Enjoying GC until I learned more about it...

[+airmotive]

Got into casual GCing a few years ago.

I travel globally for work and I enjoy having an excuse to get out of the hotel and explore. My only goal was enjoying new places. The premium membership was money well spent considering the number of hours and miles walked.

 

Then, earlier this week, I stumbled upon my first travel bug. This looks like fun! I can take this little guy to some far flung place. So I hunted for and found a couple more. Introduced a woman and her son to GCing, and a husband and wife from Germany, when they saw me poking through some trees on Manitoulin Island. Never understood treating this hobby like a Navy SEAL operation. Just treat the cache locations with respect and introduce the occasional curious lookie-loos to the hobby. But I digress...

 

That first travel bug had pages and pages of finds...all by one person. That didn't make sense to me.

So I wanted to learn a bit about TBs, and Google led me here to the forums. After reading what many "die hard" GCers do for some mythical "point status", I'm feeling rather put off by the whole scheme. Sort of like entering your kid in a talent show, only to find the entire event rife with 5 year olds dressed like trolops and wild-eyed pageant moms hell bent on finding some sort of glorious victory over the other parents. (Sorry, that's the best comparison I could come up with on short notice).

It's off-putting.

I know I can easily not read the forums...and once I'm feeling well versed on TBs, I'll probably stop rubber-necking at the train wreck as I pass by. But I felt compelled to at least encourage folks to stop keeping score, and start ENJOYING this little adventure.

I know I sound a little preachy and a little hippy-ish, but I feel that, after describing GCing to the folks I met earlier this week, if their next step was to come here, they're going to think I lied to them.

Here's a challenge: Go find a difficult cache. Write your name in the paper log and DONT log it online.

If you can't do that, ask yourself if you're really enjoying this hobby.

Sorry for the semi rant as a first post.

[+J Grouchy]

So I wanted to learn a bit about TBs, and Google led me here to the forums. After reading what many "die hard" GCers do for some mythical "point status", I'm feeling rather put off by the whole scheme. Sort of like entering your kid in a talent show, only to find the entire event rife with 5 year olds dressed like trolops and wild-eyed pageant moms hell bent on finding some sort of glorious victory over the other parents. (Sorry, that's the best comparison I could come up with on short notice).

It's off-putting.

 

Some do it for numbers.

Some don't.

 

If you actually HAVE read through the forums, you would see that very thing discussed in almost every thread to some degree. I'm not sure what your analogy has to do with anything. It comes off rather accusatory and it won't gain you much sympathy...kind of like the "Tired of looters" thread where the name calling started off in the very first post. Maybe instead of calling everyone here shallow and overly competitive, you can try a different tack...

[RuideAlmeida]

I learned that the best pleasure we take from the game is while we play on our own, especially when meet other people from this global community... without judging.

When we start to judge the way the other geocachers play... it's when the problems arise... or not.

 

Like any other activity in the world, there are different ways to play and we need to be tolerant to everyone.

It's up to you.

[+airmotive]

Points taken.

I knew I was gonna come across a preachy and it wasn't my intent. I guess it being my very first travel bug and being completely taken aback by this whole 'dipping' thing just to increase a number on a website, while the owner of the bug was hoping to see his bug travel. I didn't know the habit existed and when I learned of it, my first reaction was negative.

 

I've only encountered one other GCer, happened to be in Kenya, and could instantly tell she was in full Navy SEAL mode outside my hotel room. I had just recently found the cache and approached her with a smile, "You looking for the cache too?"

At first she had an expression of a kid caught opening a present on Christmas Eve, but then instantly realized this isn't a hobby you get 'busted' for participating in. We chatted, discussed other caches in Nairobi and went on our way. Stuff like that encouraged me to pursue this hobby. It was my only interaction with other cachers before finding the forum. My only other reference point.

[+J Grouchy]

Points taken.

I knew I was gonna come across a preachy and it wasn't my intent. I guess it being my very first travel bug and being completely taken aback by this whole 'dipping' thing just to increase a number on a website, while the owner of the bug was hoping to see his bug travel. I didn't know the habit existed and when I learned of it, my first reaction was negative.

 

I've only encountered one other GCer, happened to be in Kenya, and could instantly tell she was in full Navy SEAL mode outside my hotel room. I had just recently found the cache and approached her with a smile, "You looking for the cache too?"

