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BLUE SWITCH Souvenir


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BLUE SWITCH Souvenir - its a bit like finding a cache on the 29th Feb but you had other things to do,  a couple of days later you  found a cache and signed the log to claim the find and badge

In many parts of the world geocaching has not stopped,

You should have to wait till next year, 

I think there should be a Opt in our not option, any one who claims a find not on the day it seems worthless,

surely it the same as new years eve or new years day Souvenir

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1 hour ago, Clongo_Rongo said:

BLUE SWITCH Souvenir - its a bit like finding a cache on the 29th Feb but you had other things to do,  a couple of days later you  found a cache and signed the log to claim the find and badge

In many parts of the world geocaching has not stopped,

You should have to wait till next year, 

I think there should be a Opt in our not option, any one who claims a find not on the day it seems worthless,

surely it the same as new years eve or new years day Souvenir

Dude, I do not understand what you are saying. 

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13 minutes ago, TmdAndGG said:

Well guess, what it is! I still don't really understand what @Clongo_Rongo is saying...:lostsignal:

They would have to avoid finding a cache from May 2 to December 31 in order to not get the Blue Switch Day souvenir. An alternative would be to opt out of the souvenir. 

 

I think the point is that normally if you don't find a cache on BSD, you can continue caching as usual the next day. If you missed the BSD souvenir you can try again next year.  But now you have  8 months to earn it instead of one day.

Edited by Max and 99
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16 hours ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

I think the gist of it is that creating a "souvenir" just for finding a cache one day in six months is rather silly and the option not to participate should be a choice we can make.    

Indeed let us take the sou-vee with an asterisk  if we failed to bag a cache on "The Big Day" ... I know sounds a little "baseball-ish" >>>>> you young kids probably have no frame of reference.

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19 hours ago, Clongo_Rongo said:

BLUE SWITCH Souvenir - its a bit like finding a cache on the 29th Feb but you had other things to do,  a couple of days later you  found a cache and signed the log to claim the find and badge

In many parts of the world geocaching has not stopped,

You should have to wait till next year, 

 

I think there should be a Opt in our not option, any one who claims a find not on the day it seems worthless,

surely it the same as new years eve or new years day Souvenir

 

Some folks are worried a bit by this virus, and even if it's open (we are ...), may not take the chance for some time.

 - Looking at what's happening with the people who lost all common sense at beaches recently, it kinda supports their thinking. .. 

The site's nice enough to extend that souvenir to include most when they're comfortable to play again.  :)

 

I agree, and have asked for an "opt in/out" ever since the "31 days of geocaching" in 2013.

The other 2/3rds likes her souvenirs,  and doesn't want them "watered down" with souvis she didn't go for.

Since we can't "ignore" souvenirs by "hiding" them, I wouldn't say no to a delete option instead.

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23 minutes ago, TmdAndGG said:

Why? 

 

The other 2/3rds likes the state, and "promotion" souvenirs she went for.  She'd like a country soon too.    :)

As it stands now, similar to the 31 days of geocaching, if you simply cache a day, you may receive a part of the promotion's souvenirs.

There's a few people she talks to that don't care for a haphazard  (unorganized) run of souvis that mean nothing to them. 

 

For example,   Blue Switch Day is May 2nd.   We're open to hike here, and I might be able to get find a cache that day

That's blue switch day.  Months later, not so much...    ;)

 

Edited by cerberus1
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22 hours ago, TmdAndGG said:

They can still ignore the souvenir.:drama:

No, they can only hide it from the view of others.   The only way to avoid receiving the souvenir is to not log a found it/attended on a cache for 8 months.

 

Several years ago there was a souvenir promotion that awarded a souvenir for finding a cache on a day in August.  I had no desire to clutter up my souvenir page which had souvenirs for finding caches in various countries and states around the world.  I didn't want a "souvenir" for simply playing the game during the of August.  However, I traveled to a couple of states during that month that I had not previously visited and wanted those souvenirs. I found caches in those states and got souvenirs I wanted but also got a couple that I didn't.    To me, a souvenir is something that I choose to acquire, not something slapped on my profile whether I want it or not.  

