Continue releasing country based souvenirs

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Last August I started a thread called "Bring Back country based souvenirs" which now has about 150 responses, overwhelmingly in favor of the idea. As many of you know, when the 2,000,000th active cache was identified, Groundspeak started releasing a couple of dozen country and region based souvenirs, mostly from artwork that has existed for at least a year. I'd like to think that GS listened to what it's users were asking for in that thread but it's hard to tell.

 

As GS was releasing the last of the new souvenirs, someone from GS said that they would not be releasing any other country souvenirs. I think that is a bad decision and that is why I've started this thread.

 

When one looks at countries which have the most geocaches (and presumably) geocachers, most of the top 30 countries now have souvenirs available. However, Belgium, Italy, Slovenia, and Mexico are in the top 30 (according to the last time I collected states a few weeks ago, Belgium ranked 18th in terms of the number of caches). Other notable countries which do not have souvenirs include Lithuania, Greece, Turkey, Brazil, Argentina, and China. No South America, Central American, or Caribbean country has a souvenir available. Although many of these countries do not have a *lot* of geocaches, they are frequently visited by geocachers (especially Caribbean islands visited by geocachers on cruise ships).

 

As it it, this looks like yet another feature that GS has started, but remains unfinished. I'm not suggesting that GS continues to release country based souvenirs at the rate they did last week (5-7 per day) but, if you agree (or if you don't) that GS should continue to release country/region based souvenirs, this is a thread where you can express your opinion.

[+cerberus1]

Yep, those Countries with few cachers, something as simple as souvenirs may help with support/exposure and is good PR.

[+Condorito]

+1 from me.. if they want to do something, do it properly, or dont do it at all....

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Yep, those Countries with few cachers, something as simple as souvenirs may help with support/exposure and is good PR.

 

First of all, thanks Keystone for closing that other thread and posting a pointer to this one.

 

Something that I didn't mention in the first post was that not *all* of the countries for which GS has previously created artwork got souvenirs released. On the Flickr page which has the artwork for most of the released souvenirs there is a really nice one for Ethiopia. Although the country only has 13 geoaches, to me, it's the kind of place that should have a souvenir, simply because there are few cachers that will find a cache there and thus it would be more collectable than the many thousands of geocachers that have probably qualified for a cache in the United Kingdom. With souvenirs only available for the most frequently cached countries it's like a stamp collection only having stamps from what anyone can purchase at a post office.

[+Cache on Wheels]

I have to agree with you there []

A country with very few caches is like a D5/T5 in the way that it is very difficult to get, but very rewarding when you do get it - a definitely worthy of a souvenir [)]

[+Cache on Wheels]

I suggested this else where but here now seems to be most appropriate now.

With over 5 million cachers - if Groundspeak don't have the resources to continue to release / create them, which is what I thought I read on Lattitude 47????

I'm sure there are plenty of people capable of designing a souvenir!!

 

Here was my suggestion:

 

For those who 'LIVE' in a country without a souvenir, run a competition for a design for a souvenir for that country,

 

Them put the designs up on 1 site eg Flickr where the others are,

Advertise it well via newsletter and on there other forums,

 

The one with the most 'likes' wins

 

That way Groundspeak don't have to deal with designing them and Geocachers feel included, especially when it comes to sharing with others what they feel ate the things that best represent their own country.

 

Then later when all countries have souvenirs, which would be fair, they could move onto counties / districts etc in the same way. Whee you can only enter for the area that you 'live' in.

 

My question to Groundspeak is

1- would you be willing and able to do this

2- is this within your capabilities to release souvenirs at set intervals?

 

You could set certain times of the year when these could be released, be it monthly or bi monthly?

 

What are your thoughts?

[Keystone]

I don't know that it's safe to assume that "artwork design resources" is the primary constraint for Groundspeak.

[+The Blorenges]

Last week there was a lot of posting on the various regional UK groups about the new souvenirs that were appearing. Most cachers were enthusiastic, or at least interested, in what might turn up...

 

By the end of the week there was some disappointment that although the whole of Ireland (North and South) got a total of 6 (I think) souvenirs the UK as a whole only got one! It would have been nice if the individual countries of England, Scotland and Wales had received one each.

 

I fully support the OP - I would like to see souvenirs continue to be issued.

 

MrsB

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I don't know that it's safe to assume that "artwork design resources" is the primary constraint for Groundspeak.

