WH Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 There was an event held very recently where the organizer asked that each person attending bring a TB. When I arrived at the event, there was a box for the TB's with a big sign instructing us to drop TB's only, no trading. This made me wonder if the event owner was using the event as a way for collecting a large number of TB's for his own personal use. In disgust, I left the event and took my TB with me. Anyone else have any thoughts on this? Quote Link to comment
+KaPeRsMom Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 Sounds like its in bad taste to me but I only have 92 finds Quote Link to comment
MMACH 5 Posted November 18, 2004 Share Posted November 18, 2004 Maybe he's getting ready to hide a TB hotel. That's the only reason I can think of. Did you ask the event host what was up with that? Quote Link to comment
WH Posted November 18, 2004 Author Share Posted November 18, 2004 The event was posted using a sock puppet account. So Im not really sure who it is. Quote Link to comment
+RichardMoore Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 That sounds odd. Can we have a link to the event? Quote Link to comment
MMACH 5 Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Sounds like its in bad taste to me but I only have 92 finds Even if it IS for a TB hotel, TeamMenoss is right. It's in bad taste. Quote Link to comment
WH Posted November 19, 2004 Author Share Posted November 19, 2004 That sounds odd. Can we have a link to the event? Im not sure if its a good idea. I dont want this to turn into a flame session against the event owner. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 (edited) That sounds odd. Can we have a link to the event? Im not sure if its a good idea. I dont want this to turn into a flame session against the event owner. Well if its a sock puppet, we won't know who it really is. Did you find out what he had in mind for the TB? Edited November 19, 2004 by briansnat Quote Link to comment
WH Posted November 19, 2004 Author Share Posted November 19, 2004 That sounds odd. Can we have a link to the event? Im not sure if its a good idea. I dont want this to turn into a flame session against the event owner. Well if its a sock puppet, we won't know who it really is. Did you find out what he had in mind for the TB? Good point. Here it is. It says nothing on the event page about not allowing TB trades. I didn't discover this until I arrived. Quote Link to comment
+KaPeRsMom Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 (edited) If he was keeping the TBs for a cache of his own he should have said so. Stating something like: Log a TB for Ransom to log this cache. EDITTED: for my crappy spelling Edited November 19, 2004 by TeamMenoss Quote Link to comment
+CO Admin Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 You made the correct decision! Good call. Quote Link to comment
WH Posted November 19, 2004 Author Share Posted November 19, 2004 I will concede that I dont know if there is anything planned for the bugs later in the event. Quote Link to comment
+KaPeRsMom Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 If you check the cache page again it seems some other attendees question who's getting all the bugs Quote Link to comment
+Firehouse16 Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 From the logs: November 18 by ChainGang (2 found) OK, enough cachers have committed to bringing travel bugs. We will drop the cache off right where we found it. We expect that Mr. Run will collect our booty for us and leave those TBs in the same place. Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 (edited) I certainly wouldn't have suspected anything by reading that cache event. Ah yeah. Edited November 19, 2004 by BlueDeuce Quote Link to comment
+RichardMoore Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 I have to wonder what they would have done with the moving cache that they kidnapped if no one had brought any travel bugs to pay the ransom. Personally, I don't like this "ransom game" thing, unless the owner of the kidnapped item is agreeable to it. A local cacher had a TB that was kidnapped. It was a journal-type notebook that was supposed to stay in the area. The owners of the TB had just gotten married, and local cachers were supposed to write advice in the notebook as they found it and moved it on. A "kidnapper" grabbed it and demanded that the owners hide a cache to get it back. The owners refused to play that game and they haven't seen the TB since. That was well over a year ago. Quote Link to comment
ju66l3r Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Maybe reading the "Roamer Cache" logs will be enlightening... It seems that many people found this event (and the associated cache) entertaining. If you didn't want to pay the entry fee of 1 TB you didn't have to. As long as they move, right? Quote Link to comment
