Bring back country based souvenirs

14k · November 15, 2012

I would also like to add my vote for the return of country based souvenirs.

Sadly it seems that Groundspeak starts several different projects and never intends to finish these correctly. And they hardly listen to their customers anymore

Let's face it:

* They created Wherigo caches, released a beta builder and never ever made it to a final version. Now 3rd party programs can do more and better

* They created webcam and locationless caches, removed these types and reintroduced them as Waymarks. Although you can download individual waymarks, there is no option for waymark pocket queries (although the people, who enjoy Waymarking really ask for it).

* They added Facebook links and hardly anyone wants these (at least none that I know).

* They created Challenges and just implemended them half into the geocaching structure.

* They created souvenirs and stopped after some countries and states although the community is begging for a return.

I have gone so far and edited the pre-created images for the not-yet released souvenirs into my profile, but I would like to see them on my souvenir page, too.

I'd contend that the "Friends" feature hasn't really been fully baked either.

Nice job on including those pre-created images in your profile. I haven't checked lately to see how many of the countries in which I've found a cache have the pre-created artwork but I know at least three of them don't have any artwork at all.

We just reached 50 responses in this thread and other than a couple of "I don't really care about souvenirs" responses every other responses has been supportive of the suggesting. That sounds like a pretty good mandate for implementing this suggestion.

November 15, 2012

I can imagine it would be a pretty heavy load to go back over the database and do retrospective awarding.

I like the idea of releasing them slowly as a background process to reduce load on the system. Or doing a certain number of accounts each time if it's an account based thing.

Bring 'em back I say ! (again)

14k · December 13, 2012

With the new 12/12//12 souvenir awarded yesterday I thought this might be a good time to bump this thread.

December 13, 2012

What I would like: communication!

Are souvenirs being treated like challenges and will they be removed at some time in the future? Are they a topic of discussion at headquarters and are lackeys looking for posters around the office to help them make a decision?

Or are the designs that were already made, like the souvenir for the Netherlands, going to be implemented and will the future bring more souvenirs, not just for special events?

Please just communicate what is going on. We can agree and disagree about decisions, but the lack of communication on (not) making decisions is what really annoys me.

4.2k · December 13, 2012

I'd like to see the further development of any additional Souvenirs of any kind. I thought it was a nice idea with potential.

December 24, 2012

I'm absolutely a fan of the souvenirs, and would love to see more of them: countries, holidays, 100th find (etc.), Just one more way to enjoy this great hobby!

December 24, 2012

I'm still in favor of all souvenirs! Great idea and I love checking them out. Don't ignore them GS!

4.1k · December 25, 2012

If they are going to be part of this site they should be developed beyond the occasional ones for significant dates.

But if they are going to be part of this site, users should have the ability to opt out of the public display. I choose to keep my stats private. It seems like an invasion of my privacy to give me something I did not want and insist that I take it and display it. Nobody needs to see my souvenirs but me unless I decide otherwise.

7.8k · December 25, 2012

I choose to keep my stats private. It seems like an invasion of my privacy to give me something I did not want and insist that I take it and display it. Nobody needs to see my souvenirs but me unless I decide otherwise.

The information that can be gleaned from your souvenirs can already be found in your list of finds. Souvenirs don't reveal any additional information.

December 25, 2012

If they are going to be part of this site they should be developed beyond the occasional ones for significant dates.

But if they are going to be part of this site, users should have the ability to opt out of the public display. I choose to keep my stats private. It seems like an invasion of my privacy to give me something I did not want and insist that I take it and display it. Nobody needs to see my souvenirs but me unless I decide otherwise.

Quite pointless to complain about your privacy when you list your location in your public profile.

4.1k · December 25, 2012

Quite pointless to complain about your privacy when you list your location in your public profile.

That is my choice. I also refer to my home town in various logs. My original user name was my last name and some of my caches are still listed that way, but that was my choice. The profile I wrote contains specific information that I chose to make public. When I signed up, I did so knowing that other information - find counts and the like - would be displayed. I have uploaded hundreds of photos to my gallery, which are the real souvenirs from my caching experience.

