Why the obnoxious Lost and found banner?

[+Zop]

Ok so it's a cool idea to allow users to nominate a story in a log for recognition but was it really necessary to place that obnoxious banner on every freaking cache page?

 

NO Sir.. Don't like it!

[4wheelin_fool]

Anytime there is any change at all there will always be someone who doesn't like it and is outwardly vocal about it. Change, historically is always resisted. However adaptability is what most people should strive for. Personally, I never liked it when they added maps to the pages years ago because it just made the hunt too easy. Now, I like them, but using them in certain ways creates habits which many get grumpy about when they have to access them a little differently. Those banners really are not bad, just different.

[+Zop]

Anytime there is any change at all there will always be someone who doesn't like it and is outwardly vocal about it. Change, historically is always resisted. However adaptability is what most people should strive for. Personally, I never liked it when they added maps to the pages years ago because it just made the hunt too easy. Now, I like them, but using them in certain ways creates habits which many get grumpy about when they have to access them a little differently. Those banners really are not bad, just different.

 

You're right that some people do not like change and at times I'm one of them. However I am going to express again that while I feel that the option to nominate is a good idea and may prove to be of interest, adding that banner to the cache pages is just in poor taste. Maybe if it wasn't so blatently in your face right in the middle of the cache page, it would be more acceptable. Maybe make it smaller and at the bottom of the page under the logs.

[+ngrrfan]

I also find the "beg banner" obnoxious. I realize it isn't my sandbox so I can't make the rules, but at least I can gripe about them a bit.

[+Chrysalides]

Anytime there is any change at all there will always be someone who doesn't like it and is outwardly vocal about it. Change, historically is always resisted. However adaptability is what most people should strive for. Personally, I never liked it when they added maps to the pages years ago because it just made the hunt too easy. Now, I like them, but using them in certain ways creates habits which many get grumpy about when they have to access them a little differently. Those banners really are not bad, just different.

While your observation about resistance to change is true, it is not entirely relevant to the topic. About as relevant as me pointing out that whenever someone complains about change, there always seems to be someone who would seemingly defend change for change's sake. "Change is good" is their mantra.

 

The banner serves a purpose - to draw attention to a feature. However, there should be an option to dismiss it and prevent it from appearing once it has served its purpose.

[4wheelin_fool]

Anytime there is any change at all there will always be someone who doesn't like it and is outwardly vocal about it. Change, historically is always resisted. However adaptability is what most people should strive for. Personally, I never liked it when they added maps to the pages years ago because it just made the hunt too easy. Now, I like them, but using them in certain ways creates habits which many get grumpy about when they have to access them a little differently. Those banners really are not bad, just different.

While your observation about resistance to change is true, it is not entirely relevant to the topic. About as relevant as me pointing out that whenever someone complains about change, there always seems to be someone who would seemingly defend change for change's sake. "Change is good" is their mantra.

 

The banner serves a purpose - to draw attention to a feature. However, there should be an option to dismiss it and prevent it from appearing once it has served its purpose.

 

Only because it is new. Once you have viewed it a few hundred times it won't matter, and the change in verbiage on it may be something that may be looked forward to.

[+Chrysalides]

Only because it is new. Once you have viewed it a few hundred times it won't matter, and the change in verbiage on it may be something that may be looked forward to.

By the same argument, after you've seen it a few dozen times, you ignore it. Any change of verbiage will go un-noticed.

 

Now, if we can dismiss it, if there is a change in the verbiage, GS can re-enable it so it will come back.

 

My main objection to it is that it is distracting and that it takes up valuable screen real estate.

[+simpjkee]

The banner is the stupidest thing I have ever seen from Groundspeak. I am very annoyed and disappointed in it.

[+DieSchnueffler]

You can hide the banner with AdblockPlus when you add the following line to Adblock

 

geocaching.com#div(class^=LFNominateBanner)

[+sTeamTraen]

I am shocked that a company would place promotional material for its own activities on its own Web site.

 

Oh, wait, no, I'm not.

[+Shilo]

You can hide the banner with AdblockPlus when you add the following line to Adblock

 

geocaching.com#div(class^=LFNominateBanner)

 

Yarip works too

 

I didn't even know what the ad(banner) was for. It looked like an ad to me so it went bye-bye. It was obnoxious btw. Better layout would have made it blend in more instead of glaring out at you, like an ad block.

[+W8TTS]

You can hide the banner with AdblockPlus when you add the following line to Adblock

 

geocaching.com#div(class^=LFNominateBanner)

Thanks Schnueffler. Stupid banner now gone.

[knowschad]

I'm surprised they didn't just put the graphic on the "Log your visit" page instead, along with the Nominate checkbox. The way it is right now, you first log your find, then go to the View Log link to nominate.

[+FireRef]

I'll add my vote, if I have one, to removing the banner.

