Mission GC Summer Souvenirs

[+Team Microdot]

Looks like I got a souvenir for finding "a cache with 10+ favorites" this weekend. Big deal as an "accomplishment", all 17 founds had 100+ favorites, that's why we do them. I've never gone out of my way to "earn" a souvenir, it seems they just come naturally.

 

I have a number of mystery caches on watch. The CO of one of them logged his own and then deleted the log - just for the souvenir

[Pup Patrol]

Looks like I got a souvenir for finding "a cache with 10+ favorites" this weekend. Big deal as an "accomplishment", all 17 founds had 100+ favorites, that's why we do them. I've never gone out of my way to "earn" a souvenir, it seems they just come naturally.

 

I had to do some searching to find a cache that would meet the criteria and that was close enough for us to get to. We don't have an abundance of nearby caches that met the criteria.

 

So, yes, if your finds on August 13-14, 2016 and August 27-28, 2016 meet the criteria for the souvenir, then you will receive those ones as well.

 

B.

[cezanne]

I had to do some searching to find a cache that would meet the criteria and that was close enough for us to get to. We don't have an abundance of nearby caches that met the criteria.

 

Your FP average is around 3 while on4bam's is around 20.

 

Finding a cache with >10 Fps is trivial in many areas of Europe, interesting in other areas of Europe and many parts of North America and almost undoable without very large effort in areas with almost no cachers and caches.

Such goals do not scale at all with the area, that's the problem.

[+Sherminator18]

Well, it looks like Groundspeak has released the details (okay, maybe not the details, but at least some details) about another summer Souvenir promotion:

 

Your Mission GC, Should You Choose To Accept It

 

Each Souvenir will be available for two days:

• The window for securing Souvenir #1 is July 30-31, 2016.
  
• The window for securing Souvenir #2 is August 13-14, 2016.
  
• The window for securing Souvenir #3 is August 27-28, 2016.
  

The details for each Souvenir's requirements will be released to everyone the morning it becomes available, or the week prior to premium members.

 

And as a premium member, Pond Bird is on the secret insider email list.

 

I figured out how to do the "Tips & Tricks" so yes, I am NOW getting the emails and subscribed to the blog. I don't know what other souvenirs are coming in August besides the 2 Mission ones and the International Geocaching Day one but I'm sure they'll tell us in a couple weeks.

 

There are no other souvenirs in August. These 3 Mission GC ones and the International Geocaching Day are it. Nothing else.

 

Where does it say there will be no other souvenirs in August 2016 besides the 3? If you're right, then the souvenirs after that will be in September, but I hope they tell us at least 15 days before.

 

This IS the summer souvenir promotion that they have been doing every year. This year's is the 3 Mission GC souvenirs and one on International Geocaching day, like always. That's it. That's the summer souvenirs. There is a CITO souvenir that you can earn during September.

[+Dame Deco]

The 31 Days of August was overboard--didn't do more than a third of them. 2014--good challenges, meh on the art. The Road Trip was kind of fun--got all those, and I liked the art for the souvenirs. This summer is very underwhelming, didn't even bother last weekend. So...I'd say the Road Trip was the sweet spot. Liked the challenges, the amount of time, and thought the souvenirs were decent looking. One year out of four...though I did all for 2 of the years--so perhaps the real sweet spot is having a handful that connect with a combined one at the end. Favorite art was definitely the retro, summery style of 2015.

Edited August 1, 2016 by Dame Deco

[+Pond Bird]

Well, it looks like Groundspeak has released the details (okay, maybe not the details, but at least some details) about another summer Souvenir promotion:

 

Your Mission GC, Should You Choose To Accept It

 

Each Souvenir will be available for two days:

• The window for securing Souvenir #1 is July 30-31, 2016.
  
• The window for securing Souvenir #2 is August 13-14, 2016.
  
• The window for securing Souvenir #3 is August 27-28, 2016.
  

The details for each Souvenir's requirements will be released to everyone the morning it becomes available, or the week prior to premium members.

 

And as a premium member, Pond Bird is on the secret insider email list.

 

I figured out how to do the "Tips & Tricks" so yes, I am NOW getting the emails and subscribed to the blog. I don't know what other souvenirs are coming in August besides the 2 Mission ones and the International Geocaching Day one but I'm sure they'll tell us in a couple weeks.

 

There are no other souvenirs in August. These 3 Mission GC ones and the International Geocaching Day are it. Nothing else.

 

Where does it say there will be no other souvenirs in August 2016 besides the 3? If you're right, then the souvenirs after that will be in September, but I hope they tell us at least 15 days before.

 

This IS the summer souvenir promotion that they have been doing every year. This year's is the 3 Mission GC souvenirs and one on International Geocaching day, like always. That's it. That's the summer souvenirs. There is a CITO souvenir that you can earn during September.

