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Failure To Log Tb's


JohnnyDingo

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O.K., maybe I'm screwing up here, but I'm new to the forums and I probably don't know any better. I get so irritated when I go to a cache specifically to pick up a TB and it's not there, not logged, MIA. I usually try to figure out who grabbed it, if recent enough, and I check their stats. I often find that it is NEW geocachers who may have found their first TB and don't know what to do with it. I often e-mail those who show in the cache log or on the page that they have taken the bug, but have not logged on the TB page. I try to explain or offer help and almost NEVER get a response. I have started to print the Bug page and put it in a zip-lock bag with TB's that pass thru my hands. People just need to know what to do with them or the system breaks down. Forums are GREAT, but those responsible for this problem probably don't read the forums either. Anyway, I guess I just needed to vent a little. :)

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JD,

I totally agree with what you are saying..........

I've linked this topic to my "pinned topic" (The Official Travel Bug Obituary...., ) at the top of the "Travel Bug Discussion" in an efffort to keep it active

 

JayBee

Edited by jbhooker3
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If I'm understanding you correctly, what you're telling me is that when you find a bug, you place it in a bag and add some documentation about how to handle a TB to it.

 

And you're doing this without contacting the TB owners.

 

Excuse me. I have to go to the closet and get my asbestos coveralls.

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I just go to the TB page for that TB, go to OPTIONS, print BUG SHEET and add a copy. It just has the info about the bug and it's goals. Is this bad etiquette? Should I NOT do that without contacting the owner? I guess I never thought aabout it that way. Perhaps in my effort to improve something, I have in fact committed a faux pas!

Edited by JohnnyDingo
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Personally, I much prefer to find a travel bug (that I wasn't expecting to find) to have something with it that states its mission. If I find an unexpected travel bug with no indication as to its mission, I don't take it because I have no idea if I can help it along. I'd rather leave it than possibly hinder it.

 

I once bagged and bug-sheeted a naked bug I'd picked up. After moving it along I felt sort of guilty for "changing" it in some way. But, then I saw one that had been through a "bug spa" where the owner had done for that bug what I'd done for the other one.

 

So, it is GOOD or BAD to bag/bug-sheet an otherwise naked bug?

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I just go to the TB page for that TB, go to OPTIONS, print BUG SHEET and add a copy. It just has the info about the bug and it's goals. Is this bad etiquette? Should I NOT do that without contacting the owner? I guess I never thought aabout it that way. Perhaps in my effort to improve something, I have in fact committed a faux pas!

JD,

Don't worry about it....I have done the same thing. I figure it this way...the owner of the bug was not aware of the benefit, so I added a litttle security to the otherwise undocumented traveler. I think any bug owner would be very pleased that you took the effort to insure that their bug was provided with that little extra info that just might make a difference to its survival.

Edited by jbhooker3
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The difference is in contacting the owner. While many will appreciate it, and some don't care either way, some will get downright upset that you're "changing" their travel bug.

 

If  the owner wanted it bagged,  they would have bagged it.  Leave it alone.  If you feel compelled that for some reason it should have a bag,  then email the owner and ask them if they want it bagged.  Same with the Bugs Goal.  If they wanted it there,  they would have put it there.  Don't add baggage to the bug just because you think it is best.

 

A travel bug without a bag and without a Goal sheet will fit in far more caches.

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I agree with bons. I don't want people messin' with "my" bugs.

 

I put the instruction tag on the bug that I want on it. If I want it changed then I'll contact the current holder and ASK for a change and mail a new, different tag to them. If the bug gets damaged and needs fixing of some sort, then please contact me and we'll work something out (the finder would obviously be in a better position to suggest and implement a fix). Call me paternal, but I want to know beforehand what is planned.

 

If I find a bug without an instruction tag, I'll contact the owner and ask if they would like an instruction tag added. If they agree, THEN I'll add it. That's the procedure I would want for mine.

 

I also don't put them in bags. They don't need them and the bag will turn to trash in a few placements anyway.

Edited by brad.32
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I just go to the TB page for that TB, go to OPTIONS, print BUG SHEET and add a copy. It just has the info about the bug and it's goals. Is this bad etiquette? Should I NOT do that without contacting the owner?

This is done all the time. You can do it and you don't have to contact the TB owner. If you felt that it was needed when you picked it up then it was probably needed. Later on, if you find one cluttered with junk pages and it doesn't look like it needs to be in a ziplock you can liberate it and toss the junk.