 

I agree with that. The graphics design work that that has been demonstrated on the existing souvenirs is quite good and presumably those resources are still available. I had heard that there were a few complaints that one of the country souvenirs wasn't designed by someone from that country but, as you suggest, I don't think it would require externally developed artwork for GS to continue releasing souvenirs.

 

If artwork design resources isn't the primary constraint than what. They've already develped the processes for releasing souvenirs so there is effectively no software development needed. Yes, there's going to be a bit of server processing time required, but if we saw one new souvenir once a week that would be a small bump in the load average, especially when countries which only have a few hundred caches are released.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

 

By the end of the week there was some disappointment that although the whole of Ireland (North and South) got a total of 6 (I think) souvenirs the UK as a whole only got one! It would have been nice if the individual countries of England, Scotland and Wales had received one each.

MrsB

 

That was a bit confusing to me as well, especially considering that artwork already exists for Scotland, Wales, and England. However, Scotland and Wales are not selectable regions using the "search by country" select lists. The United Kingdom is actually broken down into 14 regions which include North Scotland, South Scotland, North Wales, South Wales, etc. and artwork hasn't been created for each of the regions.

 

Thanks for your support

[+The A-Team]

I don't know that it's safe to assume that "artwork design resources" is the primary constraint for Groundspeak.

I'm curious what other constraints there may be.

I checked the numbers a few days ago, and over 97% of caches have been covered by souvenirs now. Releasing souvenirs for the remaining ~3% (roughly the number of caches in France), which also tend to have fewer finds than the ones already covered, should have a negligible effect on server resources when compared to the existing souvenirs. As NYPC mentioned, the software development has already been done, and I understand that releasing a new souvenir involves simply setting an "IsEnabled" flag and presumably pointing the system to the new souvenir artwork. Even if the artwork department is too busy removing colour from icons, there's a massive community available that would be more than happy to help out (and would probably help prevent non-sensical artwork like the Alabama one ).

 

Sorry, I can't see a single constraint that should prevent souvenirs from being released for every cache-containing region.

 

Come on, Groundspeak. Here's your chance to finally finish a feature, and possibly involve the community at the same time. Please don't let souvenirs go the way of Wherigos, Challenges, corrected coordinates, etc. I'm really looking forward to getting souvenirs for Vatican City, Namibia, and Italy.

[+Fiver1]

It's highly doubtful that I will ever get to collect very many souvenirs outside the continental US, but I agree that all areas that have caches should be covered. Personally I like collecting them.

[+Cache on Wheels]

Last week there was a lot of posting on the various regional UK groups about the new souvenirs that were appearing. Most cachers were enthusiastic, or at least interested, in what might turn up...

 

By the end of the week there was some disappointment that although the whole of Ireland (North and South) got a total of 6 (I think) souvenirs the UK as a whole only got one! It would have been nice if the individual countries of England, Scotland and Wales had received one each.

 

I fully support the OP - I would like to see souvenirs continue to be issued.

 

MrsB

 

Many thanks for your reply and support []

Also from Mrs B []

[+Cache on Wheels]

I don't know that it's safe to assume that "artwork design resources" is the primary constraint for Groundspeak.

I'm curious what other constraints there may be.

I checked the numbers a few days ago, and over 97% of caches have been covered by souvenirs now. Releasing souvenirs for the remaining ~3% (roughly the number of caches in France), which also tend to have fewer finds than the ones already covered, should have a negligible effect on server resources when compared to the existing souvenirs. As NYPC mentioned, the software development has already been done, and I understand that releasing a new souvenir involves simply setting an "IsEnabled" flag and presumably pointing the system to the new souvenir artwork. Even if the artwork department is too busy removing colour from icons, there's a massive community available that would be more than happy to help out (and would probably help prevent non-sensical artwork like the Alabama one ).

 

Sorry, I can't see a single constraint that should prevent souvenirs from being released for every cache-containing region.

 

Come on, Groundspeak. Here's your chance to finally finish a feature, and possibly involve the community at the same time. Please don't let souvenirs go the way of Wherigos, Challenges, corrected coordinates, etc. I'm really looking forward to getting souvenirs for Vatican City, Namibia, and Italy.