But it was also my choice not to display stats, which organizes public information in more detailed ways. I did not see that it was anyone's business to know if I completed certain grids or found caches a certain distance from home.

I did not have that choice with souvenirs and if they are going to be expanded (as the suggestion in this thread requests) then I would like to be the one who makes that decision. It may be pointless in some sense. Still, how I want certain information to be displayed - whether I cached on 10/10 or 12/12; whether I visited certain states and countries - is nevertheless important to me. To me it is a matter of privacy.

My daughter once asked if anyone actually looked at some of the information on this site for other people - trackable icons, stats, or souvenirs. I told her that I hoped that someone would have more of a life than that. But it is still there and if I choose to tell you that I have cached in Peru, it is different from Groundspeak unilaterally making that decision and awarding a public souvenir for visiting that country, whether I want it or not.

So I support the suggestion in this thread. I just want to be able to opt out from the public display should I choose to do so.

Edited December 25, 2012 by geodarts

7.8k · December 25, 2012

...

I did not have that choice with souvenirs and if they are going to be expanded (as the suggestion in this thread requests) then I would like to be the one who makes that decision. It may be pointless in some sense. Still, how I want certain information to be displayed - whether I cached on 10/10 or 12/12; whether I visited certain states and countries - is nevertheless important to me. To me it is a matter of privacy.

IMO, you're confusing privacy with preference. If the information is already available, displaying it in a different way doesn't reveal anything additional nor further invade your privacy. It's just personal preference that you don't want the information displayed in that way.

But this is getting off-topic. This suggestion isn't to expand souvenirs or reveal further information about each of us, but rather to get Groundspeak to finish what they started. Country-based souvenirs already exist, but were only released for a select few countries before the releases were halted. What we're asking for is for the rest of them to be released.

If Groundspeak doesn't consider souvenirs to be a "better mistake", they should just get it over with and wipe them away like they did with Challenges. If they plan on keeping them, they need to finish off the feature, rather than leave it only partially released. Groundspeak seems to have a software development version of ADHD. They'll start something, then get bored before they finish and run off to start something else. What we end up with are a bunch of potentially-useful but only partially-completed features.

December 25, 2012

I would also like country souvenirs brought back!!!! I just found a cache in Austria and was susprised I didn't get a souvenir.

4.1k · December 25, 2012

IMO, you're confusing privacy with preference. If the information is already available, displaying it in a different way doesn't reveal anything additional nor further invade your privacy. It's just personal preference that you don't want the information displayed in that way.

But this is getting off-topic. This suggestion isn't to expand souvenirs or reveal further information about each of us, but rather to get Groundspeak to finish what they started. Country-based souvenirs already exist, but were only released for a select few countries before the releases were halted. What we're asking for is for the rest of them to be released.

If Groundspeak doesn't consider souvenirs to be a "better mistake", they should just get it over with and wipe them away like they did with Challenges. If they plan on keeping them, they need to finish off the feature, rather than leave it only partially released. Groundspeak seems to have a software development version of ADHD. They'll start something, then get bored before they finish and run off to start something else. What we end up with are a bunch of potentially-useful but only partially-completed features.

We can disagree about privacy. What I choose to reveal about myself is my preference. What other people choose to reveal about me raises issues about privacy. We all have different things that press our buttons. Some people did not like their pictures on earthcaching logs. It never bothered me. Some people like to show others where they have been in one convenient place on this site. I would rather be the one who makes that decision.

Yes, you can find out anything shown in my stats and souvenirs by going through a list of 10,750+ finds that I have chosen to make a matter of record, and I understand that no one is requesting that the information available through souvenirs be expanded.

Nevertheless, from the time that souvenirs were introduced my preference has always been not to display art for every state or country I have visited or certain dates that I have cached. Nobody else needs to have that information packaged for them. If Groundspeak wants to take the information from the list of found caches, give me a piece of artwork, and call it a souvenir it should be my choice about what I want to do with it. If you make the decision for me then it no longer a matter of preference. It is a relatively minor intrusion given the type of information that is made available about all of us, but it should be simple enough to implement as part of an effort to further complete the project.

So again, I agree that Groundspeak has a tendency to abandon projects before they are fully developed (Wherigo is another example). And I agree with the proposal in this thread that they should devote the resources to move souvenirs along, provided that I also am able to opt out from a public display if I choose.

