Is this normal for someone to do?

[+Mitragorz]

Just out of boredom, I was going through all the TBs I've found and just looking at what there up to. I got tho this one and was amazed: http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=1222880&page=1

 

Is this normal?? I mean, this person has held onto this TB for over two months and dipped it in every cache they've been to, racking up 23 pages of entries on that page, over 230 entries! Some were only .13 miles apart! OCD?

 

I generally drop a TB in the first cache that's big enough to hold it (or the first one I come to that is related to it's "mission").

 

I mean, after two months, wouldn't you think a person would say "you know, maybe I'll just leave this in the next one..."

 

I've just never seen any behavior like this before. I know I shouldn't care, since it's not my TB, but I'm just curious... Is this a normal habit for people? To me it seems excessive, but what do I know...

Edited September 18, 2011 by Mitragorz

[+t4e]

Just out of boredom, I was going through all the TBs I've found and just looking at what there up to. I got tho this one and was amazed: http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=1222880&page=1

 

Is this normal?? I mean, this person has held onto this TB for over two months and dipped it in every cache they've been to, racking up 23 pages of entries on that page, over 230 entries! Some were only .13 miles apart! OCD?

 

I generally drop a TB in the first cache that's big enough to hold it (or the first one I come to that is related to it's "mission").

 

I mean, after two months, wouldn't you think a person would say "you know, maybe I'll just leave this in the next one..."

 

I've just never seen any behavior like this before. I know I shouldn't care, since it's not my TB, but I'm just curious... Is this a normal habit for people? To me it seems excessive, but what do I know...

 

did you bother to check the sizes of caches he/she found?...i checked 3 pages and except for 2 small the rest were micros

 

maybe its not something you see every day but i wouldn't call it abnormal

if that was my TB i would be happy that at least he/she still has it and until they find the right cache they put some mileage on it

 

dropping a TB in the first cache you come across is not exactly the best practice either, just because its big enough, we always make an assessment of the location before dropping off TB's

[+Mitragorz]

No, I didn't bother to check the size of the caches, because I'm not going to waste my time going through 23 pages' worth!

 

If it were my TB, I'd be a little annoyed... I mean you've had the thing for over two months already, let someone else take it around!

 

And for the record, I don't necessarily drop a TB I found in the FIRST cache I find, but I do try to move it along as soon as I can. It does no good sitting around my house.

 

 

Nevermind... My question has been answered, I guess I just haven't been playing the game long enough to see something like this. Thanks for your input. Apparently this is normal.

 

i wouldn't call it abnormal

[+Max and 99]

Maybe this person checked with the TB owner, and was ASKED to bring the TB to each cache they visited? If for some reason I can't get rid of a TB within 2 weeks, I always, always contact the owner to let them know the situation.

 

23 pages of logs from one cacher is a LOT!!

[+kunarion]

Is this normal?? I mean, this person has held onto this TB for over two months and dipped it in every cache they've been to, racking up 23 pages of entries on that page, over 230 entries! Some were only .13 miles apart! OCD?

It's uncommon for that many "visits". One of my TBs was moved up the East Coast this way, and had about five "dips" each from two different cachers. My Trackables don't usually see much action, so I'm glad when they're on the move. You know where the TB is, it's racking up miles, you know the current holder is active, what's not to like!

 

This cacher is moving four TBs cache-to-cache, not just the one. I probably wouldn't do that -- way too much work.

Edited September 18, 2011 by kunarion

[+t4e]

 

This cacher is moving four TBs cache-to-cache, not just the one. I probably wouldn't do that -- way too much work.

 

not at all, the greasemonkey add on for "auto visit" works like a charm, you set once the trackable you want to always visit every cache you log and you're done...

 

Edited September 18, 2011 by t4e

[+Mitragorz]

I didn't even know that existed, that certainly explains it... I still don't like it, though! Look at how clogged that TB's page is!

