geocoin etiquette - visit caches or straight to new cache?

[+team_pumpkin]

hi all,

newbie here, but i have searched before asking so hope this is okay to ask here!

we've got our first geocoin today and i've read up on how to handle them but am a bit confused by etiquette based on the logs. lots of people seem to have held this coin and taken it to loads of caches before actually dropping it in one. i was expecting to take it to a location suited to its goal and drop it off there straight away. is that too abrupt?

tia!

[+Michaelcycle]

hi all,

newbie here, but i have searched before asking so hope this is okay to ask here!

we've got our first geocoin today and i've read up on how to handle them but am a bit confused by etiquette based on the logs. lots of people seem to have held this coin and taken it to loads of caches before actually dropping it in one. i was expecting to take it to a location suited to its goal and drop it off there straight away. is that too abrupt?

tia!

 

No, any help you can provide toward getting the coin to its goal will be appreciated by the owner. Welcome to the game!

[+team_pumpkin]

hi all,

newbie here, but i have searched before asking so hope this is okay to ask here!

we've got our first geocoin today and i've read up on how to handle them but am a bit confused by etiquette based on the logs. lots of people seem to have held this coin and taken it to loads of caches before actually dropping it in one. i was expecting to take it to a location suited to its goal and drop it off there straight away. is that too abrupt?

tia!

 

No, any help you can provide toward getting the coin to its goal will be appreciated by the owner. Welcome to the game!

 

great thanks so much - we are big into the game already but hoping it's not just honeymooning still!

[+Touchstone]

As an example, if the goal of a Trackable I pick up is to head to some Northern location, and I'm heading that way, I'll tend to drop/pick up the Trackable in each cache I find along the way. As soon as my travels don't meet the goal of the Trackable, I'll look for a safe looking cache to drop it off.

 

Good luck and thanks for asking.

[+team_pumpkin]

As an example, if the goal of a Trackable I pick up is to head to some Northern location, and I'm heading that way, I'll tend to drop/pick up the Trackable in each cache I find along the way. As soon as my travels don't meet the goal of the Trackable, I'll look for a safe looking cache to drop it off.

 

Good luck and thanks for asking.

 

ah okay thanks! this makes sense for some of its logs! we are going to make a special journey to try to get it closer to goal so not sure we'll stop en route.

[+Team DEMP]

As an example, if the goal of a Trackable I pick up is to head to some Northern location, and I'm heading that way, I'll tend to drop/pick up the Trackable in each cache I find along the way. As soon as my travels don't meet the goal of the Trackable, I'll look for a safe looking cache to drop it off.

 

Good luck and thanks for asking.

 

ah okay thanks! this makes sense for some of its logs! we are going to make a special journey to try to get it closer to goal so not sure we'll stop en route.

 

I really don't get the "visit" aspect of a coin/trackable unless it's your own personal coin you are looking to use as some underlying benefit such as miles traveled between caches. Doing this with someone elses coin/trackable seems to be a head scratcher to me... I pick it up in a cache and drop it off in another cache. The only reason I can currently think of to make it is a visit would be if I expect to possibly hold onto it for a while because I'm heading toward a destination for its goal, but not right away, I might visit it someplace just so the owner knows it hasn't gone missing.

 

I'll take a guess at why some others do it which could be the numbers game. How many trackables, how many logs for trackables, etc. See http://project-gc.com/ProfileStats/Team%20DEMP#BadgeGen for my "Badges" and you'd see one that shows # trackables moved/discovered.

 

My own personal approach which doesn't invalidate anyone elses personal approach is that I would take a TB if I was able to quickly move it along to its goal. Or there is no goal but I'll be actively caching and won't hold onto it too long.

[+kunarion]

lots of people seem to have held this coin and taken it to loads of caches before actually dropping it in one.

There are many threads about pages of robotic "Took It To" logs (no story, no photo) where the taker is unresponsive and never seems to place the coin. Don't be that guy.

 

If you take a Trackable, place it as soon as possible in a cache, in a way you would appreciate if it were yours. If that includes "Visits" to a couple of choice caches before the Drop, that's fine. But I'd suggest that if one is "doing the Owner a favor" by making Visit logs, then also do the favor: Make real human-typed logs and post photos with the cool destinations (but NO photo with the Tracking number in view, please).

 

The TB page may have more info, but if it says it wishes to "visit caches all over the world", be sure to get clarification from the Owner. "Visit" may not mean "keep this and make blank logs". It's best to place it in a cache and log the Drop. There's a FAQ here: https://www.geocaching.com/track/geocoinfaq.aspx

 

Never use the excuse that you can't find a cache big enough. You already know where that cache is.

Edited January 8, 2017 by kunarion

[+Touchstone]

I'll take a guess at why some others do it...

