To Bug Or Not To Bug

January 16, 2005

Ok so I have been GCing for about a month and have about 6 to 7 finds and I can say that I am now addicted. Today while I was caching with my son I came across my first Travel Bug and I did not take it due to the fact that I did not have anything to leave in its place.

So here is my question, when I come across another TB or Geocoin are you supposed to leave something in its place? The thing is that I am a TNLNSL kinda guy and dont carry trade items with me.

What is the proper procedure?

Thanks

2.2k · January 16, 2005

Travel bugs are not trade items so there is no need to trade for them. If you find a TB in a cache that you can help along, go right ahead and take it.

*edited typo

Edited January 16, 2005 by WH

January 16, 2005

Travel bugs are not trade items so there is no need to trade for them. If you find a TB in a cache that you can help along, go right ahead and take it.

*edited typo

I agree but may I add that You are obligated to place it in another cache or follow any

instructions that may be attributed to that bug.

1.6k · January 16, 2005

Travel bugs are not trade items so there is no need to trade for them. If you find a TB in a cache that you can help along, go right ahead and take it.

*edited typo

I agree but may I add that You are obligated to place it in another cache or follow any

instructions that may be attributed to that bug.

Following instruction is very important.

Some bugs are sent out in races or given specific objectives and their owners really appreciate any help they can get.

Wulf

January 16, 2005

And remember that people who paid for the tb and have emotions invested in the tb are hoping that it will travel and go interesting places. Will you be going to caches that are large enough to move it on in a timely manner? I would say that if it was mine, grab it and hopefully within a couple of weeks you would find another cache to leave it in for someone else.

January 16, 2005

Everyone else has pretty much covered the TB part of your question. In my opinion, Sig coins and GeoCoins are pretty much in the same boat. When I leave a signature coin from Team BigHank, I hope, and expect, that someone will take it. I don't expect it to be traded for. There are times I will leave two in a cache, and will specify that one is for the cache owner. I do this if it is the first cache I have done by that person. The other is up for grabs. So far people have respected that with no problems. Hope that helps answer part of your question.

Hank

1k · January 16, 2005

G'day

Just one add to the very good points already made. Photos. As a TB owner, I love photos to go along with the story about the bugs travels with you the finder. Just brings it travels alive.

Regards

Andrew

January 16, 2005

Thanks guys for the help!

Next time I will grab the Travel Bug and send it on its way!

3.9k · January 16, 2005

Travel bugs are not trade items so there is no need to trade for them. If you find a TB in a cache that you can help along, go right ahead and take it.

After 11 months and 19 TB finds, I've never seen that stated so clearly before. Is it mentioned elsewhere on this site (outside the forums) ?

Quite often I have nothing to trade and would like to move the TB along, but I feel "cheap", even though of course a TB is a constantly circulating part of the game. Plus here in Europe, rather than saying "took this and left that" somewhere in the report, we log our takes and finds using separate lines/paragraphs, like this:

In: Gold bar, Fabergé egg

Out: Half-used book of matches, broken McToy

... so if you write

In: Nothing

Out: TB called "Mother Teresa saves 1000 cute polar bear cubs"

... you appear to be a bit heartless.

So if I had a line I could point to saying "According to the rules, there's no need to trade for a TB", I would feel slightly better about not trading for them.

Nick

Edited January 16, 2005 by sTeamTraen

1.5k · January 16, 2005

Travel bugs are not trade items so there is no need to trade for them. If you find a TB in a cache that you can help along, go right ahead and take it.

After 11 months and 19 TB finds, I've never seen that stated so clearly before. Is it mentioned elsewhere on this site (outside the forums) ?

Quite often I have nothing to trade and would like to move the TB along, but I feel "cheap", even though of course a TB is a constantly circulating part of the game. Plus here in Europe, rather than saying "took this and left that" somewhere in the report, we log our takes and finds using separate lines/paragraphs, like this:

In: Gold bar, Fabergé egg

Out: Half-used book of matches, broken McToy

... so if you write

In: Nothing

Out: TB called "Mother Teresa saves 1000 cute polar bear cubs"

... you appear to be a bit heartless.

