User has had my TB for almost two years

[susansez2luv]

What can I do to get a travel bug back ?  I have someone who has had my TB for almost two years and places it and removes it at the same time but never leaving it in a cache so someone else can get it. I have messaged them and they do not answer.

[+kunarion]

20 hours ago, susansez2luv said:

What can I do to get a travel bug back ?  I have someone who has had my TB for almost two years and places it and removes it at the same time but never leaving it in a cache so someone else can get it. I have messaged them and they do not answer.

 

Not everyone has their email set up well, nor even checks it.  And if they reply, you may not see the reply for various reasons.

 

But there are a couple of issues you could check on.  I see one of your TBs has a goal of "OUR WISH IS TO VISIT"...   In the language of Groundspeak, words tend to not mean things.  The word "Visit", for example, doesn't mean what the description in the store said it means, "It's placed into a cache, then picked up by someone else".  A "Visit" instead gets interpreted as "Click 'Visit', and never log it out of one's Inventory".  Sure the default should be what everyone already knows, "place it into a cache and make honest logs every time, never carry it around forever unless you have explicit permission to do that", and if there's been no communication, there ya go.  Write to Groundspeak and bring that up.  They don't seem to be getting the message when it's only me saying it.  Anyway, that's one issue.  The TB description is not clear about what you intend for the TB.

 

Next, you have no info on the TB page that there is any problem.  If I saw a Visit log and looked at your TB, I'd assume everything's cool with you.  Fix that.

 

For many of my TBs, I specifically say to "place it into a cache as soon as possible and log the drop".  For some of my recent TBs, I say that they may keep it as long as they like and log endless Visits, ON THE CONDITION THAT THEY ALWAYS POST COOL PHOTOS AND HUMAN-TYPED LOGS ON MY TB.  I'll give you one guess how that's working out.

 

At least the taker did post Mission-related photos in a log, two years ago.  You can't control what happens to your TB once it's placed.  Groundspeak will not step in to help, they don't even correct fabricated logs in preparation for sale on ebay, but they unilaterally will Mark It Missing after the situation degrades due to inaction, go figure.  Many alleged Geocachers are the absolute scum of the earth doing their own thing, and only respect a physical smackdown.  They observe "no rules" except for the swift and sure punishments they deliver for violations of their own unstated rules.  They never learned respect for the rights of others.

 

Anyway, don't be passive-aggressive like the takers are.  Your TB page should be very clear about what you wish, and what the status of your TB is.  So get typing.

 

Edited August 4, 2018 by kunarion

[+cerberus1]

Agree with kunarion, "I'd like to see" or, "place me in caches close to..." rather than "visit" might help a bit.  Editing the trackable page a simple step.

 - But some just feel an odd need to hold others property hostage visit every cache they find...

Anything more than a year does seem (to me) like they may not even have it anymore, without any photos showing otherwise.

 - Just clicking the "visit" to every cache found simply because it's still in inventory.

Guess I don't understand why they don't use their own trackable to do it.

[+kunarion]

8 minutes ago, cerberus1 said:

Agree with kunarion, "I'd like to see" or, "place me in caches close to..." rather than "visit" might help a bit.  Editing the trackable page a simple step.

 - But some just feel an odd need to hold others property hostage visit every cache they find...

Anything more than a year does seem (to me) like they may not even have it anymore, without any photos showing otherwise.

 - Just clicking the "visit" to every cache found simply because it's still in inventory.

Guess I don't understand why they don't use their own trackable to do it.

 

I often wonder if the takers think I'm especially unappreciative.  They log a bah-zillion "Visits" without me acknowledging a single one.  One day it gets dropped into a cache and only then do I see all those Visits.  It's rare to get a Note Log in advance about the taker's intentions, like "I'm gonna travel all over Europe with this TB and then place it in a cache" (and even rarer if any of that occurs ).  I don't often go to my TB's page without a "Notification", because it's kinda depressing to be reminded that someone took it and threw it in a drawer in their house. Watching the robot logs accrue, same thing.

 

Edited August 4, 2018 by kunarion

[+Isonzo Karst]

I'm seeing a trackables of yours as "LOCKED"  I assume you did that? That will stop them from  mindlessly "visiting" every cache they find.  They *might* respond to your emails or messages after that?  Or not.

 

I'd probably UNLOCK, and then Mark Missing. That will move it an Unknown Location,  AND will remove it from their inventory.  No more visits.

If they still physically have it, or thought to write down the tracking code, they can "grab it" again.

They may not physically have it anymore. Lost it along the trail somewhere, or it's in a desk drawer, out of sight and out of mind.

 

Assuming they don't "grab" it again, wait a while, and use the tracking code to release something else.  It helps if do the best job you can on creating something that looks like a TB tag.  Or actually release a Copy Tag, if you have one.