At first she had an expression of a kid caught opening a present on Christmas Eve, but then instantly realized this isn't a hobby you get 'busted' for participating in. We chatted, discussed other caches in Nairobi and went on our way. Stuff like that encouraged me to pursue this hobby. It was my only interaction with other cachers before finding the forum. My only other reference point.

 

So your only complaint is about TB "dipping"? Really?

I'd rather see my TBs visit caches and travel the country (or the world) than languish in a lonely cache for months then go missing.

 

Personally I get more upset about people NOT logging trackables than about them logging them unnecessarily.

[+niraD]

That didn't make sense to me.

Yep. There are ways that others play that don't make sense to me. There are ways that I play that don't make sense to others.

 

Geocaching can be different things to different people. To those who enjoy numbers, it can be hundreds of film canisters along a rural highway. To those who enjoy backpacking, it can be a remote cache a day or two from the trailhead. To those who enjoy history, it can be a multi-cache that takes you on a tour of historic locations. To those who enjoy a quick diversion while running errands, it can be a quick find in a local parking lot. To those who enjoy a challenge, it can be a 4-star difficulty cache hidden in plain sight with camouflage that blends in perfectly with the surroundings. And so on.

 

As someone once said, the best thing about geocaching is that anyone can play, and the worst thing about geocaching is that anyone can play.

[+justintim1999]

I see your point. the beauty of this activity is that you can play it any way that makes you happy. As long as you follow the guidelines it doesn't much matter to me how you choose to play. As for travel bug dipping I agree it can get out of hand some times but if that's what you enjoy doing have at it.

 

Please don't let the opinion's of a few stop you from doing what you enjoy. Sounds like your in it for the right reasons....Your reasons.

[+wmpastor]

Points taken.

I knew I was gonna come across a preachy and it wasn't my intent. I guess it being my very first travel bug and being completely taken aback by this whole 'dipping' thing just to increase a number on a website, while the owner of the bug was hoping to see his bug travel. I didn't know the habit existed and when I learned of it, my first reaction was negative.

 

I've only encountered one other GCer, happened to be in Kenya, and could instantly tell she was in full Navy SEAL mode outside my hotel room. I had just recently found the cache and approached her with a smile, "You looking for the cache too?"

At first she had an expression of a kid caught opening a present on Christmas Eve, but then instantly realized this isn't a hobby you get 'busted' for participating in. We chatted, discussed other caches in Nairobi and went on our way. Stuff like that encouraged me to pursue this hobby. It was my only interaction with other cachers before finding the forum. My only other reference point.

 

So your only complaint is about TB "dipping"? Really?

I'd rather see my TBs visit caches and travel the country (or the world) than languish in a lonely cache for months then go missing.

 

Personally I get more upset about people NOT logging trackables than about them logging them unnecessarily.

 

+1!

 

I had a TB go on a nice cross-country trip with someone. Neat! Then it was placed in a cache, and that's when the problems started. Temporarily lost, not logged, sitting in stagnant caches, found and traveling, and one of the two went missing. Long live dipping!

 

I recently got a TB as a FTF prize. Right now I'm holding it and dipping it while I debate whether it's worth the certain dangers of being released into the wild.

 

Long live dipping!

[+L0ne.R]

I'm feeling rather put off by the whole scheme. Sort of like entering your kid in a talent show, only to find the entire event rife with 5 year olds dressed like trolops and wild-eyed pageant moms hell bent on finding some sort of glorious victory over the other parents. (Sorry, that's the best comparison I could come up with on short notice).

It's off-putting.

 

 

I like you're writing style.

 

I've been put off by the numbers crowd ever since Groundspeak opened the flood gates and allowed power trails.

 

I'm lucky TB dipping hasn't happened to any of my TBs yet.

 

[Moun10Bike]

 

I guess it being my very first travel bug and being completely taken aback by this whole 'dipping' thing just to increase a number on a website, while the owner of the bug was hoping to see his bug travel. I didn't know the habit existed and when I learned of it, my first reaction was negative.

 

Just to be clear, dipping does not increase any numbers other than the distance a trackable has traveled. Users only get one "find" for any trackable they log, no matter how many times they log it.

