The official website desperately needs an overhaul

[Viscus]

That's basically a Wordpress platform website.

 

So?

 

So, Wordpress United is how you merge forums and Wordpress for example and that project has been so delayed it's darn near abandoned. Not up to date on current patches. You can bet there's at least one ticked off cacher who has the knowledge and desire to bring our favourite site down over a missed patch.

 

Groundspeak owns the code to their site, and owns the responsibility to it. I believe Groundspeak is a bit large to be running the operation on Wordpress, or PHP-Nuke, or even Drupal. Those are (well PHP-Nuke *was*) excellent content management systems but will suffer greatly with the database load that the Geocaching dataset is.

 

Edit: Add URL for WP-United

This is entirely besides the point. The point was the overall layout, not the underlying mechanisms.

[Viscus]

If the site looks like a 10 year-old user interface, it is because that is essentially what it is.

 

When the site was established the point was to have a single place where geocachers go to to find a listing of geocaches. It simply needed to provide:

• A way to submit new geocache listings
  
• A way to search for geocaches based on geographic location
  
• A way to log attempts at finding geocaches
  

Over time it added other features such as trackables, maps, download to GPS, and premium features like bookmarks and pocket queries. Early on the site added a few "social networking" features such as a profile for each user, a way to contact a user through the site, and a discussion forum. But these were not seen as critical to the site's purpose and were never given particular emphasis.

 

Early adopter's of geocaching were mostly interesting in simply finding geocaches. If they wanted social networking with other cachers they found setting up local groups worked better. Many Yahoo! and Google groups were formed, and even early Meetup group, for groups of geocachers to find each other. Geocaching.com did add the idea of an Event cache to allow cachers to setup events to meet. Even here, guidelines were eventually adopted to discourage the use of the event pages where setting up a group on a social media site would be more "appropriate".

 

This appealed to most geocachers for many years. They have no reason to want to use geocaching as a social network. I think what has changed is the smartphone apps for geocaching. These have attracted a newer, mostly younger, group of individuals who view many online activites as a intergral part of their social lives. They may like the opporutunity to find people with common interest and contact them online. Many have grown up with these social networking sites and expect any online system to include certain features. They sometime forget that some sites like geoaching.com have been around for a long time and that many oolder members are still primarily using it to find geocaches and while they may like getting together with other geocachers, they prefer to do this via other methods.

 

I believe that Geocaching.com could probably do a better job at providing a social networking function for those that want to use it, either directy or by including the appropriate Facebook and other links on certain pages. They previously trie the Facebook like button on cache pages and that got a lot of negative feedback from people who (IMO) didn't understand the mechanic of liking something in Facebook. Cache owners were insisting that they should be able to remove the like button from their cache page because they didn't want Facebook to track their cache. I actually though it was nice because Facebook members could point a cache to their Facebook friend - perhaps even with a message like "This looks fun, should we go find it this weekend?"; while non-Facebook members could easily ignore the button.

So the question is how to provide this capability is the least obtrusive way so that non-social networkers can ignore the links. One problem with a website that has been around for a long time is that any change tends to upset some people. They are used to doing things a certain way and major changes are often seen as interfering with that.

 

Good post, and I particularily agrees with the bold part. But it seems change is kind of taboo here: The "Let's not fix what isn'ẗ broken"-mentality.

[jholly]

If the site looks like a 10 year-old user interface, it is because that is essentially what it is.

 

When the site was established the point was to have a single place where geocachers go to to find a listing of geocaches. It simply needed to provide:

• A way to submit new geocache listings
  
• A way to search for geocaches based on geographic location
  
• A way to log attempts at finding geocaches
  

Over time it added other features such as trackables, maps, download to GPS, and premium features like bookmarks and pocket queries. Early on the site added a few "social networking" features such as a profile for each user, a way to contact a user through the site, and a discussion forum. But these were not seen as critical to the site's purpose and were never given particular emphasis.

 

Early adopter's of geocaching were mostly interesting in simply finding geocaches. If they wanted social networking with other cachers they found setting up local groups worked better. Many Yahoo! and Google groups were formed, and even early Meetup group, for groups of geocachers to find each other. Geocaching.com did add the idea of an Event cache to allow cachers to setup events to meet. Even here, guidelines were eventually adopted to discourage the use of the event pages where setting up a group on a social media site would be more "appropriate".

