ripraff

I have a submission from 6/22/2016 in Carnivorous plant localities, Lily Lake - Chenango Valley State Park, This isn't a month ago but it is a few weeks. Thanks, Ripraff

I don't think the scavenger hunt is very active. I was playing around with it and noticed if you join an active hunt or activate your own, you don't get credit for way marks already visited. I had visited all the way marks of mine after I created it, but had not activated it so no credit. I joined another person's hunt and got credit for the new way marks but not for those already visited.

If you visit a waymark and it is not there and you are certain you are in the right spot do you post it and remark that it isn't anymore? If you have a waymark that disappears do you archive it? Do you just add 'former'? Does it still count or do you lose it in your stats? Is the behavior consistent across categories? (Even if the category states current only).

Thank you. I know you have approved lots of mine since you sign them.

I am getting into this Find A Grave thing. First I created a logon to submit Waymarking photos. Then I started correcting and adding to graves. It is easy in some things you can edit and they approve. Then I started creating my virtual cemetery for my family lines. Then I asked to maintain my parents and grandparents, I got 3 out of 4 requests. I started adding parent and spouse connections. Now I am corresponding with a genealogy buff who is a family member, cousin not too far removed. She is sending me photos and trees. I am adding missing family members and photos. I am linking Wikitree people to Find A Grave entries. Will I have time left for Waymarking?

Yep. I know of a contributor that has over 10,000 records, but with so many errors it's a joke -- or would be, if this information weren't important to family and friends that continually get steered wrong by her slop. So far, she has accepted all of my edit suggestions, so she's good about that. But it's clear that she's only focusing on quantity with little regard at all to quality. I've found entries for small cemeteries that you can walk in 10 minutes or less, but which you could not find the FAG entry listed for the cemetery. Why? Person visits 3 cemeteries this day, writes up a bunch of notes, perhaps takes photos (you hope!), goes home, writes everything up. Puts a person's grave in the wrong cemetery that they visited. Oh well, as long as the information is in there. BTW, of dozens of edits that I've suggested, I've only had one rejected; and that was for the coordinates to someone's grave (probably a centenarian), and for some reason the manager of the entry didn't want it. Okay, fine. There names have been fixed! That was quick. They are now Shepherd. Hopefully that will make them easier to find.

Wow, I just found a case of someone who has entered thousands of entries on Find A Grave (over 3,000 a week) with a very high error rate. Many of the dates are off a bit, but in one case three people were entered as Shepard instead of Shepherd as it is on the gravestone. I left a message on his profile. I only mentioned the spelling, not the several errors in numbers. This is not a hard to read stone, it is a zinc gravestone with very clear letters. It is being fast and sloppy. It hurts to see this. I have noticed that spellcheck makes lots of changes and I need to check after the fact, but how do you enter 3 people with the wrong last name? I added the photos so anyone can see the number errors if they look closely.

We depend a lot on information already on the web. We use links and quotes, but still it means someone else has supplied it. I figure once we post it it out there on the web and becomes community information including our photos, even though technically they are still ours. I sent some family photos to a cousin and she posted them to Facebook without asking and I just found them on Ancestry. I was a bit surprised she didn't even ask. There were other documents relating to living people that should not be public on Ancestry too. Genealogy has always had the problem with deciding if someone is providing good information. There are the professionals and those who are very careful and others that make leaps and connect with anything close. Errors are propagated and seen all over. Then there are the issues that I am assuming DNA testing might correct. People interested in genealogy and cemeteries would be naturals for Waymarking. I was thinking linking my profile would be an implicit invitation. Of course the information on Waymarking sites is all correct.

Oh, people are copying your photos and posting them on FAG and using your information? I presume, Watson, without your permission. Sure enough. I have also found a lot of misinformation on the FAG site. Have you tried to correct it?

"Please remember that Find A Grave is only the distributor of member supplied content and the submitter, not Find A Grave, is the one who would be responsible for any alleged copyright violation. However, we will respond to substantiated claims of violation. If you feel that another user has violated your copyright, you should send a claim of copyright violation to info@findagrave.com. In order for us to substantiate your claim, you MUST include all of the following information: - Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed, and the basis of the claim, including the URL - Identification of the material on Find A Grave which is claimed to be infringing, including the URL - Full contact information on the claimed copyright owner or other claimant, (who must have a license which is being infringed or other standing to make the claim.) This includes Full Name, Address, Phone Number, and Email Address. - The Following Statement: ““I am the Owner, or authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of the copyright or of an exclusive right under the copyright that is allegedly infringed. The information in this notice is accurate.” - A physical or electronic signature of the claiming party" Alternatively you could contact the person who appears below the photo and ask for credit or removal.

Oh, people are copying your photos and posting them on FAG and using your information? I presume, Watson, without your permission.

My profile on find a grave is SueH. I added my waymaking profile as my webpage. Waymarkers, Feel free to add me as a friend on Find A Grave and tell me your profile name if you want to be added as a friend..

