Is it ok to hoard travel bugs?

[+whichwaydidigo]

We are fairly new, and today we came across something that really has me bothered. Last night our first cache with swag was posted. In the swag was a travel bug we left. The first to find took the TB, and then the second to find left 2 TBs in the cache. I thought that was really cool, and I was gonna go check them out later today. I was so excited until I found the 2 travel bugs somewhere I never expected - in someone's bucket! We met a couple fellow cachers on a hunt, and we got to talking to them. While we were talking they showed us a bucket and in it was about 15-20 travel bugs. There was both of them that were placed in our cache last night, and one we moved to another cache a few weeks ago. None of them are logged, so the inventory on the cache listing shows them still in the cache. They told us they collect them from everywhere for about a month, then go to a cache event, and then release them. They wanted us to write the codes all down so we could log a discover under each one. The reason this makes me mad is because there are a lot of caches out there that no one gets to find the TBs listed in the inventory because they are hoarding them. They seem to log only about once a month, and log that they are not sure what date they were there. What about the rest of us that get excited when we find a TB and want to move it along and watch it's journey???? Am I wrong about letting this bother me so much, or is this common or acceptable practice??? Just wanting some input from some more experienced cachers. Thank you!!!

[+Louis Lovers]

I shouldn't let it bother you. I'm also a newbie but already I'm finding I'm resigned to this - if you let it bother you you're going to rupture something I'm afraid as the TB/GC stuff is always ongoing. It's a shame as the idea of TBs is brilliant and potentially adds loads to the hobby. But people are forever nicking them, losing them, not logging them etc. Cache owners are frequently just as irritating in that a lot don't seem to comprehend the notion of maintaining their caches, including marking missing TBs as missing from their caches. LOL now you've got me going and I try really hard not to get wound up by this! Some newbie on the south coast has stated in his cache log that he's picked up my TB. He's even written the flippin' tracking code into the log. I've emailed him requesting he actually log the TB and given him detailed instructions as to how to do it, I've also asked both him and the CO to remove the tracking code from the log, and I've also asked him to hurry up and move it as it's in a race. Nada. No response, no action. And I don't take the "newbie" excuse as legitimate either. As stated, I'm a newbie but I manage to read a few simple instructions. Hey ho. Bottom line is, people nick these things. That's life.

 

As for your original question regarding hoarding them - I can't see the harm, frankly, if that's what people want to do. But I do wish they'd log that they have them so the owner knows where they're at. It's just a courtesy if nothing else. Likewise, I wish people would read the TB's profile. It's all well and good holding on to one for a few weeks if it's simply out there to travel around and collect photos and mileage. But if it's in a race or specifically trying to get somewhere then it can just be a pain in the proverbial for some yahoo to stick it in their bucket! This whole activity is (for me anyway) just a bit of fun and I don't see why some people feel the need to spoil it for others like this. It's just plain rude! I think that's what gets me the most; none of this is particularly worth having an ulcer over, but it's very disappointing. The geocaching community seems to be a whole bunch of very nice, intelligent folk having a bit of fun and it's extremely disappointing to see examples of bad grace or a lack of wit. Probably this behaviour wouldn't warrant a second glance in our day-to-day lives, but within this little past-time we expect better.

 

That's my little rant over, I'll wait and see if someone shoots me down in flames now!

[+StarBrand]

They wanted us to write the codes all down so we could log a discover under each one.

 

I have always disliked that particular use of the 'discover' logs. "I saw the number for the TB on a sheet of paper" - just wasn't the intended purpose. The idea was to let TB owners know the TB was safe and sound but not being moved out of the cache.

 

Life is full of inconsiderate folks - not too surprising that some of them become Geocachers. Participate in Geocaching with integrity to yourself and consideration of others and their property - others will follow the example. Its the best any of us can do.

[+Ike 13]

I see no harm in picking up a travel bug the day or two before the meeting and taking it to the meeting. You know a lot of people will be there, and usually one person may be going far away soon. This strategy can help Tbs and coins move faster.

 

I do think it's a bad idea to take any TB or coin and not log it as such ASAP. Every time I host a meeting there are always one or two TBs that someone picked up but haven't logged. This means I have to mark them missing which is upsetting until they turn back up.