 

This appealed to most geocachers for many years. They have no reason to want to use geocaching as a social network. I think what has changed is the smartphone apps for geocaching. These have attracted a newer, mostly younger, group of individuals who view many online activites as a intergral part of their social lives. They may like the opporutunity to find people with common interest and contact them online. Many have grown up with these social networking sites and expect any online system to include certain features. They sometime forget that some sites like geoaching.com have been around for a long time and that many oolder members are still primarily using it to find geocaches and while they may like getting together with other geocachers, they prefer to do this via other methods.

 

I believe that Geocaching.com could probably do a better job at providing a social networking function for those that want to use it, either directy or by including the appropriate Facebook and other links on certain pages. They previously trie the Facebook like button on cache pages and that got a lot of negative feedback from people who (IMO) didn't understand the mechanic of liking something in Facebook. Cache owners were insisting that they should be able to remove the like button from their cache page because they didn't want Facebook to track their cache. I actually though it was nice because Facebook members could point a cache to their Facebook friend - perhaps even with a message like "This looks fun, should we go find it this weekend?"; while non-Facebook members could easily ignore the button.

So the question is how to provide this capability is the least obtrusive way so that non-social networkers can ignore the links. One problem with a website that has been around for a long time is that any change tends to upset some people. They are used to doing things a certain way and major changes are often seen as interfering with that.

 

Good post, and I particularily agrees with the bold part. But it seems change is kind of taboo here: The "Let's not fix what isn'ẗ broken"-mentality.

As I pointed out in a previous post, many school districts block *anything* facebook, myspace, or other latest social networking fad. Probably also block IM thingies. This effectively kills the use of geocaching and it's website in schools. Which is a shame because many teachers have incorporated geocaching in the ciriculums. This probably was a factor in removing the facebook like thingy. If you want to point out a cache to your friend why not just email him a link. Works pretty good. Leave the social networking crud off the site, it really is not needed and it blocks the use of the site by, what I consider, some very worthwhile users.

 

As for not fixing what is not broken, that is a pretty good idea. Many times in fixing some thing that is not broken it really breaks things and we get to keep the pieces. Let GS concentrate on the very broken database, very broken maps and other broken features before we try to introduce the wonderful world of social networking and really have a mess.

[+Mark+Karen]

Haven't read all the thread but many seem to be confused thinking the site should turn into facebook, of course it shouldn't but there are certain things you expect of a site such as this which are currently lacking.

 

First of all the front page, this should give me much more information than it does - presently the only information relevant to me is my number of finds, and erm, that's it

 

There could be several boxes there (for logged in users only) which has things like

* Your recent finds

* Your friends recent finds

* Recent logs on caches you own

* Recently published caches close to your home location

* Events close to your home location

* General geocaching news

 

And so on.. This isn't social networking really, it's just presenting information which is already available in a consolidated form. Like the difference between looking at a graph and a sequence of numbers..

 

An internal messaging system is a must, even the free forum networks have an internal (private messaging) system which doesn't rely on emails. Users could then choose to be notified by email if they have a message waiting, or keep their inbox clean and only read messages when they visit the site.

 

Of course there are several other improvements I'd like to see but I agree with the OP that gc.com really needs to be torn down and completely rebuilt on modern principles.

[+Mark+Karen]

I'd also like to add that many of the people against change on this thread seem to say "Yes, geocaching is a social activity", so while that is the case why not allow that social activity to take place through GC.com rather than relying on external means.

[+The Blorenges]

I'd also like to add that many of the people against change on this thread seem to say "Yes, geocaching is a social activity", so while that is the case why not allow that social activity to take place through GC.com rather than relying on external means.

 

You know, I question whether it is a social activity for the majority of cachers.

 

It's a social activity for those who choose to attend geocaching events but my impression is that there's a huge mass of geocachers who just go geocaching when they feel like it, rarely see another cacher "in the field" and do caching with only their partner or immediate family or perhaps one mate.

 

These forum are a "social" aspect of the game but only a very small minority of the total geocaching community ever use them.

 

MrsB

[+Mark+Karen]

That's perhaps true, but I think the idea of going to a geocaching event is a bit too much of a step up for most people.

 

For example for me, I don't really want to go to any particular geocaching events, but I do have a couple of friends who are geocachers and I'd like to see what they're up to.

[+sseegars]

There is a huge difference between a social activity such as a sit down dinner meeting of geocachers or a CITO and a social network. Social networks (and yes I am on Facebook and Twitter) are full of people you never meet nor would you want to. There are TONS of cachers I would like to meet. I kind of stopped using Facebook because of the whole advertising/troll/"friends"/no dislike button thing. I really don't want my hobby opened up to the likes of Facebook and such. These forums are quite enough. And you can choose to not come in here. Which I do from time to time. I still hold by my statement that if you aren't paying for it then don't complain.