[+Mudfrog]

I'm feeling rather put off by the whole scheme. Sort of like entering your kid in a talent show, only to find the entire event rife with 5 year olds dressed like trolops and wild-eyed pageant moms hell bent on finding some sort of glorious victory over the other parents. (Sorry, that's the best comparison I could come up with on short notice).

It's off-putting.

 

 

I like you're writing style.

 

I've been put off by the numbers crowd ever since Groundspeak opened the flood gates and allowed power trails.

 

I'm lucky TB dipping hasn't happened to any of my TBs yet.

 

I don't do travelbugs these days but when i did a few years ago, i aspired for them to travel via different cachers who actually helped with their goal. Although they eventually ended up getting lost along their way, i don't recall any of them being imprisoned by one person for very long. It would annoy me to receive repeat logs from a single person, especially one who only logged things like "tb drop" or something similar.

 

To the OP, racking up numbers is the name of the game for most who play these days. Unfortunately, this thirst for quantity has had a negative impact on us who pursue quality. Still, with a bit of effort, we can still have fun by focusing on and seeking out the good stuff that's occasionally placed.

[+DanOCan]

I guess it being my very first travel bug and being completely taken aback by this whole 'dipping' thing just to increase a number on a website, while the owner of the bug was hoping to see his bug travel. I didn't know the habit existed and when I learned of it, my first reaction was negative.

Dipping isn't always about increasing numbers, but can often more accurately reflect the true travel of a bug. When I drove to GeoWoodstock one year, I dipped the TBs in the caches I did along the route to show how they got to Tennessee, rather than just one big hop. If I am going on a trip to New York but I have a couple days in Dallas first, why not dip the bug when I find a cache in Texas before leaving it in NY?

[+niraD]

Dipping isn't always about increasing numbers, but can often more accurately reflect the true travel of a bug.

And sometimes it's about meeting the TB's goal. I picked up one that wanted to visit caches near playgrounds. That was easy enough; I was working on a streak at the time, and there were plenty of playground caches near my new workplace. But there weren't many caches near playgrounds big enough for the TB to fit in. So I had it visit a dozen or so playground caches, posting a photo of it at each playground, meeting the TB's goal.

[+MountainWoods]

I see your point. the beauty of this activity is that you can play it any way that makes you happy. As long as you follow the guidelines it doesn't much matter to me how you choose to play. As for travel bug dipping I agree it can get out of hand some times but if that's what you enjoy doing have at it.

 

Please don't let the opinion's of a few stop you from doing what you enjoy. Sounds like your in it for the right reasons....Your reasons.

I try to follow the guidelines. But there are others whose method of play is to ignore the guidelines. Don't believe me? I think half of the forum threads are about the latter....

[+justintim1999]

I see your point. the beauty of this activity is that you can play it any way that makes you happy. As long as you follow the guidelines it doesn't much matter to me how you choose to play. As for travel bug dipping I agree it can get out of hand some times but if that's what you enjoy doing have at it.

 

Please don't let the opinion's of a few stop you from doing what you enjoy. Sounds like your in it for the right reasons....Your reasons.

I try to follow the guidelines. But there are others whose method of play is to ignore the guidelines. Don't believe me? I think half of the forum threads are about the latter....

 

There are some who choose to ignore the guidelines but most play the game within them. As with anything we tend to notice the few who do it wrong instead of the many that do it right. Don't judge the geocaching community by what you read here, that would be a mistake. Have you ever been to an event, spoken with other geocachers? You'll soon realize that most are good people who, among other things, enjoy geocaching. All you really can do is set the best example you can of how to do it right. If we all subscribed to the golden rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you", it would be a better game.

[+HCompleto]

A lot has already been said, and most of it is what I agree with and is what makes Geocaching a user-friendly community. There are people who always tend to swim against the tide, but happens everywhere. This is why you (and everyone else) should stand for what you believe, and be the example of what is right.

[+luvvinbird]

Got into casual GCing a few years ago.

I travel globally for work and I enjoy having an excuse to get out of the hotel and explore. My only goal was enjoying new places. The premium membership was money well spent considering the number of hours and miles walked.