[+JesandTodd]

I held onto a bug for ~6 months. It also visited each cache I logged ( unless it wasn't in my possession)

I had the owners permission, and took 73 pics of it at those visited caches.

 

The owner seemed to like it...

 

http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?guid=1abbe9bb-8359-42a6-9c40-ae3420211ff0

 

Now someone new has it, and visits without pics. Meh. The pics are really the treat, IMO

[+kunarion]

I didn't even know that existed, that certainly explains it... I still don't like it, though! Look at how clogged that TB's page is!

If anyone wants to clog my page, feel free.

 

One thing I like to do with Trackables, is to post photos of them at their location (at a landmark, or at least at the cache container), with a brief yet appropriate log on the Trackable's page. So the log is personalized. That's probably the other extreme, treating a TB like it's a special visiting emissary. Some people would prefer it just be picked up and dropped off. That way it can hurry up and vanish already, so they can come to the forums and mention how few moves or logs it ever got.

Edited September 18, 2011 by kunarion

[+Walts Hunting]

I wouldn't like that for one of mine. Probably did a power trail. When I travel with tbs I use the visit function once per location.

[+kunarion]

I wouldn't like that for one of mine. Probably did a power trail. When I travel with tbs I use the visit function once per location.

I'm not understanding what the problem is. Okay, sure they're getting Power Trail cooties all over your nice TB. But suppose all those moves were by different people. The page would still be "clogged" with all those too-short jumps (this is NEVER gonna happen, but suppose it did). What difference does it make if many people handled it or only one? What's the cutoff, how many Visits are too many? It's a TRAVEL BUG, it's supposed to travel, and that's what's happening. Tell me you don't actually want to discourage people from moving Trackables.

 

If someone KEEPS your TB or coin, adds it to their collector's binder as their own personal trophy, then "tracks" it for you, that would be an issue. I see no evidence that it happened here. The guy actually THINKS the TB owner appreciates the extra effort (maybe they do, who knew). Okay, sure, I've been told it's no effort at all.

 

None of those TB pages specify that they be dropped off in the next container that can hold them. If you require that, you MUST add that info to the page immediately, BEFORE someone takes it on such a run.

Edited September 19, 2011 by kunarion

[+germanybert]

Wouldn't bother me one bit. Of course I am one of the few who seem to realize that once I let the TB go....it is no longer mine.

[+kunarion]

once I let the TB go....it is no longer mine.

Yes, in the sense that you'll never see it again.

[+germanybert]

Actually, I have seen quite a few of mine again and it is always cool when I do.

[+Frank Broughton]

Wouldn't bother me one bit. Of course I am one of the few who seem to realize that once I let the TB go....it is no longer mine.

 

Ding..... the voice of reason rings! There is no problem with doing what the holder is doing. I do it all the time. Wish it was done more.

[+kunarion]

My Geico coin (gecko tag) is visiting every cache as you describe. I'm not getting emails for the visits, but I did get one for a recent "discovery" of that coin. I'll keep an eye on it.

 

And then there's this:

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=282221

 

...which may not be related, but I'm kinda wondering.

[+BlueDeuce]

Wouldn't bother me one bit. Of course I am one of the few who seem to realize that once I let the TB go....it is no longer mine.

 

Ding..... the voice of reason rings! There is no problem with doing what the holder is doing. I do it all the time. Wish it was done more.

 

Like heck my bug is no longer mine. You don't think I can address logging?

[+germanybert]

Yes a trackable creator/activater can, and should, address logging but I stand by my opinion that the trackable is no longer the property of the person who released it.

 

Once it is released the releaser has no control over it. If someone grabs it and keeps it with them there is nothing the releaser can do about it. Sure they can email them requesting that they drop it in a cache but they can just ignore the email.

 

There are no "rules" on how long a person can hold a trackable.