 

Geocaching is a hobby that does bring about like minded individuals a lot, but a lot of those like minded individuals are here for the hobby, not to chat.

[+edscott]

Look, I am glad you find Computerized social networking to be charming and your thing - just don't force all of us to 'join' in because you expect to see it everywhere.

Let's break down what I wrote one more time...

 

I want Geocaching.com to have the following:

• 
   
  
• Ease of finding other geocachers
  
• IM and PM messaging
  
• Ease of navigation
  
• Improved profiles
  

 

That's it.

 

Not too bad is it? If you still think it's too much like Facebook, I suppose you're not really the social-networking guy. Nothing wrong with that, but to argue that no one should have the commonly accepted option of instant communication across the webs, simply because you do not wish to be part of it, is quite narrow. If you do not wish to use any social network, it's entirely up to you. I doubt it would ruin your geocaching fun.

 

I geocache to find geocaches, not geocachers.

If I need to contact another cacher I can do it through their profile page.

I do my navigating in the woods.

I wrote my profile.. what's wrong with it?

[+Chokecherry]

I'd also like to add that many of the people against change on this thread seem to say "Yes, geocaching is a social activity", so while that is the case why not allow that social activity to take place through GC.com rather than relying on external means.

 

You know, I question whether it is a social activity for the majority of cachers.

 

It's a social activity for those who choose to attend geocaching events but my impression is that there's a huge mass of geocachers who just go geocaching when they feel like it, rarely see another cacher "in the field" and do caching with only their partner or immediate family or perhaps one mate.

 

These forum are a "social" aspect of the game but only a very small minority of the total geocaching community ever use them.

 

MrsB

 

This is not a social activity for me. I noodle on the forums here but that's about as social as I really want to get. I have a facebook that meets my social need and I like that it's not connected to geocaching at all. I'm content with my lack of stuff on my profile page. does it have to turn into some freakish myspace page? I don't think so.

[+dfx]

Good post, and I particularily agrees with the bold part. But it seems change is kind of taboo here: The "Let's not fix what isn't broken"-mentality.

 

Actually I think you will start to believe in the same paradigm once you had been using the site for a longer time. You'll start to be glad that anything works at all. You'll start to be glad that the forums are seperate from the main site, because when one dies or is crawling slow, at least the other one still works. Sometimes, anyway.

[+The Chaos Crew]

I'd also like to add that many of the people against change on this thread seem to say "Yes, geocaching is a social activity", so while that is the case why not allow that social activity to take place through GC.com rather than relying on external means.

 

You know, I question whether it is a social activity for the majority of cachers.

 

It's a social activity for those who choose to attend geocaching events but my impression is that there's a huge mass of geocachers who just go geocaching when they feel like it, rarely see another cacher "in the field" and do caching with only their partner or immediate family or perhaps one mate.

 

These forum are a "social" aspect of the game but only a very small minority of the total geocaching community ever use them.

 

MrsB

 

I also think that geocaching is much less of a social activity than many people on the forums suggest. Geocaching to me is 99% about me spending time having fun with my family and my family alone. Yes, we do go to the occasional event and have met some local cachers that way - and I keep in touch with some of them on the unmentionable that is Facebook But I've never actually cached WITH anyone outside of my family (other than some muggle friends I was unsuccessfully trying to convert) and if events ceased to exist tomorrow we would continue to thoroughly enjoy geocaching on our own. (If geocaching ended tomorrow, however, I doubt we'd keep going to events!)

[+t4e]

I'd also like to add that many of the people against change on this thread seem to say "Yes, geocaching is a social activity", so while that is the case why not allow that social activity to take place through GC.com rather than relying on external means.

 

first and foremost it is an OUTDOOR activity

 

if i want to be social i go to events, some people don't even do that because they enjoy the solitude this hobby affords, the fact that you can go out there and have a "time out" from every day life

 

my finds are in my profile, anyone that wants to see what i've been up to has access to that info 24/7 why do i need all that re-broadcasted?

[+JBnW]

That's perhaps true, but I think the idea of going to a geocaching event is a bit too much of a step up for most people.

 

For example for me, I don't really want to go to any particular geocaching events, but I do have a couple of friends who are geocachers and I'd like to see what they're up to.

And this is the great charade of "social" media. If I, and what so many others here have tried to say, want to socialize with friends, we would so much rather meet face-to-face and share a few stories over a cold one (or two) than sit behind a computer and look at pictures and text. Events and other meet-n-greets have always been, and hopefully always will be, the only real social norm!