 

Here is a quote of text from Latyitude 47

 

Geocaching will release five souvenirs shortly after the 2 Millionth Active Geocaches is reached. We’ll release five Geocaching Souvenirs each work day until all previously unreleased souvenirs are available to geocachers. After all the souvenirs are released no more state or regional souvenirs are planned. Nearly a hundred souvenirs already exist! See a selection of the most popular Geocaching Souvenirs offered on Geocaching!

 

I'm sure I read somewhere on there that they don't have the recourses to continue to create or release them but I can't find it, if I do, I will post the link.

 

Here is the link for the above quote:

http://blog.geocaching.com/2013/02/new-geocaching-souvenirs-celebrating-2-million-active-geocaches/

[+cerberus1]

I thought I remembered reading somewhere that Groundspeak didn't want locals designing the souvenirs in case someone thought it cute to place a hidden message (or agenda) within it.

[+Cache on Wheels]

Quite saying no more are being designed

 

Below is a list of all of the released souvenirs. Images of each souvenir can be found at the end of the post. The souvenirs are a powerful way to remember your geocaching adventure, like postcards that never get lost. Geocaching has released all the souvenirs we’ve created. At this time no additional souvenirs are being designed.

 

http://blog.geocaching.com/2010/11/geocaching-com-souvenirs/

[+The A-Team]

I thought I remembered reading somewhere that Groundspeak didn't want locals designing the souvenirs in case someone thought it cute to place a hidden message (or agenda) within it.

Well, I'm sure there are plenty of non-locals that would be happy to help. For some of the "cache-poor" regions, they'd have to go with non-locals anyway. For example, I doubt anyone currently residing within the Vatican City State are cachers.

[+cerberus1]

I thought I remembered reading somewhere that Groundspeak didn't want locals designing the souvenirs in case someone thought it cute to place a hidden message (or agenda) within it.

Well, I'm sure there are plenty of non-locals that would be happy to help. For some of the "cache-poor" regions, they'd have to go with non-locals anyway. For example, I doubt anyone currently residing within the Vatican City State are cachers.

Found it...

From the (now locked) "Bring back..." thread:

 

"Many Koreans were upset when the Korean souvenir was previewed at GC2WT8Z that Groundspeak did not get a Korean to do the art. We were told by the reviewer that GS wants only in house artists because they don't want people hiding things in the art."

[+Cache on Wheels]

I thought I remembered reading somewhere that Groundspeak didn't want locals designing the souvenirs in case someone thought it cute to place a hidden message (or agenda) within it.

Well, I'm sure there are plenty of non-locals that would be happy to help. For some of the "cache-poor" regions, they'd have to go with non-locals anyway. For example, I doubt anyone currently residing within the Vatican City State are cachers.

Found it...

From the (now locked) "Bring back..." thread:

 

"Many Koreans were upset when the Korean souvenir was previewed at GC2WT8Z that Groundspeak did not get a Korean to do the art. We were told by the reviewer that GS wants only in house artists because they don't want people hiding things in the art."

 

I'm not techy by anyways but couldn't Groundspeak simply check them as they come in? Or simply 'lock' a design so nothing can pop up when you click on the image?

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I thought I remembered reading somewhere that Groundspeak didn't want locals designing the souvenirs in case someone thought it cute to place a hidden message (or agenda) within it.

Well, I'm sure there are plenty of non-locals that would be happy to help. For some of the "cache-poor" regions, they'd have to go with non-locals anyway. For example, I doubt anyone currently residing within the Vatican City State are cachers.

Found it...

From the (now locked) "Bring back..." thread:

 

"Many Koreans were upset when the Korean souvenir was previewed at GC2WT8Z that Groundspeak did not get a Korean to do the art. We were told by the reviewer that GS wants only in house artists because they don't want people hiding things in the art."

 

I'm not techy by anyways but couldn't Groundspeak simply check them as they come in? Or simply 'lock' a design so nothing can pop up when you click on the image?

 

There are several ways of hiding things in images (steganography). You'll find quite a few puzzle caches based on hiding data in images. There are many techniques to do it and some that are not so easy to detect. I doubt that a geocacher would submit souvenir artwork with extra embedded data but GS just wants to be extra careful about what they put up on their public web site.

 

On the other hand, GS allows us to upload images as part of our cache descriptions, in logs, in the forums etc. I wouldn't be surprised if GS already had a lot of images on their server with things hidden in them that were part of puzzle caches.

