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SWAG (Or the lack thereof)...


Chakthi

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9 hours ago, chasclifton said:

 

Really, it that a blanket National Park Service policy or just from managers at those parks? Because I think good swag is a bennie for geocaching and a reason to have regular/small caches over bison tubes and magnetic nanos. Yes, I am one of those cachers who regularly performs swag transplants, just to keep geocaching fun.

 

The history of caches in New South Wales national parks is complicated. In 2002 they banned all physical caches in their parks, deeming them to be litter, and it took many years of negotiation by the Geocaching NSW committee to reach an agreement, with the present policy allowing limited cache placement introduced in 2010. Education is a strong theme in it, with cache pages and the caches themselves having to contain some educational material. My guess is the contents of the cache are limited to just the logbook, pen/pencil, sharpener and the cache information card from a concern that anything else, like swag and trackables, could become litter.

 

Bison tubes and magnetic nanos are more an urban cache thing so are unlikely to be used in a cache in a national park, swag or no swag. All the caches I've found in the parks, and the two I've hidden, are decent sized containers with proper logbooks, like this new one that I found today:

 

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15 hours ago, colleda said:

I see what you mean, although I fail to understand why one would have a two-liter container with nothing in it but the very basics!

 

I was caching a couple of weeks ago at a Colorado state park, and the managing agency, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, not only permits caching, but park staff sometimes put out their own -- proper ammo cans in the woods -- and place in them CPW-marked ballpoint pens, wristbands, stickers, brochures, pins, and other small items.

 

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1 hour ago, chasclifton said:

I see what you mean, although I fail to understand why one would have a two-liter container with nothing in it but the very basics!

 

Two litres isn't really that big (a 12.6cm cube, for example), it allows for a decent sized logbook (a proper bound notebook that'll last the life of the cache, not a strip of paper) and maybe a container of that size suits the location, especially if it's themed. A larger container is easier to find so there's less chance of someone damaging the environment while searching for it. This one of mine, a one litre camping cookpot, is the container for my Slow Cooked Aussie Challenge (GC752YF) in Brisbane Water National Park. Not only does it fit the theme of the cache, it's also just the right size for its hiding place inside a wind-eroded cavity in the rock.

 

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On 6/14/2019 at 9:27 PM, cerberus1 said:
On 6/14/2019 at 5:59 PM, RobinsonClan56 said:

I don't generally mention my trades in my log - never really thought about it to be honest.  As a CO, is that something you like to see? 

 

When we started most people logged if they traded anything.  Around '09 or so we noticed that going along with worded logs.

 - If we didn't trade anything though, along with our log we did include "TNLNSL".

While rarely swapping SWAG myself I'm missing the days where it was common to note if and what was taken out and left in a cache. Nowadays most of the times not even TBs and coins are mentioned. In my logs (off- and online) I'm still noting any exchange of items and using otherwise a "no trade" on small and regular caches.

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8 hours ago, Hynz said:

While rarely swapping SWAG myself I'm missing the days where it was common to note if and what was taken out and left in a cache. Nowadays most of the times not even TBs and coins are mentioned.

Yep.

There are some logs mentioning trackables here ("took a trackable"),  but we're also the few mentioning what/which it was. 

We want to be sure that if the TO ever has an issue, they can see it wasn't from us:)    

I'd guess some may feel it's redundant (movement's on the trackable's page), not thinking that there may be a back-story before it went "missing". 

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I would NOT put values of the items in the listing, for several reasons.

1. Those items will eventually be taken, rendering the inventory list useless.

2. It sounds bossy.

3. It sounds whiny.

4. If people plan to steal, they will steal, regardless of how much you harp about the value.

 

Here's what you might do instead.  First, on the listing itself, allow people to plan ahead, with a line something like, "There's a lot of great swag in the cache.  Please be sure to bring something nice for trading, so you won't be left out!"  This lets them know that they are in for a treat, while also reminding them that they need to trade for it, and that they should grab something before they head out.

 

Then, inside the cache itself, put some friendly reminder like, "Please take something and leave something of equal or greater value in return!"  This starts with the invitation, so it's friendly, but closes with the reminder that they can't simply take what they want unless they plan to trade.

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On 6/14/2019 at 12:27 AM, Chakthi said:

Has there ever been any discussion of making the Geocaching.com membership fee mandatory to maybe introduce a bit more honesty to the game? 

 

I would be opposed to this.  There are a ton of newbies who get the premium membership as soon as they sign up.  It wouldn't keep clueless or dishonest people away.  Moreover, making everyone pay might cause some people to feel entitled to some sort of physical reward, so they might be even more apt to take whatever they find on the basis of, "Hey, I paid for it!"

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On 6/14/2019 at 10:59 AM, RobinsonClan56 said:

I don't generally mention my trades in my log - never really thought about it to be honest.  As a CO, is that something you like to see?

 

I would.  As a finder I also like to know where some particularly interesting thing came from.  I always note what I left. 

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12 hours ago, Ageleni said:

 

I would.  As a finder I also like to know where some particularly interesting thing came from.  I always note what I left. 

This is what prompted the trackable idea.  Early on people would follow the path of some item or another, at times it was almost a side to follow or grab an item.  Now it's easy.

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On 7/13/2019 at 12:26 AM, Ageleni said:
On 6/14/2019 at 11:59 AM, RobinsonClan56 said:

I don't generally mention my trades in my log - never really thought about it to be honest.  As a CO, is that something you like to see?

 

Yes, as a CO, I definitely like to see trades in the logs.  If I see a string of logs with no mention of trades (not even a TNLN), I figure it's time to assess the inventory (or lack thereof).

Edited by VAVAPAM
clarity
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I just found $1 Lint Rollers at Target (A 'superstore' here in the US).

60 sheets. I bought five, and put them in 1-quart ziplock bags.

That's some good swag there.

I keep one in my car and do a quick swipe every time I get back to the car. The very first time I did that, (see the pic - zoom in!)

 

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On 6/14/2019 at 8:44 AM, cerberus1 said:

 

In our area, If I trade,  I'm still the only one who  notes, "Took a ......, left a ......"  in my logs.  

Hoping someday that changes, but it's easier on some folk's conscious looking to just take,  when there's no mention I guess...

We generally do this, too, when we actually take something.  I'm always with kidlets when we geocache and the swag is definitely a high point of the hunt. 

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10 hours ago, KitsapScouts said:
On 6/14/2019 at 5:44 PM, cerberus1 said:

 

In our area, If I trade,  I'm still the only one who  notes, "Took a ......, left a ......"  in my logs.  

Hoping someday that changes, but it's easier on some folk's conscious looking to just take,  when there's no mention I guess...

We generally do this, too, when we actually take something.  I'm always with kidlets when we geocache and the swag is definitely a high point of the hunt. 

 

Side note on this.  I was maybe the 20th finder (in 2015!) on this 2001 cache in New Mexico.  Between the online logs and the actual notes (!) left in the logbook, you could actually tell when the swag in the cache was added.  From my log:

 

Quote

It was a delight looking through the logbook. I miss the old days of caching, when people left notes and not just names. (I'm guilty of it, too.) What I loved about this log in particular was that you could almost track the swag in the cache. Garlic press? Left in 2003! Million dollar bill? Left in 2006! So much fun. I even got into the spirit and did something I never do, I left some swag. I have been carrying around a DVD that my parents gave me from their second visit to Key West (their first was with us). It is of a deranged Frenchman with a stunt cat show. The cats are delightful if you can get past the deranged Frenchman.

 

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