So if I had a line I could point to saying "According to the rules, there's no need to trade for a TB", I would feel slightly better about not trading for them.

Nick

The thing to remember is that TBs are the property of the owner. You are not taking it to keep when you trade, you are helping it on it's journey!

3.8k · January 16, 2005

If I take a TB, I look to see if it has a goal attached to it. If not, I'll check when I get home. If there's a specific goal and it was not attached, I'll put the TB in a plastic Ziploc with a printout of the TB's goal sheet (from the TB's page) so that when I do place it, the next person who finds it knows where it's supposed to go. This is the responsibility of the TB's owner, but sometimes they don't do it. Just helps things along a little bit. :blink:

3.9k · January 16, 2005

If I take a TB, I look to see if it has a goal attached to it. If not, I'll check when I get home. If there's a specific goal and it was not attached, I'll put the TB in a plastic Ziploc with a printout of the TB's goal sheet (from the TB's page) so that when I do place it, the next person who finds it knows where it's supposed to go. This is the responsibility of the TB's owner, but sometimes they don't do it. Just helps things along a little bit.

Yes, it's amazing how many TBs don't have a sheet. With a well-travelled one, it could be that it started off with a sheet but the Ziploc fell apart, I suppose.

January 16, 2005

Yes, it's amazing how many TBs don't have a sheet. With a well-travelled one, it could be that it started off with a sheet but the Ziploc fell apart, I suppose.

I haven't put a sheet with either of my 2 TB's mainly because I don't care where they go. I have no goal for them.. I think it's kind of exciting just to see where they end up...

3.8k · January 16, 2005

Yes, it's amazing how many TBs don't have a sheet. With a well-travelled one, it could be that it started off with a sheet but the Ziploc fell apart, I suppose.

I haven't put a sheet with either of my 2 TB's mainly because I don't care where they go. I have no goal for them.. I think it's kind of exciting just to see where they end up...

That's a different story than the ones you pick-up, take home, log, then notice that they're supposed to accomplish a specific goal which happens to be in the opposite direction. :blink:

January 16, 2005

Yes, it's amazing how many TBs don't have a sheet. With a well-travelled one, it could be that it started off with a sheet but the Ziploc fell apart, I suppose.

I haven't put a sheet with either of my 2 TB's mainly because I don't care where they go. I have no goal for them.. I think it's kind of exciting just to see where they end up...

That's a different story than the ones you pick-up, take home, log, then notice that they're supposed to accomplish a specific goal which happens to be in the opposite direction.

True.. but then again i've never done more than 3 caches in a day... usually I scope out the cache here and figure out what the TB's goal is before i even head out. i can see that if you just do a huge pq and then go out you might not know what the goal is if it didn't have a sheet..

1.6k · January 16, 2005

Yes, it's amazing how many TBs don't have a sheet. With a well-travelled one, it could be that it started off with a sheet but the Ziploc fell apart, I suppose.

I haven't put a sheet with either of my 2 TB's mainly because I don't care where they go. I have no goal for them.. I think it's kind of exciting just to see where they end up...

That's a different story than the ones you pick-up, take home, log, then notice that they're supposed to accomplish a specific goal which happens to be in the opposite direction.

I know a few that have been rerouted. One was within 20 miles of it's goal when it was pickup and moved to Texas. Another we'd picked up in Michigan and moved into Canada because it was heading to Toronto. It was picked up and moved south to Indiana. I've left TBs in caches if I've seen they're goal wasn't something I could help with.