[Pup Patrol]

Last August I started a thread called "Bring Back country based souvenirs" which now has about 150 responses, overwhelmingly in favor of the idea. As many of you know, when the 2,000,000th active cache was identified, Groundspeak started releasing a couple of dozen country and region based souvenirs, mostly from artwork that has existed for at least a year. I'd like to think that GS listened to what it's users were asking for in that thread but it's hard to tell.

 

As GS was releasing the last of the new souvenirs, someone from GS said that they would not be releasing any other country souvenirs. I think that is a bad decision and that is why I've started this thread.

 

When one looks at countries which have the most geocaches (and presumably) geocachers, most of the top 30 countries now have souvenirs available. However, Belgium, Italy, Slovenia, and Mexico are in the top 30 (according to the last time I collected states a few weeks ago, Belgium ranked 18th in terms of the number of caches). Other notable countries which do not have souvenirs include Lithuania, Greece, Turkey, Brazil, Argentina, and China. No South America, Central American, or Caribbean country has a souvenir available. Although many of these countries do not have a *lot* of geocaches, they are frequently visited by geocachers (especially Caribbean islands visited by geocachers on cruise ships).

 

As it it, this looks like yet another feature that GS has started, but remains unfinished. I'm not suggesting that GS continues to release country based souvenirs at the rate they did last week (5-7 per day) but, if you agree (or if you don't) that GS should continue to release country/region based souvenirs, this is a thread where you can express your opinion.

 

Back on topic....

 

yes, I agree that Groundspeak should be fair and create/release souvenirs for any country/region where cachers hide and find caches listed on the Groundspeak site.

 

 

B.

[+Cache on Wheels]

I thought Groundspeak were releasing all previously created artwork souvenirs, yet there is an 'England' one of the White Cliffs of Dover, that was accidentally released to some cachers early, yet, we have not reviewed it and live and cache in England?

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I thought Groundspeak were releasing all previously created artwork souvenirs, yet there is an 'England' one of the White Cliffs of Dover, that was accidentally released to some cachers early, yet, we have not reviewed it and live and cache in England?

 

As I mentioned earlier England, Scotland, and Wales all had souvenir artwork created (I'd be curious to see if someone still had an England souvenir in their profile) but those countries are not selectable regions (if using the "search by country" option on the hide and seek a cache page). Every one country/region based souvenir has a unique "country" or "state" id, which I suspect is used in the database table of regions. I also suspect that each row in the regions table also includes an "isAvailable" column which indicates if that the region has a souvenir. The explanation that I got about the accidental release of some souvenirs just prior to when we hit the 2,000,000th cache was that the isAvailable flag was accidentally set but I don't see how someone could have obtained a souvenir for England if it doesn't haven a country id (actually, it might have one but it's just excluded from the select list).

 

As I also mentioned, souvenir artwork was also created for Ethiopia, but it was not released.

[+Wintz50]

Plus 1 for continuing country based souvenirs. Would really love to get a Brazil one since I didnt get one for the last ape cache.

[+Cache on Wheels]

I thought Groundspeak were releasing all previously created artwork souvenirs, yet there is an 'England' one of the White Cliffs of Dover, that was accidentally released to some cachers early, yet, we have not reviewed it and live and cache in England?

 

As I mentioned earlier England, Scotland, and Wales all had souvenir artwork created (I'd be curious to see if someone still had an England souvenir in their profile) but those countries are not selectable regions (if using the "search by country" option on the hide and seek a cache page). Every one country/region based souvenir has a unique "country" or "state" id, which I suspect is used in the database table of regions. I also suspect that each row in the regions table also includes an "isAvailable" column which indicates if that the region has a souvenir. The explanation that I got about the accidental release of some souvenirs just prior to when we hit the 2,000,000th cache was that the isAvailable flag was accidentally set but I don't see how someone could have obtained a souvenir for England if it doesn't haven a country id (actually, it might have one but it's just excluded from the select list).

 

As I also mentioned, souvenir artwork was also created for Ethiopia, but it was not released.

 

Some people on certain Geocaching network groups say they got the England one, they're not happy with the UK one - I am and I think it represents the UK as a whole.

 

Others argue that it is wrong that Ireland is a selectable area and has 5 souvenir!! Yet England, Scotland & Wales don't exist according to the search facility you mentioned.

 

For some people who are unable or not likely to travel abroad from the UK, the ones named above would be the only country based ones they would get.