 

Then, earlier this week, I stumbled upon my first travel bug. This looks like fun! I can take this little guy to some far flung place. So I hunted for and found a couple more. Introduced a woman and her son to GCing, and a husband and wife from Germany, when they saw me poking through some trees on Manitoulin Island. Never understood treating this hobby like a Navy SEAL operation. Just treat the cache locations with respect and introduce the occasional curious lookie-loos to the hobby. But I digress...

 

That first travel bug had pages and pages of finds...all by one person. That didn't make sense to me.

So I wanted to learn a bit about TBs, and Google led me here to the forums. After reading what many "die hard" GCers do for some mythical "point status", I'm feeling rather put off by the whole scheme. Sort of like entering your kid in a talent show, only to find the entire event rife with 5 year olds dressed like trolops and wild-eyed pageant moms hell bent on finding some sort of glorious victory over the other parents. (Sorry, that's the best comparison I could come up with on short notice).

It's off-putting.

I know I can easily not read the forums...and once I'm feeling well versed on TBs, I'll probably stop rubber-necking at the train wreck as I pass by. But I felt compelled to at least encourage folks to stop keeping score, and start ENJOYING this little adventure.

I know I sound a little preachy and a little hippy-ish, but I feel that, after describing GCing to the folks I met earlier this week, if their next step was to come here, they're going to think I lied to them.

Here's a challenge: Go find a difficult cache. Write your name in the paper log and DONT log it online.

If you can't do that, ask yourself if you're really enjoying this hobby.

Sorry for the semi rant as a first post.

You sound like the perfect geocacher to have a Travel Bug of your own. It's easy. Just obtain the tag, create a name for it, give it a destination and let 'er go! Now you can sit back and enjoy all the nifty logs about who found it and where it is, etc., and then, not too long after you released it into this wild world, you'll never hear from it again. Fun, eh?

[+bflentje]

 

Some do it for numbers.

Some don't.

 

 

THIS, 100 times over. If my geocaching style bothers you (the collective), then it is your choice to keep calm and cache on, or leave the game.

[+cheech gang]

I have only been around here for 11.5 years so I can not speak to the entire history of this subject, but I do know the "about the numbers" gripes have been going on at least that long. Exacerbated by, but not originated in, the power trail phenomenon.

[+Chief301]

I guess it being my very first travel bug and being completely taken aback by this whole 'dipping' thing just to increase a number on a website, while the owner of the bug was hoping to see his bug travel.

 

Wait a minute....think about what you're saying here. The owner of the bug wants to see it travel. It IS traveling. It's visiting many caches and traveling many miles, albeit in the hands of one cacher. Most travel bug owners, I think, would be happy to see that their bug is alive and well and being moved around by someone who is conscientious enough to log its travels. It's not laying forgotten in the bottom of soneone's caching bag or kept for a toy by some 5 year old. It's traveling, which is what it's supposed to do. Eventually the holder will drop it in another cache and someone else will grab it.

 

This game is about the numbers as much or as little as you want it to be.

[+Mike in FN20hc]

It's visiting many caches and traveling many miles, albeit in the hands of one cacher. Most travel bug owners, I think, would be happy to see that their bug is alive and well and being moved around by someone who is conscientious enough to log its travels.

 

I'm not sure "conscientious" is the word I'd use. I know of at least one app that allows users to automatically log a visit to every cache logged on anything/everything in their inventory. Zero effort required by the visiting cacher.

[+hzoi]

I don't see the point of TB dipping, either. But I've chosen not to fight those who do. I quietly roll my eyes when I see it happening on one of our bugs and that's it. Having had over 100 of our TBs go missing over the last 8+ years, I figure at least the dippers are giving me proof of life.

 

What I love most about geocaching is the same thing you do -- using it to find interesting places I might not ever have found, but for geocaching. So far TB dipping hasn't spoiled that for me, and I don't think that'll change.

[+WarNinjas]

I try not to peg a TB I have in my possession to visit every cache I go to but my phone does it automatically. I usually manually set it not to. But don't see why if I didn't select it not to visit a cache that it would make anyone think the game was not as fun.

[+wmpastor]

I guess it being my very first travel bug and being completely taken aback by this whole 'dipping' thing just to increase a number on a website, while the owner of the bug was hoping to see his bug travel.