Edited December 26, 2012 by geodarts

14k · December 26, 2012

Nevertheless, from the time that souvenirs were introduced my preference has always been not to display art for every state or country I have visited or certain dates that I have cached. Nobody else needs to have that information packaged for them. If Groundspeak wants to take the information from the list of found caches, give me a piece of artwork, and call it a souvenir it should be my choice about what I want to do with it. If you make the decision for me then it no longer a matter of preference. It is a relatively minor intrusion given the type of information that is made available about all of us, but it should be simple enough to implement as part of an effort to further complete the project.

I understand your concerns about privacy and having control over what types of information your reveal publicly. The ability to opt-out of the display of acquired souvenirs is certainly something that has been brought up before. However, I see it as an independent suggestion that is an issue even if GS never releases another country based souvenir. The process for awarding country based souvenirs, both for a new find in a country/region and the retroactive awarding process already exists. The creation of a new country based souvenir is a matter of creating the artwork (or as in many cases, using artwork that already exists), adding the country to the list of countries for which a souvenir is available, and executing the retroactive awarding process. I haven't looked at the actual code but I suspect that it would no require new software development. To implement a souvenir opt-out feature it would require a change to the back-end database in order to persist a "display_souvenir_tab" (or something like that) value for every use profile. It would also require user interface changes to hide the souvenirs tab or to replace the list with some message that indicates that you've chosen not to display that information.

Although both suggestions are related to souvenirs, they're still quite independent, would require different implementation paths, and each suggestion may have a different group of people that support or oppose GS working on it. I'd prefer to keep the suggestions separate, but if you wanted to create a "Feature Request: Opt-out of souvenirs" thread, I'd add my support for it.

4.1k · December 27, 2012

Although both suggestions are related to souvenirs, they're still quite independent, would require different implementation paths, and each suggestion may have a different group of people that support or oppose GS working on it. I'd prefer to keep the suggestions separate, but if you wanted to create a "Feature Request: Opt-out of souvenirs" thread, I'd add my support for it.

Actually, to me they are directly related. I would not support the initial suggestion without the limitation. But I do not want to hijack this thread down a different path. So perhaps another thread is in order.

January 5, 2013

I support this idea.

I only have one lonely souvenir, (12/12/12), as ther is no Australia souvenir. Obviously no australian states either.

Bring souvenirs to Australia!

14k · January 5, 2013

I support this idea.

I only have one lonely souvenir, (12/12/12), as ther is no Australia souvenir. Obviously no australian states either.

Bring souvenirs to Australia!

You're not alone. There are no region based souvenirs that can be easily obtained by someone living anywhere in Asia, Africa, or South America either.

7.9k · January 6, 2013

While I do appreciate that there are some cachers who might enjoy a few additional souvenirs, there are many other areas where I would rather Groundspeak would devote their efforts to improving.

I rarely look at my own, and I have NEVER felt the need to look at anyone else's.

IMNSHO, they are pointless fluff.

EDITED: To add:

Not just the country-based souvenirs, but ALL of them.

Edited January 6, 2013 by AZcachemeister

14k · January 6, 2013

While I do appreciate that there are some cachers who might enjoy a few additional souvenirs, there are many other areas where I would rather Groundspeak would devote their efforts to improving.

Since the retroactive awarding process has already been developed as well as the code for detecting when a souvenir should be awarded when a new find is made, other that possibly a quick edit of a configuration file to include a new country, pretty much all the effort involved is from the graphic designers. Other than many other feature suggestions, reinstating country based souvenirs doesn't really take away development time from other things.

I rarely look at my own, and I have NEVER felt the need to look at anyone else's.

IMNSHO, they are pointless fluff.

EDITED: To add:

Not just the country-based souvenirs, but ALL of them.

I don't know if you'd feel any different if you had found caches in several other countries, but a lot of geocachers have finds in many countries, and those that live in Australia, Asia, South America, and Africa essentially only have the few "special day" souvenirs available.

January 7, 2013

While I do appreciate that there are some cachers who might enjoy a few additional souvenirs, there are many other areas where I would rather Groundspeak would devote their efforts to improving.