 

I personally don't like bugs in bags but I have added laminated instruction tags to some bugs. I make a note to that effect on the bug page. I've never asked permission to add a tag and have only received thank you notes from bug owners when I've done this.

 

You can report your action to the bug page, or not, and if the owner wants it back out of the bag and the bug pages tossed they can post a request note to the bug page.

 

As pointed out consistently on these pages, once you release a TB it is out of your control. There are other and worse things that WILL happen to your TB's. To get worked up over ziplocks and bug pages will wear you down prematurely.

Edited by Team Sagefox
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i recently removed a bug of mine from a bag in which it had been placed by a well-wisher. the bag really spoiled the visual effect for me. i release them exactly the way i want them to be. some of mine pick up additional items along the way. i don't mind someone adding, for instance, a few more stones to a rose quartz ball i have going around, but i'd really rather not see it tagged with rules and stuff.

 

i am aware of the existence of the bug sheet. i know how to make and use tags.

 

once i have released a TB into the world, i 've relinquished control. i can ask nicely, but demands rarely get me anything useful. i want to see where fortune carries these little guys and sometimes where they get carried is into oblivion.

 

if you ask the bug owner, you will have done the right thing. some people will be really grateful that you've taken the time to help. some will not. most of the time i will fall into the "not" category. i just about cringe every time i come across one of these nightmares. i once came across a geocoin (trackable) that had been drilled so a tag could be attached. it had been put in a hard plastic shell AND put in a ziploc along with a laminated set of directions that was many times the size of the original item.

 

the weight of responsibility was just too much for me, so i went back to babysitting, where there are fewer rules and i don't have to worry so much.

 

if i had all the money in the world, i'd make a TB and hire two guys from brinks to watch over it 24/7 and make sure people taking it had properly signed a contract for agreement to move properly.

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When a person picks up a TB, they would like to know where it's going. Even if it is going nowhere in particular. I have picked up TB's in the middle of the desert only to find that I have taken it in the wrong direction. It's a courtesy to other cachers to take the assumptions and guesses out of the game. Laminiated tags are the best, but even a scrawling on the tag that says "just travelling" is helpful. My two cents worth! :bad:

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Have to disagree with my friend Bons here. Your approach seems to be benign. You aren't actually changing the bug or its mission. Its sounds like a nice thing. Keep doing it. If you run into any of my bugs, feel free to bag em up.

I gotta agree!

 

Personally, I think you're doing the owner a "good deed" by adding a bag and the mission card. You can count on the more, er, "retentive" <_< cachers/owners will hop up and down over the least little thing, but I believe most would be thankful for the help, especially if it keeps their bug from becoming MIA.

 

I know I'd appreciate it!

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Sine you disagree with what I said, please let me repeat what I consider the important part of what I said:

And you're doing this without contacting the TB owners.

 

As I said in another thread, this looks like the year people decide to just do whatever they want to.

Edited by bons
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<_<:blink:

Okay, I'm new to this, I've only started this past W/E, I've sought 6, I've found six my most recent find included 2 T.B.'s I took Woody and Waldo stayed behind

 

(MHO is that if there are more than 1 TB in the cache, you should only take 1, someone will pick up the other and move it along)

 

back to the discussion at hand, I see travel bugs as pets that have been placed for adoption, when your dog has pups and you give the pups to "A GOOD HOME" yourelenquish control over the pup, his name gets changed from spot to lucky, he doesn't get to climb on the furniture like he would in your house, you may see him in a christmas card with antlers on, you would never do that to him, the new owners move from that big house they were renting with the big yard into a condo in the city, making spot/lucky a housebound doggie

the point is, you hope for the best when you release your TB, but you no longer have a say in what happens to him unless you want to chase him and get him back and keep him safe at home, but that's just not the idea now is it?

but hey, just my opinion, and what do I know, I;m a newbue

 

Vegasmoose

P.S. I plan to take Woody to Utah next W/E and cache him near Zion or Bryce Canyon

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I don't quite agree with the adoption analogy. I think that people place bugs in the hope that someone will move them along to another cache. I do think tags, sheets, whatever, are a good idea but after a recent discussion on this topic I now would not add or remove anything without asking first.