 

Well then they will announce the CITO one if there is going to be one. I can't wait to find out what's planned for October.

[+igator210]

 

Well then they will announce the CITO one if there is going to be one. I can't wait to find out what's planned for October.

 

August has the Mission GC #2 and #3 souvenirs.

 

They announced the September CITO souvenir back in March, I think

 

October will probably have an International Earthcache Day announcement, but that probably will be the only promotion, based upon history.

 

You are free to attend any of the Megas. Those usually have special souvenirs.

[+Mateshi]

I love the Souvenirs, and I always try to get them if I can.

But this time, I'm feeling fooled by Groundspeak for being a premium member.

 

I got the "super special " email and I solved the puzzle (in the middle of the night, cause I couldn't sleep.)

I know it said that it will be available for all members on July 30th.

But I didn't expect them to publish the solution of the puzzle right away.

What did I solve it for? I mean seriously, there are enough caches with 10+ favorite points to find one within two days.

They try to make the premium members feel special, but the fakt is,getting these emails isn't an advantage. Not really.

 

It's totally ok for me if anyone gets the information they need to earn the souvenir, don't get me wrong.

But I'm kinda pissed because Groundspeak tricked me into thinking my premium membership would give me an advantage. The fakt is, I had to solve a puzzle and pay money, while the others were given the information without doing anything for it except waiting a few days.

Although I love Mysteries, it feels not fair to me. 😔

[+narcissa]

I love the Souvenirs, and I always try to get them if I can.

But this time, I'm feeling fooled by Groundspeak for being a premium member.

 

I got the "super special " email and I solved the puzzle (in the middle of the night, cause I couldn't sleep.)

I know it said that it will be available for all members on July 30th.

But I didn't expect them to publish the solution of the puzzle right away.

What did I solve it for? I mean seriously, there are enough caches with 10+ favorite points to find one within two days.

They try to make the premium members feel special, but the fakt is,getting these emails isn't an advantage. Not really.

 

It's totally ok for me if anyone gets the information they need to earn the souvenir, don't get me wrong.

But I'm kinda pissed because Groundspeak tricked me into thinking my premium membership would give me an advantage. The fakt is, I had to solve a puzzle and pay money, while the others were given the information without doing anything for it except waiting a few days.

Although I love Mysteries, it feels not fair to me. 😔

 

Yeah, kind of left a bad taste in my mouth too. I think they have good intentions but fell short on execution.

[+J Grouchy]

It'll probably make you feel worse to know that not only am I am premium member and I did not solve it, I didn't even know I would get a souvenir for the cache I found this past Saturday. So I didn't do the work, didn't know the prize...but still got it almost completely by accident.

[+Team Taran]

I think one of the problems is lots of people don't really read things. They skim them and remember what they think it said. I know this happens to me often. This time it didn't. I solved the puzzle for fun but fully expected if I didn't I could go to the home page or the blog and find the information to get the souvenir. I also did not expect to receive another email since the email listed where the information would be found on Saturday morning. I enjoyed having time to plan what cache I was going to look for although bad weather and a family crisis meant I needed to change my plans at the last minute. Of the Summer promotions, I think my favorite so far was last year's road trip. Nice variety and time to plan.

[+Ambrosia]

It looks to me that the gc emails do not mention that the info would be available to everyone the day of, until three days after the encoded message was sent out.

 

However, the blog had a post that told that information a full 10 days before the encoded message went out. And there was an email on that day from Groundspeak that had a link to the blog post.

 

So the info wasn't put in plain text in a regular email, but the info was there if you clicked on a link.

[+cerberus1]

It's totally ok for me if anyone gets the information they need to earn the souvenir, don't get me wrong.

But I'm kinda pissed because Groundspeak tricked me into thinking my premium membership would give me an advantage. The fakt is, I had to solve a puzzle and pay money, while the others were given the information without doing anything for it except waiting a few days.

Although I love Mysteries, it feels not fair to me.

Did you purchase the PM for this Summer Souvenirs event?

If so, yeah, I can see someone upset.

Spend the bucks and really didn't get anything out of it, other than pqs, notifications, filters, bookmarks,...

 

I wasn't a pm during this "puzzle", and solved it by reading what the PMs who couldn't get over themselves were saying in the blog.

[+hzoi]

My point is only that, if the goal is to obtain the souvenir, it is much easier for those living in a cache dense area. If caching in some areas is boring the souvenir isn't going to change that.

You can make this argument for every single aspect of geocaching. It's easier to do anything involving geocaching when there are caches around the corner than if there aren't any within easy distance.

 

I love the Souvenirs, and I always try to get them if I can.

But this time, I'm feeling fooled by Groundspeak for being a premium member.

 

I got the "super special " email and I solved the puzzle (in the middle of the night, cause I couldn't sleep.)