 

Wait a minute....think about what you're saying here. The owner of the bug wants to see it travel. It IS traveling. It's visiting many caches and traveling many miles, albeit in the hands of one cacher. Most travel bug owners, I think, would be happy to see that their bug is alive and well and being moved around by someone who is conscientious enough to log its travels. It's not laying forgotten in the bottom of soneone's caching bag or kept for a toy by some 5 year old. It's traveling, which is what it's supposed to do. Eventually the holder will drop it in another cache and someone else will grab it.

 

This game is about the numbers as much or as little as you want it to be.

 

Yep. The vast majority in the forums hate TB dipping. I've never understood that attitude. Dipping gets the TB traveling. That's much better than a TB sitting idle in a rarely-visited cache or in a drawer. Say the TB went to 10 caches with 1 person. Chances are that it would take *much* longer for 10 people to take the TB to those 10 caches.

 

With TBs, when you release them you give up control. Gotta accept that or not own TBs.

[+kunarion]

I guess it being my very first travel bug and being completely taken aback by this whole 'dipping' thing just to increase a number on a website, while the owner of the bug was hoping to see his bug travel.

 

Wait a minute....think about what you're saying here. The owner of the bug wants to see it travel. It IS traveling. It's visiting many caches and traveling many miles, albeit in the hands of one cacher. Most travel bug owners, I think, would be happy to see that their bug is alive and well and being moved around by someone who is conscientious enough to log its travels. It's not laying forgotten in the bottom of soneone's caching bag or kept for a toy by some 5 year old. It's traveling, which is what it's supposed to do. Eventually the holder will drop it in another cache and someone else will grab it.

 

This game is about the numbers as much or as little as you want it to be.

 

Yep. The vast majority in the forums hate TB dipping. I've never understood that attitude. Dipping gets the TB traveling. That's much better than a TB sitting idle in a rarely-visited cache or in a drawer. Say the TB went to 10 caches with 1 person. Chances are that it would take *much* longer for 10 people to take the TB to those 10 caches.

 

With TBs, when you release them you give up control. Gotta accept that or not own TBs.

Take a TB, properly log the items, and be open to the Owner's wishes. Always ask, and get approval before carrying it around. Gotta accept that or do not take them.

 

The “too many visits” posts here often are about unresponsive takers, keeping a “Do Not Keep Me” TB, not posting any stories nor photos, who don't seem to get the message to place it into a cache -- validated members with no way to contact them, go figure. Anyway, it's like a kidnapper who travels the world and periodically posts “I have your son”. Worse, everyone else saying “I don't understand why the parents don't enjoy this situation”. Well... try harder.

Edited September 26, 2015 by kunarion

[Pup Patrol]

The “too many visits” posts here often are about unresponsive takers, keeping a “Do Not Keep Me” TB, not posting any stories nor photos, who don't seem to get the message to place it into a cache -- validated members with no way to contact them, go figure.

 

Anyway, it's like a kidnapper who travels the world and periodically posts “I have your son”. Worse, everyone else saying “I don't understand why the parents don't enjoy this situation”. Well... try harder.

 

How about "experienced" cachers who hold onto your trackable for MONTHS, posting nothing, no stories, no photos, and completely ignore the clearly stated mission?

 

"Oh, I'm racking up miles, even though the trackable owner has absolutely no desire to rack up miles."

 

"I'll just take trackable out of the area where it was requested to travel, and just pretend that I'm taking it to numerous other caches."

 

"I'll take this trackable and hold onto it for MONTHS and no one else can see it or get a chance to move it on as requested by the owner."

 

Yeah, thanks, dude.

 

B.

[+luvvinbird]

The “too many visits” posts here often are about unresponsive takers, keeping a “Do Not Keep Me” TB, not posting any stories nor photos, who don't seem to get the message to place it into a cache -- validated members with no way to contact them, go figure.

 

Anyway, it's like a kidnapper who travels the world and periodically posts “I have your son”. Worse, everyone else saying “I don't understand why the parents don't enjoy this situation”. Well... try harder.

 

How about "experienced" cachers who hold onto your trackable for MONTHS, posting nothing, no stories, no photos, and completely ignore the clearly stated mission?

 

"Oh, I'm racking up miles, even though the trackable owner has absolutely no desire to rack up miles."

