Conspicuous Consumption and the case for TNLN

[Mix]

TNLN seems to bother some people and to those people I say do you really need the crap you take, do others really need the crap you leave. By filling plastic boxes with objects superfluous to needs so that others can swap them for stuff nobody needs all we are doing is practising consumption for consumption sake.

I am sure others TNLN for there own reason but I TNLN (most of the time) because I feel it is socially irresponsible (for me) to not do so. We enjoy a very high standard of living in this country and I am grateful to be able to afford the cost of the petrol to drive to caches and to have a GPS to show the way. I donÂ’t need to fill the coffers of the capitalist wet dream that is the $2 shop, which lets face it seels lots of crap nobody really needs much of which ends up in caches.

I still put swaps in most of my hides but only because of the families. After all kids being kids live for useless crap. I feel though that geocaching would have been better if the swaps had never been part of the game.

I will continue to TNLN unless I see something I really need or can use.


Mix
Viva the swapless cache.

[GIN51E]

I've also gone for the TNLN, i put every last cent of money into my petrol tank so i can get out on the weekend and find some caches, i'm not going to go and spend heaps on small items and then carry them around in my back pack all day long, although in my most recent cache i spent a bit of cash on making sure it was FULL of good swaps that people may or will actually use.
<P>
for me though the only time you will see a swap is if Ms GIN51E comes out and decides to carry the swaps around on her back
<P>
Instead i now carry a few cache notes, log books, glad bags and half a dozen pens so i can help any caches i find in need, which i think is more worthwild and important than cheap little useless item

[GIN51E]

On Top of that i can't stand used items, like a pair of binoculars that get taken and a crappy well scratched thrown around tape measure gets left in their place. no comment

[diesel69]

When i swap it is usually something i have picked up from another cache so its a case of grab something that i can put in the next cache and don't worry about whether it interests me.

[alpha993]

<P>As a cacher often accompanied by my 5-year old son, the attraction of "the treasure" is as appealing to him as "the hunt" (it also gives me time to fill out the logbook).

<P>The quality of swaps is highly variable, with used McSwaps and useless crap the least favourite finds.

<P>Swaps do provide an opportunity to "leave it better than you find it", which is not a bad thing for him to learn and practice. I buy a modest amount of new swaps from the $2 shop or equivalent, having seen the anticipation, surprise and joy that such simple items can bring to kids... eg: "WOW! - Dad a _real_ jewel! (polished stone)". Interestingly, some of the "simpler" (aka cheaper) swaps are more valued than some of his more expensive toys. Maybe it was the sense of adventure and achievement associated with the item?

<P>Just my 2c, your mileage may vary...

[zactyl]

When i swap it is usually something i have picked up from another cache so its a case of grab something that i can put in the next cache and don't worry about whether it interests me.

I did this too for the first half dozen or so, and then realised it was a bit pointless. A well stocked cache is a joy to behold though, even if no swaps are made.
I've considered making swap free caches, most of the caching activity around here is by travellers who generally TNLNSL, but wasn't sure how they'd be received.

[c.j.b]

It's the log-book that matters... Not the swaps, or what your score is on GC..

My 'swaps' now are usually spare pens, logbooks, or cache containers[!] :-)

[Udderchaos]

one of my kids lives to find plastic dinoasurs and frogs in "boxes" hes getting a large collection. The other takes random stuff. so dont think all you McCrap and plastic toys go to waste. my kids love them.

if im not with kids, unless there is something that takes my fancy i TNLN

[team_diesel]

When the younger team members are with us we nearly always take something and leave something. They settle on an item and then we bargain to find an equal replacement from our cache bag. If we can't agree on something equal to replace what they want then we TNLN and the cache stays stocked and the younger member 'gets over it' in a minute or two.

When out by myself I usually leave the cache bag in the car and TNLNSL although I am now taking a bum bag along to carry the spare batteries, pens and zip lock bags - for Justin of course.

When we look over visitor logs to our non-micro caches we don't care if they TNLN or make swaps as long as they had fun finding it.

Maybe our next non-micro cache will be log only. Easier to find than a micro but nothing to swap.

[Hounddog]

Soap Box Mode "on"

Spoken like true Johnny come latelies to the sport.

The whole basis of Geocaching from the very beginning has been to swap trinkets and stuff for another and sign the log book to show that you have been to a cache. It's a tradition that the original players enjoyed and is still just as much a part of our game today as it has always been. We also like to take photos of oursleves at the cache site.

If you don't want to play the sport properly, and couldn't be bothered putting a little effort in keeping the spirit and tradition of the original game alive, then simply say so. But don't try to justify a 'couldn't be bothered' attitude by claiming to be helping the enviroment or claiming to be too poor to partcipate fully. To me that just sounds silly.

If you're only in the game to flash in and flash out, then grab the point off the internet, thens sadly you are missing the whole idea of the game.

People who run from cache to cache, never paying attention to anything in it, never inputting more than the bare minimum and are not even putting a reasonble log on the internet, are proving just one thing. The're only in it for themsleves.

Soap Box mode "off"

[Richary]

Having been in the sport for a couple of years, I used to swap a lot more than I do now. Now I do a lot more TNLN, and if I do swap try and leave something that could be useful or a toy that kids might enjoy.

Then again, now I have kids to sometimes cache with then we do swap a lot more than we used to. They usually take a toy they think they want - then lose interest in a day or two and it often ends up back in the cache bag if they haven't broken it in the meantime

[Mind Socket]

Firstly, to each their own. I agree entirely with Mix, and said as much about swaps in the Gold Rush podcast.

Hounddog, I appreciate where you're coming from, but feel your argument went a bit far. For me, the spirit of geocaching was always about the journey, adventure and challenge. The swaps never sat well with me, and I don't agree that swaps are part of the major foundation of the activity. So to accuse TNLNers of missing the point of geoaching and dismissing their reasons as silly is a little rough. One can TNLN without rushing the activity, missing the journey nor avoiding the challenge. It doesn't diminish the effort of others who place and find caches with swaps.

I will continue to put swaps into caches I place, as I know others like them, but will rarely swap in my finds. Swapping up, in particular, sounds like a good idea, but the net effect is more consumption for the sake of it. Conspicuous consumption is a real issue for many reasons (including environmental and economic ones), not an excuse.

Kind Regards,
- Rog

[Geodes]

Well I'm sorry Hounddog, but I really don't understand where you're coming from - I just can't see what purpose the swaps serve unless you're a kid or have kids with you - in which case I'm all for anything to keep them interested. I started out swapping, largely because I usually had my 13yr old son with me, but really couldn't see the point if I was by myself and eventually stopped doing it.
<P>While I can't really see why you want swaps, I do respect your attitude and if I ever do any of your caches I will endeavour to make some good exchanges - if any other cache hiders feel the same way, I (and I'm sure others) would respect your wishes if you make a comment to that effect in the cache notes.
<P>Maybe we need a poll on this subject

[Aushiker]

TNLN seems to bother some people and to those people I say do you really need the crap you take, do others really need the crap you leave.

MMM ... I think you need to speak for yourself there. I endeavour to not leave crap as you put it, at least most of the time and I don't buy my swaps at $2.00 shops.


Cheers
Andrew

[zactyl]

Swapping up, in particular, sounds like a good idea, but the net effect is more consumption for the sake of it.

Trading up is a great idea, until someone else comes along and takes the great stuff you've left and leaves 50 cents worth of junk. That's pretty disappointing.