 

Not so much a numbers person here, but I do like a good story. Typically, I'll pick up Trackables in some well traveled area (e.g. rest stop, or off ramp along an Interstate), or at an Event. If I'm heading from point A to point B, but I'm including some interesting out of the way caches along the way, if it were MY Trackable, I'd much rather here about some of those infrequently visited caches. On the other hand, I probably wouldn't appreciate having my Trackable dropped off in a lonely cache to languish for months/years. With that in mind, I try to target caches that will get lots of traffic, when I finally place the Trackable, but include a few adventures along the way to make it more interesting.

[+cerberus1]

Thanks for asking here.

 

There's quite a few threads on how others look at folks pretty-much holding a trackable captive, visiting for months/years on end.

i was expecting to take it to a location suited to its goal and drop it off there straight away.

The few times we see a trackable to retrieve today, that's what we do.

[+lee737]

I would add, with geocoins especially is to take care where you drop them. Don't put it in a local parks mint tin, else it won't last long. We tend to try and put them in multis/mysteries or out of the way caches to help keep them in the game.... Good advice in previous posts though.

 

On the visit vs drop off question - I tend to post a single visit per caching day for each trackable we hold, generally at the farthest extreme from where we start, to give it some miles, and maybe an extra visit if we go to a great cache. Exactly how long we keep it depends a lot on how big the thing is, where it wants to go, and if the owner is active.... I can't recall ever holding one for more than a few weeks unless we had tee'd it up with the TO.

Edited January 8, 2017 by lee737

[DaNerdling]

I personally don't even bother logging "visits". Why log it if you're not leaving it there? Nope, I just move it along to an appropriate container and carry on.

[+lee737]

I personally don't even bother logging "visits". Why log it if you're not leaving it there? Nope, I just move it along to an appropriate container and carry on.

 

Sometimes an appropriate container is hard to find, a few strategic visits lets the TO know their trackable is moving, and adds to its miles too....

 

 

[DaNerdling]

Sometimes an appropriate container is hard to find, a few strategic visits lets the TO know their trackable is moving, and adds to its miles too....

You make a good point. I always assumed the "miles" were automatically calculated based on the distance between where it was picked up versus where it was placed. I'll take this into consideration for future coins/bugs. Thanks

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Thanks for asking here.

 

There's quite a few threads on how others look at folks pretty-much holding a trackable captive, visiting for months/years on end.

i was expecting to take it to a location suited to its goal and drop it off there straight away.

The few times we see a trackable to retrieve today, that's what we do.

 

There is, of course, a difference between holding onto a cache for months and dipping it into every cache one finds in the same general area and taking it for a week long road trip.

 

I picked up a cache several years ago that had a goal to get to a specific waterfall in Thailand. Although I wasn't going to Thailand I did take it to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, then rather than leave it in a cache that was rarely found in the heart of Africa, I brought it back home to the U.S., adding over 16,000 miles to it's travels. Sometimes moving a TB physically closer to it's goal doesn't necessarily help it complete it's mission and some TB owner like seeing it visit interesting locations along the way to it meeting it's goal. It's not always about just getting to a destination. It's often about the journey as well.

 

[+TriciaG]

There is, of course, a difference between holding onto a cache for months and dipping it into every cache one finds in the same general area and taking it for a week long road trip.

 

I picked up a cache several years ago that had a goal to get to a specific waterfall in Thailand. Although I wasn't going to Thailand I did take it to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, then rather than leave it in a cache that was rarely found in the heart of Africa, I brought it back home to the U.S., adding over 16,000 miles to it's travels. Sometimes moving a TB physically closer to it's goal doesn't necessarily help it complete it's mission and some TB owner like seeing it visit interesting locations along the way to it meeting it's goal. It's not always about just getting to a destination. It's often about the journey as well.

I think you want to replace "cache" with "TB" in the bolded instances.

[+niraD]

I've logged visits when the visited caches met the goal of the trackable. For example, one TB had the goal of visiting caches near playgrounds. However, it was big enough that it didn't fit in most of the (micro) caches near playgrounds. So when I found a cache near a playground, I logged a visit when the TB was too big to fit the cache. But I didn't log visits to the other caches I found.

[+colleda]

I would add, with geocoins especially is to take care where you drop them. Don't put it in a local parks mint tin, else it won't last long. We tend to try and put them in multis/mysteries or out of the way caches to help keep them in the game.... Good advice in previous posts though.

 

On the visit vs drop off question - I tend to post a single visit per caching day for each trackable we hold, generally at the farthest extreme from where we start, to give it some miles, and maybe an extra visit if we go to a great cache. Exactly how long we keep it depends a lot on how big the thing is, where it wants to go, and if the owner is active.... I can't recall ever holding one for more than a few weeks unless we had tee'd it up with the TO.

