Old TBs

[+Tassie_Boy]

G'day all, I don't normally hang around in this corner of the forum too often, mainly because Trackables have never been a huge part of the game for me.

 

Till today of course. Took a TB that was in a cache I found today and to be perfectly honest, it's seen better days. It's just the dog tag, not even a chain attached to it and its stained and dented. Normally that wouldn't phase me too much but when looking into it it has no goal, no sort of description and reading through the old logs it looks like the owner never dropped it properly in the first place, it just appeared like a man that's lived in the jungle for 40 years. The owner has not been around for 18 months, not that that means much, he hasn't ever logged any finds (on this site anyway) but has moved/discovered 3 trackables.

 

So the question is; Is there any sort of retirement plan for TB's? Is it acceptable for an orphaned, crippled TB to aimlessly wander the world or should they be put out of their misery?

 

As I say, TBs aren't a huge part of my game, I can log them but that's about as much as I know about them, thoughts would be appreciated.

[+stijnhommes]

If the owner hasn't found any caches, I wonder how it got dropped in the first place. Is there any chance you misread part of the tracking code?

I found a trackable a couple of months ago, of which the attached item had fallen off inside the cache. Might that have happened somewhere along the line with the one you found?

[+cerberus1]

The "old TB" is only two years old.

It's still moving while others are grabbed and stolen for how attractive they are.

- Keep it moving. It's not yours to decide its fate.

Attach a key chain to it or something if it seems odd just being a tag and it bugs you.

Maybe something soccer related.

[+Tassie_Boy]

If the owner hasn't found any caches, I wonder how it got dropped in the first place. Is there any chance you misread part of the tracking code?

I found a trackable a couple of months ago, of which the attached item had fallen off inside the cache. Might that have happened somewhere along the line with the one you found?

No the code was right, it matched up to what was supposed to be in the cache. Past logs indicate it lost whatever it was attached to a long time ago.

 

Look for the record I'm not about to bin it, I intend to drop it in a cache but I am wondering if there is a retirement plan for these things, if I found a cache in a similar state with an awol Owner it would be archived. Are TBs destined to travel aimlessly and uselessly for evermore as there is no-one to look after it, nowhere for it to call Home?

[+Lieblweb]

Are TBs destined to travel aimlessly and uselessly for evermore as there is no-one to look after it, nowhere for it to call Home?

 

Yes....

 

- Keep it moving. It's not yours to decide its fate.

Attach a key chain to it or something if it seems odd just being a tag and it bugs you.

 

Exactly!!

Edited November 1, 2013 by Lieblweb

[+Tassie_Boy]

Ok ok I Get it

[+TriciaG]

Thing is, an AWOL cache owner leads to wet, mouldy, broken, and/or missing caches. It degrades the whole game when a CO disappears.

 

If a TB owner disappears, other cachers still have the pleasure of finding a trackable and moving it to a new cache for other cachers to find. There's no real harm done to the game.

 

The TB movement isn't just for the owner's enjoyment; it's also for the enjoyment of other cachers.

 

Hope this helps explain the difference.

[+Meandering WA]

Thing is, an AWOL cache owner leads to wet, mouldy, broken, and/or missing caches. It degrades the whole game when a CO disappears.

 

If a TB owner disappears, other cachers still have the pleasure of finding a trackable and moving it to a new cache for other cachers to find. There's no real harm done to the game.

 

The TB movement isn't just for the owner's enjoyment; it's also for the enjoyment of other cachers.

 

Hope this helps explain the difference.

 

I agree. I looked at this bugs page and who knows how it got in the original cache in the first place. How did it get so beat up in so short a time.

 

I know where "Cotswold Olympiks" is and it is a wonderful area. Seeing that took me back

 

that is why bugs exist.

 

I have encountered bugs that have lost their charms. Find a new one, perhaps something to represent your home area and send it off. Perhaps If someone else finds it , and sees its "aimless" wandering, they will attach a token too.

Edited November 2, 2013 by Meandering WA

[+desmognathus]

Often times, older, well traveled bugs will be on multiple watch lists of people who have moved it along at some point. I regularly check on the progress of bugs I have handled in the past to see how they are getting along. It does bum me out a bit when one of them goes missing, but that is the price of admission, I suppose.

[+Tassie_Boy]

That's all fair enough, I certainly wasn't considering binning it or just taking it out of circulation myself. Seeing the state and life of this bug had me wondering about orphans and geriatrics.

 

With this crap weather we're getting overt the next few days I'm hoping to dip it in a cache I've had my eye on for a couple of weeks.

[+ayrbrain]

G'day all, I don't normally hang around in this corner of the forum too often, mainly because Trackables have never been a huge part of the game for me.

 

Till today of course. Took a TB that was in a cache I found today and to be perfectly honest, it's seen better days. It's just the dog tag, not even a chain attached to it and its stained and dented. Normally that wouldn't phase me too much but when looking into it it has no goal, no sort of description and reading through the old logs it looks like the owner never dropped it properly in the first place, it just appeared like a man that's lived in the jungle for 40 years. The owner has not been around for 18 months, not that that means much, he hasn't ever logged any finds (on this site anyway) but has moved/discovered 3 trackables.

 

So the question is; Is there any sort of retirement plan for TB's? Is it acceptable for an orphaned, crippled TB to aimlessly wander the world or should they be put out of their misery?

 

As I say, TBs aren't a huge part of my game, I can log them but that's about as much as I know about them, thoughts would be appreciated.

[+ayrbrain]

What a sad little TB If i found one like that I think I would try to give it some TLC if possible.

I got an email yesterday of a TB we placed in Sydney 2 years ago, it moved about a bit but the email told me it wasn't in the cache it was listed as being in Such a shame when they go awol but I know that is the chance you take when you send one off into the unknown.

[+Brooklyn51]

You could attach a little something to the tag, as has already been suggested, and then put it on your watchlist. That way you could track its progress as sort of an adopted uncle or something

[+justintim1999]

If the travel bug owner had been absent from geocaching for some time feel free to add a little something to the travel tag and move it along. doesn't seem right not to have something attached to a tag, unless that is what the owner intended.

 

I came across a tag only traveler some time ago and realized that the item that was attached to it had gone missing. I e-mailed the owner and asked if it was ok to attach something that was similar to the original item to the tag. The travel bug owner was very grateful. It now has more than 10,000 miles and is spreading cheer all around California.

 

I guess the question is...what would you do? I know one thing. It will bring a smile to whomever is the next to find it.