Tb Question

1.1k · June 30, 2004

Greetings,

As a TB owner would you object to the following practice:

I see your bug in a cache and pick it up. Log it, etc. While I have it I print out a TB sheet from the TB page and insert it and the TB into a sandwich bag before placing it into a cache?

I figured having the bug sheet would allow the next person who finds the TB to see at a glance what the mission is and they can determine at that time if they can help the bug on its way or not. I think this would be better than a person picking up a TB taking it home only to find out they moved it in exactly the opposite direction that the TB was heading.

I know as a TB owner I wouldn't object to this being done to any of my TB's but some folks are kind of odd when it comes to this sort of thing. I don't really want to take the time to write to the bug owner in advance to ask permission. I'm hoping by doing so any bugs that I come into contact won't become MIA.

How would you feel if I found one of your TB's?

I suppose as an alternative I could make a note about the TB's mission when signing the log book in the cache.

Opinions?

Zack

Just tryin' to help a TB in need

June 30, 2004

Sounds good to me. Just poke a little hole in the bag so he can breath!

If you did that to someone's TB and they didn't like it they could just e-mail the next person who picks it up and ask them to undo what you did.

I say, "Go for it!"

2k · June 30, 2004

I think most bug owners would prefer you contact them before doing anything, even if you see it as positive, to alter their Travelbug.

Murphy's law you will add a sheet and maybe that person is experimenting to see how long bug "A" last without an information sheet as opposed to bug "B" that they put an info sheet in.

Know that may sound silly but you know how that goes.

June 30, 2004

I think most bug owners would prefer you contact them before doing anything, even if you see it as positive, to alter their Travelbug.

Forget what I said.

I like Erik's idea better. But, still leave an air hole! Don't want no dead Bugs!

22k · June 30, 2004

What exactly is being altered? I do think if you have time to bring it home and make up a sheet you have enough time to get a response from the owner. If you go ahead without formal permission you might end up with a reputation of that lousy cacher who adds a mission statement and a protective baggie. Which had the owner asked for advice they would have been told to do in the first place. What are they going to do, report you to the authorities?

I put a key-ringed laminated tag on mine so the sheet doesn't get wet.

1.1k · June 30, 2004

All: Thanks for the feedback. I've emailed the owner of the one TB that doesn't have a mission page with it to see if I can get permission to add one before placing it in a cache.

Zack

1.6k · June 30, 2004

I would dearly appreciate that sort of help on my TB's.

July 2, 2004

I would dearly appreciate that sort of help on my TB's.

Me, too. Some of my bugs predate the bug sheet concept and I'd love to have the goal with/on all of mine. I think it underscores that bugs are not regular trade loot and helps the finder decide whether he can help the bug toward its goal before he takes it.

July 2, 2004

I always send out a laminated mission tag with my travel bugs.

I don't like taking a travel bug from a cache if I don't know it's mission because I have no idea if I can help it along or not.

I bagged and tagged one travel bug that I picked up because it was in serious need of some TLC, but I haven't done any since. I've also run across travel bugs that were apparently bagged and tagged when they passed through a travel bug spa/hospital cache.

July 3, 2004

I guess I'm just a curmudgeon at heart, but I see no reason to put travel bugs in plastic bags nor to include their mission along with them. If an item is too delicate to go in and out of caches, pockets, backpacks and kids' hands, it probably won't last much longer with the bag than without. And the mission info is available online. Personally, I never move a TB to another cache on the same day I find it; I take it home where I have the leisure to log it and look up its mission details on its web page.

July 3, 2004

Yes but there is a downside to it not having a sheet.

For example, I went to a bug hotel near DIA a while ago. I dropped off a TB and took one that had no goal sheet. I got home and realized the bug was trying to go overseas and the DIA cache would have been the perfect place for it to be picked up!

If that bug had a sheet on it, I would have known it was trying to go to China and I would have left it at the bug hotel!

I think emailing the owner first is a good idea though. Maybe they want their bug to remain mysterious and go where ever the wind blows!

If anyone out there ever finds any of my bugs that have lost their tag, feel free to make a new one for it or replace it's baggy! I don't mind a bit!

July 3, 2004

That is what the "Print Bug Sheet" is for on the owner's TB page. Groundspeak already thought of this and every TB should print out and attach this page.

1.1k · July 5, 2004

Greetings,

Just a little update. Recently I stopped by a TB hotel that was damp inside so I took two TB's that were damp and musty smelling. When I posted my retrieval I added a statement along the lines of:

"If you don't mind I'm going to print out a TB sheet and include it with your TB in a baggie before placing it in the next cache."

I had one TB owner post a follow up comment thanking me for doing so.

Zack

6.5k · July 5, 2004

I guess I'm just a curmudgeon at heart, but I see no reason to put travel bugs in plastic bags nor to include their mission along with them. If an item is too delicate to go in and out of caches, pockets, backpacks and kids' hands, it probably won't last much longer with the bag than without. And the mission info is available online. Personally, I never move a TB to another cache on the same day I find it; I take it home where I have the leisure to log it and look up its mission details on its web page.