I know it said that it will be available for all members on July 30th.

But I didn't expect them to publish the solution of the puzzle right away.

What did I solve it for? I mean seriously, there are enough caches with 10+ favorite points to find one within two days.

They try to make the premium members feel special, but the fakt is,getting these emails isn't an advantage. Not really.

 

It's totally ok for me if anyone gets the information they need to earn the souvenir, don't get me wrong.

But I'm kinda pissed because Groundspeak tricked me into thinking my premium membership would give me an advantage. The fakt is, I had to solve a puzzle and pay money, while the others were given the information without doing anything for it except waiting a few days.

Although I love Mysteries, it feels not fair to me. 😔

 

I somehow doubt that you purchased a premium membership just to get the edge on this year's summer souvenir program. But if this was the one thing that kept you going, perhaps basic membership is the option for you. Only you can be the judge of that.

 

As for that you got out of the email, you got a week or so to plan ahead if you wanted a souvenir. See page 1 for the people who complained about short notice and about not having enough qualifying caches around. (Or search the forums for similar complaints from the last two August souvenir programs.)

 

Each year Groundspeak has tried a different angle on August souvenirs. This year's is puzzles to PMs as part of a secret agent theme. If you don't like it, be part of the solution and make a suggestion to Groundspeak on what you'd like to see next year.

[Pup Patrol]

I love the Souvenirs, and I always try to get them if I can.

But this time, I'm feeling fooled by Groundspeak for being a premium member.

 

I got the "super special " email and I solved the puzzle (in the middle of the night, cause I couldn't sleep.)

I know it said that it will be available for all members on July 30th.

But I didn't expect them to publish the solution of the puzzle right away.

What did I solve it for? I mean seriously, there are enough caches with 10+ favorite points to find one within two days.

They try to make the premium members feel special, but the fakt is,getting these emails isn't an advantage. Not really.

 

It's totally ok for me if anyone gets the information they need to earn the souvenir, don't get me wrong.

But I'm kinda pissed because Groundspeak tricked me into thinking my premium membership would give me an advantage. The fakt is, I had to solve a puzzle and pay money, while the others were given the information without doing anything for it except waiting a few days.

Although I love Mysteries, it feels not fair to me.

 

As we've said, some of us just didn't have a great number of caches that met the criteria. If I had been able to only know the mission on the morning of the release, I would have been scrambling like crazy. It must be nice to have tons of caches that met the criteria, but not all of us have that luxury.

 

It took me a bit of time just to decode the message. I kept doing the wrong thing over and over again.

 

I think PM's got a good advantage over Basic Members. I'm not sure I agree with giving PM's that advantage for souvenirs. I think it would have been just fine for all members to have been able to participate in the full mission, including the decoding of the message.

 

https://www.geocaching.com/blog/2016/07/your-mission-gc-should-you-choose-to-accept-it/

 

Premium members will receive an email including the encoded message one week prior to each souvenir release. Decoding the message will unlock instructions for securing the next souvenir. The first encoded message will be sent to Premium members on July 22, 2016.

 

Instructions for unlocking the souvenirs will be made available to members of all security levels on the morning of each souvenir release.

 

 

B.

Edited August 2, 2016 by Pup Patrol

[+on4bam]

 

As we've said, some of us just didn't have a great number of caches that met the criteria. If I had been able to only know the mission on the morning of the release, I would have been scrambling like crazy. It must be nice to have tons of caches that met the criteria, but not all of us have that luxury.

 

I've got 47 unfound caches with 10+ favorites in a 10Km radius but the 17 we found were 90Km+ from home and had 112-334 favorites (that's why we chose them). Still have to go back to the area for a series by the same CO having 80-555 favorites but the distance is close to our "one day cachingdistance" limit.

 

It took me a bit of time just to decode the message. I kept doing the wrong thing over and over again.

 

As I never read the blogs and don't subscribe to any e-mails I'm just curious, what was the message to decode?

[+NYPaddleCacher]

My point is only that, if the goal is to obtain the souvenir, it is much easier for those living in a cache dense area. If caching in some areas is boring the souvenir isn't going to change that.

You can make this argument for every single aspect of geocaching. It's easier to do anything involving geocaching when there are caches around the corner than if there aren't any within easy distance.

 

Of course, that is true, yet quite frequently there are posts from people that seem to be posting only from the perspective of living in a cache rich environment and seem to assume that everyone else has that luxury.

 

 

 

[+on4bam]

Of course, that is true, yet quite frequently there are posts from people that seem to be posting only from the perspective of living in a cache rich environment and seem to assume that everyone else has that luxury.

