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2017 Souvenirs


Pond Bird

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...I wish there really was one for the first of next month since it falls nicely on a Saturday.

It might not be a good idea to mix April Fools' Day and souvenirs again. I seem to recall that it was a big mess last year when they had people bogus-logging temporary caches from all over the world and then had to clean up a mess of undesired souvenirs afterwards.

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Yup. Last newsletter went out on February 22nd, blog post was published on February 24th. I'm sure the Dönerstag souvenir will be announced in an upcoming newsletter.

Yup. I just received this week's newsletter and the Dönerstag souvenir is front and center in the email. Very helpful to those who don't check the blog page regularly!

 

Just received mine today March 1.

 

One thing to please keep in mind... when any company sends out a mass email, not everyone receives the email at the same time. There are numerous reasons this happens, and Internet Service Providers are notorious for throttling email if they think it is spam.

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...I wish there really was one for the first of next month since it falls nicely on a Saturday.

It might not be a good idea to mix April Fools' Day and souvenirs again. I seem to recall that it was a big mess last year when they had people bogus-logging temporary caches from all over the world and then had to clean up a mess of undesired souvenirs afterwards.

 

I thought that was a real hoot. I think the links still work. That was pretty funny for a one-off, I just wish Groundspeak would do something like that with perhaps a 1 day revival of Reverse Caches. That kind of silliness is something I think we could use. Maybe next year, follow it up with a great regional geocoin event tie in.

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Sooo...there's going to be a new souvenir this month or no..? :anibad:

A bit on the late side, I suspect. They've given us at least six weeks notice on most of the upcoming ones, though I wish there really was one for the first of next month since it falls nicely on a Saturday.

You need six weeks minimum to plan to get a souvenir from geocaching?

Depending on the requirements of the souvenir, yes.

 

Let's say someone wants to host an event in order to allow local cachers to get the souvenir. It may take time to identify and book a venue, organize activities, acquire prizes, etc., and the listing has to be submitted no later than 2 weeks before the date.

 

Let's say the souvenir requires the finding of a specific type of cache, like a Letterbox Hybrid. If there aren't any caches nearby or they've already found all the local ones, it may take time to plan the necessary travel to a location where one of these caches is available.

 

Let's say the souvenir requires attending an event. If the event will occur while a cacher is scheduled to be working, they may need to provide sufficient notice to their employer that they want the time off.

 

In short, there are many reasons why cachers may need time to prepare for a souvenir.

 

Exactly. Once people knew about the Outdoors Day souvenir, it was only days away so nobody could submit an event that shortly. Thats one reason why its important to know about souvenirs ahead of time.

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Sooo...there's going to be a new souvenir this month or no..? :anibad:

A bit on the late side, I suspect. They've given us at least six weeks notice on most of the upcoming ones, though I wish there really was one for the first of next month since it falls nicely on a Saturday.

You need six weeks minimum to plan to get a souvenir from geocaching?

Depending on the requirements of the souvenir, yes.

 

Let's say someone wants to host an event in order to allow local cachers to get the souvenir. It may take time to identify and book a venue, organize activities, acquire prizes, etc., and the listing has to be submitted no later than 2 weeks before the date.

 

Let's say the souvenir requires the finding of a specific type of cache, like a Letterbox Hybrid. If there aren't any caches nearby or they've already found all the local ones, it may take time to plan the necessary travel to a location where one of these caches is available.

 

Let's say the souvenir requires attending an event. If the event will occur while a cacher is scheduled to be working, they may need to provide sufficient notice to their employer that they want the time off.

 

In short, there are many reasons why cachers may need time to prepare for a souvenir.

 

Exactly. Once people knew about the Outdoors Day souvenir, it was only days away so nobody could submit an event that shortly. Thats one reason why its important to know about souvenirs ahead of time.

 

They did announce the Outdoors Day souvenir a few weeks ahead of time. But originally it was US only. They eventually switched it to include everyone. And you didn't have to attend an event for that souvenir. You just had to find any cache of any type. Not very hard to plan

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Just got an email that says if you find a geocache on April 22 or 23 you get the "3 million caches" souvenir. Sounds pretty interesting.