Your right about the wear and tear, if it would break without a bag it will probably break with one. But putting it in a can A)give it a slightly better change of surviving a damp or leaking cache(if it ends up in one), and just keep everything contained to its, making it easier for the next person to collect.

The goal is online, but that doesn't help if you don't read it... Some cachers don't bother to check the online page just before finding the cache. Also, someone could have moved it there and not logged its movements, so even if you couldn't read the online page had you looked. Or what if someone traveling stops by the cache, do they risk taking traveler away from its goal (whatever it is)?

July 6, 2004

I think it's a great idea Zack. I am sure that if anyone had a TB that they did not want that kind of information attached to would either not give it a mission to begin with or would state on the TB page that they don't want that information added to the bug.

In the area I'm in we had a cache that was specifically for that purpose. If you left a bug there the cache owner would pick it up, take it home, attach a copy of the TB page, put the bug in a baggie and put it back in his cache to be picked up.

I would have to believe that anyone that goes to the trouble to give their bug a specific mission would much rather have anyone that picks it up know what it's goal is. Just my opinion.

July 7, 2004

I think it is a nice idea. Though, when I put out my own TB, I did start it out in a bag, with the sheet, but really don't expect that sheet to last forever. It is just a piece of paper, and isn't very durable.

When checking a site and preparing to go on a hunt--if I see there is at TB there, I will read its mission before even going to the cache. But if I find a TB and hadn't read its mission yet, I will take it home and look it up before placing it in another cache. Sometimes they request photos in various locations and such. I would like to be able to send the owner back some pictures of the TB in interesting places before sending it on its way

Edited July 7, 2004 by SmithMountainExplorers

July 10, 2004

TBs are like children. You do your best to raise them and teach them to make the right decisions and not to make the same mistakes that you did, but when you send them out into the world you can only hope that your imparted wisdom did not fall on deaf ears. You can't follow them and live their lives for them. Set them free and be glad that you did your best by them ! If they fail at their mission in life you can assure yourself that you did your very best and stand utterly blameless.

Regards to all,

perk51

1k · July 10, 2004

Not only would I not mind if someone printed a sheet for one of my TBs, but I have e-mailed finders annd asked them to do it as a favor. But that's just me. We geocachers are a strange lot, and you don't know what sort of attitudes you may encounter.

July 16, 2004

Ok My two cents,

I like the idea of someone putting a card/tag on my TB's. I released all of my TB's without them. Of course I really don't have hard steadfast goals for any of them. I did give them goals but if that is not where they end up then thats ok too. The only problem I have had with this particular issue is.....

I have several (12) bugs all based on the characters of the TV show South Park. They are small keychains where the items will fit into most micros (especially film canisters). I did not wish to have tags on them for the sole reason that too much stuff means not fitting into the smaller already overstuffed caches. Also, one of my bugs (WLG Eric Cartman) was given a tag by somebody not only without telling me but the tag stated that this particular bug was my WLG Ike Broflowski TB. There has been endless confusion over this. He's now in europe (Tuscany) and on his way to bavaria (hopefully in time for Octoberfest), so I don't think the misnamming will be much of an issue.

I guess I don't have a problem in putting tags on bugs that are not the owners as long as the information is correct.

Peace!

1.1k · July 17, 2004

I wasn't talking about adding a card. I was talking about printing out a TB sheet that's available through the web site. Unless someone took that TB sheet and made it small enough to fit on a small card I would object to someone adding an additional card or tag to my TB. If I wanted folks to add stuff to a TB then I would create one specifically for that purpose.

Hmm, that's an idea, release one called Gumball Rings and the purpose of the TB is for whoever finds it to buy a cheap ring from a gumball machine and add it to the chain...I just may have to do that.

Zack

Off to the grocery store to buy a cheap ring :unsure:

July 17, 2004

Not knowing about including travel documents I released my first TB "Cache Viking" without anything extra attached. One of the first finders emailed me and said that they had made and attached travel documents for which I was appreciative. TB went missing a couple trades later.

All future tags will be released with more attached.

Therefore I see no problem with what you are asking.

1.2k · July 18, 2004

After going thru the frustration of going to a large airport cache, finding bugs with no goal cards, and then accidently taking some bugs off-course, I decided to do something about it. I designed cards that look like the pic below. I call them Travel Bug Protection Kit cards. I had a print shop make tear-off pads out of the cards and I now drop them off in TB hotels along with a good supply of empty ziplock bags. (The idea is card and ziplock consists of one kit.) Cachers are invited to fill out the cards so that other cachers can know if the bug is going their direction.

The current version of the cards now are of much tougher paper than what I started with, and I have designed in a convenient hole in the upper left-hand corner in the current version of the cards, so that the card can be attached to the TB with whatever is handy.

