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Now that souvi's are out what is your final opinion.


Coldgears

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I really don't care one way or another about the whole souvenir thing. I don't think it does anything to enhance the game. Souvenirs or not, I am still going to try to cache in as many different places as I can. It doesn't encourage or discourage me. I don't feel its a huge privacy issue either. I do think the NY souvenir is nicely done. Its obvious to me that considerable time and effort was put into creating the art work. Thanks to Hillary E for her efforts.

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Would you rather get your pictures fast, or your pocket queries? They are doing it this way so they don't overload the system.

 

Once the picture is released, it is done. What else you wanna do with these pictures to overload system?? PQs are something completely different - you will still create them again and again. They don´t have to release all souvenirs at once, but once or twice a week is really slow. and the fact it is too slow now is not just my opinion.

Edited by k-lord
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Would you rather get your pictures fast, or your pocket queries? They are doing it this way so they don't overload the system.

 

Once the picture is released, it is done. What else you wanna do with these pictures to overload system?? PQs are something completely different - you will still create them again and again. They don´t have to release all souvenirs at once, but once or twice a week is really slow. and the fact it is too slow now is not just my opinion.

 

Consider that every souvi is being retroactively released. That's adding something to ANY cacher's page that has ever found a cache in that state. Doing more than 3 badges at a time would cause lots of issues.

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In all honesty I don't think we've gone "far enough" with them. I think they should have more of an achievement status. I'm sure I'll be in the minority here, but I play Xbox. Xbox uses achievements, which are basically souvenirs for each game. They are usually given when you accomplish something special, and they have fun titles. At first no one cared about them, then they started to catch on, and everyone wanted more and more.

 

A geo caching souvenir example would be:

 

Alphabet soup

FInd a cache starting with each letter of the alphabet

 

Road to addiction

Found first ten geocaches

 

Deuces wild

Find 2 caches within two hours of one another

 

They don't have to be HUGE milestones, just ones that might be fun to get.

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Would you rather get your pictures fast, or your pocket queries? They are doing it this way so they don't overload the system.

 

Once the picture is released, it is done. What else you wanna do with these pictures to overload system?? PQs are something completely different - you will still create them again and again. They don´t have to release all souvenirs at once, but once or twice a week is really slow. and the fact it is too slow now is not just my opinion.

No, its not. They need to set a flag in the database for everyone that "gets" that picture. That is the hit that I'm sure they're trying to go slow on.
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I like 'em! :anitongue: Got VA now, hooray!

 

Maybe part of the reason I like them is because I'm a pretty casual cacher. I like accruing smilies and symbols and stuff, but not enough to bother with 3rd party award programs. This has the potential to be a neat way of categorizing caches that I've done, places that I've been, etc. A little silly maybe, and maybe trivial, but yeah, I like 'em!

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I got a Groundspeak HQ souvenir for firing up the Android app with the GPS system switched off. I'm indifferent.

 

The gargantuan sense of entitlement of a vocal minority on these forums never ceases to amaze.

 

I'm a vocal minority and I resent that. :anitongue:

 

Actually I have no idea what you are talking about. Can I ask for clarification without you jumping down my throat? Thank you.

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I hadn't really thought about them much, but I just got a couple of new ones from a caching trip back east last summer, kind of like an unexpected present. The artwork is good and the side notes interesting, so I say, if you don't like them, just ignore them. Maybe they could put in an option to delete them if you don't care for them, then you wouldn't need to complain, but then there will always be those who complain about the smallest things! I say, keep them coming! :anitongue:

1Mech

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I hadn't really thought about them much, but I just got a couple of new ones from a caching trip back east last summer, kind of like an unexpected present. The artwork is good and the side notes interesting, so I say, if you don't like them, just ignore them. Maybe they could put in an option to delete them if you don't care for them, then you wouldn't need to complain, but then there will always be those who complain about the smallest things! I say, keep them coming! :anitongue:

1Mech

 

As long as they provide an option to opt back in later.

 

You know people.

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I'm sure I'll be in the minority here, but I play Xbox.

Then it is a minority of two...