 

MHO is that if there are more than 1 TB in the cache, you should only take 1, someone will pick up the other and move it along

 

That’s fine as long as people aren’t placing that requirement on others.

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My very first TB,McTavish, disappeared at a geocaching event. People bring Bugs and toss them into a bowl, where folks reach in and grab them to move along. Problem there is that nobody is accountable for a "lost" Bug, since so many potential "finders" are in attendance. BTW, check out the two "experts" that found it and how well they followed its mission.

Edited by Blue Blaze Irregulars
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My very first TB,McTavish, disappeared at a geocaching event. People bring Bugs and toss them into a bowl, where folks reach in and grab them to move along. Problem there is that nobody is accountable for a "lost" Bug, since so many potential "finders" are in attendance.

I hear ya.

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I added a bag to one bug I picked up, because it was a soft doll and the caches I've seen recently have been wet and nasty, but I left the others alone, including the huge one plus bag and instructions. Now that it's been mentioned, I will probably email the owner of that one and ask if they wanted all that, as it makes an already large tag a pretty big bundle.

 

My one released bug so far is fairly small and has an abbreviated version of his mission attached on a small laminated card so people know where he's trying to go, and I'm good with that. I would object to someone adding more simply because I decided how much documentation to add as a tradeoff between information and bulk, so that he would be most likely to travel. <shrug>

Edited by Firefairy
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As a relatively "new to the sport" kinda guy...should I have attached tags with goals to my bugs?

 

I like the idea of someone helping my TB's by putting a detail oriented tag or a bag to protect them. This is kind of a common thing I have seen with cachers, everyone is always lookin gout for each other. Very good group of people!

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As a relatively "new to the sport" kinda guy...should I have attached tags with goals to my bugs?

Yes, absolutely.

 

Many times I have grabbed a TB while on a road trip and get it some miles. Low and behold, the next time I get on the internet, I find I have taken the TB in the wrong direction of it's goal.

 

I like the idea of someone helping my TB's by putting a detail oriented tag or a bag to protect them. This is kind of a common thing I have seen with cachers, everyone is always lookin gout for each other. Very good group of people!

 

Yes, many cachers are very helpful, particularly the ones you meet. There are some new and/or casual cachers that are unfamiliar with TB's and think they are just another trade item. Lost TB's are far too frequent.

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As a relatively "new to the sport" kinda guy...should I have attached tags with goals to my bugs?

Yes, absolutely.

 

Many times I have grabbed a TB while on a road trip and get it some miles. Low and behold, the next time I get on the internet, I find I have taken the TB in the wrong direction of it's goal.

 

I like the idea of someone helping my TB's by putting a detail oriented tag or a bag to protect them. This is kind of a common thing I have seen with cachers, everyone is always lookin gout for each other. Very good group of people!

 

Yes, many cachers are very helpful, particularly the ones you meet. There are some new and/or casual cachers that are unfamiliar with TB's and think they are just another trade item. Lost TB's are far too frequent.

In my experience (limited as it is) most "lost" TB's are not lost, they are stolen, misapropriated, coveted, snagged, or sitting on someones "geo-shelf"

I still say adding all of that stuff is great, if you've first asked the "owner" first

I won't b*tch anyone out for doing it to one of mine, but if it's posted in the log or a pic is posted to the gallery and I see it I will ask the next person to remove it, please

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Sine you disagree with what I said, please let me repeat what I consider the important part of what I said:
And you're doing this without contacting the TB owners.

 

As I said in another thread, this looks like the year people decide to just do whatever they want to.

He is printing and adding the Travel Bug page THAT THE OWNERS CREATED. Why does he need permission from them? Dont you think the owners would want this?How is this changing the bug?

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We found our second ever cache and found a travel bug. We found Slither Snake. Slither has a note attached asking to go someplace warm. It took us a while to figure out what to do with it but we took a pic of our cat with it and posted everything online. It turns out many have been looking for this one at Pineland in Maine. We found it at another cache about 5 miles away. It apears according to the logbook that the party who took it from Pineland had kept it for months with the intent of taking it further south and when they could not they put it in another cache locally. We are heading south about 50 miles and will Slither well on his way. So yes bugs can be found when unexpected.

 

i can say this little guy has just strenghtened our resolve to keep this up. BTW we are ordering some bugs of our won.