[+Max and 99]

I'm going to be the first to say this practice is WRONG. Shame on those cachers who are hoarding the TBs and not logging them promptly.

[+The Blorenges]

I'd say it's not "hoarding" them if the intention is to take them along to an event in about a month so they can be seen by a lot of cachers and (hopefully) get helped on their missions. The issue is "Will the guy with the bucket log them out of the various caches correctly and then log them into the event?"

 

Hopefully he will.

 

When someone has a lot of trackables "in their hands" and has had them for months, sometimes years, and is still actively caching but taking no action to place those trackables into caches - That's the sort of hoarding that would concern me.

 

MrsB

[+whichwaydidigo]

Thanks for your responses! My wife and I have decided that it is not worth the time or energy to get upset about something we can't change. We can only do things that we feel are the right way and enjoy this awesome hobby we have found

[+t4e]

I'd say it's not "hoarding" them if the intention is to take them along to an event in about a month so they can be seen by a lot of cachers and (hopefully) get helped on their missions. The issue is "Will the guy with the bucket log them out of the various caches correctly and then log them into the event?"

 

Hopefully he will.

 

When someone has a lot of trackables "in their hands" and has had them for months, sometimes years, and is still actively caching but taking no action to place those trackables into caches - That's the sort of hoarding that would concern me.

 

MrsB

 

come on, you know better than that...EVENTS are the worst place to leave a trackable in, with the exception of some of the MEGA events where they are very organized about it

 

this poor sod never made it out of town lmao

 

unless the owner has agreed to it there is absolutely no reason to hold on to trackables

Edited April 4, 2011 by t4e

[+The Blorenges]

I'd say it's not "hoarding" them if the intention is to take them along to an event in about a month so they can be seen by a lot of cachers and (hopefully) get helped on their missions. The issue is "Will the guy with the bucket log them out of the various caches correctly and then log them into the event?"

 

Hopefully he will.

 

When someone has a lot of trackables "in their hands" and has had them for months, sometimes years, and is still actively caching but taking no action to place those trackables into caches - That's the sort of hoarding that would concern me.

 

MrsB

 

come on, you know better than that...EVENTS are the worst place to leave a trackable in, with the exception of some of the MEGA events where they are very organized about it

 

this poor sod never made it out of town lmao

 

unless the owner has agreed to it there is absolutely no reason to hold on to trackables

 

"... you know better than that..."

 

 

Don't try and foist your opinion onto me!

 

Thousands of trackables travel through events without incident. An event is a cache. Collecting a trackable, then dropping it off into an Event cache within a month is (just about) an acceptable length of time to hold a trackable.

 

You may not like the idea that somebody does it, but as long as they do the logging correctly they haven't broken any rules by my book.

 

MrsB

Edited April 4, 2011 by The Blorenges

[+the3gmen]

Thje big problem with what you describe is that they haven't logged them out of the caches where they were found. There is no reason to not post a log on a cache stating that you've taken a travel bug out. Some cachers might go to a cache specifically for that TB and if it was removed 2 weeks ago but not logged, they will be disappointed.

 

As for holding them for a month until the next event. I don't think that is right either, but it is less of an issue.

[+t4e]

 

Don't try and foist your opinion onto me!

 

Thousands of trackables travel through events without incident.

 

MrsB

 

right

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=a039deb7-cd60-4903-ac07-cf115f443dac

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=3000be4a-4129-4642-bd49-e8a83e2c2819

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=dc056f49-94c4-448e-95ab-ab02c841872d

 

and the icing on the cake

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=dc103c4c-0994-4d9a-a0f9-c563555b10f2

 

i don't have time to dig up more examples

 

thousands of trackables get lost in Events, and NO an event is not a cache

 

tell the owners of those trackables that its OK to drop off their TB's and coins to Events

Edited April 4, 2011 by t4e

[+The Blorenges]

...and thousands of trackables get lost/disappear from regular "container" caches too. If there are 300 trackables logged into one event do you believe that a higher proportion of them get lost/disappear from that one event than the 300 trackables that pass individually through one regular cache over the course of time? I'm not convinced that any trackable's chances of falling into The Void are statistically much worse if they're placed into an event rather than the usual trials and tribulations they experience when travelling through other caches.