 

And yet, even in a cacherich environment it's getting more and more difficult to find the cachetypes we prefer (longer multi's, can be done by bicycle, not "brainless") No shortage of 0-favorite traditionals though

[+hzoi]

My point is only that, if the goal is to obtain the souvenir, it is much easier for those living in a cache dense area. If caching in some areas is boring the souvenir isn't going to change that.

You can make this argument for every single aspect of geocaching. It's easier to do anything involving geocaching when there are caches around the corner than if there aren't any within easy distance.

 

Of course, that is true, yet quite frequently there are posts from people that seem to be posting only from the perspective of living in a cache rich environment and seem to assume that everyone else has that luxury.

 

I've seen it as well. I am fortunate that the Army always moves me before I run out of caches to find, but I try to remember that when I'm posting.

[+Ambrosia]

I wasn't going to go out of my way to get the souvenir. I like souvenir's, but when the 30 days of August thingy started, I told myself I wouldn't ever make myself work too hard over a souvenir.

 

So, I only had three caches that were reasonable for me to find that had 10+ favorites. The reason I hadn't found them yet was because they're gadget caches and I am terrible with those. So my MIL and I went to one close to my house that we had "dnf'd" before (only because we couldn't get into it), and spent a goodly amount of time working on getting to the log. It turned out to be a fun excuse to rectify a dnf, and we were quite jubilant when we had the log in our hand.

 

I was quite pleased that it worked out that the mission encouraged me to go back (we eventually would have, anyway), and we felt the cache was complicated enough to deserve the mission. Hey, in larger cache areas, you could find skirt lifters with 10+ favorites.

[+cerberus1]

I was quite pleased that it worked out that the mission encouraged me to go back (we eventually would have, anyway), and we felt the cache was complicated enough to deserve the mission. Hey, in larger cache areas, you could find skirt lifters with 10+ favorites.

Not many I do have a large amount of FPs (but then many don't do them), so looking around at what others find fun was an eye-opener for me.

 

One of the few close enough with 10+ turned out to be a location where I questioned why anyone would stop there to favorite it, much less more-than-ten.

In an area that gives FPs for ftf, friends of the CO, breaking guidelines, or just out having fun with others that day, it kinda fit I guess.

I just shook my head and headed for home.

[cezanne]

Of course, that is true, yet quite frequently there are posts from people that seem to be posting only from the perspective of living in a cache rich environment and seem to assume that everyone else has that luxury.

 

I do not think that such a post has taken place in this thread. It is one thing to recognize that finding a cache with 10+ FPs could be quite a task in many areas of the world and another to state that there are areas where such a goal is incredibly boring as so many caches (including so many weak caches) have 10+ FPs.

 

It would not make any sense to award a souvenir for everyone that requires a 100 FP cache. However the issue with such goals which are the same for everyone is that they will be interesting only for a subgroup of cachers.

[+The A-Team]

Well then they will announce the CITO one if there is going to be one. I can't wait to find out what's planned for October.

I thought souvenirs were pretty thoroughly explained to you in that other discussion, but apparently not.

 

Souvenirs aren't scheduled to be released like you think they are. They don't release X souvenirs every month. They only release souvenirs for specific things and dates. If a particular month has no notable dates (e.g. International Geocaching Day, International EarthCache Day, leap day, etc.) and there's no promotion going on, there may not be any souvenirs released in that month other than for attending some Mega events. In that other discussion, you were pointed to a number of resources where you can find out about already-announced and even unannounced upcoming souvenirs. I suggest you go back and consult those resources, because they will tell you that the CITO souvenir was announced early this year. If none of the resources mention anything about any souvenirs for a particular month, assume that there won't be any until you hear otherwise.

[+The A-Team]

Of course, that is true, yet quite frequently there are posts from people that seem to be posting only from the perspective of living in a cache rich environment and seem to assume that everyone else has that luxury.

I do not think that such a post has taken place in this thread.

There have been two posts from one user. It should be a D1 puzzle to figure out which ones.

[+ODragon]

The reason I hadn't found them yet was because they're gadget caches and I am terrible with those. So my MIL and I went to one close to my house that we had "dnf'd" before (only because we couldn't get into it), and spent a goodly amount of time working on getting to the log.

A good flat and phillips head screw driver will be the tool of the trade when you are having trouble with them.

 

[cezanne]

I do not think that such a post has taken place in this thread.

There have been two posts from one user. It should be a D1 puzzle to figure out which ones.

 

If you mean on4bam's posts I do not agree. I rather say that there is a cultural difference involved both when it comes to formulating things and when it comes to the geocaching scene.

[+Wet Pancake Touring Club]

Of course, that is true, yet quite frequently there are posts from people that seem to be posting only from the perspective of living in a cache rich environment and seem to assume that everyone else has that luxury.

 

I do not think that such a post has taken place in this thread. It is one thing to recognize that finding a cache with 10+ FPs could be quite a task in many areas of the world and another to state that there are areas where such a goal is incredibly boring as so many caches (including so many weak caches) have 10+ FPs.

