TeamRJMK

Hello Team, I sent Maine Gnomes another message through both the Waymarking and geocaching systems. I set the deadline as May 9 so there would be enough time (including two more weekends) to get out and take pictures. J ----------------- Hello Maine Gnomes, Thank you for submitting "Blue Hill Town Park" to the Public Playgrounds category. This category requires a picture for each waymark submission. Your waymark does not contain a picture and was approved in error. Please add a picture to the waymark. If you have difficulty obtaining or adding a picture, please send an email explaining the issue. If you do not add a picture and we do not hear from you by May 9, we will decline your waymark. Thank you, ~J of TeamRJMK~ (Please excuse the multiple emails, there have been problems with the email system and I am not sure which messages are going through properly.) -------------------

Perfect - just a simple rewording of the subject line. The "Confirmed" message makes it sound like it is complete & nothing needs to be done. THANKS!

I like ikim & noj's writeup as well. Is there any chance that a voting mechanism will be made available soon? If you could vote on each waymark, it might be possible to do the category writeup in subjective terms and then make the listing requirement that the waymark receive an 80% vote from the officers of the group (or something like that). It would certainly make life more controversial but might be a way to at least get things started. J

Just to clarify, Jeremy was an officer at the time this waymark was approved. He has since left the group and rejoined as a regular member.

Thanks wilsonlj. I agree with chstress53 that including a deadline is a good idea. I'm willing to give some leeway if they reply back with a time estimate for including a picture rather than just not replying at all. I double checked & the "Require a photo for waymarks?" box is checked on the category settings page. Do you know if there is another setting I need to make? Thanks, ~J of TeamRJMK~

Hi, I have two categories on manual approval. When someone submits a waymark, we get an email with the subject "Confirmation of xxx", even though the email has only been submitted and not confirmed. Would it be possible to change the subject line to something reflecting that it was submitted or needs to be accepted? (The body of the email looks great.) (this isn't really important, just something to look at when everything else slows down....) Also, would it be possible to put the category in the subject line as well? It would make for easier automated sorting on my inbox. THANKS! ~J of TeamRJMK~

Has anyone heard from Maine Gnomes regarding a picture for "Blue Hill Town Park"? I noticed that it was approved and is now an active listing. I tried to send an email over the weekend but believe it got eaten by the debugging fairy. I don't want to innundate anyone but haven't heard back from my previous message either. Opinions? Do we let this one stand without a picture? Do we send another round of emails? Do we disapprove the waymark? ~J of TeamRJMK~

Hello All, We have several lock submissions over the weekend that do not contain pictures. I tried to send a message to the submitter asking for pictures but believe it never went through due to the email problems. Since then, the waymarks have been approved and are now active. What do you think our policy should be for approving waymarks that do not contain pictures? What do you think we should do (if anything) about the current waymarks that have no pictures? Do we need to change/update the category description? ~J of TeamRJMK~ edit to add: the web link also appears to be invalid

Mold-a-Rama .... I had to google for a few minutes to find the name that I knew for these. I remember them at Brookfield Zoo and the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. I found a "vintage" machine for sale for $9500. I hope someone else signs up - I'd love to see waymarks for current machines. ~J of TeamRJMK~

Like many here, at first I thought it would make sense to have a single "historical marker" type category that would have markers from all over. It would be pretty obvious from the coordinates which state and country contained the waymark. Then I thought some more & realized that due to the current management structure, the category should span only what the category managers have a real interest in managing. Say you have a love of the history of Oregon and want to manage the historical markers there - do you really want to be responsible for managing a category that includes markers for the entire world? So my vote (not that we're voting here, but if we were...) is to let the group define the category like we do today. (Just try to have a directory and naming structure that reflects the span for each category.) ~J of TeamRJMK~

This category is now available for waymarks: Waterway Locks, Planes and Lifts Category It is managed by the Waterway Locks, Planes and Lifts Group. Thanks for everyone's help! ~J of TeamRJMK~

I made the suggested updates & opened up the category. Please send a message if you see any additional changes we should make. Many thanks! ~J of TeamRJMK~

OK, how does this look? Add variable (right after waterway name in position #2) Connected Points: (not optional, multi-line text box) - List the significant points connected by this waterway (for example in the case of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal - "links the Potomac River below the fall line to Cumberland, Maryland"). ------------ Should we add variables for the type of traffic and cargo or should we request it as part of the description? Are there many examples that are limited to only one or two types of traffic or cargo? Do we think people would search on this type of information? Thanks, ~J of TeamRJMK~

Hello Team, I am sending a message requesting a picture to "Maine Gnomes" regarding the proposed waymark "Blue Hill Town Park." ~J of TeamRJMK~