Since the retroactive awarding process has already been developed as well as the code for detecting when a souvenir should be awarded when a new find is made, other that possibly a quick edit of a configuration file to include a new country, pretty much all the effort involved is from the graphic designers. Other than many other feature suggestions, reinstating country based souvenirs doesn't really take away development time from other things.

I rarely look at my own, and I have NEVER felt the need to look at anyone else's.

IMNSHO, they are pointless fluff.

EDITED: To add:

Not just the country-based souvenirs, but ALL of them.

I don't know if you'd feel any different if you had found caches in several other countries, but a lot of geocachers have finds in many countries, and those that live in Australia, Asia, South America, and Africa essentially only have the few "special day" souvenirs available.

I'm planning to visit South America in the next two years... It will be disappointing if i cant have a souvenir for Australia or South America. From what i've heard, many designs for souvenirs are done, they just need to be implemented. And from the post above me, it shouldn't be too hard to do.

GS, why not do something quick and easy for you and make many of us happy? We have been waiting and still are for many changes, so why not do this one that is so easy and make us smile?

Thanks,

January 28, 2013

I was also keen to get a souvenir as I made it to the small country of Luxembourg today.

Looking into my souvenirs I have seen that there is no souvenir for that country....it is really a pitty, that there are only suovenir quite randomly spreaded on differnt countries.

I would also like to see Groundspeak completing the souvenirs for each country/region you might visit. That would look just fantastic in my souvenir gallery and would remember me of so many nice places.

January 29, 2013

I was very disappointed to learn that there aren't country based souvenirs...when I queried Geocaching.com, they suggested I go to this forum. I am thrilled when I add a state souvenir and I know that I would be ecstatic if I had a souvenir for countries that I have Geocached in (England and Scotland)...the state souvenirs just show an outline of the state with the state name abbreviated...why couldn't a souvenir be created with the outline of the country with the country's name in it? Seems simple...and what about the people in countries other than the United States...they might enjoy being able to earn souvenirs.

3.4k · January 29, 2013

Here I was misreading the title of this thread and thinking County Based Souvenirs and uttering 'cool' to myself ...

wut?

No country based souvenirs?!? Is this part of this strategy, I recently heard about of making better mistakes tomorrow?

Not only do I strongly advocate country souvenirs, I'd like to say the more souvenirs the better!!!

The better souvenirs are supported the better they will be embraced. They are a cool idea, but seem to be on life support these days.

January 29, 2013

I was surprised that there wasn't a souvenir for Mexico as there seem to be a bunch all over. I was visiting Mazatlan with my wife and found 3 in close proximity of where I was staying and thought something was wrong when I didn't get my badge. I know for some it doesn't matter but it's nice to have a little virtual badge showing where you've been.

3.4k · January 29, 2013

I was surprised that there wasn't a souvenir for Mexico as there seem to be a bunch all over. I was visiting Mazatlan with my wife and found 3 in close proximity of where I was staying and thought something was wrong when I didn't get my badge. I know for some it doesn't matter but it's nice to have a little virtual badge showing where you've been.

Indeed, that's what a souvenir is and is all about. Seems like they came up with a pretty good idea and have only nodded to it now and then. I'd love to see hundreds, if not thousands of them to collect. That would be pretty darn cool.

14k · January 30, 2013

I was surprised that there wasn't a souvenir for Mexico as there seem to be a bunch all over. I was visiting Mazatlan with my wife and found 3 in close proximity of where I was staying and thought something was wrong when I didn't get my badge. I know for some it doesn't matter but it's nice to have a little virtual badge showing where you've been.

I just did a capture of the number of caches per country and Mexico is actually fairly high on the list for the most caches in a country. However, there are quite a few other countries which have far more, some that you might not expect. Luxembourg, for example has about 400 more than Mexico (which has 2143), but both pale in comparison to other countries such as Sweden (63475) and the UK (137619).

February 14, 2013

I also would like to see souvenirs brought back. I'm planning a trip later this year and was disappointed to find out I won't get any new souvenirs. I'm taking a cruise for my honeymoon and we will be leaving from Puerto Rico and hitting several of the islands south of there. I really expected for Puerto Rico to have a souvenir since the District of Columbia has one.

