NW_history_buff
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Posts posted by NW_history_buff
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I was very disappointed to see this category get past Peer Review for the reason I know that most of the voters were non-waymarkers. I wish I could have remembered to copy/paste my 'No' vote here in the forum because I thought I summed up what was wrong about this category idea. This category should have been part of a much broader category titled 'Video Arcade Game Art.' or something similar. There are numerous other popular 80s video arcade games that probably exist as art around the world, much like Space Invaders. What's next a Pac Man art category? Asteroids category? Centipede category? Donkey Kong category? etc. etc. etc.....
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You are doing everything right. I've taken over as leader of a few categories in the past year because of inactive officers. I would assume that you will be in contact by one of the Groundspeak administrators. Just be patient and and I'm sure you'll be selected as leader soon.
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As one of the officers of the U.S. National Wildlife Refuges category, I personally like the idea of changing the category name and allowing national wildlife refuges from other countries. It makes much better sense to go this route vs. creating additional categories for other countries.
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The Pergolas category and the Fraternal Order of Eagles category are still in need of new icons. Although I appreciate the effort BK_Hunter did for F.O.E. I still think it needs fine tuning. Anybody here want to take a stab at them?
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I've discovered that new categories will appear behind other new categories because they are timestamped to the date they were created. I created the Pergolas category three years ago and so it appears on the grid from that timeframe.
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The Waymarking body truly needs to fine tune the 'Global' description in Peer Review. There are a myriad of existing categories that are interesting and informative but limited to a country or region within a country. Unfortunately, many of those categories probably wouldn't get past Peer Review today.
The Electric Bike Charging Stations category, although currently limited to mainly Europe, has great potential to spread worldwide. I actually look forward to seeing one firsthand someday. I never knew these existed until reading about them in the forum. It just goes to show how interesting and informative Waymarking as a whole has become. I have learned so much more about the world around me, particular its history, and I owe it all to the many great Waymarking categories that exist.
This category should pass with little trouble (my prediction).
BTW, I mentioned in my vote that I am willing to correct the few grammar errors in the category description if promoted to officer. You may demote me afterwards.
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I definitely miss the 'Search From Here' button option below the map. ever since Google Maps was replaced with MapQuest it stopped working.
PLEASE FIX THIS Groundspeak!
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When you get close to Astoria, Oregon, let me know! I live in southern Oregon but I'd make a special trip there to meet you (and give me an excuse to do a little Waymarking too).
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Fellow waymarkers, before I spend the time and energy necessary to rework the Fire Lookouts category again, I thought I should reach out to the leader of the Lookout Towers category one more time to see if he will reply back to me. I've included my e-mail message to him below and I guess we'll just wait and see. As stated in my e-mail, I would personally like to see the Lookout Towers category expand to include the fire lookouts that CANNOT be climbed up for a view rather than try creating a new category. If I don't get a courtesy reply back, I may try reaching out to the Groundspeak administrators to see if they may be willing to jump into the ball game and help me along with this endeavor before I move forward.
Greetings, harleydavidsonandy,
It's been a few years since I last reached out to you as the leader of the Lookout Towers category.
In 2012 I sent you an e-mail regarding the possibility of editing the category to include fire lookouts that may not be accessible to the public to climb up and enjoy a view. Since the Lookout Towers category only accepts fire lookouts that can be personally accessed (go up by foot, lift, rope, ladder etc.), it leaves out hundreds of current and historical fire lookouts that can be publicly accessible for pictures and closeup inspection BUT with the limitation that many aren't open to the public to climb up for a view because of safety regulations, concern,s etc.
Unfortunately, you nor any other officer of the category responded to my e-mails. I responded by creating a Groundspeak forum topic here.
I then attempted to create a Fire Lookouts category here.
I was new to Waymarking in 2012 and didn't fully understand the nuances in creating a good category writeup and making a good case and it failed in Peer Review. It's now 2016 and I am going back to this category with a renewed interest in either seeing the Lookout Towers category expand to include fire lookouts that may not be publicly accessible to climb upon OR to tweak the Fire Lookouts category I created in 2012 and try sending it through Peer Review again. I'd personally prefer to see the Lookout Towers category be more inclusive and include fire lookouts that cannot be climbed up rather than try creating another category again.