Yup. And if you're attending a CITO that weekend, you'll get two souvenirs for one. Such a deal!

 

Planning on attending a CITO event Sunday. So if I haven't found a cache on Saturday, I should get two souvenirs on Sunday!

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Just got an email that says if you find a geocache on April 22 or 23 you get the "3 million caches" souvenir. Sounds pretty interesting.

Yup. And if you're attending a CITO that weekend, you'll get two souvenirs for one. Such a deal!

 

I am attending a CITO in Syracuse that weekend and plan to do some geocaching that day anyways

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can anyone inform me as to where to find souvenirs on the new worthless iPhone app? and yes I did a cache and logged it on 04/22/17 and didn't get the 3 million souvenir or if i did get it I have no idea where to find it on the new worthless app.

 

how do we get the classic app back? much easier to work and play with!!!

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can anyone inform me as to where to find souvenirs on the new worthless iPhone app? and yes I did a cache and logged it on 04/22/17 and didn't get the 3 million souvenir or if i did get it I have no idea where to find it on the new worthless app.

 

how do we get the classic app back? much easier to work and play with!!!

You can't currently see your souvenir with the official Geocaching app. You would have to check the website. Souvenirs tab on your profile

Edited by Sherminator18
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can anyone inform me as to where to find souvenirs on the new worthless iPhone app? and yes I did a cache and logged it on 04/22/17 and didn't get the 3 million souvenir or if i did get it I have no idea where to find it on the new worthless app.

 

how do we get the classic app back? much easier to work and play with!!!

The Classic app is gone, and it's not coming back.

 

You can see your Souvenirs page here: https://www.geocaching.com/my/souvenirs.aspx

On that page, which you can access via your phone's web browser, you will see your "Celebrating 3 million active geocaches" souvenir right after your California souvenir.

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can anyone inform me as to where to find souvenirs on the new worthless iPhone app? and yes I did a cache and logged it on 04/22/17 and didn't get the 3 million souvenir or if i did get it I have no idea where to find it on the new worthless app.

 

how do we get the classic app back? much easier to work and play with!!!

 

When you log a find on your phone, using the app, that will earn you a souvenir, it will immediately pop up a page congratulating you on your new souvenir. I found and logged a cache on Saturday to get the souvenir, and made sure to watch for my new souvenir congratulations to appear right after submitting the find. :)

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can anyone inform me as to where to find souvenirs on the new worthless iPhone app? and yes I did a cache and logged it on 04/22/17 and didn't get the 3 million souvenir or if i did get it I have no idea where to find it on the new worthless app.

 

how do we get the classic app back? much easier to work and play with!!!

 

When you log a find on your phone, using the app, that will earn you a souvenir, it will immediately pop up a page congratulating you on your new souvenir. I found and logged a cache on Saturday to get the souvenir, and made sure to watch for my new souvenir congratulations to appear right after submitting the find. :)

Yes, that does happen. But there isn't a way to go back in the app and view your souvenir after you X out of this message.

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can anyone inform me as to where to find souvenirs on the new worthless iPhone app? and yes I did a cache and logged it on 04/22/17 and didn't get the 3 million souvenir or if i did get it I have no idea where to find it on the new worthless app.

 

how do we get the classic app back? much easier to work and play with!!!

 

When you log a find on your phone, using the app, that will earn you a souvenir, it will immediately pop up a page congratulating you on your new souvenir. I found and logged a cache on Saturday to get the souvenir, and made sure to watch for my new souvenir congratulations to appear right after submitting the find. :)

Yes, that does happen. But there isn't a way to go back in the app and view your souvenir after you X out of this message.

 

Yup! Just pointing out for future reference, that one can briefly see the earned souvenir right after logging the find.

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I'm wondering what souvenirs are coming out for May so excited! I checked the-a team website but still nothing besides Mega and Giga events and the CITO week in September. I need 10 more souvenirs to go and I can go look for the challenge cache! I've got the a team site bookmarked! Also, I usually log caches on the computer and even after I do I can see all the souvenirs I got in my souvenirs tab on my profile.