February 14, 2013

I enjoy souvenirs too. I have several and will be in Canada in a few months and would like to have one for that. I don't know if there is a Canada souvenir. I hope so as I will get my Washington state and Alaska state on this same trip.

14k · February 15, 2013

I enjoy souvenirs too. I have several and will be in Canada in a few months and would like to have one for that. I don't know if there is a Canada souvenir. I hope so as I will get my Washington state and Alaska state on this same trip.

You won't get one for Canada but each of the Canadian provinces has a souvenir available. If you're going to be in Washington and Alaska I assume you'll be in British Columbia. Ironically, although I've found geocaches in 18 different countries and live within 3 hours of the Canadian border I've never found a cache in Canada, and thus don't have any of the Canadian province souvenirs.

7.9k · February 15, 2013

While I do appreciate that there are some cachers who might enjoy a few additional souvenirs, there are many other areas where I would rather Groundspeak would devote their efforts to improving.

Since the retroactive awarding process has already been developed as well as the code for detecting when a souvenir should be awarded when a new find is made, other that possibly a quick edit of a configuration file to include a new country, pretty much all the effort involved is from the graphic designers. Other than many other feature suggestions, reinstating country based souvenirs doesn't really take away development time from other things.

I rarely look at my own, and I have NEVER felt the need to look at anyone else's.

IMNSHO, they are pointless fluff.

EDITED: To add:

Not just the country-based souvenirs, but ALL of them.

I don't know if you'd feel any different if you had found caches in several other countries, but a lot of geocachers have finds in many countries, and those that live in Australia, Asia, South America, and Africa essentially only have the few "special day" souvenirs available.

reinstating country based souvenirs doesn't really take away development time from other things.

Apparently Groundspeak thinks it would.

I don't know if you'd feel any different if you had found caches in several other countries

I suppose I might, but then again I don't need some silly icon(s) to validate the worthiness of my travels.

The world map on my statistics page should say all that needs to be said.

Yours is fairly impressive, shouldn't that be enough?

14k · February 15, 2013

Reinstating country based souvenirs doesn't really take away development time from other things.

Apparently Groundspeak thinks it would.

Unless you've seen something that I haven't I don't think we know what Groundspeak thinks about this. I haven't seen any comments one way or the other on whether or not they're even considering bringing back country based souvenirs.

I don't know if you'd feel any different if you had found caches in several other countries

I suppose I might, but then again I don't need some silly icon(s) to validate the worthiness of my travels.

The world map on my statistics page should say all that needs to be said.

Yours is fairly impressive, shouldn't that be enough?

Thanks. I don't see the souvenirs as silly icons. Some of the artwork that has been done for region based souvenirs is actually quite nice. Some of the artwork that has been done for countries for which a souvenir has not been created is also quite nice (I especially like the ones for Spain and South Africa, two countries I would qualify for if they released souvenirs for those countries). The site *does* have a separate page which displays souvenirs, including regional souvenirs for U.S. States, but might come across to some as half baked when someone, as it frequently happens here, wonders why they didn't get a souvenir after finding a cache in countries like France, Spain, Italy, China, Japan, or anywhere in Australia.

February 15, 2013

I enjoy souvenirs too. I have several and will be in Canada in a few months and would like to have one for that. I don't know if there is a Canada souvenir. I hope so as I will get my Washington state and Alaska state on this same trip.

You won't get one for Canada but each of the Canadian provinces has a souvenir available. If you're going to be in Washington and Alaska I assume you'll be in British Columbia. Ironically, although I've found geocaches in 18 different countries and live within 3 hours of the Canadian border I've never found a cache in Canada, and thus don't have any of the Canadian province souvenirs.

Thanks for the answer. I'll be in B.C. for a bit and look forward to collecting a few caches and my souvenir.

7.9k · February 16, 2013

Just to clarify, I'm certainly not against country-based souvenirs.

If getting them adds to your Geocaching enjoyment, then I'm happy for you.

But, considering that none have recently been released (even the ones for which the artwork has already been created), it should be fairly obvious that the souvenir concept has not only been pushed to the back burner, but has fallen completely off the back of the stove.