 

My kid plays Gamecube and Playstation2. This is because I'm a cheapskate. He's dadgum lucky he's not playing NES and Atari. I did relent and by him a Nintendo DS though also, so he's somewhat current.

 

I got New York today, so I'm on topic. I wouldn't have known, if not for an email. It's not too bad a piece of artwork, either.

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I have to admit that I ran out after work on 101010 to find a cache so I could get that souvenir for the experience of it.

 

Didn't do anything for me. I liked being part of the record breaking cache day more (did we beat the old record). But I'm not really a collector either. The artwork is nice

 

Now I don't care about them at all. Haven't looked in that tab since 101010.

 

They kinda feel like a made up holiday, like Valentines Day. Just a gimmick that's pretty meaningless in the scheme of the game.

 

You're single, aren't you.

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I was going to find a cache on 10/10/10 however the website was so bogged down and slow that day that I attempted to get on with my phone which was equally as slow. At that point I figured it wasn't that important to me to find a cache and attempt to log it that and thusly shut off the phone and went about my life.

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I guess the APE cache I found isn't good enough to count for a souvenir? Thankfully I already have one, the actual icon under caches found. Why add a duplicate of something that already exists? The World66 map on my profile is easier to look at and see where I've been and that actually includes the entire world, not just a small number of states and countries (which doesn't even include where I live). I don't really see the point of these and would like to be able to disable them the same as friends.

 

It just makes Geocaching seem more like another generic social networking site such as facebook with an only half finished plug in.

Edited by Vargseld? ™
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I guess the APE cache I found isn't good enough to count for a souvenir?

My understanding is that the Project APE souvenir is intended only for those who have found Mission 9: Tunnel of Light.

I know that. That's why it boggles my mind how they're a good thing if they arbitrarily ignore all the other ones. What's the difference other than Tunnel of Light is owned by someone associated with Groundspeak and is closest to the HQ?

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I guess the APE cache I found isn't good enough to count for a souvenir?

My understanding is that the Project APE souvenir is intended only for those who have found Mission 9: Tunnel of Light.

Tell you what... give me a few days and I'll see if I can come up with a Greasemonkey script to add any souvenirs you can make a graphic for. :anitongue:
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On topic...

 

I found the souvenir concept interesting, but my response so far has been 'meh'. :anitongue: When there is an easy mechanism for learning about the available souvi's then being able to go out and collect them then I'll get interested.

 

At this point the 'awarding' of souvi's feels rather arbitrary & random as they gradually get created (some states have them and some don't, for example). When it gets fleshed out I'm assuming it'll get more interesting.

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I guess the APE cache I found isn't good enough to count for a souvenir?

My understanding is that the Project APE souvenir is intended only for those who have found Mission 9: Tunnel of Light.

I know that. That's why it boggles my mind how they're a good thing if they arbitrarily ignore all the other ones. What's the difference other than Tunnel of Light is owned by someone associated with Groundspeak and is closest to the HQ?

Its not like they have released very souvi that will ever be released. Be patient.

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On topic...

 

I found the souvenir concept interesting, but my response so far has been 'meh'. :anitongue: When there is an easy mechanism for learning about the available souvi's then being able to go out and collect them then I'll get interested.

 

At this point the 'awarding' of souvi's feels rather arbitrary & random as they gradually get created (some states have them and some don't, for example). When it gets fleshed out I'm assuming it'll get more interesting.

They are being released in the order that states became part of the union. What's random about that?

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On topic...

 

I found the souvenir concept interesting, but my response so far has been 'meh'. :anitongue: When there is an easy mechanism for learning about the available souvi's then being able to go out and collect them then I'll get interested.

 

At this point the 'awarding' of souvi's feels rather arbitrary & random as they gradually get created (some states have them and some don't, for example). When it gets fleshed out I'm assuming it'll get more interesting.

They are being released in the order that states became part of the union. What's random about that?

 

Agreed. Because they're being released a few at a time it sort of feels like collecting state quarters, which took almost 10 years for all them to be released. I'm sure I'm not the only one that bought a little collection book when the state quarters first came out and then watched for new quarters each year (only five states were released a year) and added them to my collection. It just wouldn't feel the same if I went out and bought a collection book that contained all of the coins at once.