 

"I'll just take trackable out of the area where it was requested to travel, and just pretend that I'm taking it to numerous other caches."

 

"I'll take this trackable and hold onto it for MONTHS and no one else can see it or get a chance to move it on as requested by the owner."

 

Yeah, thanks, dude.

 

B.

+1

[+beccalyria]

The “too many visits” posts here often are about unresponsive takers, keeping a “Do Not Keep Me” TB, not posting any stories nor photos, who don't seem to get the message to place it into a cache -- validated members with no way to contact them, go figure.

 

Anyway, it's like a kidnapper who travels the world and periodically posts “I have your son”. Worse, everyone else saying “I don't understand why the parents don't enjoy this situation”. Well... try harder.

 

How about "experienced" cachers who hold onto your trackable for MONTHS, posting nothing, no stories, no photos, and completely ignore the clearly stated mission?

 

"Oh, I'm racking up miles, even though the trackable owner has absolutely no desire to rack up miles."

 

"I'll just take trackable out of the area where it was requested to travel, and just pretend that I'm taking it to numerous other caches."

 

"I'll take this trackable and hold onto it for MONTHS and no one else can see it or get a chance to move it on as requested by the owner."

 

Yeah, thanks, dude.

 

B.

+1

I just had to contact a cacher today who has held on to my geocoin for two months and has not posted anything about it - heck, they have not even contacted me back despite numerous attempts to reach out to them.

 

'Twas my first geocoin too

[+fizzymagic]

I guess it being my very first travel bug and being completely taken aback by this whole 'dipping' thing just to increase a number on a website, while the owner of the bug was hoping to see his bug travel. I didn't know the habit existed and when I learned of it, my first reaction was negative.

 

I completely get what you are saying; there are many behaviors of geocachers that I find rather disappointing. I started caching when the game was pretty new and it was just a small group of people; even then we had numbers-obsessed cachers!

 

I have changed my perspective since then, and it has helped a lot. Watching the geocaching community tells you a lot about human nature. Much of it is positive and inspiring, but there are negative lessons, as well. One of those I have learned is that whenever you build a system that can be abused, it will be.

 

Maybe someday I will post a thread on all the things I have observed about humans in reading these forums and going out caching over the years. I now find it endlessly fascinating.

[+Team Microdot]

I guess it being my very first travel bug and being completely taken aback by this whole 'dipping' thing just to increase a number on a website, while the owner of the bug was hoping to see his bug travel.

 

Wait a minute....think about what you're saying here. The owner of the bug wants to see it travel. It IS traveling. It's visiting many caches and traveling many miles, albeit in the hands of one cacher. Most travel bug owners, I think, would be happy to see that their bug is alive and well and being moved around by someone who is conscientious enough to log its travels. It's not laying forgotten in the bottom of soneone's caching bag or kept for a toy by some 5 year old. It's traveling, which is what it's supposed to do. Eventually the holder will drop it in another cache and someone else will grab it.

 

This game is about the numbers as much or as little as you want it to be.

 

Yep. The vast majority in the forums hate TB dipping. I've never understood that attitude. Dipping gets the TB traveling. That's much better than a TB sitting idle in a rarely-visited cache or in a drawer. Say the TB went to 10 caches with 1 person. Chances are that it would take *much* longer for 10 people to take the TB to those 10 caches.

 

With TBs, when you release them you give up control. Gotta accept that or not own TBs.

 

I can see both sides of this.

 

I dip trackables belonging to others as long as I physically have them with me when I visit the caches I'm dipping them in.

 

These days caches big enough to hold trackables, that are in good shape and in locations which are 'safe' but accessible enough that the trackable will soon be picked up by someone else and be on its way again are getting harder to find. Or rather there are probably a fair number out there - but I've already found them so am less likely to go back. Dipping the TB, I hope, lets the CO know that I still have it and am at least trying to move it on, once I find a cache to leave it in that seems a decent bet, and reflects the miles the bug has traveled with me. I try my best not to hold on to them for more than a week or two.

 

Then there are my own trackables - I have one which has a specific mission (which I think is fun) which gets completely ignored and at the moment it's wandering aimlessly around eastern Europe, gathering tons of empty discovered logs which I suspect are fake after one logger added a photo of the bug with its TB number visible.