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We found our second ever cache and found a travel bug. We found Slither Snake. Slither has a note attached asking to go someplace warm. It took us a while to figure out what to do with it but we took a pic of our cat with it and posted everything online. It turns out many have been looking for this one at Pineland in Maine. We found it at another cache about 5 miles away. It apears according to the logbook that the party who took it from Pineland had kept it for months with the intent of taking it further south and when they could not they put it in another cache locally. We are heading south about 50 miles and will Slither well on his way. So yes bugs can be found when unexpected.

 

i can say this little guy has just strenghtened our resolve to keep this up. BTW we are ordering some bugs of our won.

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I'm a little wary of picking up TBs now. I seem to curse them. The people who have picked them up after me seem to hold onto them for a long time. At least they log them, but then the TB doesn't get placed for weeks.

 

I guess if the owner isn't complaining, it isn't any of my business. I'm too thin-skinned to place on own TB.

 

I wanted to chime in here on the "adding info to TB" debate. I found a TB's info in a cache even though the previous cacher had taken the TB. So I sent the owner a note mentioning that the TB and info had been separated.

 

If I ever release a TB (and this thread is very discouraging), I think I'll include a tag describing the TB's purpose and hope that if it's missing, someone replaces the info. But contacting the owner would be a friendly thing to do.

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I have cleaned and rehabilitated several TBs that have been found sitting naked in a wet cache container & sent them on in a freezer ziplock with a new bug sheet.

Anyone that gets upset about that has some screws loose upstairs & needs to mellow down. In a humid climate, even an ammo box can get condensation inside over time and ziplocked bags will at least protect its contents. When I get some TBs out there, I would hope that well-meaning souls will clean it up , replace ziplocks etc., when they need it. Keep on caching (cacheing? that doesn't look right either, oh well!) Anyway-have fun everybody!

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As a relatively "new to the sport" kinda guy...should I have attached tags with goals to my bugs?

Yes. That's a very good idea! Just don't expect all people to pay attention to it. :lol: I was trying to send a bug from NJ to ME. It detoured to Maryland, and Tennessee. It finally reached Maine last weekend (thanks to all who helped Grey Furby on his way!) If I see several bugs in a cache, I will read the enclosed pages/tags to see which I can best help. Of course, if there's only one, I'll probably take it anyway. :lol:

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I have cleaned and rehabilitated several TBs that have been found sitting naked in a wet cache container & sent them on in a freezer ziplock with a new bug sheet.

Anyone that gets upset about that has some screws loose upstairs & needs to mellow down. In a humid climate, even an ammo box can get condensation inside over time and ziplocked bags will at least protect its contents. When I get some TBs out there, I would hope that well-meaning souls will clean it up , replace ziplocks etc., when they need it. Keep on caching (cacheing? that doesn't look right either, oh well!) Anyway-have fun everybody!

thank you for the psychological evaluation and the prescribed treatment, but i like my screws loose and if i were any more mellow i'd be in a coma, but i appreciate the fact that you know what's best for everyone, have you thought about politics?

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Can I vent here?

 

[vent]

 

I dropped off 2 TBs in a new cache. Straight away the online logs said 'no TBs seen'. I thought this was a bit strange, so I went and checked out the cache. There was one log in the logbook from a cacher who had visited straight after me, but to this day has not logged online, although they have logged others.

 

The TB owners and the cache owner have both contacted him to ask if he took and forgot to log the TBs. They have not had a reply.

 

Now here's the bit that winds me up. This is a cacher who has found lots of caches and knows what to do with TBs. I cannot see why he would not reply to polite emails. I cannot see why anybody would just take TBs like that. Neither of the TBs were 'cute' by the way, and there is no evidence that the cache (full of more attractive stuff) was muggled.

 

Nobody FORCES you to take TBs, so if you cannot be bothered to log them properly, just leave them in the cache. It's simple really.

 

[/end of vent]

Edited by Alibags
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Here's a thought to consider. Some people have their email set up so that not all emails from gc.com get through. They have spam blockers that don't let messages get through, however if they have a cache or travel bug of their own, they should receive a message with the posted logs to those in their email. So if you are getting no response, try posting a NICE email to their cache page or bug page. Do not slam them on their own cache, they probably didn't receive your first email, so need for any kind of hostility or harrassment. Being polite works best, and no need to post more than once. Wait and see if it works. If that doesn't work, consider the fact that the bug is indeed gone. Surely you knew it was a risk to send it out in the first place?

