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Souvenirs AND badges?


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I also do not get the point of badges AT ALL. I placed the latest on my profile but will probably delete, along with the Duck Dash "badge." I appreciate the souvenirs but badges seem redundant, cluttering, and pointless.

 

Can you delete badges? I got the Haunted Hides souvenir because I still needed a cache for Oct 31 to complete the month for a find on each date, but I didn't take the extra steps to get the badge because I don't want it. If it would be placed at the end of my profile page like the Geoachievement Badges it would be okay, but I don't like the way it looks at the top of the page.

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I also do not get the point of badges AT ALL. I placed the latest on my profile but will probably delete, along with the Duck Dash "badge." I appreciate the souvenirs but badges seem redundant, cluttering, and pointless.

 

Can you delete badges? I got the Haunted Hides souvenir because I still needed a cache for Oct 31 to complete the month for a find on each date, but I didn't take the extra steps to get the badge because I don't want it. If it would be placed at the end of my profile page like the Geoachievement Badges it would be okay, but I don't like the way it looks at the top of the page.

 

Where it is on your profile, and if it is there at all depends on where/whether you insert the html code into your bio......

 

 

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I also do not get the point of badges AT ALL. I placed the latest on my profile but will probably delete, along with the Duck Dash "badge." I appreciate the souvenirs but badges seem redundant, cluttering, and pointless.

 

Can you delete badges? I got the Haunted Hides souvenir because I still needed a cache for Oct 31 to complete the month for a find on each date, but I didn't take the extra steps to get the badge because I don't want it. If it would be placed at the end of my profile page like the Geoachievement Badges it would be okay, but I don't like the way it looks at the top of the page.

 

Where it is on your profile, and if it is there at all depends on where/whether you insert the html code into your bio......

 

Oh, thanks. I'll still just not bother with it.

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I also do not get the point of badges AT ALL. I placed the latest on my profile but will probably delete, along with the Duck Dash "badge." I appreciate the souvenirs but badges seem redundant, cluttering, and pointless.

Kinda agree, though both seem popular elsewhere.

I do appreciate that the few souvenirs we're interested in aren't plastered all over the profile.

Maybe if they had a similar, separate spot, we'd be more interested in these badges. :)

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I hope I'm wrong, but part of me wonders whether these badges are being given a test run as a potential replacement for souvenirs. I know the technical side of souvenirs has caused headaches for Groundspeak (ie. performance issues, inability to automatically delete souvenir if the qualifying log is deleted, etc.), so maybe they're seeing if a more manual version labelled as "badges" would be accepted by the masses. Just a thought.

 

I'm sure if they did move away from souvenirs and made people manually add badges to their profile, we'd see lots of "why can't they automatically add the badges" posts in here. :blink:

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At various times I have experimented with ideas for a Juche Badge (self reliant caching without a gps); a Baeltane Badge for stopping at a brewery after caching; a Clarian Badge (being contacted by Aura Raines at a cache location); a Discordian Badge (for chasing a golden apple). So far, none of them have gotten beyond an idea or stayed long on my profile, but I would rather make my own than be awarded something. I would not want to see anything automatically added to my profile.

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I also do not get the point of badges AT ALL. I placed the latest on my profile but will probably delete, along with the Duck Dash "badge." I appreciate the souvenirs but badges seem redundant, cluttering, and pointless.

Kinda agree, though both seem popular elsewhere.

I do appreciate that the few souvenirs we're interested in aren't plastered all over the profile.

Maybe if they had a similar, separate spot, we'd be more interested in these badges. :)

 

I have suggested on a few occasions that GS should make the Souvenirs tab end-user editable (and change the name to souvenirs and awards). Currently only the Bio tab is editable, thus instead of just a personal bio, it gets used for badges, third party stats and everything else one wants to put on their profile. If the souvenirs and statistic tabs were editable then those aspects of ones profile could be kept separate

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I appreciate the souvenirs but badges seem redundant, cluttering, and pointless.

 

Can't one say the same about souvenirs?

It doesn't say anything about the 'merits' of a geocacher and creates a competition where there shouldn't be one.