 

Otherwise, when I'm out caching or enjoying my other outdoor hobbies, I turn my cellphone off. My favorite places to be are cell free anyway, so I'm really just carrying around dead weight. The only people who NEED to get ahold of me quickly know how; everybody else can wait, send an email, I'll get back to you. My motto: If you're trying to get away from it all, why do you take it all with you?

[+DragonsWest]

For the most part, I like the site as it is. Change for the sake of change is not progress. Be constructive with suggestions for change and beware what you ask for, you don't know who's implementing it and how awful it could turn out (eBay is the best Negative example which comes to mind. They are now teh suck.)

 

However, this morning I do feel it is time they upgraded the TRS-80 server.

Edited April 27, 2011 by DragonsWest

[+Ecylram]

Anyone else find it ironic that we're arguing for and against online social networking for geocaching... on an online forum for geocaching?

 

[+JBnW]

Anyone else find it ironic that we're arguing for and against online social networking for geocaching... on an online forum for geocaching?

 

Not ironic, just humorous. And it works pretty well, don't you think? Want me to send you a PM?

[+LukeTrocity]

Anyone else find it ironic that we're arguing for and against online social networking for geocaching... on an online forum for geocaching?

 

I did. I personally agree with most of the OP s statement. I'm not sure why, but most (or at least the more vocal) hate change. Some are actually angry about seeing a message showing their favorite points after logging a cache. Change happens, and even when its positive people hate it.

[+dfx]

Anyone else find it ironic that we're arguing for and against online social networking for geocaching... on an online forum for geocaching?

 

 

No, not at all. A forum has nothing to do with social network sites.

[+northernpenguin]

Anyone else find it ironic that we're arguing for and against online social networking for geocaching... on an online forum for geocaching?

 

 

No, not at all. A forum has nothing to do with social network sites.

 

I agree here. I didn't have to add anyone as a "Friend" to communicate with them here on the forum. It's also not integrated with the front page, isn't suggesting people I may know and I don't have to filter out the Mafiawars posts to get to the actual flamewars

[GOF and Bacall]

In addition to the lack of enthusiasm for turning GC.com into another facebook can the system even handle it? They can't keep things running smooth as it is. Makes no sense to add more load on the system.

[+StarBrand]

...

But it seems change is kind of taboo here: The "Let's not fix what isn'ẗ broken"-mentality.

I don't think that is a fair characterization at all. Things change here all the time. Take a look at the site via the wayback machine and you can see what I mean. The efforts at change here are twofold - make the necessary changes for new features and functions but make them in a way that looks and feels familiar to existing users of the site.

 

Change to please a handful of users is not a good thing. Change for the simple sake of change is a bad thing. Change to mimic somebody else is generally not a good change either.

 

Change needs to be planned and change needs to make sense and change needs to not throw everybody off balance.

 

At the same time - resisting any change is a bad trait as well. Balance is key.

[+geodarts]

In addition to the lack of enthusiasm for turning GC.com into another facebook can the system even handle it? They can't keep things running smooth as it is. Makes no sense to add more load on the system.

 

Perhaps that is why the various ideas that Groundspeak has had about making the site more social have not come to complete fruition. The primary purpose of this site is to enable people to find geocaches. I am all in favor of ideas that make this task easier to pursue. Anything else should not be a priority.

[+Castle Mischief]

I'd prefer to not see any new features slapped on this site that don't directly involve making it easier to find/hide geocaches, download the files to load to my GPSr, and then write and post a log on the cache page.

 

Anything that is outside of the core concepts of hiding and finding geocaches can just get in line.

 

I'm on Twitter and Facebook for entirely different reasons that have nothing to do with geocaching. When I want social networking I go to a social network.

[+sseegars]

I'd prefer to not see any new features slapped on this site that don't directly involve making it easier to find/hide geocaches, download the files to load to my GPSr, and then write and post a log on the cache page.

 

Anything that is outside of the core concepts of hiding and finding geocaches can just get in line.

 

I'm on Twitter and Facebook for entirely different reasons that have nothing to do with geocaching. When I want social networking I go to a social network.

 

Can I get a amen! I follow several cachers on Twitter and Facebook. I like to see their adventures. Heck I follow CM there, but that doesn't mean everyone wants to! (No offense)

[sabrefan7]

Haven't read all the thread but many seem to be confused thinking the site should turn into facebook, of course it shouldn't but there are certain things you expect of a site such as this which are currently lacking.