I encourage you to read the Groundspeak forum topic (especially my last post regarding the awesome websites that cater to these fire lookouts, current and former) and give me your thoughts as to how we may work together on this. If your are interested in working together, would you also be willing to promote me as an officer so that I may add fire lookouts information to the category description? You can demote me to a regular member afterwards.
I've been a huge fan of fire lookouts for many years and I've visited many in my state. Unfortunately, I've only been able to submit a small fraction of them to the Lookout Towers category because so many in my state don't allow the public to climb up them, as required by your category.
Please reply with your thoughts as soon as conveniently possible and we can go from there.
Respectfully,
Doug
thebeav69
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It's wintertime. There's snow and rain outside. Since I'm stuck indoors, I might as well go back to the drawing board on the original category writeup I did in 2012 and see if I can get this pushed through Peer Review (again). I promise this time around the category will be well thought out and include as many variables as possible to aid the waymarker in submitting a fire lookout, whether it be still in use, closed (but accessible to the public), abandoned, or even destroyed (as long as there are ruins or visual evidence of its past). I've grown as a waymarker within the community and have a new set of eyes set on Fire Lookouts!
I noticed in the three-plus years since I gave this category idea any serious thought, the National Historic Lookout Register website has improved greatly. They've also embedded the worldwide lookouts from other countries on this page (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Norway, Sweden). In addition, they still have their sister website, the Former Fire Lookouts Sites Register for submitting pictures or evidence of former lookouts to their registry. These websites look fantastic now and I love the map of the USA allowing visitors to click on their home state and view all the current and past fire lookouts that exist.
More to come soon...
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The Pergolas category is up for an officer vote. Once approved, I'll send it to Peer Review.
FYI, I found a neat HTML coding trick to make the image collage of pergolas to shrink and expand to the browser window size (I never imagined Waymarking would force me to educate myself on HTML coding).
There is even additional HTML code I could use to make a Waymarking category more smartphone-friendly. I'll work on that later. -
It looks very good.
A somewhat ordinary looking pergola would be considered if the site is historical, correct?
Correct. If the pergola has some interesting history attached to it to make up for its 'ordinary' look then we would gladly accept it. The key point here is that we want pergolas that would encourage a waymarker to come visit it.
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I was going to ask the same question as elyob. Is it possible to add the Provincial and Municipal Heritage Sites into the current Dutch National Monuments category or do they justify a category of their own? If the heritage sites are a separate entity and administered by a different organization, then a new category for them makes sense. But if the historical sites all fall under one domain or entity and administered by the same organization, then adding another category doesn't seem logical.
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Here's the link to the Pergolas category: Pergolas
Please look it over and give me your thoughts here. I created a collage of photos of pergolas in the description that should hopefully address what the officers are looking for in terms of quality and significance.
Arbors will also be included in the category since they look very similar to pergolas and many are visually appealing. I'll probably post a few pictures of arbors that we want (and don't want) submitted.
Thanks in advance for any feedback before this goes to an officer vote.
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I've been working on the category description and cleaning it up. I'll be embedding photo examples of what we want and what we don't in the category description. These should aid both officers and submitters. I'll post results tomorrow.
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The NEWLY-APPROVED category Fraternal Order of Eagles needs a custom icon! I would like it to be the older F.O.E. logo of the eagle (below) , NOT the new logo (which I don't care for that much).
Can rikitan, razalas and lumbricus do their magic and make this happen?
Much obliged!
~thebeav69
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Yay! The F.O.E. category was approved and there have already been a half-dozen submissions approved.
Feel free to submit any you come across!
~thebeav69
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Wintertime is the perfect time to re-focus energies on potential categories. This potential category is very close to being finalized and hopefully we can get this to Peer Review later this week. Since Pergolas are located across the globe, there shouldn't be any flack from our European friends regarding "Is it global enough?" ... hehe.