 

:blink:

 

I don't see any more "competition" because of the souvenirs than any other part of geocaching.

 

I love the souvenirs, but I certainly don't feel any "competition" because of them. Who am I competing against?

 

If one doesn't like the badges, then one doesn't need to put them in their profile. Easy-peasy.

 

I wish GS would come up with a code for the souvenirs, so that the people who constantly complain about them could make the decision whether to receive one or not.

 

I also wish GS would allow the users to remove any souvenirs they don't want from their profile.

 

B.

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I see point and souvenir hunting as competition.

 

An opt out is indeed a good idea, but I want to see this option also available for COs. As multiple EC owner, I had a lot of trouble with souvenir hunters - not interested in ECs as such at all - in IEC day.

 

If one views souvenirs using the non-geocaching definition (a token of remembrance), then geocaching souvenirs are a collection of digital artwork that serves as tokens of remembrance for something related to geocaching. Although I acquired a few of the August promotional souvenirs (because I happened to find caches on the eligible days) I hide them in my public profile, but occasionally like to look at the country/region based souvenirs.

 

In the "real world", a souvenir is something one chooses to acquire while visiting some location or attending a significant event (significant, as defined by the one acquiring the souvenir). In the GS world, souvenirs are more like promotional awards *pushed* to ones profile whether or not the geocachers chooses to acquire it.

 

If someone chooses to collect souvenir silver spoons or shot glasses from gift shops at places they visit they're just building a personal collection and are *not* trying to compete with others with a personal collection.

 

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I see point and souvenir hunting as competition.

 

So, it's just your personal opinion. No facts or figures to back it up?

 

An opt out is indeed a good idea, but I want to see this option also available for COs. As multiple EC owner, I had a lot of trouble with souvenir hunters - not interested in ECs as such at all - in IEC day.

 

I see the IEC Day as a way to encourage people to seek out caches they wouldn't normally bother with. It's not a painful thing for you as CO, is it?

 

Why should you be in control of what souvenirs are available or earned?

 

If you are finding "fake" logs on your caches, you can delete them.

 

If it's just YOUR opinion that these folks are finding your caches just for the souvenir, why should you be allowed to deem their finds worthy or not?

 

I thought CO's placed caches to be found, not to be in absolute control over who or why they are found.

 

I think some folks take this stuff waaaay too seriously. We're not earning college degrees here. A souvenir is simply a few pixels on my profile, of interest only to me. Trying to put a death grip of control over something so innocuous is disturbing to me.

 

B.

Edited by Pup Patrol
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An opt out is indeed a good idea, but I want to see this option also available for COs. As multiple EC owner, I had a lot of trouble with souvenir hunters - not interested in ECs as such at all - in IEC day.
Yeah, that is not going to happen. Can you imagine the confusion, when some caches/events start behaving differently from others?

 

International EarthCache Day 2016 - Find an Earthcache, except for EarthCaches where the owner has opted out.

 

International Geocaching Day 2016 - Find a cache or log an event, except for caches/events where the owner has opted out.

 

Mission GC - Find a cache with 10+ Favorites Points, except for caches where the owner has opted out.

 

Mission GC - Find a multi-cache, except for multi-caches where the owner has opted out.

 

Mission GC - Find a mystery/puzzle cache, except for mystery/puzzle caches where the owner has opted out.

 

And so on. No thanks. There is already enough confusion without suggestions like this creating more.

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An opt out is indeed a good idea, but I want to see this option also available for COs. As multiple EC owner, I had a lot of trouble with souvenir hunters - not interested in ECs as such at all - in IEC day.
Yeah, that is not going to happen. Can you imagine the confusion, when some caches/events start behaving differently from others?

 

International EarthCache Day 2016 - Find an Earthcache, except for EarthCaches where the owner has opted out.

 

International Geocaching Day 2016 - Find a cache or log an event, except for caches/events where the owner has opted out.

 

Mission GC - Find a cache with 10+ Favorites Points, except for caches where the owner has opted out.

 

Mission GC - Find a multi-cache, except for multi-caches where the owner has opted out.

 

Mission GC - Find a mystery/puzzle cache, except for mystery/puzzle caches where the owner has opted out.