 

Scotland has been its own country with its own parliament for som years now.

 

It's sad really in my eyes as its highlighting a divide and rule - what happened to the 'UNITED Kingdom'?

[+Cache on Wheels]

I have made comments about allowing the Geocaching community to be involved on the Lattitude 47 Groundspeak forums.

I can't copy and paste their reply in here as that would not be right bit I have asked if Eric could comment in this forum.

 

Some have put a link from the England Souvenir available on Flickr onto their profile page to - just as Groundspeak suggest you do in the text next to them all

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I have made comments about allowing the Geocaching community to be involved on the Lattitude 47 Groundspeak forums.

I can't copy and paste their reply in here as that would not be right bit I have asked if Eric could comment in this forum.

 

Some have put a link from the England Souvenir available on Flickr onto their profile page to - just as Groundspeak suggest you do in the text next to them all

 

Groundspeak provides a "Souvenirs" tab in our profiles which is used display souvenir thumbnails, with links to the full artwork, for souvenirs which we have earned. That page is not editable. Embedding the necessary HTML in our public profile page is a kludge. I suspect that the Flickr page which shows those souvenirs hasn't been updated in a long time, but if GS suggests that we add souvenirs to our profiles in this manner it would be nice if we could add them to the page for the souvenirs tab.

 

Actually this would be a nice, though separate, feature. A lot of people also like putting various awards such as those from badgegen.com onto their profiles and it would make sense to have a "Souvenirs and Awards" page that's editable for that purpose.

[+Cache on Wheels]

I agree NYP

Maybe Groundspeak should update Flickr so we can add the souvenir to our profile page as they suggest us do in the text next to the souvenirs on Flickr

 

Speaking off BadgeGen

If you would be happy to help me do this if you are knowledgable in how to use Badgegen could you please private message me as I know it's off topic for this thread?

I have tried several times but can not get it to work

 

Many thanks

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I agree NYP

Maybe Groundspeak should update Flickr so we can add the souvenir to our profile page as they suggest us do in the text next to the souvenirs on Flickr

 

Speaking off BadgeGen

If you would be happy to help me do this if you are knowledgable in how to use Badgegen could you please private message me as I know it's off topic for this thread?

I have tried several times but can not get it to work

 

Many thanks

 

I haven't forgotten about you. I've just been very busy with a couple of grant proposal and travel planning (looks like I'll almost certainly be going back to Ethiopia in May).

[+Cache on Wheels]

I agree NYP

Maybe Groundspeak should update Flickr so we can add the souvenir to our profile page as they suggest us do in the text next to the souvenirs on Flickr

 

Speaking off BadgeGen

If you would be happy to help me do this if you are knowledgable in how to use Badgegen could you please private message me as I know it's off topic for this thread?

I have tried several times but can not get it to work

 

Many thanks

 

I haven't forgotten about you. I've just been very busy with a couple of grant proposal and travel planning (looks like I'll almost certainly be going back to Ethiopia in May).

 

Check out my profile page now

I've managed it with a little - ok a LOT of help and patience from some friends

[+Cache on Wheels]

I've managed to get the souvenirs in grid form on my profile page with a lot of help from some friends, including the 'England' one that has been created but not released.

But it does say on Geocaching.com's Flickr page of souvenirs to add them to your profile page

So I have

[+MMGeoGeezer]

Having just returned from China, I must say I was disappointed to find there is no China souvenir.

 

Naturally, just finding the two we found (and searching for another, but limited by time) is reward enuff, and I can see it would be a waste of effort to create badges for every China state. But places like China (with fewer caches than Maui, if I recall), that are difficult to get to and a little intimidating to search really should at least have a country souvenir. Besides, there are now 40 more people aware of Geocaching than there were when we started out.

 

Just my two cents.

Edited March 30, 2013 by MMGeoGeezer

[+spyder woman]

How hard can it be to create virtual souvenirs? This is very odd, it seems to me, that GC didn't issue a souvenir for a country like Italy.

I worked very hard to find two of the only 6 caches in Myanmar. Sure would like a souvenir for my efforts.

How can we make the point to GC.com that souvenir creation shouldn't be abandoned?

Spyder Woman

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Having just returned from China, I must say I was disappointed to find there is no China souvenir.