Edited September 19, 2011 by GermanyBert

[+BlueDeuce]

I once had a bug with a goal that just wasn't working for me. When it was picked up by someone I emailed them asking to snailmail it back to me, postage paid as I wanted to add a new tag with a new goal. They said no, just send the tag to them and they'll release it. So I sent them a tag with the goal for the bug to come back home to me.

 

I can't control who picks up my bug, but I own it, and I have a lot of say in what happens to it.

Edited September 19, 2011 by BlueDeuce

[+germanybert]

Ok, I will meeet you half way.

 

You do "Own" the TB but you have given up "Possesion" of it.

 

"Although the two terms are often confused, possession is not the same as ownership. No legal rule states that "possession is nine-tenths of the law," but this phrase is often used to suggest that someone who possesses an object is most likely its owner. Likewise, people often speak of the things they own, such as clothes and dishes, as their possessions. However, the owner of an object may not always possess the object. For example, an owner of a car could lend it to someone else to drive. That driver would then possess the car. However, the owner does not give up ownership simply by lending the car to someone else.

 

The myriad distinctions between possession and ownership, and the many nuances of possession, are complicated even for attorneys and judges. To avoid confusion over exactly what is meant by possession, the word is frequently modified by adding a term describing the type of possession. For example, possession may be actual, adverse, conscious, constructive, exclusive, illegal, joint, legal, physical, sole, superficial, or any one of several other types. Many times these modifiers are combined, as in "joint constructive possession." All these different kinds of possession, however, originate from what the law calls "actual possession." - http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/possession

 

IMHO you got lucky that the person who grabbed it was nice and helped you out. I would do the same.

 

I don't agree that you have a lot of say in what happens to it once you release it to the wild.

 

If I found one of your trackables and held on to it for a long time and kept dipping it in every cache I found what could you do about it? Basically all you could do it email me and ask me to drop it. Or maybe you could look at my found logs and find a cacher near me and ask them to have a talk with me. But I could ignore your email and the other cacher. I would never do that and I don't condone it.

 

My argument is not about "WHO" owns a trackable. I never mentioned anything in my posts that the trackable is not owned by the person who activated and released it. All I am saying is that once a trackable is released it is only a matter of time before it stops moving. Be it that it was stolen, or forgotten about by someone who picked it up.

 

Here is one of mine that is kinda the same situation - http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=2478318 . This is a TB with a 1971 Eisenhower doller on it. These coins have no silver content but some people think they do I had even drilled a hole in this one. Someone stole it anyway and just left the tag in a cache without logging it. A nice cacher found it and emailed me saying that he had found it but the coin was missing. I asked him to mail it back to me but he did one better....he would another Eisenhower dollar on it and release it. Now it has almost reached its first goal.

 

I have another TB that was found be three teenage girls. They logged that only the tag was found. I emailed them and asked if they would mail it back and I would pay for the postage. Never heard from them, or the TB, again.

[+germanybert]

Ok, I will meeet you half way.

 

You do "Own" the TB but you have given up "Possesion" of it.

 

"Although the two terms are often confused, possession is not the same as ownership. No legal rule states that "possession is nine-tenths of the law," but this phrase is often used to suggest that someone who possesses an object is most likely its owner. Likewise, people often speak of the things they own, such as clothes and dishes, as their possessions. However, the owner of an object may not always possess the object. For example, an owner of a car could lend it to someone else to drive. That driver would then possess the car. However, the owner does not give up ownership simply by lending the car to someone else.

 

The myriad distinctions between possession and ownership, and the many nuances of possession, are complicated even for attorneys and judges. To avoid confusion over exactly what is meant by possession, the word is frequently modified by adding a term describing the type of possession. For example, possession may be actual, adverse, conscious, constructive, exclusive, illegal, joint, legal, physical, sole, superficial, or any one of several other types. Many times these modifiers are combined, as in "joint constructive possession." All these different kinds of possession, however, originate from what the law calls "actual possession." - http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/possession

 

IMHO you got lucky that the person who grabbed it was nice and helped you out. I would do the same.