ADS strikes again.

7.8k · February 16, 2013

But, considering that none have recently been released (even the ones for which the artwork has already been created), it should be fairly obvious that the souvenir concept has not only been pushed to the back burner, but has fallen completely off the back of the stove.

I think the whole stove has fallen over. Souvenirs aren't the only feature whose development has stalled:

-Wherigo has been stalled for many years now.

-The corrected coordinates function was implemented 15 months ago, but the large map still doesn't reflect the changed coordinates and the API doesn't handle them at all.

-The new cache submission form was introduced 9 months ago, but I can only recall a couple of very minor changes since then and it is very much still a work-in-progress.

Then there's the latest iPhone app update, which finally came out today, 6 months after we were told it would be coming soon. We've also been promised a re-vamp of the PQ system for many years, but have now been told that it's been pretty much axed. Overall development seems to have slowed to a crawl, and the development that is occurring is focused on smartphone users and attempting to draw in new users. Taking all this into account, the fact that new region-based souvenirs haven't been released doesn't tell me that they have been singled out as a feature that won't be developed, but rather that there's a broad halt in development across the board.

In fact, souvenirs are one stalled feature that is still slowly crawling forward. The last region-based souvenirs were released exactly 2 years ago today, but since then there have been 4 (soon to be 5) date-based, 51 Mega event, and 2 WWFM souvenirs released. It clearly isn't a dead feature, and they've already done most of the work, so it's very confusing why they haven't just finished it off.

<shameless plug> ...and for those who would like to see a complete listing of all released souvenirs, I've made a list here. </shameless plug>

14k · February 16, 2013

But, considering that none have recently been released (even the ones for which the artwork has already been created), it should be fairly obvious that the souvenir concept has not only been pushed to the back burner, but has fallen completely off the back of the stove.

I think the whole stove has fallen over. Souvenirs aren't the only feature whose development has stalled:

-Wherigo has been stalled for many years now.

-The corrected coordinates function was implemented 15 months ago, but the large map still doesn't reflect the changed coordinates and the API doesn't handle them at all.

-The new cache submission form was introduced 9 months ago, but I can only recall a couple of very minor changes since then and it is very much still a work-in-progress.

On the other hand, we got new icons. We also have had the number of bookmarks we can create from 40 to 100 (which probably required changing a 40 to a 100 in a few places in the code).

In fact, souvenirs are one stalled feature that is still slowly crawling forward. The last region-based souvenirs were released exactly 2 years ago today, but since then there have been 4 (soon to be 5) date-based, 51 Mega event, and 2 WWFM souvenirs released. It clearly isn't a dead feature, and they've already done most of the work, so it's very confusing why they haven't just finished it off.

That was one of my reasons for starting the thread. Not only has most of the work already been done, there has been work done (creating the artwork for numerous other countries not yet released) that has not been used. With the addition of some development to allow those that aren't interested in souvenirs to opt out it would be a feature with little controversy that would demonstrate that GS is listening to the voices in the Feature Discussion and Suggestions forum.

<shameless plug> ...and for those who would like to see a complete listing of all released souvenirs, I've made a list here. </shameless plug>

That's a great list. I know it's a bit to ask but would you consider adding an "unreleased souvenirs" section which has links to the Flickr images (a complete list here) for countries which have had artwork created but have not been released as souvenirs.

7.8k · February 16, 2013

I know it's a bit to ask but would you consider adding an "unreleased souvenirs" section which has links to the Flickr images (a complete list here) for countries which have had artwork created but have not been released as souvenirs.

Good idea! I'll work on that over the next few days.

7.8k · February 17, 2013

I know it's a bit to ask but would you consider adding an "unreleased souvenirs" section which has links to the Flickr images (a complete list here) for countries which have had artwork created but have not been released as souvenirs.

Good idea! I'll work on that over the next few days.

Done. I had some time tonight, so I added them.

14k · February 17, 2013

I know it's a bit to ask but would you consider adding an "unreleased souvenirs" section which has links to the Flickr images (a complete list here) for countries which have had artwork created but have not been released as souvenirs.

Good idea! I'll work on that over the next few days.