 

But at least that one is still alive - all my others seem to have vanished off the face of the planet.

 

On balance I prefer to receive dropped logs rather than dipped logs as at least I get an email notification for those and the bug changes hands, making it more likely I think that it is actually out there being moved around.

[+fuzziebear3]

It is an unfortunate side effect of the app and the site that it is quite easy to dip a travel bug -- a lot. Not all caches are able to physically support a bug, but all can handle a dip. And the default on some apps is to always dip all trackables that are in the cacher's inventory at every cache. So there are many dip logs.

 

What is more important than the dipping, is the eventual dropping of the bug in a cache that can physically contain it. And then being picked up by another cacher to move it on a bit more. Try to ignore the excessive dip it logs. They are not as much about the numbers, as about convenience.

While the list might be long, I like to look at the map and see where a bug has been on a much more global scale.

 

I am glad you found a travel bug, and hope you are able to move it along soon!

[+dphickey]

Points taken.

I knew I was gonna come across a preachy and it wasn't my intent. I guess it being my very first travel bug and being completely taken aback by this whole 'dipping' thing just to increase a number on a website, while the owner of the bug was hoping to see his bug travel. I didn't know the habit existed and when I learned of it, my first reaction was negative.

 

I've only encountered one other GCer, happened to be in Kenya, and could instantly tell she was in full Navy SEAL mode outside my hotel room. I had just recently found the cache and approached her with a smile, "You looking for the cache too?"

At first she had an expression of a kid caught opening a present on Christmas Eve, but then instantly realized this isn't a hobby you get 'busted' for participating in. We chatted, discussed other caches in Nairobi and went on our way. Stuff like that encouraged me to pursue this hobby. It was my only interaction with other cachers before finding the forum. My only other reference point.

 

Dipping isn't really about numbers, a cacher who dips a TB gets nothing out of it. The TB however logs the miles it travels. So some people dip personal TBs (like my vehicle TB) in each cache they visit. It's a way to keep track of miles travelled to each cache (not entirely accurate as the miles are logged 'as the crow flies' instead of actual. I also will dip a TB I picked up in a cache or two to let the owner know it's still active until I find a suitable cache to drop it in. With the cell phone craze, caches have become mostly micros and it's harder and harder to find a cache to drop a TB in.

[xonewingx]

Dipping is bloody stupid, right up there with power trails and geo-graffiti.

Edited September 29, 2015 by xonewingx

[+elrojo14]

I am way guilty of dipping TBs. I dip TBs because that is where the TB went. If I take it with me and it visits a cache, the I put that it visited that cache. Sometimes I upload photos of the TB while it is there. I didn't realize dipping was such a bad thing to some people. I don't see the harm in it myself. It shows where the trackable has been. I thought that was the point.

[+Mike in FN20hc]

Dipping isn't the problem. Properly done it is an excellent way to show where a traveler has been. The problem is cachers who hang on to travelers for extended periods (months) while dipping them everywhere they go. No thought given to helping the mission or letting someone else enjoy the piece.

 

I wouldn't object to a restriction that you may only dip other peoples items a limited number of times (perhaps 5), and none after two weeks of holding it. After that you should be dropping anything you have, unless you have the TO's permission. For your own stuff, dip to your heart's content.

Edited September 29, 2015 by Mike in FN20hc

[+niraD]

I wouldn't object to a restriction that you may only dip other peoples items a limited number of times (perhaps 5), and none after two weeks of holding it.

So if I take the trackable to 15 caches that meet its goal (before I find one it will fit in), then the site should block me from logging the last 10?

 

And if I spend 2 months taking the trackable to caches that meet its goal (before I find one it will fit in), then the site should block me from logging the last 6 weeks?

[+Mike in FN20hc]

Sure. Automatic visiting should be discouraged, and you already know nothing is going to fit in a nano and nearly nothing in a micro. A small will depend on the specifics. At any rate, you know (or should) before you get to the cache whether it's likely to support the trackables in your inventory. Use your limited visits judiciously. Two months? You seriously couldn't find a place it would fit for two months? I understood the preferred time limit is two WEEKS, unless you get special permission.