 

And so on. No thanks. There is already enough confusion without suggestions like this creating more.

 

Seriously, if a cache owner objects to Groundspeak's promotion activities to such a degree, they should really just look at listing elsewhere. I see Groundspeak's promotion of non-traditional caches to be an overall positive. It's nice to see a bit more traffic to caches that people are often reluctant to try without a bit of prompting.

 

Cache owners already have the ability to verify finds and delete inappropriate logs.

 

It would be absolutely ridiculous to exclude people from finding a cache because they aren't motivated by a reason that meets the cache owner's arbitrary preferences.

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The other listing argument is rather pointless since:

1. GS has a monopoly. Other listings are non significant/non existent in certain/most countries

2. ECs are only published on gc.com

 

As said in other threads, souvenirs are no promotional but a marketing tool (hook model) for GS in order to sell. The promo mails after a souvenir WE only confirm that.

I also said that EC don't need promotion and souvenirs generate unwanted traffic. Compare it to mass tourism where ECs can only cope ecotourism. But that thread is already is closed and thus no need to rake up that again.

Edited by searchjaunt
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An opt out is indeed a good idea, but I want to see this option also available for COs. As multiple EC owner, I had a lot of trouble with souvenir hunters - not interested in ECs as such at all - in IEC day.
Yeah, that is not going to happen. Can you imagine the confusion, when some caches/events start behaving differently from others?

 

International EarthCache Day 2016 - Find an Earthcache, except for EarthCaches where the owner has opted out.

 

International Geocaching Day 2016 - Find a cache or log an event, except for caches/events where the owner has opted out.

 

Mission GC - Find a cache with 10+ Favorites Points, except for caches where the owner has opted out.

 

Mission GC - Find a multi-cache, except for multi-caches where the owner has opted out.

 

Mission GC - Find a mystery/puzzle cache, except for mystery/puzzle caches where the owner has opted out.

 

And so on. No thanks. There is already enough confusion without suggestions like this creating more.

 

They could be easily labelled - GCXXXXX My Cache (Humbug CO) - then you wouldn't bother..... :)

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The other listing argument is rather pointless since:

1. GS has a monopoly. Other listings are non significant/non existent in certain/most countries

2. ECs are only published on gc.com

 

As said in other threads, souvenirs are no promotional but a marketing tool (hook model) for GS in order to sell. The promo mails after a souvenir WE only confirm that.

I also said that EC don't need promotion and souvenirs generate unwanted traffic. Compare it to mass tourism where ECs can only cope ecotourism. But that thread is already is closed and thus no need to rake up that again.

 

I think we're all adults who understand that Groundspeak generates income by selling memberships, and promoting excitement about geocaching and geocaches helps them do that. There are other sites, actually, and there is nothing stopping anybody from trying to create one that works on a not-for-profit model, or one that allows the creation of virtual-type caches that teach a general audience about earth sciences.

 

I'm pleased to see initiatives that create higher traffic at all non-traditional cache types, because so many geocachers seem to shy away from them most of the time. Encouraging a bit of extra traffic to non-traditional caches helps show geocachers other possibilities in the game and makes them better geocachers in the long run.

 

I think it's great when cache owners set the bar a little higher than average for geocaches, because the world will always have plenty of 1.5/1.5 traditionals, but that bar should be set by making caches genuinely challenging, not by deliberately making people feel like "unwanted traffic" because they're not in a particular demographic.

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I thought CO's placed caches to be found, not to be in absolute control over who or why they are found.

 

I think some folks take this stuff waaaay too seriously. We're not earning college degrees here. A souvenir is simply a few pixels on my profile, of interest only to me. Trying to put a death grip of control over something so innocuous is disturbing to me.

 

It's disturbing to me too but there have always been a handful of these cache owners around. I find that given enough time, they usually rage themselves to exhaustion and then quit the game in a huff when they realize they can't control the way people find their geocaches.

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I think we're all adults who understand that Groundspeak generates income by selling memberships, and promoting excitement about geocaching and geocaches helps them do that. There are other sites, actually, and there is nothing stopping anybody from trying to create one that works on a not-for-profit model, or one that allows the creation of virtual-type caches that teach a general audience about earth sciences.