 

So instead of getting the one new country a month souvenirs, we get one that everyone will be able to acquire simply by playing the game one day during an 8 month period.  

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7 minutes ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

No, they can only hide it from the view of others.   The only way to avoid receiving the souvenir is to not log a found it/attended on a cache for 8 months.

I didn't say not receive it, I just said ignore it. Don't look at it. Pretend it's not there. 

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15 hours ago, TmdAndGG said:

I didn't say not receive it, I just said ignore it. Don't look at it. Pretend it's not there. 

 

You have a lengthy project gc stats form on your public profile .  It means something to you or all that stuff wouldn't be there.

It wasn't too long ago that many folks would time out waiting for some of those things to load.   :D   

Well, souvenirs mean something to some people too...  

 - We know some who only deal with trackables, and rarely head out to  find a geocache.

To say "just ignore it" isn't a nice way to look at it, when there's so many folks who play this hobby differently.   :)

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1 hour ago, cerberus1 said:

 

You have a lengthy project gc stats form on your public profile .  It means something to you or all that stuff wouldn't be there.

It wasn't too long ago that many folks would time out waiting for some of those things to load.   :D   

Well, souvenirs mean something to some people too...  

 - We know some who only deal with trackables, and rarely head out to  find a geocache.

To say "just ignore it" isn't a nice way to look at it, when there's so many folks who play this hobby differently.   :)

Got it;).

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6 hours ago, cerberus1 said:

 

You have a lengthy project gc stats form on your public profile .  It means something to you or all that stuff wouldn't be there.

It wasn't too long ago that many folks would time out waiting for some of those things to load.   :D   

Well, souvenirs mean something to some people too...  

 

Some souvenirs mean something to some people.  It's sort of like having a coin collection, where one has chosen to collect specific rare coins and someone keeps on dumping a hand full of recently minted nickles and dimes into it.  

 

Being given the choice to opt-in has been a suggestion several others have made.  Others have asked for the ability to sort and organize souvenirs so that regional souvenirs aren't mixed up with promotional souvenirs.  Its a reasonable request. 

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9 minutes ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

Some souvenirs mean something to some people.  It's sort of like having a coin collection, where one has chosen to collect specific rare coins and someone keeps on dumping a hand full of recently minted nickles and dimes into it.  

 

What a great analogy.

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31 minutes ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

Others have asked for the ability to sort and organize souvenirs so that regional souvenirs aren't mixed up with promotional souvenirs

I know it isn't geocaching.com, but you can see your souvenirs neat and tidy on your project-gc profile.

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1 hour ago, funkymunkyzone said:

I got the blue switch souvenir today, May 2nd, in New Zealand. It's still May 1st in parts of the US even. But my profile says I acquired it on May 3rd! It isn't May 3rd yet anywhere in the world, not for another 5+ hours... weird...

When I looked at the souvenir on your profile it said you earned it May 2, 2020.

 

 

Screenshot_20200502-031655.png

Edited by Max and 99
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I get the reason for extending the eligibility period for this, but I disagree with it.

 

It's supposed to mean something; that you caught a hide on "Blue Switch Day". Changing it so it means that you went caching in 2020 takes ALL the meaning out of it, for me.

 

It's harsh, but it's the same as if my car broke down or I had to work late! I just couldn't get there! Oh, well, you don't bag 'em all. Now, there's nothing special about having it. If I COULD opt out of this one, I would. 

 

"It isn't fair!"  As I used to tell my kids, "Fair's in August!"

 

But we're all going to get this souvenir, and as others have said it'll be there on my list no matter what I do, so what is it a souvenir FROM, exactly?

 

So, I'm going out. There are a few caches not far from me; and one that I drive past all the time and say, "ya know, some day I'll stop..."   So that's today. I'm going to the store anyway. It's about twenty feet into the trees, right on the road I'll drive.

