Trackable Etiquette

[+KC3DX]

I have the opportunity to do some caching in Okinawa, Japan, and I've had a lot of fun here, but I keep running into the following rule that I don't agree with.

 

"If you take something, leave something of equal or greater value. If you take a trackable, leave a trackable and please remember to go to the trackables page and log that you took it."

 

I agree completely with the first part, but the second only seems to impede the travels of many of the trackables that I've seen here. I only have two trackables of my own. One is in the USA and as soon as I'm able I'll visit the site where it was last placed. With this rule in place I would only be able to have one trackable at a time and only after leaving my own trackable at the site where I retrieved one. While it may be true that I have had several trackables in my possession before and since I've been here, I am at least logging miles on these and as far as the ones I brought from the states I received permission to take them here and with the exception of one I will return all of them back to the states.

 

My point is If you take a trackable, leave a trackable is counter productive to the individual trackables because not every geocacher has in their possession a number of trackables that they can leave just so they can move someone elses. Does anyone have any thoughts on this. Should I follow the rule of the land or can I retrieve trackables if I intend to move them without leaving one of the ones in my possession?

[+kunarion]

I have the opportunity to do some caching in Okinawa, Japan, and I've had a lot of fun here, but I keep running into the following rule that I don't agree with.

 

"If you take something, leave something of equal or greater value. If you take a trackable, leave a trackable and please remember to go to the trackables page and log that you took it."

 

I agree completely with the first part, but the second only seems to impede the travels of many of the trackables that I've seen here. I only have two trackables of my own. One is in the USA and as soon as I'm able I'll visit the site where it was last placed. With this rule in place I would only be able to have one trackable at a time and only after leaving my own trackable at the site where I retrieved one. While it may be true that I have had several trackables in my possession before and since I've been here, I am at least logging miles on these and as far as the ones I brought from the states I received permission to take them here and with the exception of one I will return all of them back to the states.

 

My point is If you take a trackable, leave a trackable is counter productive to the individual trackables because not every geocacher has in their possession a number of trackables that they can leave just so they can move someone elses. Does anyone have any thoughts on this. Should I follow the rule of the land or can I retrieve trackables if I intend to move them without leaving one of the ones in my possession?

If these are your trackables, you may do as you wish. If they are not yours, see what each trackable's page says, and try to follow that. Some trackables are designed to remain in limited areas for various reasons.

 

Otherwise, you may take and log trackables without trading them, as many as you can handle properly and place quickly into another cache (a less strict cache would be good ). Trackables are not trade items.

Edited September 21, 2015 by kunarion

[+TriciaG]

Where did you find that wording? It's not correct and should be changed.

[+cerberus1]

"Take one, leave one" has never been part of trackable movements.

- They aren't trade items (like swag), but meant to travel freely place-to-place.

A Reviewer/Mod once stated that "take one, leave one" with trackables falls under Additional Logging Requirements guidelines, and if reported, would be up to the CO to remove that wording or risk their TB prison cache being archived.

[+KC3DX]

I have the opportunity to do some caching in Okinawa, Japan, and I've had a lot of fun here, but I keep running into the following rule that I don't agree with.

 

"If you take something, leave something of equal or greater value. If you take a trackable, leave a trackable and please remember to go to the trackables page and log that you took it."

 

I agree completely with the first part, but the second only seems to impede the travels of many of the trackables that I've seen here. I only have two trackables of my own. One is in the USA and as soon as I'm able I'll visit the site where it was last placed. With this rule in place I would only be able to have one trackable at a time and only after leaving my own trackable at the site where I retrieved one. While it may be true that I have had several trackables in my possession before and since I've been here, I am at least logging miles on these and as far as the ones I brought from the states I received permission to take them here and with the exception of one I will return all of them back to the states.

 

My point is If you take a trackable, leave a trackable is counter productive to the individual trackables because not every geocacher has in their possession a number of trackables that they can leave just so they can move someone elses. Does anyone have any thoughts on this. Should I follow the rule of the land or can I retrieve trackables if I intend to move them without leaving one of the ones in my possession?

If these are your trackables, you may do as you wish. If they are not yours, see what each trackable's page says, and try to follow that. Some trackables are designed to remain in limited areas for various reasons.

 

Otherwise, you may take and log trackables without trading them, as many as you can handle properly and place quickly into another cache (a less strict cache would be good ). Trackables are not trade items.

 

The wording is on the CO sites, the trackables I encounter are mostly stating that they want to travel, but from what I've seen they just sit in these caches rarely moving at all. I don't know where they came up with the idea for one for one with trackable items. Anyway from what you are saying I am right to free the trackables that I find as long as I do move them from place to place.

I may have to mention this at the next local gathering in the 25th of this month.

Edited September 21, 2015 by KB3MKK

[+kunarion]

The wording is on the CO sites, the trackables I encounter are mostly stating that they want to travel, but from what I've seen they just sit in these caches rarely moving at all. I don't know where they came up with the idea for one for one with trackable items. Anyway from what you are saying I am right to free the trackables that I find as long as I do move them from place to place.

If you take trackables, be responsive to the owners of them. Many people don't want their trackables taken from place to place by someone who never manages to place the items into caches. Especially with no particular log (no story, no photo). That's like the people version of the TB Prison. Only weirder.

Edited September 21, 2015 by kunarion

[+Manville Possum]

I believe you are misinformed about the leave a trackable to take a trackable part, but I would not go as far as take every trackable in a geocache without leaving some for others. The most important thing I can think of is to log them into your inventory ASAP.

 

One qusetion that I have for the OP is are you planning on leaving other users trackables in Okinawa, Japan? Two things that you may consider, is that part of their mission and are there "safe" geocaches to place them in or is it like the Bug Hotels here in the US in tourist areas where they dissappear? Sometime finding a nice PMO cache helps.

[+KC3DX]

What I posted about the trackables was copied and pasted directly from a local cache in Okinawa, and this was not the only one. I'm not the one misinformed. As far as the trackables I have in my possession, I have all of the ones from the USA with the owners permission. I was cleared to drop one of them and I did. I also dropped another but if it doesn't move before I leave the Island I will retrieve it from the cache I placed it in and replace it with one of the bugs that wants to stay in Japan. Once I leave the island I will be releasing all of the bugs and coins in my possession unless the owner says I can hold onto it for a while longer. I'm not doing anything without the all of the owner's consent. I will speak to any indiv idulal owner of a trackable that I found on Okinawa to see it they want me to take the trackable back to the states or release it before I go. I am adding photos of places that I visit to each and every trackable in my possession, which at times takes conciderable time, and many owners have expressed gratitude on my progress

 

I can post the GC number of one of the sites that says trackables one for one so you won't be thinking that I am the one that is confussed if so desired.

[+dprovan]

What I posted about the trackables was copied and pasted directly from a local cache in Okinawa, and this was not the only one. I'm not the one misinformed.

I believe the previous poster was suggesting you were being misinformed about the rules by the CO via the description, not that you were misinformed about what the CO was saying. "Misinformed" was probably a poor choice of word, since it implies you accepted the information while, in fact, you came here to question it. And the responses (including this one) are uniform on that point: you are correct to disagree and ignore the rule those COs are trying to convince you to follow.

[+KC3DX]

I'll be compiling a list of caches to send to the reviewer that replied to my inquiry this weekend.