In my opinion, you are not modifying the bug itself, you are simply making sure that it is protected and more likely to arrive at it's goal. This is why permission is not really necessary, in my experience. Here's a fact: In the more than a year that I have been distributing these cards, I have had not ONE objection from a TB owner to the idea, and many, many MANY email letters from cachers and TB owners saying 'thank you, Sparrowhawk!" about having these cards out there. If there was a problem, some TB owner woulda complained by NOW, y'think... so for me it's worth the risk. :blink:

4.7k · July 18, 2004

every once in a while i get a note from some well-meaning cacher who has "helped" one of my TB's by putting a mission card and baggie on it.

do they think i'm so careless that i would release one without the things i want it to have? if i wanted it to have a baggie, i would have given it one. whenever i get the chance to track down my bugs, i take them home, remove the baggies and cards and let them go again.

if i want you to know its mission when you take it, i attach a metal tag.

if my bug goes off course, it goes off course. i get to find out where it goes.

when one of these well-meaning people "helps" one of my bugs, i usually thank them politely and then ask some future person who picks it up to remove the added material. i haven't the heart to tell some kind person to leave my TB alone and let it travel freely, thank you.

now, it you find one of my TBs and you are moved to add something to it, or decorate it, that's fine with me. as far as i'm concerned, that's part of its natural evolution.

i paid good money for those tags. what i want out of them is to see where they go. if i give too many directions it's less interesting.

July 18, 2004

I dont like baggies!!! Sorry...

Anyway, I release my bug the way I want it. If I want a change, I will email the current holder. Adding a bag and tag is a nice thought, just not something I would want. :blink:

July 18, 2004

I hate baggies also! I released my bug they way I wanted it "Free and Natural". If you can help it on it's mission hurrah! If not place it and someone else will. At least he is moving and seeing the country.

1.2k · July 20, 2004

The problem is... the whole "tag and bag" phenomenom is nearly as widespread as calling non-geocachers "muggles" and just as not likely to die out very soon. So since one is stuck with the flow, there ARE other ways to go.

Fact: a bug is out there and looks very vulnerable to the elements, such as a plushie character, some kindly-intending geocacher IS gonna bag the thing at some point. As well they should, when you think about it.

On the other hand, tough metal or plastic TBs seem to generally go unbagged in my caches despite the provided ziplocks I always keep stocked.

I don't bag bugs which look like they won't be too vulnerable to the elements. Doesn't make sense to bag a TB which will hold up nicely to usual weather and rough handling anyway. Seems like that is the way many other cachers seem to react as well, even with those free ziplocks handy.

So just start with a very-rugged, hard-to-damage TB. Park a "do not bag" note on it and/or the page. You'll definitely increase the chances of a bug traveling completely bag-free, and defy the normal expected routine. :blink:

4.7k · July 21, 2004

the reason i don't want a bag on it is because it spoils the look of it. i don't want the bug shet on it, and i don't want a "do not bag" tag on it.

if some well-meaning schmoe puts a bag on it, i'll simply ask some other person to remove it when possible.

what i'd really like is for people not to assume that i want my TB bagged. and FOR SURE i don't want my geocoins bagged and tagged. and yet they get bagged and tagged.

i'd just like people to consider that maybe they're not doing me a favor. i have NEVER been irritated by a well-meaning cacher sending me an email asking me what i would like with regard to one of my TBs.

i've had some painted, added to, whatever, but the only intrusion i really resent is when they get bagged and tagged. tagged especially. i have one that i used to go remove the bag from on a regular basis, but in the end, the whole mass just gets tangled up and people like to carry it better in a bag.

i draw the line at tagging, though. it has all the tags i want on it.

this thread, however, has given my the inspiration for a TB whose mission is simply to make fun of the bag-and-tag trend. i think it's going to be a plain tag (no chain even) in a ziploc with a bug sheet. its mission is to have geocachers add MORE ziplocs and MORE bugsheets. i'm going to call it "ziploc THIS" or something like that.

i always try to turn general resentment into something more entertaining.

1.1k · July 21, 2004

flask: Neat idea for a TB. Use one of those heavy duty gallon size bags for your TB. Let us know when it's released because I'd like to watch it and see what kind of comments you get.

Zack

July 21, 2004

I myself would have no objections to you adding tags or bags. A bag might give it some more protection from the elements and a tag would offer information on the bug itself.

2.6k · July 21, 2004

I picked up a TB lately that was a figurine in its original plastic box with the original paperwork, and that was then put in a baggy with a sheet of paper explaining its mission. There were so many layers between me and that bug, it really kind of diminished the specialness of it. You know, that "Oh, neat!" feeling you get when you spot a bug...?

3k · July 22, 2004

I sent out a bug without a sheet. I didn't think to add one, since I only have 2 bugs out there. A very nice cacher not only added a sheet to it, they laminated it!! I was ecstatic! I thought it was a very kind gesture.

1.1k · August 1, 2004

i send my bugs out how i want them to be.

if you think something should be different its always best to ASK THE OWNER!

and on another note, when i find bugs in bags with big tags on them i find that extremely annoying and usually dont pick those bugs up. as well as tb's with cards with a list of demands on them. let them stay there for others.

IMO a travel bug is to travel, pick mine up and move it to another cache, whether it be the same state, another state, or even another country, just move the thing already!! if it has a specific goal them thats fine and dandy if you can help, but move it already!

Edited August 1, 2004 by bd_chris

Tb Question

Recommended Posts

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Join the conversation