stay right in front of your totem from all 4 directions. N/E/S/W. look at the coords and just calc the middle of them. if you really want to know them this 2 minutes wont bother. its not that easy to put it back in the exact spot anyway. since the totem drop 1m in front of you its enough to write down the coords when you face it

Yes, I thought about this afterwards and I should have added that we should be able to slide the totem around as you can do with other items that you are building. In fact, just make it exactly like and click the "Build" button once you have it in the exact place you want it.

I have built a wall on the extreme edge of my camp area and if I do not replace the tribe totem back in the exact place, it will leave an entire wall or 2 on the outside of tribe boundaries.

I have done as you recommended to get an exact location of my totem as to where it stands now. The trick is to get it back in that same exact spot if I decide to move it for a while.

Can you post the idea you have right there? Because the other idea I see no reason for, but I can see a reason for what you are saying in the last post and I've and others have suggested it before.

Xsyon also said he had plans to change it so people can move the totem after it was "built".

Just a note for when you're re-placing the totem to its original location.... unless it's changed recently, the totem doesn't drop exactly 1m in front of you, I believe it's about .7m. Doesn't sound like much, but when you have walls to protect, that little bit can matter sometimes.

What if I remove collision entirely from totems and have the totem placed at your exact location?

It's less realistic but solves several issues (like players getting stuck between a totem and a wall).

I'm usually one to vote for realism, but in this case, I may have to say I would prefer it to fall right at your exact loc. Would be MUCH easier to re-place a totem you've had to move for any reason. We wouldn't have to estimate and hope for the best in protecting things that are already built.

That would help but not knowing it's original location makes this null to me.

Here is something else to consider. Tribes usually pick a location without thinking about their borders expanding after adding members. So not only do I see a need to recenter the tribe's totem, it has to be done without disbanding the tribe. Either that or let the tribe master be able to shift borders without moving the totem.

why can't we have the totem be a "built" item, so that it can be moved and placed a specific local?

The idea Xsyon had before was a moving option every so often like a building. Where you could move it around then click place.

I would like to see this option, make it cost some $ and put a long timer on it like 12 to 24 hours, and also make it show in ghost mode where it would protect if it were placed there.

My idea would be even to allow to move it anywhere within 1 zone of the original placed location. So meaning you could move it 1 zone north, or 1 zone south.

This would allow people to move it a bit or grow how they would like without having to disband tribes and also, without just dropping a fully built tribe super far away. I've seen many times where a tribe will place near mine and I ask them to move and they don't want to do it because of how hard it is.

If the totem were to drop in your exact location, you would be able to know the exact coords. Just look at your map and jot down the cords during placement. Totems that are already placed would still need some estimating yes, unless he makes them not collide and then you'd just have to stand 'in' the totem and jot them down. If collision isn't removed, they'd have to use the same options we have now. Nothing lost, but definite gains going forward.
I like DDT's ideas as well, but this would be (I would think....could be way off) a simple solution to an issue.