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I can understand the need to vent now and then when an "experienced geocacher" persists in neglecting to log TBs, but sometimes you run across a "newbie" who doesn't know the correct procedure. I had such an occurrance yesterday when I found a cache with an "unlogged" TB.

 

I've got the TB in hand, and e-mailed the cacher with an offer to help him/her correct their logs and properly setup the TB travel page - hope I get a response ...

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I feel personally responsible for the disappearance of a TB who was very close to his goal. I ran into another brand-new cacher while searching for an elusive cache. (No, neither of us found it, but it has since been temporarily disabled). That cacher had only registered the prior day, but had been hunting and finding caches for about a week. We discusssed TB's and then decided to trade ones that each of us had. He had NOT logged his grab, so I merely "grabbed it from somewhere else" on the bug page. However, the one I gave to him, he still has NOT been logged. It still shows up as being in my possession. I have it on my "Watch" list, but so far, it has not turned up anywhere. I have twice emailed the new cacher, and also the owner of the TB. I don't know what else to do to try to find this TB's whereabouts. Any other suggestions? Other than just letting him go? :lol:

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I don't know what else to do to try to find this TB's whereabouts. Any other suggestions? Other than just letting him go? :lol:

I don't think there's really anything you can do at this point in time. You can email the owner of the cache where the TB is still listed and have him or her list the TB as missing which will remove it from the cache page.

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I retreived a travel bug from Yonkers Jail. It is not a cache that is visited often. It had been wet inside for a long time.

 

The TB was sent out by a middle school class in South Dakota.

 

It was stained and rusty, it had a travel log that was moldy and some of the entries could no longer be read.

 

I cleaned up the plastic guy, gave him a new chain and log book. The original mission statement was still fine and I left that alone. Then I put it in a plastic bag and sent it on it's way.

 

I took the old log pages and ironed them out (Kill the mold and mildew) when i got them dry I put them in a scrap book along with pictures we took of it - before and after, and sent the kids the scrapbook.

 

I had their permission to fix it up.

 

The plastic bag thang - I started doing it because it seems like there are more and more caches that are not kept up very well. Kind of a self preservation thang.

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I want to weigh in on the goodness of printing bug sheets and (re)bagging bugs. I always print a bug sheet and bag my TBs when I send them on their way. Sure, it would be cool if I owned a laminator and did whizzy mission tags... but that isn't an expense I'm up for right now (esp. since I know I have one somewhere from a project 4-5 years ago). But I know that baggies tear and get worn and bug sheets get wet or separated from their bugs. Sprucing up a soggy bug and re-attaching a mission is a wonderful service!

 

It might be a nice courtesy to email the TB owner... but I wouldn't want it to keep the bug from getting dropped into a cache soon while the holder waits for that owner to fish the mail out of a spam filter. That seems like a good way to have a TB sitting on a shelf somewhere. YMMV. But from me.... Kudos to those who provide care and kindness to our travelers! :blink:

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TB's do go off track or missing fairly often. I have nagged about a suggested partial solution many times.

 

I don't know if the following is easily implemented. Many other cachers have agreed that it is a good idea, but until one of the programmers at Groundspeak weighs in on whether it can be done............

 

What happens is that a TB gets picked up and logged. The logger gets credit for the TB and thus has less incentive to move it on. The bug finds it's way to the bottom of a back pack, a closet or gets tossed to the kids in the back of the van and that's the end of it.

 

If you could not get credit for a TB UNTIL you log it a second time, (typically when you set it out on it's way), then this specific problem would be greatly reduced.

 

There are other reasons TB's go MIA, maybe solutions will eventually be found for some of those. If someone is going to flat out take a TB and not log it, nothing can be done about that. A cacher has started an "International TB Rescue League", which should help get some stalled bugs moving.

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It seems that some people need to get a life. Hey, these are just travelbugs. I have heard it said, "You pay your money and you take your chances." If you want you TB left as is, them put a tag on it and state it. That way no one has to contact you to ask permission to do you a favor. Besides, probably by the time it goes through several more caches it will revert back to it previous condition. I have found some TBs that are so bad that they lay in the cache for months because a lot of people don't want to touch them. As far as events go, I have the attendees log them in and out, have someone assigned to do it, or do it myself.