 

Yes, yes. Staying safe, of course. I haven't been out in two months, but I'LL know I got my Blue Switch souvenir ON Blue Switch Day. 

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17 minutes ago, TeamRabbitRun said:

but I'LL know I got my Blue Switch souvenir ON Blue Switch Day. 

 

This.  And maybe I won't. we'll see how the weekend goes.  I'm sure I'll get the souvenir, it may mean more to me personally if I earn it on Blue Switch day.  It won't matter to anyone else when or if I ever earn it.  And I rarely look at my souvenirs anyway.  So, meh.  Whatever.

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3 hours ago, TeamRabbitRun said:

I get the reason for extending the eligibility period for this, but I disagree with it.

 

It's supposed to mean something; that you caught a hide on "Blue Switch Day". Changing it so it means that you went caching in 2020 takes ALL the meaning out of it, for me.

 

It's harsh, but it's the same as if my car broke down or I had to work late! I just couldn't get there! Oh, well, you don't bag 'em all. Now, there's nothing special about having it. If I COULD opt out of this one, I would. 

 

"It isn't fair!"  As I used to tell my kids, "Fair's in August!"

 

But we're all going to get this souvenir, and as others have said it'll be there on my list no matter what I do, so what is it a souvenir FROM, exactly?

 

So, I'm going out. There are a few caches not far from me; and one that I drive past all the time and say, "ya know, some day I'll stop..."   So that's today. I'm going to the store anyway. It's about twenty feet into the trees, right on the road I'll drive.

 

Yes, yes. Staying safe, of course. I haven't been out in two months, but I'LL know I got my Blue Switch souvenir ON Blue Switch Day. 

 

Done.

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I find it kind of funny how the Blue Switch souvenir comes up in a bit randomly at times....albeit it makes sense this year as it's an anniversary...but forgive if I;m wrong, but I believe the last Blue Switch Day souvenir was three years ago to this day.....well at least its still the second for me.

 

I get and appreciate that HQ doesn't put out a souvenir for this day every year...as that would get pretty boring, but I do have to wonder why they release this souvenir on some more....seemingly random dates, like three years ago. I'm just viewing this in the sense of a formality, like a wedding anniversary gift (being the souvenir)….a gift for the 17th anniversary seems a tad strange compared to celebrating something for the 20th.

 

 

Oh, and with regards to extending the date of the souvenir so that one can technically find a cache in December and still earn a souvenir meant for months earlier...I understand why HQ is doing this, but it definitely makes the whole point of the souvenir seem a  titch....absurd. I suppose it's like a mulligan souvenir for the 20th anniversary of caching....made much laxer for less serious cachers, but more so because of the current situation going around.

(As a side note, I did get a few caches today.....including an old DNF...it was a good day to cache, although I realize now that bike gears are very good weapons when misused….)

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6 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

I'm really curious why I see a different date on someone's souvenir than they do. I'm wondering why this is. 

Me too.  It doesn't *bother* me - I love stats but I don't love them *that* much lol... but it is kinda funny.  Must be some kind of weird timezone mis-translation thing.

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8 minutes ago, funkymunkyzone said:

Me too.  It doesn't *bother* me - I love stats but I don't love them *that* much lol... but it is kinda funny.  Must be some kind of weird timezone mis-translation thing.

I'm just curious, and figured I'd learn something new with the explanation. Maybe not. I keep wondering if I'm missing something really obvious, and was hoping someone else could point it out to me.

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We went out, with masks, on 2 May and went shopping in a nearby town.  We were not the only ones out - the city of Mainz was teeming with folks, and since the Saturday morning market stalls had been spread out, it was harder than it would normally be to avoid people.  So we stuck to a couple Adventure Labs and then went home.  Later, I found that we had earned the Blue Switch 2020 souvenir on the date originally intended, which was a nice way of confirming that Adventure Lab finds count toward souvenirs.