 

Naturally, just finding the two we found (and searching for another, but limited by time) is reward enuff, and I can see it would be a waste of effort to create badges for every China state. But places like China (with fewer caches than Maui, if I recall), that are difficult to get to and a little intimidating to search really should at least have a country souvenir. Besides, there are now 40 more people aware of Geocaching than there were when we started out.

 

Just my two cents.

 

I also have a couple of finds on caches in China so, of course, would like to have a souvenir. Although it's somewhat expensive and requires a long flight if coming from the U.S. it's not that difficult to get to (there are direct flights from may places), especially if you look at this from the perspective of someone that is *not* from the U.S. If you *lived* in China, you'd have to go to Japan or South Korea to get a souvenir. There are a few countries which have more caches than China (and do not have a souvenir) but China is also somewhat of a tourist destination (Great Wall, Forbidden Palace, Yellow Mountains, ...).. To me, a tourist destination is an ideal candidate for a country souvenir.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

How hard can it be to create virtual souvenirs? This is very odd, it seems to me, that GC didn't issue a souvenir for a country like Italy.

I worked very hard to find two of the only 6 caches in Myanmar. Sure would like a souvenir for my efforts.

How can we make the point to GC.com that souvenir creation shouldn't be abandoned?

Spyder Woman

 

As I wrote in the first post in this thread Italy is one of those countries which has a lot of caches and is quite a tourist destination but didn't make the cut for a souvenir. Belgium has more caches than Italy and it didn't get one either. I've found caches in both countries so obviously would like to see souvenirs for them.

 

Even if GS *did* decide to continue releasing souvenirs, Myanmar is a country that probably wouldn't see one for awhile. I like the idea for souvenirs for a country like Myanmar though because it's a place that a lot of people don't visit, and thus would be much more rare and collectable than, for example, a souvenir for finding a cache in the United Kingdom. GS had a good opportunity to release a "rare" souvenir for Ethiopia since they've already created the artwork. Coincidentally, I'm going to be in Ethiopia in the beginning of May and also have an 11 hour layover in Turkey but won't get souvenirs for either place.

[+Mr. Wilson & a Mt. Goat]

What if the souvenirs were designed by community members?

If you want one for a certain country, design it.

Edited April 1, 2013 by Mr. Wilson & a Mt. Goat

[+NYPaddleCacher]

What if the souvenirs were designed by community members?

If you want one for a certain country, design it.

 

That's been suggested and there was an unconfirmed rumor that GS wouldn't allow it because someone could embed inappropriate or malicious information into the images. Even if they did allow the general community to create souvenirs they wouldn't be automatically awarded and appear on ones souvenir page unless they were officially released.

[Martymarquette]

I traveled to Mexico last week - enjoyed my vacation - however I was disappointed on not receiving a Mexican Souvenir on my profile page. I purposefully went searching so I would have a souvenir.

It is a small matter - but still to see the souvenir on my profile would encourage me to keep searching as I travel.

Please make souvenirs for countries that have caches ....

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I traveled to Mexico last week - enjoyed my vacation - however I was disappointed on not receiving a Mexican Souvenir on my profile page. I purposefully went searching so I would have a souvenir.

It is a small matter - but still to see the souvenir on my profile would encourage me to keep searching as I travel.

Please make souvenirs for countries that have caches ....

 

If GS *did* start releasing country based souvenirs again (and the purpose of this thread is to let them know that this is something that their users want) I think Mexico would be one of the top candidates for a country that deserves one. Mexico, along with Italy and Belgium are countries which have a large number of caches but do not have souvenirs. Mexico is also a country within closed proximity to the U.S. (which has the largest number of geocachers) and is a bonified tourist destination.

[+Mole60]

I would like to put in a word for a Singapore souvenir. There are several hundred caches on this small island city state and a very active and cohesive geocaching community. If Groundspeak is watching this thread and is receptive to suggestions on this topic, here's a vote for a Singapore souvenir. Also for many other Asian countries -- Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia.

[AyatollahJones]

I would like to think that for the yearly fee charged to premium members, there would be more consideration to consistently improving the site. This includes releasing souvenirs for all countries who have a significant number of caches and are frequented by cachers often. It cannot be emphasized enough that most cachers do enjoy seeing a visual representation of their achievements and journeys; otherwise we would not obsess over smilies, TBs and the like.

 

Come on Groundspeak. hook us up!!!