+Snoogans Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Maybe reading the "Roamer Cache" logs will be enlightening... It seems that many people found this event (and the associated cache) entertaining. If you didn't want to pay the entry fee of 1 TB you didn't have to. As long as they move, right? I don't get it? Is the OP complaining because they weren't IN on the plan/joke/whatever? We ARE talking about travel bugs right? Concern for their welfare and whatnot? I'm assuming all those bugs don't belong to the OP..... Great wisdom from a master TB finder: "It's a web of life, in my opinion, and absolutely any movement is the next step in reaching it's goal. That weird side trip to Florida, may be the next step to Canada. And a side trip may have saved it from going MIA by pilferage in Pennsylvania." bthomas on the subject of TB movement 10/27/2003 Wouldn't it have been better to post a complaint thread about these bugs a couple months down the road assuming the bugs haven't moved by then? Or is this really a complaint about someone puffing up their TB stats? In which case, who cares? "Everyone plays their own game. There is no sense in trying to police another's mindset as long as it falls within the general parameters of the game." Me (quoting myself from the poll that I posted on 10/23/03.) Quote Link to comment
WH Posted November 19, 2004 Author Share Posted November 19, 2004 Latest log from event in question: I had a great time for most of the evening. The food, drink, and conversation was high level. BUT, as I was preparing to leave, we discovered some cacher(s) had stolen almost all the ransom bugs! I am not unable to complete the delivery to ChainGang and I fear repercussions. The thieves left a note in the box that said, "Scr*w you ChainGang". I hope we are contacted soon about the fate of the TBs. Instead of one owner knowing who took his cache, we now have thirty-five bug owners not knowing who the faceless cowards are. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Latest log from event in question: I had a great time for most of the evening. The food, drink, and conversation was high level. BUT, as I was preparing to leave, we discovered some cacher(s) had stolen almost all the ransom bugs! I am not unable to complete the delivery to ChainGang and I fear repercussions. The thieves left a note in the box that said, "Scr*w you ChainGang". I hope we are contacted soon about the fate of the TBs. Instead of one owner knowing who took his cache, we now have thirty-five bug owners not knowing who the faceless cowards are. Reading the logs, I think the thing is a joke that you're taking too seriously. Well I hope its a joke. Quote Link to comment
+wimseyguy Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Sure sounds like a joke that most of the attendees were in on. Perhaps WH's posturing is just to shed the light of suspicioun off of him? I do wonder how an event cache posted by a known sock puppet account was ever approved in the first place? Anyone involved want to answer that question? Quote Link to comment
ju66l3r Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 This "sock puppet" has actually been a very good member of the community here. They have organized a CITO event in the past and their now stolen/archived cache called "Vesica Pisces" was a true brain-beater. Also, it is a team's account. While this team is not a traditional team ("hey look, we can log all of the family's hides together AND separately")...it has still been more than one person. I doubt the people associated with this account are really looking to harm geocaching in any way based on prior good acts and the fact that many people were able to log a moving cache that might not be in any one area for longer than a week. Quote Link to comment
+trippy1976 Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 (edited) In disgust, I left the event and took my TB with me. If you're not sure what was going on, maybe you should have hung around and found out instead of huffing off? Or were you sure of this as the purpose prior to your exit? Oops. Read the whole thread. You shouldn't have huffed off. You should have asked around or stayed instead of jumping to a conclusion and posting it here. As a general question, this would be a fine topic for discussion, but you're singling out a cacher and an event that you have no idea about their intent or the outcome of the event. Edited November 19, 2004 by trippy1976 Quote Link to comment
WH Posted November 20, 2004 Author Share Posted November 20, 2004 Well, it seems like a new sock puppet was created and whoever created it is grabbing all the TB's slowly using that name. Quote Link to comment
+Meriadoc Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 (edited) The Sock Puppets "The Constabulary" and "ChainGang" have really p'ed me off (excuse the language). Why, because they are fooling around with my Travel Bug. I assume they are playing some stupid game, but I don't want my T.B. involved in their poorly documented events. They have already annoyed other geocachers, now they're annoying me. So if either geocacher is listen, please place my T.B. in a normal cache and let him be on his way. Edited December 21, 2004 by Meriadoc Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 The Sock Puppets "The Constabulary" and "ChainGang" have really pissed me off (excuse the language). Why, because they are arsing around with my Travel Bug. I assume they are playing some stupid game, but I don't want my T.B. involved in their poorly documented events. They have already annoyed other geocachers, now they're annoying me. So if either geocacher is listen, please place my T.B. in a normal cache and let him be on his way. Have you sent them a friendly and direct note? Quote Link to comment