 

I don't agree that you have a lot of say in what happens to it once you release it to the wild.

 

If I found one of your trackables and held on to it for a long time and kept dipping it in every cache I found what could you do about it? Basically all you could do it email me and ask me to drop it. Or maybe you could look at my found logs and find a cacher near me and ask them to have a talk with me. But I could ignore your email and the other cacher. I would never do that and I don't condone it.

 

My argument is not about "WHO" owns a trackable. I never mentioned anything in my posts that the trackable is not owned by the person who activated and released it. All I am saying is that once a trackable is released it is only a matter of time before it stops moving. Be it that it was stolen, or forgotten about by someone who picked it up.

 

Here is one of mine that is kinda the same situation - http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=2478318 . This is a TB with a 1971 Eisenhower doller on it. These coins have no silver content but some people think they do. I had even drilled a hole in this one. Someone stole it anyway and just left the tag in a cache without logging it. A nice cacher found it and emailed me saying that he had found it but the coin was missing. I asked him to mail it back to me but he did one better....he put another Eisenhower dollar on it and release it. Now it has almost reached its first goal.

 

I have another TB that was found be three teenage girls. They logged that only the tag was found. I emailed them and asked if they would mail it back and I would pay for the postage or I would send them one of my Wooden Nickels to replace the lost one. Never heard from them, or the TB, again.

Edited September 19, 2011 by GermanyBert

[+kunarion]

 

This cacher is moving four TBs cache-to-cache, not just the one. I probably wouldn't do that -- way too much work.

 

not at all, the greasemonkey add on for "auto visit" works like a charm, you set once the trackable you want to always visit every cache you log and you're done...

 

While looking into the OP's question, I'm seeing more evidence of this sort of thing, including one of my coins. I get no email when that coin is "visited" in a cache, which seems like a glitch, but the logs for my coin do appear to be intentional (which is OK by me). I don't see any odd logs from coins in my posession, so if it's a GS site bug, it doesn't happen to everyone.

 

What's the deal with greasemonkey? When did that "auto visit" script come out?

Edited September 19, 2011 by kunarion

[+luvvinbird]

Wouldn't bother me one bit. Of course I am one of the few who seem to realize that once I let the TB go....it is no longer mine.

 

Ding..... the voice of reason rings! There is no problem with doing what the holder is doing. I do it all the time. Wish it was done more.

I'm in a similar situation to Mitragorz's. My one and only TB was picked up by a geocacher on July 31st., and dipped on August 15 (small container) and again on August 21 (micro) so it's gaining mileage but there's been no activity since the last dip, almost a month ago. I should also add that it's now in Europe so I'm very pleased about that but, to be honest, I would have liked to have seen some physical movement rather than dipping by the same person. That being said, it is "moving", so should I just be grateful for that or should I contact the geocacher and ask him to place it in a cache?

NOTE: The geocacher dipping the TB grabbed it from a cache after it arrived in Europe.

Edited September 19, 2011 by luvvinbird

[+luvvinbird]

Ok, I will meeet you half way.

 

You do "Own" the TB but you have given up "Possesion" of it.

 

"Although the two terms are often confused, possession is not the same as ownership. No legal rule states that "possession is nine-tenths of the law," but this phrase is often used to suggest that someone who possesses an object is most likely its owner. Likewise, people often speak of the things they own, such as clothes and dishes, as their possessions. However, the owner of an object may not always possess the object. For example, an owner of a car could lend it to someone else to drive. That driver would then possess the car. However, the owner does not give up ownership simply by lending the car to someone else.