 

First of all the front page, this should give me much more information than it does - presently the only information relevant to me is my number of finds, and erm, that's it

 

There could be several boxes there (for logged in users only) which has things like

* Your recent finds

* Your friends recent finds

* Recent logs on caches you own

* Recently published caches close to your home location

* Events close to your home location

* General geocaching news

 

All of this is already available to you now on your personal profile page

[sabrefan7]

 

An internal messaging system is a must, even the free forum networks have an internal (private messaging) system which doesn't rely on emails. Users could then choose to be notified by email if they have a message waiting, or keep their inbox clean and only read messages when they visit the site.

This is already available to you on here.

 

The LAST thing this site needs is instant perstering

[+StarBrand]

...

An internal messaging system is a must, even the free forum networks have an internal (private messaging) system which doesn't rely on emails. Users could then choose to be notified by email if they have a message waiting, or keep their inbox clean and only read messages when they visit the site.

 

Of course there are several other improvements I'd like to see but I agree with the OP that gc.com really needs to be torn down and completely rebuilt on modern principles.

I don't want notified that I have a message waiting for me elsewhere - I want the message!! I like online forms that send emails. I don't want my information scattered about dozens of web locations.

 

What are these "modern principles"? - where can I read about these? What committee sat down and voted on them? Why wasn't my opinion included?

[sabrefan7]

 

...

 

What are these "modern principles"? - where can I read about these? What committee sat down and voted on them? Why wasn't my opinion included?

 

I was fine with dial up and CompuServe!!!!!!!

[knowschad]

Anyone else find it ironic that we're arguing for and against online social networking for geocaching... on an online forum for geocaching?

 

 

No, not at all. A forum has nothing to do with social network sites.

 

I agree here. I didn't have to add anyone as a "Friend" to communicate with them here on the forum.... and I don't have to filter out the Mafiawars posts to get to the actual flamewars

You, sir, are a master of the understatement!

[+mtn-man]

What are these "modern principles"? - where can I read about these? What committee sat down and voted on them? Why wasn't my opinion included?

"Mongo only pawn in game of life."

 

 

I was fine with dial up and CompuServe!!!!!!!

Ack. I remember doing cache review on dial-up. You think pages load on the site slow now sometimes? Click the link to nearest caches... check back during next commercial on TV. I'll stick to my 22 mbps cable connection!

[+Resetti]

Ok well to be honest, I skimmed through most of the posts.

 

But to the OP, if you have chrome, just go download an extension called GC Tidy and it is AMAZING. This little script extension clears up the whole entire website and gives you a nice menu when you hover over your name etc. Basically it is that extension which has turned around the website into what I want. Love it!

 

Otherwise apart from that, I think there seemed like way too much trolling in the earlier posts, so all I can say is lol.

[+Don_J]

Right, and I personally hate having to go check a website for what is essentially an email. I get email all the time, and LIKE that it all comes in one mailbox. Rather than spending my evenings browsing from site to site to site in case I got a PM there.

Then shut off your inbox.

 

viscus, You are not understanding what dfx is saying! They are saying that they do not want yet another inbox to check. By having messages go to your email, you are guaranteed to get them even if you havn't logged into geocaching.com. I know I can go months not logging in because life gets in the way. But if someone wants to ask me a question about a cache, if it goes to my email, I'll see it there.

Thanks for making sense out of that. Valid Points, absolutely. But rather than objecting to anyone who would use this system, why not simply suggest improvements, such as the option to block people from posting PM to you, or an option to receive an e-mail notification about new PM's? These are common options for many/most websites.

 

I think you'll find/are finding that you are vastly outnumbered here. We do not want this to be a social networking site. The features on the site that are somewhat like some social networking sites are there out of necessity.

To clear things up, it is already a social networking site and the forum enforces this fact. All I want is those four small improvements and they could all be made optional. If you disagree then I fully respect your opinion.

 

It is not a social networking site. Saying it over and over does not make it true.

[+Don_J]

 

The profile is irritating to me in that there's not a quick and easy way I've found to switch back and forth between my profile and my public profile. It can go one way easily, but to get back I have to do some roundabout clicking to get there.

 

 

You can quickly access your private profile page by simply clicking your name in the line that says, "You are logged in as XYZ" that is on the top left of every page.

[+Don_J]

I imagine this will be the scene outside of the Lilypad, the day after full Facebook integration.