[+niraD]

Sure. Automatic visiting should be discouraged, and you already know nothing is going to fit in a nano and nearly nothing in a micro. A small will depend on the specifics. At any rate, you know (or should) before you get to the cache whether it's likely to support the trackables in your inventory. Use your limited visits judiciously.

What if the trackable's goal is to visit caches of a type that is typically too small to actually contain it? I had one like that several months ago. I posted more than a dozen Visited logs (with photos) to help it on its mission. I see no reason to artificially limit the number of Visited logs.

 

Two months? You seriously couldn't find a place it would fit for two months? I understood the preferred time limit is two WEEKS, unless you get special permission.

Sure, it would be nice for trackables to be dropped off within a couple weeks. But that doesn't always happen. But I see no reason to artificially prevent Visited logs just because a certain amount of time has passed.

 

You do realize that the Visited log was created to avoid repeated Dropped and Retrieved log pairs, don't you?

 

If you artificially block Visited logs, then geocachers will just post Dropped and Retrieved logs instead. And the automated tools will just post Dropped and Retrieved logs as well.

[+WarNinjas]

I have to admit I don't understand this thread at all? Who is worried about inflated numbers on a TB in the first place? I could see if it was in a race but usually dipping the TB in a race hurts it more then helps it. I have never met anyone bragging about how many caches there TB has been to.

 

Here's a challenge: Go find a difficult cache. Write your name in the paper log and DONT log it online.

If you can't do that, ask yourself if you're really enjoying this hobby.

 

Then this, I could do that but don't see a reason why I would. To rob the CO of knowing I found it and probably enjoyed it? Then my stats would be messed up, I wouldn't know if my milestones were correct and I might end up going there years later not knowing I already found it. How would this help me to enjoy the game more. I think it would make it more confusing.

[+DeepButi]

From time to time I need to change the name of one of my TB's to ...

 

<span style="color:rgb(255, 16, 16);">PLEASE STOP VISITS - DROP ME SOMEWHERE</span>

 

:ph34r:

[+Bubbles&Bonkers]

Wow! You sure get upset easily! you Who cares about all the yahoos on the forums (said a girl on the forums)?? We ARE enjoying ourselves! I love geocaching! And yes, I like to keep track of how many I've found. It's a little challenge to myself. If you think we're wacky, do NOT look here. Nope, don't even do it.

[+boothie103]

By definition, trackable suggests that the item is to be tracked. Therefore, a simple calculation of point a to z can therefore accrue quite a number of points which I am sure any TB I launch, I would gladly wish to be added to the list of points the TB has passed through. Depending upon the TB's mission, I would like a lot of Photo points. I, as new to member to the community, have grabbed TB's with enthusiasm and moved them on quickly. As a launcher of a few TB's, I have insisted that they be dipped and cover nearby ground, who knows what sights will come from the visit of TB that I can experience to.

The simple answer to the dilemma, which I find it hard to believe as dilemma, make a note in the TB's mission statement "Not To Be Dipped" and "Please Move To Final Goal with Expediency"! The other solution is simply not to post a TB

[+redsox_mark]

As has been said, cachers do not get any "credit" for logging a "visited" log on a trackable in their possession. In order to do a visit, they have to first retrieve the TB, and they get "credit" for that then. Some cachers do discover TBs virtually that they have never seen, which increases their trackables logged count. And some challenge caches use that. So yes, some people do things based on numbers. But that is not what is happening here.

 

I know some people don't like visited logs. But the existence of the capability sort of encourages it. By that I mean the fact that Groundspeak added the "visited" log implies that it is valid to use. Or even should be used. When I log a cache, it shows me the TBs I have and gives me a choice to drop or visit TBs. If the TB did visit, then that is the accurate choice. Those who think "visiting" is "stupid" could suggest to Groundspeak that they remove the "visited" capability. Then one could still "dip" via the drop and retrieve method, but cachers would be unlikely to do that for every cache they visit.

 

It is also valid to hold on to a trackable for some time if you can help with its goal. E.g. recently I had a vacation in the US, and I had retrieved some trackables a couple of weeks before with goals to go to the US.

 

Now personally, I use "visited" in a limited fashion. If I take a TB to a new area (or even state/country) I will visit it in a cache to show that. But if I find 50 caches in a day all in a 10 mile radius, I'll only visit it in one cache. But there is no rule or guideline about this.