Talk:Vexillologist achievement

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Support - I see this as an "acknowledging an interesting experience" kind of achievement, and the requirement to be at the geohash makes it uncommon and thus interesting. Identifying the flag is a minor effort also rewarded, so I like encouraging that. I made a couple changes to the template for consideration:

1. Added an optional parameter to identify the flag, to help encourage this. If it's important to have fixed text referring to flags, we could add something fun like "by spotting X waving in the breeze" or restrict the format to something like "by spotting the [X] flag(s) [of Y]".
2. Simplified the wording for the honorable mention case.

Coyotebush (talk) 18:37, 23 November 2024 (UTC)

Support --Fippe (talk) 15:06, 1 December 2024 (UTC)

Needs Work - I am not a fan of the HM aspect of it, it's a flag or it isn't. If you want to claim it for a sticker, or a drawing you see at a hash, it's still a flag so sorta still counts in my mind. I personally wouldn't count it in that case, but I'd leave that up to the hasher to call it or not (but should be identifiable in this case). I also think it should be called out that it shouldn't allow a hasher to bring their own flag like the conversation below discusses. Pedalpusher (talk) 17:46, 21 December 2024 (UTC)

Being able to identify an image of a flag is a good idea - you shouldn't claim the achievement for seeing just any rectangle! What's the difference between "honorable mention" and "sorta counts" to you? Coyotebush (talk) 12:43, 9 January 2025 (UTC)

I added "identifiable" to the honorable mention description. Coyotebush (talk) 16:06, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

Needs Work - Does a pennant count as a flag for this achievement? What about decorative colored pennant strings that don't actually represent or identify anything? If this could be clarified, and a clause about hasher supplied flags not counting is added, I will change to my vote to Support. Tarasaurus (talk) 22:12, 31 December 2024 (UTC)

Another marginal case was the banner I saw in Cottbus - the construction was flag-like but I couldn't find internet evidence associating the exact imagery with the football club. I would think pennant strings are out, but don't have a strong feeling on how to draw the line. Coyotebush (talk) 12:43, 9 January 2025 (UTC)

I've added further clarification on pennants and self-supplied flags. Bunting is a really tricky situation, so I've tried my best to reflect this without overcomplicating the restrictions. --KerrMcF (talk) 23:54, 9 February 2025 (UTC)

After these changes I'm updating my vote to support. Tarasaurus (talk) 23:33, 10 February 2025 (UTC)

Comments taken from Discord

• I quite like this --Kyrkazakh (talk) 03:29, 18 November 2024 (UTC)
• I like the idea --Thomcat (talk) 20:33, 18 November 2024 (UTC)
• I support the achievement, even though it is not an interesting one in my area. Seeing any Australian flags is generally a bad sign. We don't really have any district/city flags that have any kind of widespread use. --Stevage (talk) 10:41, 19 November 2024 (UTC)

  IMHO tweaking the name to "Vexillologist achievement" would improve it slightly. Stevage (talk) 02:31, 27 November 2024 (UTC)

  +1, had the same thought, though either way would fit with existing achievement names. Coyotebush (talk) 10:10, 27 November 2024 (UTC)

  Fair, I was between Vexillology and Vexillologist when creating the proposal. If the proposal is approved, the approver can rename the page to Vexillologist achievement if they wish, I have no preference. --KerrMcF (talk) 00:10, 2 December 2024 (UTC)

  I also support the name change to Vexillologist Pedalpusher (talk) 17:46, 21 December 2024 (UTC)

Bringing your own flag?

I searched for past mentions of "flag"/"flags" and found expeditions such as 2012-07-04 47 -122 where geohashers brought flags (or images thereof) and sometimes even left them to mark the point. It might be good to clarify whether bringing a flag to the geohash qualifies for the achievement - I would guess that it doesn't fit the intended spirit? On the other hand, allowing spotting a flag that another geohasher left could be fun and avoids issues about determining the provenance of every flag. Perhaps there should be a requirement that the flag was present before you arrived? (It need not still be present after you leave, in case geotrashing is appropriate.) Coyotebush (talk) 10:37, 9 December 2024 (UTC)

Adding to this, what if a different Geohasher brings a flag to the meetup? Rkschlotte brought the flag of Elmshorn to the globalhash in Mülheim. --Fippe (talk) 14:11, 9 December 2024 (UTC)

My two cents: Flags brought for the purpose of the achievement do not count. Stevage (talk) 00:28, 10 December 2024 (UTC)

I agree, while bringing your own flag might be fun, the achievement should probably not allow for that. Something like 'The flag must be independent of your expedition.' This would still enable geohashers to bring a flag and place it, giving others the opportunity to claim this, if no prior coordination on this has occurred. Support Gaboversta(talk) 13:07, 14 December 2024 (UTC)

I've added a note on self-supplied flags and flags placed by other geohashers. --KerrMcF (talk) 23:54, 9 February 2025 (UTC)