 

On another note, I picked up a TB in California, TBGKMW, when I traveled there from Florida, in October of last year. I still have it. It travels with me logging caches as I go. It is my adopted TB now until I get tired of logging in and out of caches.. I can see the miles that I have traveled since picking it up. :) And before anyone gets upset, :mad: the owner likes the idea that I am moving it so much rather than have it sit for months on end in some seldom visited cache. Did he put it out there to do that, no. But he likes the idea of the constant moving. He now has almost 600 TBs in circulation.

 

Sorry, I got a little off track on this thread. Here is a question for all the nay sayers. What would you do if you go to pickup the TB and someone has taken the bug but left the tag? TBGKMW. I wrote the owner about the situation. He was not very happy and was going to list it as MIA, and give up on TBs. I told him I had another item that looked a lot like his and I would try to send it on its way. I couldn't find it so I copied the picture of the TB, laminated it, and attached the tag and it is continuing on it mission. Did I get a thanks from the owner, No. :( If I hadn't done that then I would probably be stuck with a usless set of TB tags. :o Ichecked before I wrote this post and see that the TB is still traveling. On the other hand, an owner puts a TB goal sheet with the bug and puts it in a plastic bag. Now I go to find it. How do I know that the owner wants to have it that way? Did some kind sole put all that with the TB or did the owner. I am in a quandry now. :o The only way to find out is to email the owner to find out his/her wishes. I am not going to do that. Someone adds stuff and others remove it. As I said at the start, "Get a life. These are only TBs."

 

Okay, I feel better now. Have a good day. ;) For what it was worth, it just IMHO. And I like sticking those icons in the post. :o;);)

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Tommy Trojan has an interesting autoresponse system.

"GREAT STUFF! HI there and THANK YOU for retrieving YELLOW CLOWN ... we truly appreciate your support!

 

Upon reaching your destinations, please try to find, if possible, an ACTIVE cache which has frequent visitors to move it along.

 

We THANK YOU too for your participation . Helen and I INVITE and WELCOME you to retrieve or rescue any of our other "little friends and coins again!!"

 

All the best from Tommy Trojan, Helen of Troy and all the Trojan Travelers - FIGHT ON!

 

**PLEASE DO NOT PLACE AT**

EVENTS, MULTI or REMOTE CACHES"

And:

"HI there and THANK YOU for taking such good care of YELLOW CLOWN and being such an EXCELLENT geoparent.. we truly appreciate your support, kindness and good will ... hopefully we will meet again!

 

We INVITE and WELCOME YOU to retrieve or rescue any of our "little friends and coins" as you travel and explore!

 

HAPPY FUN TIME AND TRAILS 2U !!

 

All the best from Tommy Trojan, Helen of Troy and all the Trojan Travelers - FIGHT ON!"

 

Kinda makes you want to take good care of his TBs, or smack him upside the head, not sure which.

 

But, the original thread was on retagging ad rebagging...

My bugs go out with laminated mission goals, and Ziplocks. If you find my little stuffed animals without a Ziplock, I am extraordinarily happy when you rebag them! It keeps them dry. Perhaps the mission goal is missing? Why else would the bug heading from NJ to Australia have found its way to Florida? (He asks toung in cheek.) If the goal tag is missing, I'd feel very happy towards anyone who replaces it! Thank you! Much appreciated!!

My aformentioned Furby, travelling from NJ to Maine lost his dogtag somewhere between Tennessee and New Hampshire. (Okay, it's not easy to fid a cache lare enough for a Furby. I've learnt my lesson there...) Two cachers e-mailed me for his number, so that they could log him into the next cache, and one even attached a tag with his number.

I thank these people who have taken such good care of my bugs! And I shall do the same, when possible. If your bug looks like it needs a Ziplock, I'll put it in one.

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Since we all make mistakes, especially as a new cacher, I would hope that we would learn from them. Unfortunately, one of the first TBs we retrieved and then placed in another cache, disappeared. We returned to the cache, checked logs and contacted each of those who had logged ON LINE that they had been there. There was one log at the cache which was never logged online. We did everything we could to try to locate this party, including contacting Groundspeak to see if this entity had been a member and dropped. No luck.

I wish this did not happen but I must agree that risking losing the TB is part of the "game" but we felt bad for the kids to whom the TB belonged.