I have used "Find A Grave" so much in doing Zinc and Revolutionary Soldier graves and in doing cemeteries, I decided it was time to give back. I created a logon and uploaded some photos for some graves that didn't have any. I already had the photos for the waymarks. It wasn't hard at all.

If the waymark is rejected, you can add comments when it is resubmitted. If reviewers make comments or ask questions and it is approved, how do you respond?

If you want to get rid of categories that didn't take off, could you create a category called wallflower and convert all the unsuccessful categories into a wallflower category. Their spaces on the grid could be reused. Anyone with a waymark in the old categories would get the new icon and category (under multifarious). Until you reuse the grid spot you could fill it with the wallflower icon. If there are categories that should be one (same thing different countries), you could put them all into one, maybe new, maybe old category and change the icons to the new and reuse the grid spot (having the overall category fill the space until reused.)

One of the things that makes way marking interesting is the sense of time. Many of our way marks are buildings or structure from the past. One can get a sense of the way things were and how things change over time. A few categories show the way things are going, (electric car charging stations, etc.) Cemeteries are usually a connection to the past. Scattering gardens and other new forms suggest a future trend. It seems cremation is on the rise. Scattering gardens provide that bit of connection for people with names and dates of the deceased. It is also a movement away from vast areas with tombstones and toward meditation gardens. The question of category I would think, is it is interesting? So what if there are only a few entries, maybe they are hard to find. Several people don't like the commercial categories, but several of them seem to be very popular judging by the number of entries. So one criteria is, can I post numbers and keep stats up and another is, does this make me want to explore and discover? I guess another question is when there is an all encompassing category, is that the end of the story, or can smaller categories exist? One gigantic category 'way marks' could be created, then whatever you find, there would be a place to put it.

It would be interesting to have tags, that aren't new categories, but other groupings. Wave of the future tag could include green burials, solar, electric cars, Leed buildings.

Using the search 'scattering gardens' I came across eternal reefs. They create a structure that is put out in the sea to start a reef. I have also run across the green burial "Green, or natural burial is a way of caring for the dead with minimal environmental impact that aids in the conservation of natural resources, reduction of carbon emissions, protection of worker health, and the restoration and/or preservation of habitat. Green burial necessitates the use of non-toxic and biodegradable materials, such as caskets, shrouds, and urns." Scattering gardens, eternal reefs, green burial. It feels like a category, new burial forms. I see that worldwide cemeteries is all inclusive, but this seems like a very interesting area to explore.

When is a cemetery not a cemetery? I just found a church that has created a garden (2004) next to the church. It is expressly a memorial garden where ashes can be scattered of church members with permission. They will have bronze plaques with the names and dates. "The fees shall be reviewed and set annually in December by the Session and Trustees. The current fee is $ 450. Once payment is made there is no obligation for any further payment. Fees will be invested in a perpetual care fund. The fee covers: 1. scattering of ashes 2. Bronze name plate on plaque 3. recording in memorial book 4. maintenance and perpetual care of the garden (Does not cover the usual costs or honorariums for a funeral/memorial service)'" It certainly feels like a cemetery to me, but it is also a garden. It is a beautiful spot with flowers and bushes and benches. Seems like an interesting idea. Is this a new idea, or is it common? The church says it isn't a cemetery, but I think it is. Would this go under world wide cemeteries? Should it have a category? Has anyone else come across this?

Thank you.

I generally regard waymarks as old after several months. I have had a waymark hang around for 6 months and then get published. I do have one where I just sent a note to one of the group. None of them have logged on for awhile (since last October). It is in Civilian Conservation Corps, McDonough State Forest WMPZMQ posted 11/18/2015 5:34:01 AM. I did notice that they are accepting new members to their group.

Is Waywizard a new name created for this function or an actual person/team? I was just hunting around for a way to look at the profile but haven't found one (no link here). I don't recognize the name from the forum or the lists of waymarkers over 1000. I was half thinking of volunteering to join the reviewers, but don't know if I am ready or expert enough to do a good job in any area. I do know that I disagreed a couple times when the reviewer got into a comment of what was art or not. I have thought about that and taken classes etc. and have a different opinion. Also I don't know if reviewers really want to get into discussions. The only way I have entered discussions were when there was a rejection and I managed to usually give more information and change their mind.

It seems there is lots of talk about getting way marks approved when the officers have gone awol. When this happens maybe the category could be labelled as dormant and no new way marks accepted until there are new officers. The category could be put on the list of open for new officers. Existing way marks waiting could be approved or disapproved by officers with "skeleton keys." Criteria for how long waymarks wait, or how long since the officers have logged on, or unresponsiveness, etc. This action could be a warning for people trying to post and serve as recruitment for new officers. You already have the ability to mark categories as closed to new way marks and the means to recruit new officers. This just limits the frustration of people posting and waiting. Once the category is dormant they know they have to wait for new officers.

As long as you are talking about not-gazebos. I have found some nice not gazebo, not bandshell, bandstands in parks. They are 4 sided, but not enclosed. Not enclosed on 3 sides means not bandshell, four-sided means not gazebo. But some of them are quite nice. Could we have a not gazebo, not bandshell, bandstand category?