 

It would not make any sense to award a souvenir for everyone that requires a 100 FP cache. However the issue with such goals which are the same for everyone is that they will be interesting only for a subgroup of cachers.

I got lucky, and located a FP 10+ that was fun. First, it was a short (.2 mile each way) hike in a wooded area. It was a Thanksgiving themed cache. The container was a foam rubber decoy turkey (chained to a tree), with the log and goodies inside it, in a large plastic jar.

 

I am thankful for the advance notice. I would not have gone after this souvenir if I hadn't been able to plan ahead.

[+Ambrosia]

I was quite pleased that it worked out that the mission encouraged me to go back (we eventually would have, anyway), and we felt the cache was complicated enough to deserve the mission. Hey, in larger cache areas, you could find skirt lifters with 10+ favorites.

Not many I do have a large amount of FPs (but then many don't do them), so looking around at what others find fun was an eye-opener for me.

 

One of the few close enough with 10+ turned out to be a location where I questioned why anyone would stop there to favorite it, much less more-than-ten.

In an area that gives FPs for ftf, friends of the CO, breaking guidelines, or just out having fun with others that day, it kinda fit I guess.

I just shook my head and headed for home.

 

Oh, no! So bizarre.

[+on4bam]

Of course, that is true, yet quite frequently there are posts from people that seem to be posting only from the perspective of living in a cache rich environment and seem to assume that everyone else has that luxury.

 

Just to be claer, I don't assume anything. Just stating what a 10+ FP means in our neck of the woods (not a lot ).

As for the 17 we did, all handcrafted caches with fieldpuzzles + a bonuscache totally in the theme of the series (gnomes)in an ex-construction trailer. Well worth the 300+ FP in 2 months time.

[+Mudfrog]

I love the Souvenirs, and I always try to get them if I can.

But this time, I'm feeling fooled by Groundspeak for being a premium member.

 

I got the "super special " email and I solved the puzzle (in the middle of the night, cause I couldn't sleep.)

I know it said that it will be available for all members on July 30th.

But I didn't expect them to publish the solution of the puzzle right away.

What did I solve it for? I mean seriously, there are enough caches with 10+ favorite points to find one within two days.

They try to make the premium members feel special, but the fakt is,getting these emails isn't an advantage. Not really.

 

It's totally ok for me if anyone gets the information they need to earn the souvenir, don't get me wrong.

But I'm kinda pissed because Groundspeak tricked me into thinking my premium membership would give me an advantage. The fakt is, I had to solve a puzzle and pay money, while the others were given the information without doing anything for it except waiting a few days.

Although I love Mysteries, it feels not fair to me.

 

Yeah, kind of left a bad taste in my mouth too. I think they have good intentions but fell short on execution.

 

This is one of the reasons souvenirs don't interest me. While they're all put out to help with revenue, some are put out in ways that, imo, kinda trick people. I wonder how many people signed up for premium mainly to have the advantage.

 

The main reason i don't care is that everyone who wants them, gets them. Nothing really special to do, nothing out of the ordinary, pretty much every day caching. I might be more interested in them if getting them required at least a teensy bit of effort on my part.

Edited August 2, 2016 by Mudfrog

[+on4bam]

The main reason i don't care is that everyone who wants them, gets them. Nothing really special to do, nothing out of the ordinary, pretty much every day caching. I might be more interested in them if getting them required at least a teensy bit of effort on my part.

 

Not going to happen. Just see how challenges are "dumbed down". Should be attainable by enough people, not to much effort to see if you qualify...

[+Mudfrog]

The main reason i don't care is that everyone who wants them, gets them. Nothing really special to do, nothing out of the ordinary, pretty much every day caching. I might be more interested in them if getting them required at least a teensy bit of effort on my part.

 

Not going to happen. Just see how challenges are "dumbed down". Should be attainable by enough people, not to much effort to see if you qualify...

 

Of course, i know this. This is the reason i'm no longer interested in placing challenge caches.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Of course, that is true, yet quite frequently there are posts from people that seem to be posting only from the perspective of living in a cache rich environment and seem to assume that everyone else has that luxury.

 

Just to be claer, I don't assume anything.

 

And to be clear, I wasn't point fingers at anyone specific or any specific posts in this thread.

 

 

Just stating what a 10+ FP means in our neck of the woods (not a lot ).

As for the 17 we did, all handcrafted caches with fieldpuzzles + a bonuscache totally in the theme of the series (gnomes)in an ex-construction trailer. Well worth the 300+ FP in 2 months time.