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O.K., maybe I'm screwing up here, but I'm new to the forums and I probably don't know any better. I get so irritated when I go to a cache specifically to pick up a TB and it's not there, not logged, MIA. I usually try to figure out who grabbed it, if recent enough, and I check their stats. I often find that it is NEW geocachers who may have found their first TB and don't know what to do with it. I often e-mail those who show in the cache log or on the page that they have taken the bug, but have not logged on the TB page. I try to explain or offer help and almost NEVER get a response. I have started to print the Bug page and put it in a zip-lock bag with TB's that pass thru my hands. People just need to know what to do with them or the system breaks down. Forums are GREAT, but those responsible for this problem probably don't read the forums either. Anyway, I guess I just needed to vent a little. :rolleyes:

 

I AGREE. THIS MAY BE LATER THAN I THINK....... BUT, THE THING THAT GETS ME IS WHEN A GROUP GOES OUT CACHING TOGATHER AND ONE PERSON 'DROPS' A TB IN THE CACHE AND IT IS PICKED UP BY SOMONE ELSE IN THE GROUP AND NOT LOGGED.... OR IS LOGGED, WHY NOT JUST "GRAB-IT" FROM THE OTHER PERSON INSTEAD OF IT SHOWING THAT IT IS IN THE CACHE. I ALSO DON'T LIKE THE IDEA OF HAVING "VIRTUAL" ITEMS (COINS, TB'S) SHOWING IN CACHES. I HAVE LOOKED UP A COUPLE THAT LIST TB'S AND COINS ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT ITS A MICRO AND REALLY DOESN'T HAVE ANYTHING IN IT!!

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Personally, I much prefer to find a travel bug (that I wasn't expecting to find) to have something with it that states its mission. If I find an unexpected travel bug with no indication as to its mission, I don't take it because I have no idea if I can help it along. I'd rather leave it than possibly hinder it.

 

A serious geocacher should pick up and move every travel bug that they see. If you ignore a travel bug that you see in a cache, then that increases the risk of the travel bug becoming lost. Many travel bugs become lost when they are picked up and not logged by inconsiderate, non-logging geocachers, or become lost when the cache itself is stolen or ransacked or becomes lost due to natural or man-made reasons.

 

If the mission is really important to the travel bug owner, then the owner should attach a tag with the mission statement on it. Otherwise, the travel bug could go anywhere.

 

I really feel if I am not doing anything wrong if I pick up a travel bug and move it to another quality cache, even if that cache is in the opposite direction of its presumed mission. One of the presumed features of travel bugs should be the random, unpredictable nature of its movements. It doesn't have to get to is intended destination by the shortest or fastest route - part of the fun of travel bugs is seeing all the different locations that it could visit and the route that it takes as it wanders around the world.

 

Ken Akerman (a.k.a. Highpointer)

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My very first TB,McTavish, disappeared at a geocaching event. People bring Bugs and toss them into a bowl, where folks reach in and grab them to move along. Problem there is that nobody is accountable for a "lost" Bug, since so many potential "finders" are in attendance. BTW, check out the two "experts" that found it and how well they followed its mission.

 

I have an idea for that should reduce the number of travel bugs that become lost at an event. Hold an event at a location that has wireless Internet access and encourage geocachers who have wireless-enabled laptop computers to bring them to the event. The event organizers should bring or more computers with wireless access for those geocachers who don't have wireless-enabled portable computers. This would enable attendees who bring travel bugs to log them into the event when they arrive, and people who pick up travel bugs could log their finds before they leave.

 

Ken Akerman (a.k.a. Highpointer)

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I have an idea for that should reduce the number of travel bugs that become lost at an event. Hold an event at a location that has wireless Internet access and encourage geocachers who have wireless-enabled laptop computers to bring them to the event. The event organizers should bring or more computers with wireless access for those geocachers who don't have wireless-enabled portable computers. This would enable attendees who bring travel bugs to log them into the event when they arrive, and people who pick up travel bugs could log their finds before they leave.

It's a good idea, except that most events are held on weekends, and with the server overload it is nearly impossible to log TBs on weekends.

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Travel bugs with missions, such as one I saw recently with a mission to race several others from Maine to various destinations and back, should be tagged as such. I visited the bug log, and had a hard time figuring out if it had reached the first destination or not.

 

I think a bug owner should put that mission on the bug, and perhaps a spot to use a hole punch on it to mark that it is on the way back to the owner.

 

That way if I can move it closer to an interstate that will take it in the right direction, I could do so.

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