Wow. I could have written the above myself.

We tend to hang on to TBs a bit longer than the norm (taking into account their goals) as we tend to travel a lot. E.g. 2016 visited India, USA - various states + Alaska, Murray River SA, and Broome WA. These trips have added 1000s of kilometres to the TBs we've visited to caches along the way and no doubt, owners are happy to have them moving rather than sitting in an unloved cache somewhere.

Next month we will be doing a half circum navigation of the continent which will add a few thousand more kilometres

[+Gon20s]

Thanks for the question. This thread has been a good read.

I 'visit' my trackables to caches so it shows the item is still alive. I have been remiss with the site photos though. Thanks, Ill start doing this.

 

Gon20s

[+kunarion]

I 'visit' my trackables to caches so it shows the item is still alive. I have been remiss with the site photos though. Thanks, Ill start doing this.

Don't post a picture with the Tracking Number in view. It seems like you don't, but many cachers don't realize that it's problematic to show the Tracking Number. Turn the tag over, take a picture of the tag/attachment at its new location. Zoom out, take a picture of the whole scene.

 

I never assume that my TB is "alive" based solely on a long string of "Visits". Once it's placed into a cache, the next cacher that logs it gives me a lot more confidence that it's still in play.

 

But I took a look at your logs, and they're not just the plain old "X Took It To Y" over and over again. Good job!

[+Twentse Mug]

I just delete the took it to logs on my trackables. When I want to see the geocaching history of a cacher I just go to his/her profile, no need to have that connected with my trackables.

[+cerberus1]

Thanks for the question. This thread has been a good read.

I 'visit' my trackables to caches so it shows the item is still alive. I have been remiss with the site photos though. Thanks, Ill start doing this.

 

Gon20s

- Bolded mine -

 

Your profile doesn't show any trackables owned by you.

Those are other people's property you're visiting caches with.

 

"Visiting" caches with a trackable doesn't show the item's "still alive" at all, merely that you've retained the code used.

That's why many believe (and I'm one...) that unless there's a pic once-in-a-while of the trackable with those scenery pics, it's unsure whether you even have it anymore.

[+kunarion]

"Visiting" caches with a trackable doesn't show the item's "still alive" at all, merely that you've retained the code used.

That's why many believe (and I'm one...) that unless there's a pic once-in-a-while of the trackable with those scenery pics, it's unsure whether you even have it anymore.

+1

 

On the other hand, knowing for sure who has my TB, and that said person seems psychologically incapable of letting go, that makes the situation uncomfortable. Even creepy.

 

As is clearly stated in the Groundspeak TOU, to which all Geocachers must agree or else not use Groundspeak services:

"You agree to treat other people's property with respect, as if it were your own. This includes Trackables. It is up to the Taker to let the owner know what is going on with the Trackable, promptly and with appropriate updates, never require the owner to contact you about it. If you can't manage Trackables, leave them in the cache, or place them into a cache right away. The container where you found them is “big enough”. No excuses. No carrying Trackables around forever, unless that is clearly what the owner wants. Otherwise place it and make an honest log."

 

*OK, Groundspeak has never posted that. But they urgently need to.

Edited February 6, 2017 by kunarion

[+dprovan]

"Visiting" caches with a trackable doesn't show the item's "still alive" at all, merely that you've retained the code used.

It doesn't even show you've retained the code: you don't need the code to post a visit for a TB in your inventory.

 

That's why many believe (and I'm one...) that unless there's a pic once-in-a-while of the trackable with those scenery pics, it's unsure whether you even have it anymore.

I hadn't thought of that angle. When I don't find a good cache for a TB in my day, I'll pick a cache for the TB to visit and write up a log giving some excuse -- often a quite strained excuse, admittedly -- for the TB visiting that cache. But I don't usually post a picture, typically because I forget to take one. I've felt a little bad about it because I understand that TO feels more connected to his TB if he can see a picture, but it never occurred to me that he might question whether the TB was, in fact, in my possession. I'll keep that in mind.

[+kunarion]

I don't usually post a picture, typically because I forget to take one. I've felt a little bad about it because I understand that TO feels more connected to his TB if he can see a picture, but it never occurred to me that he might question whether the TB was, in fact, in my possession. I'll keep that in mind.

 

One of my TBs was taken from a cache in Washington State, visited Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, a picturesque cache with 250 Favorites and 5000 finds, then placed in a cache again in Washington. With just the usual blank robotic "Took It To". Is it even a thing? Should I call him on it? I looked it up and it seems legit, but nevermind how fake it looks, it's like someone posted "Picked it up in Boise, visited the Lost City Of Atlantis, returned to Boise. Oops, forgot to take a picture. Oh well".

Edited February 6, 2017 by kunarion