Edited by Pond Bird
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I'm wondering what souvenirs are coming out for May so excited! I checked the-a team website but still nothing besides Mega and Giga events and the CITO week in September. I need 10 more souvenirs to go and I can go look for the challenge cache! I've got the a team site bookmarked! Also, I usually log caches on the computer and even after I do I can see all the souvenirs I got in my souvenirs tab on my profile.

This has been mentioned in this thread before, so I'm not sure why I'm saying it again. But why not...

 

Pond Bird, there is no guarantee that there will be a souvenir every month. They may not be any new souvenirs in May, or June, or July, etc.

 

A-Team doesn't get any special information about souvenirs. He learns about souvenirs the same way the rest of us do, via the blog and/or newsletter. If you keep up with the notices distributed by Groundspeak, then you will find about souvenirs about the same time as A-Team.

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I'm wondering what souvenirs are coming out for May so excited! I checked the-a team website but still nothing besides Mega and Giga events and the CITO week in September. I need 10 more souvenirs to go and I can go look for the challenge cache! I've got the a team site bookmarked! Also, I usually log caches on the computer and even after I do I can see all the souvenirs I got in my souvenirs tab on my profile.

 

You've answered your own question. Currently, the only souvenirs that are coming out in May are for 5 different Megas.

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When you log a find on your phone, using the app, that will earn you a souvenir, it will immediately pop up a page congratulating you on your new souvenir. I found and logged a cache on Saturday to get the souvenir, and made sure to watch for my new souvenir congratulations to appear right after submitting the find. :)

While that's usually the way things happen, it isn't always the way.

 

We found 10 caches on 22 April, logged all of them on 23 April, and never saw the "congratulations" page appear on our computer. I checked our souvenir page today, and the 3,000,000th one is there, but it indicates it was acquired on 24 April.

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I'm wondering what souvenirs are coming out for May so excited! I checked the-a team website but still nothing besides Mega and Giga events and the CITO week in September. I need 10 more souvenirs to go and I can go look for the challenge cache! I've got the a team site bookmarked! Also, I usually log caches on the computer and even after I do I can see all the souvenirs I got in my souvenirs tab on my profile.

Go attend a mega in a new state and you'll get two souvenirs for one. Drive to the mega and you can pick up more new states on the way.

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Apparently there are two souvenirs for the 3 million active geocaches milestone? I have the "Celebrating 3 million active geocaches" souvenir acquired on 4/22 for finding a cache over the weekend; but I also now have a separate "3 million active geocaches: Thank you!" souvenir as well, that I apparently acquired yesterday (4/24). Weirdly, when I click on that 4/24 souvenir, I get a 500 - Server Error response.

 

EDIT: Further investigation suggests the second souvenir is for *owning* a cache.

Edited by Voltgloss
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Apparently there are two souvenirs for the 3 million active geocaches milestone? I have the "Celebrating 3 million active geocaches" souvenir acquired on 4/22 for finding a cache over the weekend; but I also now have a separate "3 million active geocaches: Thank you!" souvenir as well, that I apparently acquired yesterday (4/24). Weirdly, when I click on that 4/24 souvenir, I get a 500 - Server Error response.

 

Unannounced souvenir? I didn't get a cache yesterday and still "earned" the souvenir. Project-GC even shows it in the stats.

Edited by igator210
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Apparently there are two souvenirs for the 3 million active geocaches milestone? I have the "Celebrating 3 million active geocaches" souvenir acquired on 4/22 for finding a cache over the weekend; but I also now have a separate "3 million active geocaches: Thank you!" souvenir as well, that I apparently acquired yesterday (4/24). Weirdly, when I click on that 4/24 souvenir, I get a 500 - Server Error response.

 

EDIT: Further investigation suggests the second souvenir is for *owning* a cache.

 

Interesting.

 

I also get a 500 server error when I try to check out the "thank you" souvenir.