 

The myriad distinctions between possession and ownership, and the many nuances of possession, are complicated even for attorneys and judges. To avoid confusion over exactly what is meant by possession, the word is frequently modified by adding a term describing the type of possession. For example, possession may be actual, adverse, conscious, constructive, exclusive, illegal, joint, legal, physical, sole, superficial, or any one of several other types. Many times these modifiers are combined, as in "joint constructive possession." All these different kinds of possession, however, originate from what the law calls "actual possession." - http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/possession

 

IMHO you got lucky that the person who grabbed it was nice and helped you out. I would do the same.

 

I don't agree that you have a lot of say in what happens to it once you release it to the wild.

 

If I found one of your trackables and held on to it for a long time and kept dipping it in every cache I found what could you do about it? Basically all you could do it email me and ask me to drop it. Or maybe you could look at my found logs and find a cacher near me and ask them to have a talk with me. But I could ignore your email and the other cacher. I would never do that and I don't condone it.

 

My argument is not about "WHO" owns a trackable. I never mentioned anything in my posts that the trackable is not owned by the person who activated and released it. All I am saying is that once a trackable is released it is only a matter of time before it stops moving. Be it that it was stolen, or forgotten about by someone who picked it up.

 

Here is one of mine that is kinda the same situation - http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=2478318 . This is a TB with a 1971 Eisenhower doller on it. These coins have no silver content but some people think they do. I had even drilled a hole in this one. Someone stole it anyway and just left the tag in a cache without logging it. A nice cacher found it and emailed me saying that he had found it but the coin was missing. I asked him to mail it back to me but he did one better....he put another Eisenhower dollar on it and release it. Now it has almost reached its first goal.

 

I have another TB that was found be three teenage girls. They logged that only the tag was found. I emailed them and asked if they would mail it back and I would pay for the postage or I would send them one of my Wooden Nickels to replace the lost one. Never heard from them, or the TB, again.

I posted my question (post #23) before fully reading your comments. Although I do agree that I guess anything can happen to a TB once it's placed in a cache, I think the person who grabs it should be respectful of its "ownership". Only the owner of a TB receives the e-mails of it's movement, thus, there is an owner. I placed my TB in a cache to track it's movement. I, as the owner, could only be interested in that, correct? But, if I grabbed someone else's TB and kept dipping it (theoretically forever) what does that do for the owner? I'm not notified of any "dipping", only movement from cache to cache. Accumulated mileage is fine but having a TB moving from hand to hand is more interesting to me.

[+E_ZIG_A]

Well I certainly don't think it's abormal for someone to take a TB or GC on their geocaching travels, dipping it as a visit along the way. I do this myself to a handful of travellers that I find and I like to take photos and tell a story along the way, not always of course, but more often than not. I believe that this is keeping the Traveller moving and I am sure that a polite email from the owner of the TB/GC asking me to drop it would have me do just that, but so far I have received quite a number of thankyou emails from people! I love it when someone take my travellers on their journey; it's really interesting to see where some people are moving in this great game of ours! (it IS a game, right? )

[+Gan Dalf]

I agree, I find it annoying, even on bugs that I own. Yes there is the benefit of knowing that the person in posession of your bug is aware that they have it and are moving it around, but ever since the advent of the "visited" option on the log page for each TB in your inventory, cachers in posession of bugs seem to take this as an entitlement to hang on to a bug and "dip" it into cache after cache that they find. Personally I'd rather they just dropped it a cache and left it for the next player to take. As long as it's not a noob that doesn't know how it works...

[+germanybert]

Or maybe you did not know that they were doing it because you did not see it. Before Visiting was created I logged each one in and out of each cache I found which was quite time consuming. I like the new way.

 

Maybe GS could make a setting so that you could choose to opt out of this feature for your trackables and the VISITING option would not be available for the ones you set up like that. Just like the Collectable Preference.

[+luvvinbird]

It's been exactly one month to the day that there has been no activity with my TB, dipping or otherwise. Personally, I'd like to see someone else have it and move it about as I hoped it would. Should I contact the "dipper" and tell him to place it in a cache?

