 'Bus Stop' cache listed somewhere in Iceland that I'm not aware of.)

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quote:
Originally posted by Zuckerruebensirup:

 

Why would a person place it into a cache and NOT log it...then turn around and LOG the travel bug into a cache that they admit they never visited?


Sorry - I missed that part. I just wasn't paying close enough attention! icon_redface.gif

Okay - whoever did this is just an idiot.

 

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dartfrogsmall.jpg

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quote:
Originally posted by Zuckerruebensirup:

 

Why would a person place it into a cache and NOT log it...then turn around and LOG the travel bug into a cache that they admit they never visited?


Sorry - I missed that part. I just wasn't paying close enough attention! icon_redface.gif

Okay - whoever did this is just an idiot.

 

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dartfrogsmall.jpg

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