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Apparently there are two souvenirs for the 3 million active geocaches milestone? I have the "Celebrating 3 million active geocaches" souvenir acquired on 4/22 for finding a cache over the weekend; but I also now have a separate "3 million active geocaches: Thank you!" souvenir as well, that I apparently acquired yesterday (4/24). Weirdly, when I click on that 4/24 souvenir, I get a 500 - Server Error response.

 

EDIT: Further investigation suggests the second souvenir is for *owning* a cache.

 

Interesting.

 

I also get a 500 server error when I try to check out the "thank you" souvenir.

I do as well. Not sure what that's about.

 

In other news. You can get the Big Blue Switch souvenir for finding any cache or attending an event on May 2nd.

 

Celebrate the evolution of geocaching with the Big Blue Switch souvenir!

Edited by Sherminator18
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Apparently there are two souvenirs for the 3 million active geocaches milestone? I have the "Celebrating 3 million active geocaches" souvenir acquired on 4/22 for finding a cache over the weekend; but I also now have a separate "3 million active geocaches: Thank you!" souvenir as well, that I apparently acquired yesterday (4/24). Weirdly, when I click on that 4/24 souvenir, I get a 500 - Server Error response.

 

EDIT: Further investigation suggests the second souvenir is for *owning* a cache.

 

Interesting.

 

I also get a 500 server error when I try to check out the "thank you" souvenir.

 

Just went through my friends list. Some have the "thank you" souvenir, some don't. Weird.

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Apparently there are two souvenirs for the 3 million active geocaches milestone? I have the "Celebrating 3 million active geocaches" souvenir acquired on 4/22 for finding a cache over the weekend; but I also now have a separate "3 million active geocaches: Thank you!" souvenir as well, that I apparently acquired yesterday (4/24). Weirdly, when I click on that 4/24 souvenir, I get a 500 - Server Error response.

 

EDIT: Further investigation suggests the second souvenir is for *owning* a cache.

 

Interesting.

 

I also get a 500 server error when I try to check out the "thank you" souvenir.

 

Just went through my friends list. Some have the "thank you" souvenir, some don't. Weird.

The surprise awarding of it and the 500 error when trying to access it indicate to me that it's a mistake.

 

Even if it was going to be awarded to COs, one question that I would have of such a plan: what about accounts that formerly owned a cache, but don't currently? Do they have enough data to award the souvenir to those accounts that have adopted out all of their caches? Those accounts contributed just as much as current COs and would deserve the souvenir.

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Apparently there are two souvenirs for the 3 million active geocaches milestone? I have the "Celebrating 3 million active geocaches" souvenir acquired on 4/22 for finding a cache over the weekend; but I also now have a separate "3 million active geocaches: Thank you!" souvenir as well, that I apparently acquired yesterday (4/24). Weirdly, when I click on that 4/24 souvenir, I get a 500 - Server Error response.

 

EDIT: Further investigation suggests the second souvenir is for *owning* a cache.

 

Interesting.

 

I also get a 500 server error when I try to check out the "thank you" souvenir.

 

Just went through my friends list. Some have the "thank you" souvenir, some don't. Weird.

The surprise awarding of it and the 500 error when trying to access it indicate to me that it's a mistake.

 

Even if it was going to be awarded to COs, one question that I would have of such a plan: what about accounts that formerly owned a cache, but don't currently? Do they have enough data to award the souvenir to those accounts that have adopted out all of their caches? Those accounts contributed just as much as current COs and would deserve the souvenir.

Curiouser and curiouser.

 

The "thank you" souvenir appeared in my profile on April 24, 2017. I have several active hides.

 

I have three friends who have only one hide, and their hides were all archived as of April 24th. None of them have the souvenir. Another who has been inactive since 2013 and has over 40 archived hides, none active; no "thank you" souvenir.

 

All of those in my friends list who have active caches appear to have the souvenir, including one who did not go caching Saturday and did not earn the other 3 million caches souvenir.

 

I don't know anyone off the top of my head who has adopted out all of their hides, so I wouldn't know anyone's profile to check.

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When you log a find on your phone, using the app, that will earn you a souvenir, it will immediately pop up a page congratulating you on your new souvenir. I found and logged a cache on Saturday to get the souvenir, and made sure to watch for my new souvenir congratulations to appear right after submitting the find. :)

While that's usually the way things happen, it isn't always the way.