 

[+d+n.s]

While I agree that Geocaching doesn't need to be facebook... Thats a straw man. Finding other cachers SHOULD be easier and facebook DOES have an easy to use design that geocaching.com can and IS borrowing from.

Anything can be improved, but the vitriol directed at choosing facebook as a comparison are kinda' silly. I've seen people on these forums complain about all of this stuff before.

 

Whenever Facebook comes up in a conversation, I'm always amused by people who think it exists to make "friends" with strangers and be bombarded with boring crap. Especially on a forum. You can use any tool wrong. If you don't want to be friends with strangers, don't do it. I am only friends with people I am actually friends with. I have a filter set-up for people I do work with, so that I can let them in on upcoming projects but spare all involved from personal stuff and pointless blather. That functionality is easy to use. Its linked from every post you make.

Do people just not have self control? Where does this fear of being subjected to random crap from boring strangers stem from? I use facebook, and its never has happened to me. Surely, I am not more tech savvy than most.

Don't get me wrong. I understand why some people don't want one. Sometimes, its the same reason some people refused to get e-mail and the same reason some refuse to get a cell phone. Sometimes its just genuine disinterest, but reasons expressed are often misinformed and confusing.

 

It is not a social networking site. Saying it over and over does not make it true.

Its a vague term.

Drawing a line in the sand over it seems arbitrary and counter-productive.

Geocaching.com allows you to create a profile, make friends, officially designate people as friends, send messages, discuss topics on a forum, post messages on people's cache pages, browse through people's pictures, post updates from their phone, organize social events and argue with other boring nerds. All things considered, it walks enough like a duck that I can forgive people for being disappointed its a goose. Especially when a duck might taste better

 

If people want features that they see in social networking sites, it should be beside the point if the site currently IS or ISN'T a social networking site.

Just as much as they shouldn't be implemented if people don't want them.

 

Getting hung up on semantics just derails useful discussion.

Look how broad this definition is:

Main Entry: social network 1

Part of Speech: n

Definition: a person's family, neighbors, and friends with whom they are socially involved

Main Entry: social network 2

Part of Speech: n

Definition: a website where one connects with those sharing personal or professional interests, place of origin, education at a particular school, etc.

Usage: computing

Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon

Copyright © 2003-2011 Dictionary.com, LLC

Cite This Source

Computing Dictionary

social network definition

communications

Any website designed to allow multiple users to publish content themselves. The information may be on any subject and may be for consumption by (potential) friends, mates, employers, employees, etc. The sites typically allow users to create a "profile" describing themselves and to exchange public or private messages and list other users or groups they are connected to in some way. There may be editorial content or the site may be entirely user-driven. Content may include text, images (e.g. (http://flickr.com/)), video (e.g. (http://youtube.com/)) or any other media.

Social networks on the the web are a natural extension of mailing lists and buletin boards. They are related to wikis like (http://wikipedia.org/) but typically do not allow users to modify content once it has been submitted, though usually you can publish comments on others' submissions.

Different sites have different emphasis. For example, (http://friendsreunited.co.uk/) (one of the earliest such sites) focusses on listing former acquaintances; (http://myspace.com/) is music-oriented; (http://linkedin.com/) aims to connect business partners; (http://del.icio.us/), (http://stumbleupon.com/) and (http://digg.com/) are for exchanging links to favouirite web sites. There are many more.

Sometimes the social aspects are a side-effect of bringing together people with shared interests, e.g. (http://slashdot.org/) (IT), other times they become more important than the original purpose, e.g. (http://worldofwarcraft.com/) (fantasy gaming).

(2006-12-05)

Is there really any point in arguing over whether this site has become (either inadvertently or not) whatever it is this block of text describes? Its clearly a nebulous thing that is really a collection of elements paired with marketing lingo rather than a hard and fast thing.

It seems like a matter of opinion rather than fact.

Edited April 28, 2011 by d+n.s

[Viscus]

What are these "modern principles"? - where can I read about these? What committee sat down and voted on them? Why wasn't my opinion included?

I' date=' of course, meant the trends that marks modern social networks as up-to-date. Such as easy communications, ease of navigation - and these are not trends in merely social networks. If you check out the rest of the web, most modern and particularily proffesional websites have these qualities, whereas Goecaching.com does not. User-friendlyness is generally considered to be an importment platform to develop over the coming decade, and you already see Google and Microsoft taking it seriously (smartphones have become ridiculously easy-to-use, just as computer software, OS's, web-services and websites). It's commonly accepted and more often commonly requested.