 

The bigger question that is pointed out here is (apparently) why, if "Blue Switch Day" is 2 May, Groundspeak has allowed folks to collect it on subsequent dates.  Yes, on its face, it seems like a good point.  But when you look at it, I think it makes sense.  Some folks really, really enjoy souvenirs.  And those folks might be in places that have restrictions in place to enforce isolation or social distancing, and would normally be unable to go geocaching.  Some might even be sick.  And maybe those folks would have been tempted to ignore those rules and go caching anyway, or fake an armchair find, just to get that souvenir.  So to remove that temptation, and to avoid leaving out folks who play by the rules, Groundspeak decided to extend out the eligibility period.

 

The good news is, if anyone inadvertently collects this or any other souvenir they don't feel like they've really earned, it's possible to hide unwanted souvenirs in one's profile.

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I think the concern about having the souvenir meant for Blue Switch Day would be assuaged if, on announcing the date extension, they also renamed/altered the design to imply you earn it for finding a geocache in 2020 to celebrate the flipping the switch 20 years ago. If it didn't imply "I found a cache on blue switch day" then there'd be no issue. it'd be a cheap souvenir pretty much everyone will get if they log one single geocache (physical or virtual) in 8 months, but at least the implication would be consistent = )

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10 minutes ago, thebruce0 said:

I think the concern about having the souvenir meant for Blue Switch Day would be assuaged if, on announcing the date extension, they also renamed/altered the design to imply you earn it for finding a geocache in 2020 to celebrate the flipping the switch 20 years ago. If it didn't imply "I found a cache on blue switch day" then there'd be no issue. it'd be a cheap souvenir pretty much everyone will get if they log one single geocache (physical or virtual) in 8 months, but at least the implication would be consistent = )

That makes sense. A find in the year 2020 rather than on one day.Less temptation to log a fake find or to fudge the date.

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1 hour ago, hzoi said:

The good news is, if anyone inadvertently collects this or any other souvenir they don't feel like they've really earned, it's possible to hide unwanted souvenirs in one's profile.

 

Sure, and that little link underneath every souvenir does say so.

But it only "hides" that souvenir from others viewing your profile.

You see it on yours simply lightened,  like a piece of wax paper was placed over it.  That's not the same...

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On 5/2/2020 at 10:20 AM, CAVinoGal said:

We'll see how the weekend goes.  I'm sure I'll get the souvenir, it may mean more to me personally if I earn it on Blue Switch day.

 

Well, the weekend and Blue Switch Day passed by without finding a cache, or even attempting it.  I could have, it just didn't happen.  So I will be one who will earn the souvenir for finding a cache at some point after Blue Switch day, but during the year 2020.  

 

1 hour ago, thebruce0 said:

renamed/altered the design to imply you earn it for finding a geocache in 2020 to celebrate the flipping the switch 20 years ago.

 

That makes a lot more sense to me!  And that's all it will mean for me.

Edited by CAVinoGal
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26 minutes ago, cerberus1 said:
1 hour ago, hzoi said:

The good news is, if anyone inadvertently collects this or any other souvenir they don't feel like they've really earned, it's possible to hide unwanted souvenirs in one's profile.

 

Sure, and that little link underneath every souvenir does say so.

But it only "hides" that souvenir from others viewing your profile.

You see it on yours simply lightened,  like a piece of wax paper was placed over it.  That's not the same...

 

True - but I have other good news, if one wants a particular souvenir to be forever gone, that can be achieved by contacting the Help Center and asking them to remove it.

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10 minutes ago, hzoi said:

True - but I have other good news, if one wants a particular souvenir to be forever gone, that can be achieved by contacting the Help Center and asking them to remove it.

 

We've had souvenirs removed by HQ in the past, but just a few months ago others said in these forums they were told that's not happening anymore.

Are you saying that HQ will now do that again ?  Thanks.

 

It was only a couple months ago...  souvenirs

 

Edited by cerberus1
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1 hour ago, cerberus1 said:

We've had souvenirs removed by HQ in the past, but just a few months ago others said in these forums they were told that's not happening anymore.

 

Hadn't seen that; first I've heard of it.  So, I don't know.

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