 

I can understand how many from other countries (especially Canadians) and those from western states might be a bit underwhelmed about souvenirs as I felt the same way when souvenirs were first introduced and virtually all of them were for locations in and around Seattle. I wonder if the U.S. state souvenirs were released in alphabetical order rather than in order that state came into the union if they might be more favorably accepted (those in Washington State would have to wait about the same amount of time before they saw one for there home state...cue the violins) and although an alphabetic release would be no more or less random then "state order" the distribution would be more random.

 

If JYoungman or anyone else from GS is listening in on this thread, perhaps I can bend an ear.

 

There have been numerous posts related to souvenir discovery. Unofficial lists have been posted (and redacted), and although it's fairly clear where things are going there isn't any sort of timeline for when new souvenirs will be released. If one considers the "collecting" aspect of souvenirs it seems that an awareness of what is currently available has not been adequately communicated. I suggested a Souvenirs Forum topic in another post (I *think* it was in this thread) and if one existed it might make it easier to have a pinned thread. As an aside, I was answering some questions about souvenirs on a local mailing list and wrote up sort of a Souvenir's FAQ that I think could be used in a pinned thread. In any case, it seems to me that one of the general attractions about collecting something is knowing what is out there to collect. Because most of the souvenirs being released now are retroactive, they're just kind of showing up in our profiles as they become active.

 

I think that there has also been an underwhelming response to souvenirs simply because of the rate that they're being introduced. It's hard from someone from the U.K., Canada, or even Hawaii and Alaska to get interested if they don't see any new souvenirs for their locations on the horizon. If GS could somehow find a way to ramp up the release related it might generate more interest.

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If one considers the "collecting" aspect of souvenirs it seems that an awareness of what is currently available has not been adequately communicated. I suggested a Souvenirs Forum topic in another post (I *think* it was in this thread) and if one existed it might make it easier to have a pinned thread.

 

I'm not disagreeing with anything you've said, but there is a pinned thread with the currently available souviners here: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=264608

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On topic...

 

I found the souvenir concept interesting, but my response so far has been 'meh'. :anitongue: When there is an easy mechanism for learning about the available souvi's then being able to go out and collect them then I'll get interested.

 

At this point the 'awarding' of souvi's feels rather arbitrary & random as they gradually get created (some states have them and some don't, for example). When it gets fleshed out I'm assuming it'll get more interesting.

They are being released in the order that states became part of the union. What's random about that?

Their process certainly isn't random, I'm sure there is a method to the madness. But...to myself it FEELS random as they just 'pop up' someday as having been earned. Other's make multistate cache trips but don't get a Souvi from every state.

 

Contrast that with caching...when I want to go caching I put in a location and I get a variety of caches I can 'earn' by visiting. I then 'invest' myself into the process by reading the descriptions and selecting the caches I'm going to attempt. When I finally log a find, I automatically get the smiley...every time.

 

With the Souvi's I can get appointed one without any involvement on my part - at some point somebody decides I earned one and a flip is switched and it is there. If I want to collect state Souvi's, for example, I can visit states but only some will count for now. Some will count later, I assume, but not 'now'.

 

If I just want to collect Souvi's 'now' then I can't pull up a map or select "find Souvi's near me" and select which I want to find. My only option is to find a thread someplace on the forum that lists created Souvi's, but they aren't organized. So I must read through several posts to (for example) put together a list of available states. If I want to acquire a 'Special' Souvi, the list in the forum thread does not explain how I earn that Souvi. The Souvi process is kludgy right now and it does have a random, haphazard feel to it.

 

I'm sure it will change, but at this point in it's lifespan it's hard to get excited about Souvi's.

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I guess the APE cache I found isn't good enough to count for a souvenir?
My understanding is that the Project APE souvenir is intended only for those who have found Mission 9: Tunnel of Light.
Interesting. My understanding is that they started by awarding the Project APE souvenir to those who found Mission 9: Tunnel of Light, but will eventually award it to those who found other Project APE caches. I can't point to anything official that says one way or the other though....