+Meriadoc Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 (edited) I've sent a message to "ChainGang" the sock puppet that currently possesses my T.B., I quote: "I am both confused and concerned about the safety of my travel bug "Dougal the Dog". Please explain your plans for my T.B. and cut out the convict B.S." I haven't receive a reply. Of course he's probably playing up to his character, however their nonsense is starting to annoy. Too many T.B’s already disappear without having these clowns fake a kidnapping. Edited December 21, 2004 by Meriadoc Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 (edited) Oh great, pirates. I guess mommy and daddy didn't give them enough attention when they were a child. Who sponsored this? Oh yeah, a very good member of the community. It seems like we are finding out about their intent and the outcome of the event. As long as they move, right? guess not. Edited December 21, 2004 by BlueDeuce Quote Link to comment
+Meriadoc Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 (edited) My T.B. has been out of circulation since: 11/18/2004. The "Return to the Scene of the Crime" event cache was poorly documented. While "ChainGang" does appear to be releasing the T.B., Of the 25 T.B. he has collected only 6 have been released. At this rate my T.B. could be out of circulation for months. Edited December 21, 2004 by Meriadoc Quote Link to comment
WH Posted December 21, 2004 Author Share Posted December 21, 2004 Both sock puppets are owned by the same person. PM me for his true identity. Quote Link to comment
+Meriadoc Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 My complaints have resulted in the Chaingang releasing my T.B. While no malice was intended or caused, a lot of annoyance could have been prevented if an explaination of their intended actions had been given. Thanks to the Chaingang for quick release of my T.B. Quote Link to comment
+sbell111 Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 Is it just me, or is geocaching getting very strange lately? Quote Link to comment
+Planet Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 Is it just me, or is geocaching getting very strange lately? I don't think it's just you. I've seen some strange things too. Everyone wants to keep adding new twists. Trying more and more to be unique to the point of strangeness. That's fine, as long as it doesn't adversely affect others caches and/or travel bugs. I'm glad my TB's were not involved in this particular/peculiar event. It really was not very well documented. The event pages have links leading all over the place. Its confusing to say the least. I hope it all gets straightened out. Quote Link to comment
+Meriadoc Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 The application of a KISS methodology would fend off creeping featurism. Quote Link to comment
ucmike Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 "Is it just me, or is geocaching getting very strange lately?" that's what happens when too many people pick up an "underground" hobby. people come along and want to take an established activity and tweak it with their own unique touch or apply rules that keep it within their comfort zone. i guess its fine to a degree, maybe a sort of evolution in action, but it gets out of hand when too many people get involved. especially in something like geocaching where the "rules" are sort of open to interpretation and the "playing field" is as diverse as the face of the earth. i've seen it happen in another underground sport i was involved in. as it got more mainstream it became watered down by the influx of people who thought it needed adjusting. now its at the point where i have only a casual interest in it because its hardly the sport that originally attracted me. Quote Link to comment
+woodsters Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 From the description, there should of been some knowledge beforehand.... Wish I was still up there. I sure of would of like to have gone! Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 My complaints have resulted in the Chaingang releasing my T.B. While no malice was intended or caused, a lot of annoyance could have been prevented if an explaination of their intended actions had been given. Thanks to the Chaingang for quick release of my T.B. Perhaps if the people who chose participate had used their own tbs instead of hijacking others…. I may be a party-pooper, but I have never cared for the “We were only having fun and nothing got hurt” excuse. Quote Link to comment
+the hermit crabs Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 One of our TBs was in the "ransom" group, and it didn't bother us a bit. We didn't consider it "hijacked"; it was just taking a weird little side trip on its travels. At least it was still in play the whole time -- not lost in someone's junk drawer or stripped of its tag and added to some kid's toy collection. The whole ransom thing had the potential to be an amusing bit of history in the bug's log; unfortunately there weren't any interesting log notes or pictures to go along with it. (All the randsom bugs got the same short pickup/retrieval log notes.) Unique logs and accompanying pictures would have made it much more fun. But then again, nearly all regular bug logs tend to be something like "picked it up in xxx cache. will move along soon," followed by some period ranging from a day to several months before they're dropped off. So this was really no different from the "standard" bug experience. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.