 

Being adults does also mean that one doesn't need to swallow like a foie gras goose. Despite you apparently don't accept everything either in some cases, you seem to show little understanding to others.

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I see point and souvenir hunting as competition.

 

An opt out is indeed a good idea, but I want to see this option also available for COs. As multiple EC owner, I had a lot of trouble with souvenir hunters - not interested in ECs as such at all - in IEC day.

 

So long as they physically visit the sites and properly fulfill the qualifier, souvenir and challenge hunters don't bother me in the slightest.

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So long as they physically visit the sites and properly fulfill the qualifier, souvenir and challenge hunters don't bother me in the slightest.

 

Pluralistic ignorance - or even worse bystander apathy - are typical symptoms for herd behaviour. As I'm not willing to comply to this nor rectify my 'asocial' behaviour each time. Hence I consider this (and other threads concerning these kind of matters) as closed.

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Back on topic.....

 

While I'm not a fan of badges.... shrug.

 

I know badges in profiles are very popular in various parts of the world. The are used to showcase a whole array of things: cache series, events, awards, team members, etc. If Groundspeak wants to get on the fun, so be it. It isn't like you have to add the badges to your profile.

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Back on topic.....

 

While I'm not a fan of badges.... shrug.

 

I know badges in profiles are very popular in various parts of the world. The are used to showcase a whole array of things: cache series, events, awards, team members, etc. If Groundspeak wants to get on the fun, so be it. It isn't like you have to add the badges to your profile.

 

I like to add badges and things to my profile, but I do so with the expectation that the only person who cares about my profile at all is me.

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So long as they physically visit the sites and properly fulfill the qualifier, souvenir and challenge hunters don't bother me in the slightest.

 

Pluralistic ignorance - or even worse bystander apathy - are typical symptoms for herd behaviour. As I'm not willing to comply to this nor rectify my 'asocial' behaviour each time. Hence I consider this (and other threads concerning these kind of matters) as closed.

 

Ok, if you say so.

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Back on topic.....

 

While I'm not a fan of badges.... shrug.

 

I know badges in profiles are very popular in various parts of the world. The are used to showcase a whole array of things: cache series, events, awards, team members, etc. If Groundspeak wants to get on the fun, so be it. It isn't like you have to add the badges to your profile.

 

I like to add badges and things to my profile, but I do so with the expectation that the only person who cares about my profile at all is me.

I don't mind badges or souvenirs, my problem is that ones that I would care about don't exist. Completed Jasmer, D/T matrix, 365/366 calendar, 360 degree circle, and 500 mile well traveled cacher. Also, completed GeoTours.

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Back on topic.....

 

While I'm not a fan of badges.... shrug.

 

I know badges in profiles are very popular in various parts of the world. The are used to showcase a whole array of things: cache series, events, awards, team members, etc. If Groundspeak wants to get on the fun, so be it. It isn't like you have to add the badges to your profile.

 

I like to add badges and things to my profile, but I do so with the expectation that the only person who cares about my profile at all is me.

I don't mind badges or souvenirs, my problem is that ones that I would care about don't exist. Completed Jasmer, D/T matrix, 365/366 calendar, 360 degree circle, and 500 mile well traveled cacher. Also, completed GeoTours.

 

So create them yourself and paste them in there! Share them with others who have also achieved those things. That's what people used to do.

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Back to the original topic; Groundspeak has been awarding badges for a while now, in addition to Souvenirs. I think I'm correct that all Souvenirs have been based on logging found (or attended, etc) on a cache, or in some cases there has been a sort of bonus souvenir, e.g. The Achiever.

 

The badges I've seen have been for things other than finding caches, e.g.

- Have a TB in the duck race

- Post a photo of finding a cache with a new cacher (their first find)

- Solving a "puzzle" (not a puzzle cache), like the example in this thread.

 

I'm not sure if this distinction is because of a technical limitation (i.e. it isn't possible to "push" a souvenir out to someone, it needs to be triggered by an appropriate log), or a marketing driven one.

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