[+germanybert]

It would not hurt but be polite. There is nothing saying how long they can hold it before dropping or dipping it. I hold trackables until I find a cache that has one I can swap it for and dip it every one in between.

[+Gan Dalf]

Or maybe you did not know that they were doing it because you did not see it. Before Visiting was created I logged each one in and out of each cache I found which was quite time consuming. I like the new way.

 

Maybe GS could make a setting so that you could choose to opt out of this feature for your trackables and the VISITING option would not be available for the ones you set up like that. Just like the Collectable Preference.

 

No, I noticed it then too and didn't mind it as much because it happened much less frequently for the exact reasons you state, too time consuming.

[+redwoodkestrel]

How about this one? 50 Foot Walking Stick The current holder has had it for two years... though granted, I think the first holder had it for over one year.

[+BlueDeuce]

Ok, I will meeet you half way.

 

You do "Own" the TB but you have given up "Possesion" of it.

 

"Although the two terms are often confused, possession is not the same as ownership. No legal rule states that "possession is nine-tenths of the law," but this phrase is often used to suggest that someone who possesses an object is most likely its owner. Likewise, people often speak of the things they own, such as clothes and dishes, as their possessions. However, the owner of an object may not always possess the object. For example, an owner of a car could lend it to someone else to drive. That driver would then possess the car. However, the owner does not give up ownership simply by lending the car to someone else.

 

The myriad distinctions between possession and ownership, and the many nuances of possession, are complicated even for attorneys and judges. To avoid confusion over exactly what is meant by possession, the word is frequently modified by adding a term describing the type of possession. For example, possession may be actual, adverse, conscious, constructive, exclusive, illegal, joint, legal, physical, sole, superficial, or any one of several other types. Many times these modifiers are combined, as in "joint constructive possession." All these different kinds of possession, however, originate from what the law calls "actual possession." - http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/possession

 

IMHO you got lucky that the person who grabbed it was nice and helped you out. I would do the same.

 

I don't agree that you have a lot of say in what happens to it once you release it to the wild.

 

If I found one of your trackables and held on to it for a long time and kept dipping it in every cache I found what could you do about it? Basically all you could do it email me and ask me to drop it. Or maybe you could look at my found logs and find a cacher near me and ask them to have a talk with me. But I could ignore your email and the other cacher. I would never do that and I don't condone it.

 

My argument is not about "WHO" owns a trackable. I never mentioned anything in my posts that the trackable is not owned by the person who activated and released it. All I am saying is that once a trackable is released it is only a matter of time before it stops moving. Be it that it was stolen, or forgotten about by someone who picked it up.

 

Here is one of mine that is kinda the same situation - http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=2478318 . This is a TB with a 1971 Eisenhower doller on it. These coins have no silver content but some people think they do. I had even drilled a hole in this one. Someone stole it anyway and just left the tag in a cache without logging it. A nice cacher found it and emailed me saying that he had found it but the coin was missing. I asked him to mail it back to me but he did one better....he put another Eisenhower dollar on it and release it. Now it has almost reached its first goal.

 

I have another TB that was found be three teenage girls. They logged that only the tag was found. I emailed them and asked if they would mail it back and I would pay for the postage or I would send them one of my Wooden Nickels to replace the lost one. Never heard from them, or the TB, again.

 

Yeah, releasing bugs is tough, frustrating and for some a complete waste of time and money. It's also tough to encourage people when their bugs go missing. However, I will not tell anyone they do not own their bug.

 

Spend some time doing recovery as I have and you'll see the difference.

 

 

BD

Edited September 24, 2011 by BlueDeuce

[scidawg]

How about this one? 50 Foot Walking Stick The current holder has had it for two years... though granted, I think the first holder had it for over one year.

 

Notice, however, in the description of the bug, that the owner says it is perfectly within his wishes for a finder to keep it as long as they want to, as long as they dip/visit it to all caches they find while holding it. So in this case it seems they are honoring the bug owners wishes.