Wulf

1k · January 16, 2005

Inexperienced people often don't realize that they should attach a goal description to a travel bug (I didn't on my first few bugs), and others don't seem to know that they shouldn't move a TB significantly counter to it's goal (if known). This has resulted in some hard feelings and many emotional forum discussions! The Geocachers' Creed is designed to help minimize this type of problem. The Creed will soon (within a week or so) be posted on it's own website - I'll announce the posting and the web address is these forums when it's ready. In the meantime, you can see a slightly older draft here.

Under the "Be Considerate of Others" tenet one example that states:

"If you place a traveling item into the game, attach a tag that describes its goal, so that others can help it along. If you pick up a traveling item with a tag describing its goal, move the item toward its goal if possible. Contact the owner if you hold a traveling item for more than a couple of weeks or so".

Under "Protect the integrity of the game pieces", another example says "Don’t collect traveling items meant to stay in the game. This is tantamount to stealing."

Although this doesn't directly say there's no need to trade for TB (and it's a voluntary code of behavior, not a requirement), it will give you a reference to the fact that TB's are not swag (i.e. are the property of the owner), which at least implies that you don't trade for them!

January 16, 2005

Travel bugs are not trade items so there is no need to trade for them. If you find a TB in a cache that you can help along, go right ahead and take it.

*edited typo

Hi,

you are realy lucky!

A tank full of gas for 30$ ??

we pay more than 60€ !! in Germany!

but the rest is ok, especally the last item...

greetings from Bavaria, Germany

Schatz und Schaetzchen

3.8k · January 16, 2005

May of last year, Today's Cacher had a nice article on TB etiquette:

http://www.todayscacher.com/archives/may04/tb.html

January 16, 2005

Oh my god! you've taken my travel bug and didn't follow its' instructions! Wasn't the whole point of travel bugs to be a way of tracking an item to see where it goes? If you stop putting expectations on something as trivial as a TB, it'll go where it needs to. Don't live vicariously through a TB. Just let it go. If you're worried about it, you shouldn't have bought one and sent it on a mission.

38.2k · January 16, 2005

May of last year, Today's Cacher had a nice article on TB etiquette:

http://www.todayscacher.com/archives/may04/tb.html

Thats a pretty good article, but I disagree with the statement in it that says:

" There is no firm rule here, but most cachers view TB's as a trade item, governed by the "Golden Rules" of trading:"

I think its the exact opposite. Most geocachers do not consider TBs to be a trade item.

3.8k · January 17, 2005

Brian,

TRUE.

Though I had a long time cacher trade a TB for a $3 item in one of my caches once.

2.6k · January 17, 2005

If you place a traveling item into the game, attach a tag that describes its goal, so that others can help it along.

Attaching a tag to a bug is part of the creed? Don't tell flask.

Or me, come to that...

22k · January 17, 2005

If Travel Bugs are trade items consider this:

PerhapsI have an El Diablo hiking stick TB worth say $50. Now if I leave it, do I get to take $50 worth of trade items? If you retrieve it are you required to leave items worth $50?

Travel bugs move from cache to cache. They are not traded from cache to cache.

1k · January 17, 2005

Wasn't the whole point of travel bugs to be a way of tracking an item to see where it goes? If you stop putting expectations on something as trivial as a TB, it'll go where it needs to.

One point of releasing a TB is to see where it goes. Some people release TB's with no more lofty a goal than "To visit as many caches as possible". They take the Brownian Motion approach to TB's, and that's fine.

Others have specific goals for their TB's, and for them another point is to see which route the TB takes, and another point is to see how long before the TB reaches its goal. Some even have TB races - to see if their TB makes the goal before other TB's released at the same time.

To each his own - that's the beauty of geocaching. However, courtesy dictates that you respect the owner's wishes, especially if you want them to respect yours (you wouldn't want your TB to go nowhere, now would you?).

Don't live vicariously through a TB. Just let it go. If you're worried about it, you shouldn't have bought one and sent it on a mission.

True - it is possible to get too emotionally invested in a TB, and if you do, it's best not to own any! But that's not a good reason to trivialize other people's feelings.

To Bug Or Not To Bug

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

Join the conversation