 

PS: I recently came back from a trip to Mexico and alas no souvenir. In the not too distant future I will be caching in Columbia and Belize. It would be good to see souvenir reflecting these trips.

Edited April 29, 2013 by AyatollahJones

[+RangerRicksClan]

I just returned from a 2.5 week in China, with a tour group no less, trying to get every cache I could break away to find which was next to impossible. I picked up 13 all over the country. I gave up my shopping and some touring time. Today I logged all my finds only to discover there are no more Country souvenirs? REally? I love those little guys! This is so sad to me.....sure I get credit, but I loved looking at the new pictures I was rewarded with. kind of takes some of the fun and incentive out of going to all the different regions if it is just a point stat added on...PLEASE bring them back?

[+explorer_olway]

I'd like to add my support to the call for more country based souvenirs. I've just returned from Italy where I cached and also got two caches in the Vatican City but found neither warranted a souvenir to appear in my profile.

 

It seems incredibly ad hoc for GS to not have artwork produced for each country that appears as a separate entity in the Statistics page of your profile - consistency ought to apply across the facility.

 

I have no specific view about who designs the artwork and would have no objection to GS designing all of them.

 

PLEASE can GS re-think their stance on this.

[+Happy Humphrey]

I've collected 21 souvenirs so far: no doubt a long way from any sort of record, but quite a nice thing to collect.

 

I'm a bit puzzled as to why Groundspeak are not issuing any more. I don't think I've spotted the post that explains their reasoning: is there another thread for that?

 

Surely if you have an idea like this and go to the trouble of implementing it, you'd want to see it through to completion: not finish part way? Although GS do certainly have a reputation for implementing new features and then abandoning development for no apparent reason.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Since I recently found caches in two countries for which a souvenir is not available (Ethiopia and Turkey) I thought I'd bump this thread. GS has actually created the souvenir artwork for Ethiopia so I suspect that only reason that they didn't release a souvenir for the country was because there would lots of people writing "If Ethiopia has a souvenir, why don't we have one for countries like Italy, Belgium, China, and Mexico." Personally, a think a souvenir for a country like Ethiopia would be more desired since it would be much more difficult to obtain.

[+ras_oscar]

Has anyone directly asked Groundspeak why they have no plans to release further country souveneirs? Everybody is guessing, and I'm going to add my own. I suspect the real reason is because GS doesn't want to become embroiled in the geopolitical bickering that happens in many parts of the world. What does it do with caches located in disputed regions? is Tibet released as a separate country, or included as part of China? Is Hong Kong included as a separate country or part of China? There are many parts of the world where boundaries are less than clear, and change often.

[+The A-Team]

I suspect the real reason is because GS doesn't want to become embroiled in the geopolitical bickering that happens in many parts of the world. What does it do with caches located in disputed regions? is Tibet released as a separate country, or included as part of China? Is Hong Kong included as a separate country or part of China? There are many parts of the world where boundaries are less than clear, and change often.

Groundspeak has already made decisions on those areas with their country list, which can be viewed on this page. Looking up some caches hidden in those areas, Tibet has been deemed to be part of China, and Hong Kong is a separate entity.

 

If they ever release any more souvenirs, all they would need to do is use their own country list.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I suspect the real reason is because GS doesn't want to become embroiled in the geopolitical bickering that happens in many parts of the world. What does it do with caches located in disputed regions? is Tibet released as a separate country, or included as part of China? Is Hong Kong included as a separate country or part of China? There are many parts of the world where boundaries are less than clear, and change often.

Groundspeak has already made decisions on those areas with their country list, which can be viewed on this page. Looking up some caches hidden in those areas, Tibet has been deemed to be part of China, and Hong Kong is a separate entity.

 

If they ever release any more souvenirs, all they would need to do is use their own country list.

 

And that list is based, with a couple of exceptions, on the U.N. geopolitical ontology so it' not like they're making up their own list of countries. Oh, an I've found a couple of caches in China (but not in Tibet) but don't have a souvenir to show for it.

 

 

[cezanne]

Has anyone directly asked Groundspeak why they have no plans to release further country souveneirs?

 

Have you in recent years experienced a situation where GS was willing to explain the reasons for their decisions?

 

Cezanne

[+ivanidea]

I have 2 souvenirs from a trip to Hamburg, Germany, yet only one for the whole of the UK!

 

You are expecting us to pay more for our membership, so please at least provide us with some extra souvenirs!!!