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Global - The directory has the potential for worldwide appeal, but only if the categories are not too restricted by region. Consider whether people from all over the world will be able to contribute to this category. We can afford to be somewhat flexible with the application of this guideline for truly outstanding categories.
Prevalence - How many potential waymarks exist throughout the world? Too few and the category may be of little or no interest to anyone. Too many and you may end up with a category full of mundane, everyday locations.
Interesting or Informative - In general, good categories can be classified in one of two ways. Interesting: Can you imagine yourself sifting through the gallery for compelling and entertaining images, or making a special trip to visit a waymark in this category? Informative: On the flipside, you may not exclaim "Wow!", but perhaps you or someone else might find the waymarks in this category useful in some way. These waymarks can aid in accomplishing an everyday task more efficiently, or serve to gather enlightening information about a commercial location which may or may not be available from traditional sources.
Redundant - Could this category be included as a variable in an existing category? For instance, let's say this new category is called "Blue Lighthouses". But, wait! There may already be a "Lighthouses category". Would it make more sense to add a variable for different colors in the "Lighthouses" details?
I wanted to post the Peer Review criteria text in this thread because so many ask about it before a category goes to Peer Review.
In regards to the Global objective it states: We can afford to be somewhat flexible with the application of this guideline for truly outstanding categories. I believe this category to be outstanding in terms of historical appreciation, its positive values and its mission statement. It's unfortunate there are a few people in the Waymarking community that are unable to appreciate these aspects and instead seem to be limited in their vision and too narrow-sighted to appreciate a potentially good category.. i.e., "It's hard to see the forest when you're focused on the trees."
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Currently, the category allows ANY cause of death mentioned on a grave marker to be submitted into the category because these in of themselves are considered pretty uncommon (the exception has been deaths due to diseases that were common killers during the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries). War deaths (killed in action) have always been accepted in the category. The issue thus far has do with the unusual aspect of a cause of death mentioned on a grave marker. Some causes of death mentioned on grave markers are more unusual than others. My original goal of the category was to locate those graves mentioning an unusual death. BUT... the fact of the matter remains that a grave mentioning a cause of death is UNUSUAL in of itself when compared to all other graves in a particular cemetery and for that reason, the category has been more inclusive of submissions than exclusive. I've visited dozens of cemeteries throughout the West Coast of the United States and I can honestly say that MAYBE 5% of all the graves I see mention a cause of death on their grave markers. Of course if one visits a veterans cemetery, the chances of coming across a veteran's grave mentioning a cause of death due to war increase exponentially.
I may revisit the 'NO DISEASE' deaths policy in the category if enough people raise the issue and convince me that the category should allow them as well. I just remember seeing a few pictures way back when of cemeteries containing dozens of grave markers noting causes of deaths do to scarlet fever, typhoid fever, influenza, etc. I'll have to do more research on this.
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Thanks to all who helped contribute to this category. It's now in PEER REVIEW, so please vote!
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The Graves of a Famous Person category's enrollment is NOW OPEN!
We are looking for an active Waymarker to become an officer of the category. This person MUST be able to interpret submissions into the category as best they can and make objective and fair decisions. This is a very popular category with lots of activity so we only want someone who will devote the time and effort into it.
Join the FamousGravesGroup and we'll make a selection based off the members.
Thanks!
Doug
thebeav69
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If a guy can get a plaque on a rock for building the first log cabin and have it accepted as an historical marker, but a woman first settler has a plaque on a rock and it is not accepted then maybe we need our own category.
If the first woman settler waymark was denied (for whatever reason) as a historical marker, it would fit into the 'First of its Kind' category!
Some plaques can be tricky to determine if they are in fact a historical marker or more of a commemorative marker. The 'Signs of History' category has usually been more inclusive than exclusive in accepting plaques. I should know, I've had over 100 of them approved.
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Native American Trail Trees article
in General Waymarking Topics
Posted
I saw this article on Daily Mail UK and wanted to share it because of the current Waymarking category, Native American Trail Trees. Apparently, these trees exist all over North America. I hope to find one in my travels.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3648259/Expert-claims-mysterious-bent-trees-secret-Native-Americans-trail-markers.html