 

Anyway, let's not argue about the Horrors of Events because that pulls this thread a bit off topic. The topic title says "hoard". I don't think it's wrong to collect up some trackables to be placed into an event a month later as long as logging is done correctly: I don't think that amounts to hoarding. Others disagree.

 

Let the debate continue!

 

MrsB

 

Edited to add: By the way, I had a quick look at the "icing on the cake" link: Clicking on a few of those trackables it appears that they were placed into the event by the owners and I suspect they may have been left logged into the event inventory quite deliberately as a convenient "storage location". I doubt that they've all got lost/been stolen but can't tell without asking all the owners.

Edited April 4, 2011 by The Blorenges

[+hukilaulau]

This thread kinda reminded me of folks a few years ago who would go to events and proudly display chains made of Jeep TB's they had stolen, sometimes wearing them around their necks. At least the cachers you describe have the intent of moving the TB's on, even if the method seems a little lazy.

[+the3gmen]

Might this topic be better suited to the Travel Bug forum ?

[+BlueDeuce]

Might this topic be better suited to the Travel Bug forum ?

 

Getting started threads tend not to be moved.

[+A & J Tooling]

Keep the thread here so those of us n00bs, learn how not to do things or to do things... whichever. I have already learned not to leave more then one of anything in a single location.

[+dfx]

I don't think it's wrong to collect up some trackables to be placed into an event a month later as long as logging is done correctly: I don't think that amounts to hoarding. Others disagree.

 

I'm one of the "others". Most of the time, putting a TB into the box at an event does nothing to help it towards its goal. The exception is when the cacher actively seeks other cachers to pass the TBs on to, who can specifically help them towards their goal, or when the TB has a well visible tag attached to it, stating its mission. But my experience is that most of the time neither of those things happen and people take TBs to events just as an easy way to get rid of them, and other cachers randomly pick them up, pretty much serving the same purpose as dropping them into a random cache, with the differences being that they hold on to the TBs for too long without actually helping them along, and that there's gonna be a lot of TBs around, which makes it easy for them to get lost, mixed up or damaged. Plus, it's near to impossible to look at the present TBs' listings and see if you can help any of them out, not ahead of time and not at the event itself.

[+pyromomma]

We are fairly new, and today we came across something that really has me bothered. Last night our first cache with swag was posted. In the swag was a travel bug we left. The first to find took the TB, and then the second to find left 2 TBs in the cache. I thought that was really cool, and I was gonna go check them out later today. I was so excited until I found the 2 travel bugs somewhere I never expected - in someone's bucket! We met a couple fellow cachers on a hunt, and we got to talking to them. While we were talking they showed us a bucket and in it was about 15-20 travel bugs. There was both of them that were placed in our cache last night, and one we moved to another cache a few weeks ago. None of them are logged, so the inventory on the cache listing shows them still in the cache. They told us they collect them from everywhere for about a month, then go to a cache event, and then release them. They wanted us to write the codes all down so we could log a discover under each one. The reason this makes me mad is because there are a lot of caches out there that no one gets to find the TBs listed in the inventory because they are hoarding them. They seem to log only about once a month, and log that they are not sure what date they were there. What about the rest of us that get excited when we find a TB and want to move it along and watch it's journey???? Am I wrong about letting this bother me so much, or is this common or acceptable practice??? Just wanting some input from some more experienced cachers. Thank you!!!

 

This is wrong for 2 reasons that you stated:

1) They did not log the bugs out of the cache and so the owner of the bug does not know the location or status of the bug.

2) By not logging them out there are those that will visit the cache looking for a TB to move.

 

Part of the fun of putting out a TB is not just for the miles or to see who discovered it, but it is to share the stories of where you found it, how you got it, and where it might be going. I have never seen a "discovered it" from an event that was anything more than just that - nothing about the event, the people or the 'find'.

 

I would not sweat this too much, but you do owe it to the bug owners to try to contact that bucket person to get them to at least log it out of your cache. Then the owner will have a clue on who to contact if it goes missing for real. If Bucket Person does not log it out you can file a note with the bug owner about what happened and mark it as 'whereabouts unknown' to remove it from your cache list.

 

A learning experience is one of those things that says, 'You know that thing you just did? Don't do that.'

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