Here is what we currently have for the Waterway Locks, Planes and Lifts category: ------------------------- Quick Description: List examples of locks, planes, lifts and other methods to move boats between different elevations. Detailed Description: It is common for bodies of water to be at different elevations. Waterways connecting these bodies of water and rapids in a river are typical examples of places that cause problems for boats attempting to navigate this elevation difference. This category is for listing locks, planes, lifts and other examples of solutions to this problem. You must physically visit to create or log a waymark in this category. Waymark notes may be created if you have comments or feedback but have not physically visited the site. Instructions for placing waymarks into this category: Find a lock, plane, lift or other method for moving boats between different elevations. Post a description along with capacity, historical information and pictures. Locks, planes and lifts proposed as Waymarks may be currently active, in existence but not active, or purely historical and no longer in existence. Waymarks for items that no longer exist should reference the physical location where they once stood and include a picture of the area. A single canal may have several sets of locks. Each set may be listed as a different waymark. For example, individual waymarks may be listed for the Gatun Locks, Pedro Miguel locks and Miraflores locks on the Panama Canal. The waymark name should be the name of the lock, lift or plane. Instructions for logging waymarks of this category: Logs marked as “visits” should be made after physically visiting the waymark location. Include a picture taken during the visit. Notes may be logged by individuals who have visited the web site or looked at the online information and would like to provide comments or feedback on the waymark. Category Settings: Waymarks can be added to this category New waymarks of this category are reviewed by the category group prior to approval Category is not visible in the directory -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Waterway Lock, Plane or Lift Variables: Waterway Name (not optional; short textbox) Type (not optional; dropdown list: lock, plane, lift, other) Date Opened (not optional; simple date) Date Closed (if applicable) (optional; simple date) Elevation Difference (meters) (not optional; textbox accepting mumeric-only decimal answer) Site Status (not optional; dropdown list: operational, inactive, being restored, remnants, no longer exists, other) Web Site (optional, web address or url) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note that this description assumes that we will accept waymarks for sites that no longer have any remnants remaining. In addition, there are references on the web for sites that either were never built or were partially built but never used. (Some of them with "unusual" ideas.) We need to decide as a group what we will or will not include so please consider these issues open for discussion. Thanks, ~J of TeamRJMK~

This group will manage the Waterway Locks, Lifts & Planes category. Waymarks for this category will include things like the Falkirk Wheel and the locks for the Panama Canal. If you are interested in this category, please come & join our group. Thanks, ~J of TeamRJMK~

This thread is intended to be a place for the Public Playground group to discuss items. Hello Officers, I believe you each should have the capability to approve waypoints. Please review the waypoints prior to approving them. In particular, several have been submitted without pictures. I have been sending emails to the waymark submitter if they need to adjust any information or submit a picture prior to approval. If we can work it out, I still think this is a better way than just denying the waypoint if there is a problem. If you see a waymark that needs more information and you send an email to the submitter, please add a message to this thread so everyone knows that you sent something. Hopefully, that will help us keep track so EVERYONE doesn't send a message out. Suggestions for improvement are always welcome. THANKS! ~J of TeamRJMK~

Thanks everyone! That makes 5 "yes" votes (including one received by email & I'm assuming Shorelander...) We'll call that one "approved." J

Hi! I'm not sure how to do this at Waymarking.com so I'm going to put it here. Should we approve the Alphabet Zoo waymark for the Public Playgrounds category? The pro is that it's really cute & kid oriented. The con is that it isn't really a playground. What do you think? Jean (if there is a way to put it up for a vote at Waymarking.com, could someone point me there?)

Hi, there doesn't seem to be an easy way to send an email message to a group member who is not an officer. Would you consider adding a "send message" next to their listing (just like you have for officers)? Also, will there be a group email function to send a message to all members or all officers? Thanks for the updates! ~J of TeamRJMK~

Anyone who is interested may join the Public Playground Group. Public Playground Group

Please point me to the proper location if this has already been discussed. Will there be some additional management tools in the next release? * I would like a way to track the waymarks that are missing info. ("pending" or "needs changes"?) * I would like a way to send a message to the waymark owner with the accepted/denied/pending determination (& track the messages to retain an audit trail) For example, my category requires pictures. I have two waymarks that currently do not have them - one was autoapproved and one is still sitting in the needs approval category. I've sent emails requesting pictures & don't want to completely kick out the waymark until I give them a chance to finish it. (I also have one that was autoapproved with a typo in the hours of operation in the same situation.) Right now, I'm keeping a separate spreadsheet with the date I sent the email & some notes but that is cumbersome & will quickly become a nightmare. I'm currently sending emails through the waymark owner's profile. It's a bit difficult because I have to remember to open a new session to do it so I can see the waymark information to add to the email so they know what I'm referencing. I'd really like to send something along with the "accepted" message rather than in a separate message. If I could tag the waymark as a different status & the owner could see their list of waymarks that need something else prior to approval it would really help. I'm guessing that a lot of this will come with the group management updates, right? Please? THANKS!

You mentioned in the other thread: I can see the nice side of this. On the other hand, I can see some schools discouraging visitors. If this becomes a category, I would think that school permission should be required and the category name modified to reflect that this isn't a list of ALL schools, just the ones that would like visiters. Have you considered adding a mailing address & inviting people to send post cards or letters? It would fit well with your goals.

OK guys, we're set - start entering! Let's see all the cool equipment! (that climbing structure on the other thread is awesome! I want one.) I'm looking forward to having places to stop on our next driving trip.... (that's a hint for I-75 GA-FL folks... ) If you have suggestions about the cateogry, please send them on. (Thanks to everyone for all the bumps to both threads.) ~J of TeamRJMK~ Public Playgrounds

OK, I got the message ..... the current system is much, much better.....