Travel Bugs At Cache Events

[+lest44]

I am a little confused. I thought the idea of travel bugs was that you place one in a cache, someone else comes along, picks it up and then places it in another cache, therefore moving the TB on gathering miles and moving them toward there owners goal!

 

The reason I am confused is because one of our TBs, 'Freddy Frog' attended a cache meet on 18th Dec 04 and was logged in and out of the same cache (namely the event cache which was at a pub) several times by various cachers. At no one time was he picked up and taken to a NEW cache to gather miles. The idea of these meets are great and a way of getting to know fellow cachers from all over the country, but also a way of dropping off bugs in your inventory, so other cachers attending the meet can pick one or more up and take it back to a new area. At least that is what we thought and have done ourselves. To just pick it up, log it and put it back on the table is not the idea of the game or is it? Is it just a game of how many TBs you have seen in passing?

 

Our TB 'Freddy Frog' is still shown listed as being in the event cache, now archived, which in fairness to the event organiser, she has been back to the pub to look for him and has asked some of the cachers who attended if they have him. So if you are reading this and you went to 'Dec 18th Christmas Drinkies (Herts/Beds/Bucks)' have a look in your cache bag and see if you have missed the poor little green frog trapped in the bottom and let us know if he will ever hop again or do we have to bury him in a TB Graveyard! Thanks

[+McDeHack]

I have not bothered with TBs realy. for as you say the object of the exercise is to move the TBs distances. I am not in a position to move them far. So far I have only moved one that wanted to go to London which I could do.

The object of passing them around at a cache eyeball does not seem correct.

 

It reminds me of the time when playing CB radio, exchanging QSL cards for contact with other radio stations. It then progressed to just swapping packs of cards without the radio contact. (Nose in air) Now being a licensed radio amatuer, this sort of thing would not be allowed. To me it is pointless.

[+Simply Paul]

I was at this event and Ali has, indeed, sent emails to everyone to ask them to check their bags. I don't like number-grabbing TB logging at meets for just this reason - the last person who logs it might not be the person who's actually got it.

 

I also have a TB still logged into my own 'ALL ROUND TO MY PLACE' event from last weekend - that one that is full of seeds. I'm not sure who's got him and I hope reading about him here might jog someone's memory!

 

My fingers are crossed that Freddy turns up soon. And that he's not croaked

 

SP

[+one4zorro]

I have to agree, what is the point of logging a TB if you have not helped it along its way? Surely it defeats the whole point of the thing.

 

It also makes a bit of a joke of the COTM tables - all you need to do is attend a couple of meets and 'jobs a good un'.

 

IMHO the rules should be 'YOU have to pick it up and move to another cache'.

 

Martin

[+Bill D (wwh)]

According to the COTM rules, logging TBs at events without moving them doesn't count now. From the Rules page:

 

All bugs need to be moved to be counted

    (apart from things that don't need to be moved i.e  log books/cars/personal TB's)

[+Globetrotter.uk]

I had a Tb in holand/germany and cachers over there just kept grabbing it and placing it back in the cache. In one weekend I had somewhere near 20 emails about one tb.

[+Learned Gerbil]

Some bugs are designed to be swapped at meets like this., or are ideal because they involve taking silly photos of people like this.They are the only ones I log at meets - other I take away.

Edited February 19, 2005 by Learned Gerbil

[+one4zorro]

Thanks for the clarification Bill.

 

Martin

[+John Stead]

Thank you Bill for making that clear - the only other exception which I have made (perhaps wrongly) is TBs which carry clues to enable later cache finds such at "Missing in Lancashire".

And my car is a TB so hope noone will move it without my knowledge!

[+lest44]

Thanks for your replies to our post, it is good to know we are not the only ones who feel this way. Happy Caching!

[+Alibags]

I am so sorry about the loss of poor Freddy. Not everybody replied to the emails I sent out but all those who did denied all knowledge. Nor did anybody in the pub have him. I hope he re-appears again, having been discovered at the bottom of somebody's bag ot something.

 

Logging a TB just to show that you have seen them, especially at events is within the TB rules, although it may be regarded as bad etiquette in some quarters. I am not interested in arguing etiquette matters here, because everybody has an opinion, and all are equally valid. There are reasons to log TBs and not move them, for example to add a Jeep or geocoin icon to your stats page.

 

I have logged TBs at one event. It was within the rules of COTM at that time, too. Now, as it has been specifically excluded, I don't suppose I will bother in future. It's no great issue with me.