 

We found 10 caches on 22 April, logged all of them on 23 April, and never saw the "congratulations" page appear on our computer. I checked our souvenir page today, and the 3,000,000th one is there, but it indicates it was acquired on 24 April.

 

Interesting. I've never had that happen before.

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I was curious after reading the rest of the thread about the "Thank you" 3 million souvenir. I have it, and when I clicked on it, I could see the page. I don't get a 500 error.

 

Here's what the souvenir page says:

 

3 million active geocaches: Thank you!

 

Additional Information:

On April 17, 2017, Geocaching.com hit 3 million active geocache listings. This milestone was achieved thanks to a group effort of epic proportions. You were a big part of that effort.

 

Owning a geocache is more than hiding a container. It’s discovering a great location, making the perfect container, writing a clever description, and caring for the cache through thick and thin.

 

Thank you for being a cache owner!

 

 

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Curiouser and curiouser.

 

The "thank you" souvenir appeared in my profile on April 24, 2017. I have several active hides.

 

I have three friends who have only one hide, and their hides were all archived as of April 24th. None of them have the souvenir. Another who has been inactive since 2013 and has over 40 archived hides, none active; no "thank you" souvenir.

 

All of those in my friends list who have active caches appear to have the souvenir, including one who did not go caching Saturday and did not earn the other 3 million caches souvenir.

 

I don't know anyone off the top of my head who has adopted out all of their hides, so I wouldn't know anyone's profile to check.

It sounds to me like Groundspeak was originally thinking of awarding a souvenir for hiding caches and helping to contribute to the 3,000,000, but ran into enough problems that they abandoned it. Yet somehow, it later got partially pushed to production by mistake. The lack of any announcements/marketing of such a souvenir seems to corroborate this.

 

Either that or this is all intentional and only owners of active caches as of April 24, 2017 are considered to have helped contribute. Those whose caches are now all archived/adopted didn't contribute in any way, no matter how much they may think they did. :ph34r:

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I was curious after reading the rest of the thread about the "Thank you" 3 million souvenir. I have it, and when I clicked on it, I could see the page. I don't get a 500 error.

 

I was getting the 500 error about 2 hours ago, I now see the page you linked above, so looks like TPTB fixed a broken link.

Edited by MartyBartfast
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Yikes, so this was all intentional and those whose hides aren't active get shafted?

 

#sad #thanksfornothing

 

It looks like I have some detective work to do in order to describe the criteria for earning this souvenir. For now, it sounds like "Own a non-archived cache as of April 24, 2017".

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Yikes, so this was all intentional and those whose hides aren't active get shafted?

 

#sad #thanksfornothing

 

It looks like I have some detective work to do in order to describe the criteria for earning this souvenir. For now, it sounds like "Own a non-archived cache as of April 24, 2017".

That's the way it looks like to me...

You have one too, so kinda curious what you're "sad" about. :)

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Okay, I checked the other 2/3rds profile (made up for her ton of coins before the "collectible" option). :D

She had two caches on it, both archived since '08 after the local "caches on the AT" issue.

She does not have a "3 million active geocaches: Thank you!" souvenir on hers.

 

- If that answers anything... :)

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Yikes, so this was all intentional and those whose hides aren't active get shafted?

 

#sad #thanksfornothing

 

It looks like I have some detective work to do in order to describe the criteria for earning this souvenir. For now, it sounds like "Own a non-archived cache as of April 24, 2017".

 

To me, it feels like souvenirs have become rewards or promotional tools rather than anything resembling the traditional definition of a souvenir.

 

Outside the context of geocaching a souvenir is, by definition, a token of remembrance. Typically, one chooses to acquire a souvenir as a way to remember going to someplace or attend some event. Many GS souvenirs aren't something that we choose to acquire, but are slapped onto our profiles whether we want them or not.

 

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Yikes, so this was all intentional and those whose hides aren't active get shafted?

 

Well, the "3 Million Active Cache" global achievement was about ... wait for it ... active caches. Inactive caches didn't contribute to the achievement. I wouldn't call that being "shafted".