 

As for you getting a notification e-mail instead of the actual message, you can get the actual message in this e-mail, and several websites already has this system. Given, you would still have to access Geocaching.com to answer the message, but it should take care of your addressed problem. And if you think that's an ordeal then I can't [i']believe[/i] how you can even stand the site in it's current condition, where basically everything involves taking you to another page or site (forums and shop for instance). You're very contradictory here.

 

And like I've written over and over again: I personally would be okay with the option to turn off IM, PM etc. and just go with e-mail for those who want to. Either as standard or as personal settings. This means I respect your wish to just get e-mails (because as I see it, that's your main argument, the rest is just whining) while you on the other hand demonstrates no respect for my and several other members wished for increased connectivity. It's like talking to a brick wall.

It is not a social networking site. Saying it over and over does not make it true.

Pointing it out have seemed necessary as all the answer I get is: "NO IT'S NOT" without any motivation. Take a look at d+n.s's post above this one.

 

As for not fixing what is not broken, that is a pretty good idea.

Had we implemented this axiom effectively, mankind would never had evolved beyond sticks and stones.

 

@d+n.s, what you write is true and it's nice to see that I'm not the only one who finds it an undeveloped fun-factor to connect with other geocachers. The site will be down for maintenance at May 4th for 4-6 hours - maybe this will involve something like the topics we've discussed? I can't believe for the life of me that Groundspeak would not want to increase the connectivity between members.

Edited April 28, 2011 by Viscus

[Viscus]

Here are the new updates for the website: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=269950&st=0

 

A video section (YouTube implementation, that is). I like this. Although it's youtube implemented which people should hate - I mean, youtube is banned in schools as well and it, like Facebook, is a social network with an extremely large amount of members. I must've forgotten what's the problem with this again, as Groundspeak seem to have missed it as well.

 

A very nice addition to the site. At first glance I thought this video section was something like the photos section in profiles, where members can share their experiences with personal photos and images. But sharing experiences is not the important thing, right. The important thing is geocaching, right. Let's remove the photos section, right.

[+Don_J]

 

It is not a social networking site. Saying it over and over does not make it true.

Its a vague term.

Drawing a line in the sand over it seems arbitrary and counter-productive.

 

Okay, I'll elaborate. Geocaching.com is a web site that lists Geocaches. It's purpose is to allow it's members to list geocaches so that others can use the website to record the coordinates of geocaches, and then seek them and log them online. That is purpose of the web site. It is to find geocaches, not geocachers.

[+Don_J]

Here are the new updates for the website: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=269950&st=0

 

A video section (YouTube implementation, that is). I like this. Although it's youtube implemented which people should hate - I mean, youtube is banned in schools as well and it, like Facebook, is a social network with an extremely large amount of members. I must've forgotten what's the problem with this again, as Groundspeak seem to have missed it as well.

 

A very nice addition to the site. At first glance I thought this video section was something like the photos section in profiles, where members can share their experiences with personal photos and images. But sharing experiences is not the important thing, right. The important thing is geocaching, right. Let's remove the photos section, right.

 

Oh, now your just getting stupid, (I'll take the warning).

You went from improving the site to degrading it. What purpose would that serve? It's cool. We don't have enough flashing lights for you. Nothing to see here, move along.

Edited April 28, 2011 by Don_J

[+sseegars]

I will now use the closest thing this site has to a dislike button. This went from suggestions from an unhappy unpaid member to just spinning out of control quickly. I just don't get it.

[+t4e]

 

Okay, I'll elaborate. Geocaching.com is a web site that lists Geocaches. It's purpose is to allow it's members to list geocaches so that others can use the website to record the coordinates of geocaches, and then seek them and log them online. That is purpose of the web site. It is to find geocaches, not geocachers.

 

 

can you please say that a few more times, perhaps in CAPS, largest font available, bold and red, and maybe, just maybe everyone else trying to turn it into FB etc will finally get it?

[+TomToad]

I understand why you want to improve the social aspect of GC.com. I wouldn't mind if some things were added to the site as long as they were optional. However, the phrase "Jack of all trades, master of none," come to mind. I don't want to see GC.com reach the point where it has so many features added that it becomes more difficult to use for it's main purpose.

 

Oh wait, it seems it already has reached that point. It seems that every new thing that is added on GC.com now creates problems with something else. I can't even get smileys on maps anymore unless I go to the beta maps where I can't get PMO caches. Right now, I'd like to see GC.com address current issues before considering anything else. Hopefully, the move to new servers next week will take care of most of these problems.