 

To put that into perspective, there is only one cache within 100 miles of here with more that 300 FPs: It's GC39 (The Spot), the 4th oldest active cache in the world and *only* has 736 favorite points (and it's deserving even if it wasn't the 4th oldest active cache in the world). The second highest number of FPs on a cache within 100 miles of here has 134. There are 23 caches within 100 miles of Brussels, Belgium with more FP's than "The Spot". From what I've seen, in many countries in Europe, caches with more than 1000 FPs are not that uncommon. There are only 13 caches in the U.S. with more than 1000.

[+MartyBartfast]

The main reason i don't care is that everyone who wants them, gets them. Nothing really special to do, nothing out of the ordinary, pretty much every day caching. I might be more interested in them if getting them required at least a teensy bit of effort on my part.

 

Not going to happen. Just see how challenges are "dumbed down". Should be attainable by enough people, not to much effort to see if you qualify...

 

But souvenirs should be easy to get, they're just a momento of having been somewhere or participated in something. Just as in the real world when you visit the Eifel Tower it's really easy to get a souvenir of the visit - just hand over a couple of Euros, and come away with a fridge magnet.

 

Challenges are a different matter.

[cezanne]

To put that into perspective, there is only one cache within 100 miles of here with more that 300 FPs: It's GC39 (The Spot), the 4th oldest active cache in the world and *only* has 736 favorite points (and it's deserving even if it wasn't the 4th oldest active cache in the world). The second highest number of FPs on a cache within 100 miles of here has 134. There are 23 caches within 100 miles of Brussels, Belgium with more FP's than "The Spot". From what I've seen, in many countries in Europe, caches with more than 1000 FPs are not that uncommon. There are only 13 caches in the U.S. with more than 1000.

 

That's well known but clearly demonstrates that providing a souvenir for finding a cache with 10+ FP is a very lame thing in some parts of the world. It just does not scale at all to the region you are caching in. The same holds true for the attempts to make people find caches of other types than traditionals.

 

Do not get me wrong. I'm not saying that they should not offer the souvenirs they offer. I just think that it is very easy to understand that they are not all exciting for many cachers.

[+Ambrosia]

The reason I hadn't found them yet was because they're gadget caches and I am terrible with those. So my MIL and I went to one close to my house that we had "dnf'd" before (only because we couldn't get into it), and spent a goodly amount of time working on getting to the log.

A good flat and phillips head screw driver will be the tool of the trade when you are having trouble with them.

 

 

Exactly what I said!

 

The cache is a tall pvc pipe with slots up the side, and you have to use popsicle sticks to pop a ball with the cache in it up the tube. Takes a lot of coordination and time. I told 'Tudles that we could just unscrew the pipe and upend it. Would have taken a lot less time.

 

 

[SicilianCyclops]

The main reason i don't care is that everyone who wants them, gets them. Nothing really special to do, nothing out of the ordinary, pretty much every day caching. I might be more interested in them if getting them required at least a teensy bit of effort on my part.

 

Not going to happen. Just see how challenges are "dumbed down". Should be attainable by enough people, not to much effort to see if you qualify...

 

But souvenirs should be easy to get, they're just a momento of having been somewhere or participated in something. Just as in the real world when you visit the Eifel Tower it's really easy to get a souvenir of the visit - just hand over a couple of Euros, and come away with a fridge magnet.

 

Challenges are a different matter.

 

Exactly. By the very definition, a souvenir is something that's easily attainable so you remember a place or a time. Go anywhere touristy and there are gift shops teeming with souvenirs. They're trinkets, and should be treated as such. Getting wildly specific in terms of acquiring one is lame.

[cezanne]

Exactly. By the very definition, a souvenir is something that's easily attainable so you remember a place or a time. Go anywhere touristy and there are gift shops teeming with souvenirs. They're trinkets, and should be treated as such. Getting wildly specific in terms of acquiring one is lame.

 

Note however that Groundspeak uses souvenirs in a different manner when it comes to souvenirs which are not linked to countries or something like international Geocaching day. There is nothing special and many cachers get the Summer souvenirs without even noticing them - that's different than buying a souvenir intentionally.

Moreover each tourist decides for him/herself whether a place is special enough for him/her to warrant getting a souvenir. I do not buy a souvenir if I visit a place I visit routinely.

 

Souvenirs like the 10+ FPs souvenirs in many parts of Europe feel like buying souvenirs for yourself in your home town at a place you visit each week.

 

GS promotes the Summer souvenirs as a fun action and to meet that target it is not very helpful if the souvenir requirements are all too trivial for many cachers.

Edited August 3, 2016 by cezanne

[+Mudfrog]

The main reason i don't care is that everyone who wants them, gets them. Nothing really special to do, nothing out of the ordinary, pretty much every day caching. I might be more interested in them if getting them required at least a teensy bit of effort on my part.

 

Not going to happen. Just see how challenges are "dumbed down". Should be attainable by enough people, not to much effort to see if you qualify...