 

Anyway, to the original question: We'll see what they become once they "catch up" with all the regional souvenirs in the queue. Right now, I think they're interesting, but I hope they become more than just a replacement for the INATN state maps. I'd like to see them cover other milestones, geocaching challenges, etc.

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Interesting. My understanding is that they started by awarding the Project APE souvenir to those who found Mission 9: Tunnel of Light, but will eventually award it to those who found other Project APE caches. I can't point to anything official that says one way or the other though....

All I'm really going on is this:

 

Addisonbr,

 

Presently the Project APE souvenir is for mission 9, to be a part of the triad. We will keep you posted if other Project APE caches receive souvenirs in the future.

 

I hope this helps.

There hasn't been any further clarification. It does say "Presently", but the responses I've seen on these boards from lackeys or moderators haven't given any indication that a rollout to other APE finders is in the cards. (Some folks who didn't receive the souvenir seem pretty upset, so there have been a few opportunities to give an indication otherwise.)

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Interesting. My understanding is that they started by awarding the Project APE souvenir to those who found Mission 9: Tunnel of Light, but will eventually award it to those who found other Project APE caches. I can't point to anything official that says one way or the other though....

All I'm really going on is this:

 

Addisonbr,

 

Presently the Project APE souvenir is for mission 9, to be a part of the triad. We will keep you posted if other Project APE caches receive souvenirs in the future.

 

I hope this helps.

There hasn't been any further clarification. It does say "Presently", but the responses I've seen on these boards from lackeys or moderators haven't given any indication that a rollout to other APE finders is in the cards. (Some folks who didn't receive the souvenir seem pretty upset, so there have been a few opportunities to give an indication otherwise.)

He very clearly stated that they might have souvis for other ape caches in the future. Be patient.

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I think they're so new, yet, I forget to check for any new ones in my travels because there are so few of them out there.

 

I spent Thanksgiving week in Death Valley (a truly horrible place, don't go there :anitongue: ) and for the 70 or so caches I found within a 100 mile radius, I don't have one souvenir. Ah, but I do have the memories. (Also, some less than stellar ones which have to do with parents who let their kids climb all over the scenery when people have travelled hundreds, if not thousands of miles, to be there and are trying to take photographs. Ergh.)

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Since 3 of the 5 State souvenirs we've received are "wrong" due to logging traveling caches that've gone to rest in states where we've not cached, I'm not overly impressed. If geocaching had a way for us to "fix" these like I've done in GSAK to get the maps posted on our profile it would be an improvement. I much prefer the maps anyway.

 

If people are getting enjoyment from them, then they qualify as a good thing. The folks that don't like them can not-click on that tab and never see them.

 

Remember: Look for the fun.

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Since 3 of the 5 State souvenirs we've received are "wrong" due to logging traveling caches that've gone to rest in states where we've not cached, I'm not overly impressed. If geocaching had a way for us to "fix" these like I've done in GSAK to get the maps posted on our profile it would be an improvement. I much prefer the maps anyway.

 

If people are getting enjoyment from them, then they qualify as a good thing. The folks that don't like them can not-click on that tab and never see them.

 

Remember: Look for the fun.

 

That's an interesting point - traveling caches. I was under the impression these weren't supposed to exist, but find there are a few of them still going about. I even logged one at GW8 and it periodically makes a hash of my cache stats. Well, they're only numbers. :)

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After a lot of speculation the Souvi's were finally released. Now that people have a way to sample them what do you think of them? Personally I like them, I think it's a great way to add incentives to do things you otherwise wouldn't do, such as visit a park you wouldn't otherwise. I'd like more but they are slowly being added. :)

 

How do you get them?

 

CarlGurt

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After a lot of speculation the Souvi's were finally released. Now that people have a way to sample them what do you think of them? Personally I like them, I think it's a great way to add incentives to do things you otherwise wouldn't do, such as visit a park you wouldn't otherwise. I'd like more but they are slowly being added. :)

 

How do you get them?

 

CarlGurt

Go caching in an area covered by a souvi. For instance, you've cached in New Hampshire, so you have that souvi.

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