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I'm wondering what souvenirs are coming out for May so excited! I checked the-a team website but still nothing besides Mega and Giga events and the CITO week in September. I need 10 more souvenirs to go and I can go look for the challenge cache! I've got the a team site bookmarked! Also, I usually log caches on the computer and even after I do I can see all the souvenirs I got in my souvenirs tab on my profile.

 

I assume you've already received the weekly newsletter from GS, and now know about the souvenir for May 2nd:

 

Celebrate the evolution of geocaching with the Big Blue Switch souvenir!

 

On May 2nd, we’re celebrating the 17th anniversary of the birth of geocaching with a Big Blue Switch souvenir! Find any geocache or attend any event on Tuesday, May 2, 2017 and you'll earn a new digital souvenir for your geocaching profile!

 

B.

Edited by Pup Patrol
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It sounds to me like Groundspeak was originally thinking of awarding a souvenir for hiding caches and helping to contribute to the 3,000,000, but ran into enough problems that they abandoned it. Yet somehow, it later got partially pushed to production by mistake. The lack of any announcements/marketing of such a souvenir seems to corroborate this.

Maybe they were concerned that announcing a souvenir for 'hiding' a cache would result in a flood of new caches, which could have several ill effects: overloaded Reviewers, angry CO's if the swamped reviewers didn't approve their soon enough for them to get the souvenir, 'low quality' caches placed simply so the CO could get a souvenir and that end up getting abandoned shortly afterward.

 

 

Well, the "3 Million Active Cache" global achievement was about ... wait for it ... active caches. Inactive caches didn't contribute to the achievement. I wouldn't call that being "shafted".

Interesting point. Yes - the 3MM mark was 'active' caches, including disabled caches. Archived caches were not part of the 3MM, so I can see how those caches were not considered. I can also see how there could be a feeling of being shafted though.

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Many GS souvenirs aren't something that we choose to acquire, but are slapped onto our profiles whether we want them or not.

 

You do have the option of hiding those souvenirs from your profile ... after the fact, of course.

 

I know, and I already do that, but that's not the point.

 

When unsolicited commercial email (UCE) started to become rampant in the early 1980s we were told if we didn't want it we could just delete the email from our inbox. I think it's pretty evident how that strategy worked out

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When unsolicited commercial email (UCE) started to become rampant in the early 1980s we were told if we didn't want it we could just delete the email from our inbox. I think it's pretty evident how that strategy worked out

Pretty well, actually. I hardly ever get spam anymore, and when I do, it's already in my spam filter. The only ones that tend to escape it are from companies I've done business with in the past that have decided to start a newsletter years after my last contact with them -- and once I unsubscribe I never hear from them again.

 

But I don't think that's what you had in mind.

 

Anyway, back on topic, my "Thank You" souvenir is loading fine, and I had an email waiting for me this morning telling me I had it for having an active cache, so, huzzah. As far as those with archived caches, well, the milestone wasn't for total caches hidden, but active caches, so they missed out. Those who adopted their caches out weren't barred from hiding new ones, either, so the lack of a little digital stamp on a tab in their profile is not going to keep me up at night.

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I'm wondering what souvenirs are coming out for May so excited! I checked the-a team website but still nothing besides Mega and Giga events and the CITO week in September. I need 10 more souvenirs to go and I can go look for the challenge cache! I've got the a team site bookmarked! Also, I usually log caches on the computer and even after I do I can see all the souvenirs I got in my souvenirs tab on my profile.

 

I assume you've already received the weekly newsletter from GS, and now know about the souvenir for May 2nd:

 

Celebrate the evolution of geocaching with the Big Blue Switch souvenir!

 

On May 2nd, we’re celebrating the 17th anniversary of the birth of geocaching with a Big Blue Switch souvenir! Find any geocache or attend any event on Tuesday, May 2, 2017 and you'll earn a new digital souvenir for your geocaching profile!

 

B.

 

I had actually not seen this email about the blue switch souvenir until today and also got an email about the additional 3 million caches souvenir given to current Cache owners.

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