Done. I had some time tonight, so I added them.

Great. That's a really useful page for anyone interested in souvenirs.

February 18, 2013

I agree, souvenirs are a fun way of caching. Who cares if it is some stupid digital badge. We like them and it seems to work. PS3, Xbox, yelp, and countless apps use them to keep users interested.

February 24, 2013

I just found out about this! I always just assumed they had souvenirs for most countries. I, for one, love the souvenirs! We're going to Indonesia, and I assumed I'd get a cool souvenir for geocaching there, but I guess there is no souvenir for Indonesia. It seems stupid to have multiple souvenirs for International Geocaching Day, but tons of countries with no souvenirs at all.

February 27, 2013

Looks like the Queensland Aus souvenir has been released, as i just earned it after logging a cache. When i logged the last one in QLD, i didnt get anything and that was on the 17th...

Edited February 27, 2013 by Condorito

7.8k · February 27, 2013

Looks like the Queensland Aus souvenir has been released, as i just earned it after logging a cache. When i logged the last one in QLD, i didnt get anything and that was on the 19th...

Yep, a number of new souvenirs have been released today. See my post here for the new ones, or here for my list of all souvenirs.

14k · February 27, 2013

Looks like the Queensland Aus souvenir has been released, as i just earned it after logging a cache. When i logged the last one in QLD, i didnt get anything and that was on the 17th...

It looks like this is still a work in progress. I looked at the souvenirs tab on your profile and saw the Queensland souvenir thumbnail but clicking on the image, which normally would bring up the full artwork gives an error: "There is no souvenir in the database that matches your request."

None of the other links on A-Teams "New" souvenirs list work either and someone else mentioned that none of the new souvenirs appear to be retroactive.

Can anyone from GS comment on what's going on?

5.7k · February 27, 2013

We'd qualify for a few of those, they're not yet showing up. So, confirmed, not yet retroactive, at least not for us.

14k · February 27, 2013

We'd qualify for a few of those, they're not yet showing up. So, confirmed, not yet retroactive, at least not for us.

I just did a little more poking around. I did a search for caches in a couple of countries that are on the "New" list. I found a cache that was found today in Sweden and one in Spain, checked the user profiles for someone that found it today, and the souvenir did not appear in their profile. I did the same for a cache in Austria and an Austria souvenir *did* appear on a users souvenir page, but attempting to link to the full artwork still resulted in the "souvenir does not appear in our database" message.

It's encouraging that it appears that GS is trying to reinstate country based souvenirs but disappointing that A.) there was no announcement anywhere indicating that they're doing something with souvenirs, and B.) the implementation seems to be really broken.

5.7k · February 27, 2013

Give 'em time. The souvenirs we already had didn't work right away, but they got there eventually. They may be waiting for an off peak time to churn the data, or whatever they do. (If you hadn't guessed, no, I do not work in IT.)

14k · February 27, 2013

Give 'em time. The souvenirs we already had didn't work right away, but they got there eventually. They may be waiting for an off peak time to churn the data, or whatever they do. (If you hadn't guessed, no, I do not work in IT.)

Only the retroactive awarding of souvenirs really involves a churning of data. The awarding of a souvenir when a cache is found in a region which has a souvenir would be integrated into the logging process. It appear that in some cases, a souvenir has been awarded (at least for Sweden, Austria, and South Africa) whcn someone found a cache in the locations but the link to the full artwork still seems to be broken.

February 27, 2013

This is great! Seems like they're listening to us! I sure hope they keep creating new ones!

There are geocaches hidden in 184 countries, sounds like quite the task but very doable.

14k · February 27, 2013

This is great! Seems like they're listening to us! I sure hope they keep creating new ones!

There are geocaches hidden in 184 countries, sounds like quite the task but very doable.

I'm not going to get too excited until the process actually works and would rather that they refrain from adding new countries (other than the ones that they have identified) until the link to full artwork works *and* that they are retroactively awarded. There are going to be a lot of people disappointed if retroactive awarding isn't working. I've got 16 potential countries for which I could get a souvenir (I'm not counting the U.S. or Germany) and I know that some people have found caches in a lot more countries than I have.

Bring back country based souvenirs

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