 

But souvenirs should be easy to get, they're just a momento of having been somewhere or participated in something. Just as in the real world when you visit the Eifel Tower it's really easy to get a souvenir of the visit - just hand over a couple of Euros, and come away with a fridge magnet.

 

Challenges are a different matter.

 

Yea, i figure a lot of people see it that way. Using your vacation example, the majority in the world who have a desire to go to Paris, won't ever make it. If they do get to make it, then it's a once in a lifetime experience and a souvenir to commemorate their trip is worthwhile to them. Getting to Paris is the challenge. Getting the souvenir is easy once you're there.

 

The other thing, a person can look at a souvenir they picked up in Paris years later and it'll probably bring back fond memories of the trip. I doubt many virtual geocaching souvenirs deliver any fond memories because people mainly want as many as they can get to display in their stats.

[+redsox_mark]

I guess I'm a child at heart, or easy to please. I see these and all souvenirs as a bit of fun. Yes it was easy for me to find a cache with > 10 FPs. But I still found it fun to go find one. To keep with the spirit, rather than find the closest with 10, I went a little further and found one with > 50 (and > 75% Favorites).

 

If I had been unable to do it; it wouldn't kill me.. but I enjoyed doing it.

 

I understand that for someone living in a country with only 5 caches in total (for example) this might be hard, though anything would be hard. And for others, it might be even easier than it was for me.

[+hzoi]

I wonder how many people signed up for premium mainly to have the advantage.

 

I challenge anyone to show me one. A quick check shows that Mateshi was finding PMO caches well before the souvenirs were announced, so whatever "trickery" they assign to this, it would appear that the 2016 souvenir program didn't affect his/her/their membership choices.

 

I guess I'm a child at heart, or easy to please. I see these and all souvenirs as a bit of fun. Yes it was easy for me to find a cache with > 10 FPs. But I still found it fun to go find one. To keep with the spirit, rather than find the closest with 10, I went a little further and found one with > 50 (and > 75% Favorites).

 

If I had been unable to do it; it wouldn't kill me.. but I enjoyed doing it.

 

I understand that for someone living in a country with only 5 caches in total (for example) this might be hard, though anything would be hard. And for others, it might be even easier than it was for me.

 

How dare you have a balanced, reasoned response? This is the geocaching forums we're talking about here! WHERE IS THE OUTRAGE?!?!

[cezanne]

I guess I'm a child at heart, or easy to please. I see these and all souvenirs as a bit of fun.

 

There is a difference between if something is just easy or fully trivial. If someone uses to find a cache with >10 FPs almost all weekends they go out for caching, the task reduces to something which certainly will not create any sort of fun in its own right. No planning needed, no special cache selection etc

There are areas where >10FPs does mean nothing about the cache.

 

Yes it was easy for me to find a cache with > 10 FPs. But I still found it fun to go find one. To keep with the spirit, rather than find the closest with 10, I went a little further and found one with > 50 (and > 75% Favorites).

 

While of course anyone can do that it would be far more interesting if the system did something like that: for example one gets a souvenir for having found a cache with say at least twice or three times the average number of FPs one has collected so far over all finds and the souvenir even could show a multiplicator for those who manage to achieve higher levels. (There could be other factors that get taken into consideration to have a more sophisticated formula/system).

 

Not that I'm personally interested into this stuff (FPs are very misleading often when it comes to my own preferences). I do think however that tasks that are a little bit individualized are far more interesting and that's even more the case now as they have restricted challenge caches that much.

Edited August 3, 2016 by cezanne

[+Pond Bird]

The reason I hadn't found them yet was because they're gadget caches and I am terrible with those. So my MIL and I went to one close to my house that we had "dnf'd" before (only because we couldn't get into it), and spent a goodly amount of time working on getting to the log.

A good flat and phillips head screw driver will be the tool of the trade when you are having trouble with them.

 

 

Exactly what I said!

 

The cache is a tall pvc pipe with slots up the side, and you have to use popsicle sticks to pop a ball with the cache in it up the tube. Takes a lot of coordination and time. I told 'Tudles that we could just unscrew the pipe and upend it. Would have taken a lot less time.

 

 

 

Interesting idea, to use the Frog Character seen at Mega Events on top of a pipe, - found one where you had to put water in a pipe to get the cache to come up, but I guess if my fingers were longer I could've pulled it out anyways.

[+Ambrosia]

The reason I hadn't found them yet was because they're gadget caches and I am terrible with those. So my MIL and I went to one close to my house that we had "dnf'd" before (only because we couldn't get into it), and spent a goodly amount of time working on getting to the log.

A good flat and phillips head screw driver will be the tool of the trade when you are having trouble with them.

 

 

Exactly what I said!