[+brenda&&rew]

I agree with all the anti-banner comments.... get rid of it!

[BCProspectors]

I doubt Groundspeak will remove the banner because well... that would defeat the purpose of adding it.

[GOF and Bacall]

Just one more thing added while not fixing the crap that never has worked right.

[+DanOCan]

I have to concur. I don't mind the effort at promoting the new feature, but that banner is obnoxious and doesn't fit in with the theme of the site at all. It's horrible.

[+ngrrfan]

You can hide the banner with AdblockPlus when you add the following line to Adblock

 

geocaching.com#div(class^=LFNominateBanner)

Thanks Schnueffler. Stupid banner now gone.

Ditto!

[+NOV8TR]

Yep, I'm on board with the "ban the banner" crowd.

 

And a thousand thanks to Schnueffler for the "Add Block" tip!

Now the banner has been banned

Edited June 6, 2010 by NOV8TR

[knowschad]

Just one more thing added while not fixing the crap that never has worked right.

Join my thread.

[+bittsen]

I don't like it either.

[+dfx]

I'm surprised they didn't just put the graphic on the "Log your visit" page instead, along with the Nominate checkbox. The way it is right now, you first log your find, then go to the View Log link to nominate.

somehow i don't think you're really supposed to nominate your own logs

 

but w/e.

[+thebruce0]

Except that there's the nominate checkbox on the form when you are creating a log, iirc =)

[+Pinehurst]

I have image blocker software, and I blocked the banner.

[+fizzymagic]

It would not be hard to make a Greasemonkey script to get rid of it, if you really hate it that much.

 

Hmm... now that I've looked, I do hate it that much. It sets a minimum width (in pixels) for the cache description. Bad, bad, Web design. I'm going to get rid of it with Greasemonkey.

Edited June 7, 2010 by fizzymagic

[+Team GlacierGlider]

Ok so it's a cool idea to allow users to nominate a story in a log for recognition but was it really necessary to place that obnoxious banner on every freaking cache page?

 

NO Sir.. Don't like it!

I totally agree it is very obnoxious and I wish there was a way to disable it

[+fizzymagic]

it is very obnoxious and I wish there was a way to disable it

I was able to do it in Greasemonkey. It's a little tricky, but not too bad.

 

DOes anybody want me to post the code here?

[+Chrysalides]

it is very obnoxious and I wish there was a way to disable it

I was able to do it in Greasemonkey. It's a little tricky, but not too bad.

 

DOes anybody want me to post the code here?

I have a GM script that does that and also removes a bunch of other annoyances from the page (extra whitespace, facebook iframe, the disclaimer...

 

It's nothing broundbreaking, but it uses a bunch of techniques I recently learned from Avernar and Lil Devil. If you want to take a look, it's available at :

 

http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/66749

 

If you have a better technique, please do share.

[+hallycat]

We need a dislike button

[+JesandTodd]

I hate the banner too....

[+edscott]

I suspect that if the banner had been designed in more neutral colors so that it fit in the same general theme as the rest of the page it would have drawn much less negative comment, however you gotta admit the in your face design got everyone's attention.

[+Backwards Charlie from Austin]

I'm surprised they didn't just put the graphic on the "Log your visit" page instead, along with the Nominate checkbox. The way it is right now, you first log your find, then go to the View Log link to nominate.

 

Very good point. You show how poorly thought out this was. I, for one, do not bother to look at the cache page after I log my entry. I go on and log my next entry instead. But then I would not nominate one of my logs even if the nomination was on the "Log you visit" page.

[+Lil Devil]

I think the main point is to nominate other people's logs, not your own logs.

[4wheelin_fool]

Well, I think the banner is much more interesting than seeing a page with a dozen TFTC logs.

[+Chrysalides]

Well, I think the banner is much more interesting than seeing a page with a dozen TFTC logs.

It should not be too difficult to come up with a GM script that replaces TFTC with something random, like this one.

 

Using "cache" and "location", it gave me :

 

The displayed irony overlaps beneath a defense. The salt bricks cache. Cache offends location opposite the dress board. Underneath cache swings location. Cache pretends location opposite the prevalent companion. How will location duck?

 

Hmm, come to think of it, I wonder if I should use such random sentences in my initial log before editing it to the actual log. The CO and anyone on the watchlist will be wondering what I'm smoking...

[+GeocoinGuy]

Ban the Banner! I agree.

 

Nominate a log? I agree.

 

A simple TEXT link would have done the trick without being obnoxious about it.

 

~J

 

Edited to add: Thanks to Schnueffler for the ABP line

Edited June 11, 2010 by GeocoinGuy

[knowschad]

I think the main point is to nominate other people's logs, not your own logs.

I thought the point was just to get good stories that GS can use to promote geocaching. But then, I really haven't paid that much attention to it.