 

The cache is a tall pvc pipe with slots up the side, and you have to use popsicle sticks to pop a ball with the cache in it up the tube. Takes a lot of coordination and time. I told 'Tudles that we could just unscrew the pipe and upend it. Would have taken a lot less time.

 

 

 

Interesting idea, to use the Frog Character seen at Mega Events on top of a pipe, - found one where you had to put water in a pipe to get the cache to come up, but I guess if my fingers were longer I could've pulled it out anyways.

 

Ah, the Signal's mine. I own several of them. I brought him to take a picture of the official geocaching mission. Maybe I should rename him Ethan Hunt.

[+Pond Bird]

The reason I hadn't found them yet was because they're gadget caches and I am terrible with those. So my MIL and I went to one close to my house that we had "dnf'd" before (only because we couldn't get into it), and spent a goodly amount of time working on getting to the log.

A good flat and phillips head screw driver will be the tool of the trade when you are having trouble with them.

 

 

Exactly what I said!

 

The cache is a tall pvc pipe with slots up the side, and you have to use popsicle sticks to pop a ball with the cache in it up the tube. Takes a lot of coordination and time. I told 'Tudles that we could just unscrew the pipe and upend it. Would have taken a lot less time.

 

 

 

Interesting idea, to use the Frog Character seen at Mega Events on top of a pipe, - found one where you had to put water in a pipe to get the cache to come up, but I guess if my fingers were longer I could've pulled it out anyways.

 

Ah, the Signal's mine. I own several of them. I brought him to take a picture of the official geocaching mission. Maybe I should rename him Ethan Hunt.

 

I heard he was named Signal, but I forgot so I said "Frog Character". Some Mega Event groups are now asking for their own mascot and asking event go-ers to nominate a name and animal for them to be attending those events may give you a souvenir I understand that now.

[+Mudfrog]

I guess I'm a child at heart, or easy to please. I see these and all souvenirs as a bit of fun. Yes it was easy for me to find a cache with > 10 FPs. But I still found it fun to go find one. To keep with the spirit, rather than find the closest with 10, I went a little further and found one with > 50 (and > 75% Favorites).

 

If I had been unable to do it; it wouldn't kill me.. but I enjoyed doing it.

 

I understand that for someone living in a country with only 5 caches in total (for example) this might be hard, though anything would be hard. And for others, it might be even easier than it was for me.

 

Nice reply!

 

Not a thing wrong with souvenirs as they simply add more fun to the hobby for many. You do hear about a few people doing questionable things to get them but overall, it's not any worse than the questionable things we've been seeing all along. I may not be into them but that certainly doesn't mean nobody else should be. Now that i'm thinking about it, i'm not sure why i even posted my opinion about them here. Will have to go back and see what it was that got me going.

[+Aix sponsa]

Not so easy for some of us. The closest one to me is 50+ miles away. That is over one hundred miles just to find a cache for that souvenir. With those kinds of distances to drive you hope you can find the cache.

[+Sherminator18]

The reason I hadn't found them yet was because they're gadget caches and I am terrible with those. So my MIL and I went to one close to my house that we had "dnf'd" before (only because we couldn't get into it), and spent a goodly amount of time working on getting to the log.

A good flat and phillips head screw driver will be the tool of the trade when you are having trouble with them.

 

 

Exactly what I said!

 

The cache is a tall pvc pipe with slots up the side, and you have to use popsicle sticks to pop a ball with the cache in it up the tube. Takes a lot of coordination and time. I told 'Tudles that we could just unscrew the pipe and upend it. Would have taken a lot less time.

 

 

 

Interesting idea, to use the Frog Character seen at Mega Events on top of a pipe, - found one where you had to put water in a pipe to get the cache to come up, but I guess if my fingers were longer I could've pulled it out anyways.

 

Ah, the Signal's mine. I own several of them. I brought him to take a picture of the official geocaching mission. Maybe I should rename him Ethan Hunt.

 

I heard he was named Signal, but I forgot so I said "Frog Character". Some Mega Event groups are now asking for their own mascot and asking event go-ers to nominate a name and animal for them to be attending those events may give you a souvenir I understand that now.

You always get a souvenir for attending a Mega event.

[+The A-Team]

I heard he was named Signal, but I forgot so I said "Frog Character". Some Mega Event groups are now asking for their own mascot and asking event go-ers to nominate a name and animal for them to be attending those events may give you a souvenir I understand that now.

You always get a souvenir for attending a Mega event.

Not always. In the earlier days of souvenirs, only some of the Mega events had souvenirs. Also, events that get upgraded to Mega status after they occur or just before they occur generally don't have a souvenir. Otherwise, if an event has Mega status at least a month or two in advance, it's pretty much guaranteed to have a souvenir.

 

As for mascots at Mega events, those are completely unrelated to souvenirs.

[+CachingCubmaster]

Lovely...this week's is a maze