 

In short, I'd like to see GC.com adress these issues in this order

1. take care of current problems

2. Make the site more user friendly and easier to navigate

3. Improve searching/logging/publishing caches

4. Improve communication with other cachers

 

I don't want GC to address any issues on the list until #1 is solved, and I don't want to see any resources spent on #4 until the other 3 are taken care of.

 

As far as Facebook integration goes, I have to say no. Not because I don't like facebook, but because it will create problems for this site. There is a thread which I can't find at the moment, A teacher had geocaching as part of her curriculum. She went to show the class how to access the website, but the website would not load. It had people scratching their heads for a few, as the site worked before. Same computer, same web browser, but for some reason, the site would not load. It was eventually discovered that the problem was GC had added a "Like" button to the cache pages. The school had a strict "no facebook" policy. The firewall blocked facebook and anything linked to facebook. There are people from all walks of life and every country here. The more you try to integrate GC.com with other sites, the more likely you'll introduce problems.

[+DragonsWest]

This clash of cultures has left my head spinning. I feel like Mongo in the above post.

 

One should not take the present status quo as assent the site is good enough, but neither should it be taken as a need for change (if we put whizzy links all over we could have even more geocachers!)

 

Having watching the online world change for over 30 years I can honestly say, very little of it actually made people happy - they just put up with the change. Many leave, others may replace them. But does GC want a watershed moment where veteran cachers have had enough tweaking and leave to not cache again (or found yet-another rival site?)

 

Way out here on the west coast we have www.thegba.net (Geocachers of the Bay Area) a separate site with forums, activites, arguments, all the good stuff. We don't rely on GC to keep it all going for us, as much of the game is driven by the individual, not by the herd.

[+Stargazer22]

 

It is not a social networking site. Saying it over and over does not make it true.

Its a vague term.

Drawing a line in the sand over it seems arbitrary and counter-productive.

 

Okay, I'll elaborate. Geocaching.com is a web site that lists Geocaches. It's purpose is to allow it's members to list geocaches so that others can use the website to record the coordinates of geocaches, and then seek them and log them online. That is purpose of the web site. It is to find geocaches, not geocachers.

 

I have to agree with this. I want to use geocaching.com to find caches, not cachers. I have no problems contacting other cachers when I need to by just using the already available tools on the site. I have contacted many over the years and have never had a problem finding who I was looking for or successfully communicating with them through the site. I can attend a geo event if I want to be social with other cachers.

My primary interest for the website is to provide accessibility to cache listing pages, maps, etc... and I would much prefer TPTB to spend their resources working on increased functionality for finding caches, not to turn it into another social networking site.

If you think I am resistant to changes, you would be wrong. I just want changes to be meaningful for the intended functionality of the site. Not just change for the sake of change, or to make the site mimic some other site that does not have anything to do with geocaching.

[knowschad]

The profile is irritating to me in that there's not a quick and easy way I've found to switch back and forth between my profile and my public profile. It can go one way easily, but to get back I have to do some roundabout clicking to get there.

 

 

You can quickly access your private profile page by simply clicking your name in the line that says, "You are logged in as XYZ" that is on the top left right of every page.

Or, to a geocacher, the northeast corner.

[+JBnW]

 

It is not a social networking site. Saying it over and over does not make it true.

Its a vague term.

Drawing a line in the sand over it seems arbitrary and counter-productive.

 

Okay, I'll elaborate. Geocaching.com is a web site that lists Geocaches. It's purpose is to allow it's members to list geocaches so that others can use the website to record the coordinates of geocaches, and then seek them and log them online. That is purpose of the web site. It is to find geocaches, not geocachers.

 

I have to agree with this. I want to use geocaching.com to find caches, not cachers. I have no problems contacting other cachers when I need to by just using the already available tools on the site. I have contacted many over the years and have never had a problem finding who I was looking for or successfully communicating with them through the site. I can attend a geo event if I want to be social with other cachers.

My primary interest for the website is to provide accessibility to cache listing pages, maps, etc... and I would much prefer TPTB to spend their resources working on increased functionality for finding caches, not to turn it into another social networking site.

If you think I am resistant to changes, you would be wrong. I just want changes to be meaningful for the intended functionality of the site. Not just change for the sake of change, or to make the site mimic some other site that does not have anything to do with geocaching.

Today, I'd rather the lackeys work hard figuring out the website problems that present themselves right now than add new features not related to caching. If the OP wants more social interaction, here's a good link to find cachers local to them in Sweden. Only a bit of scrolling and one mouse click away. Otherwise, I've never had any problems finding or contacting other cachers; either through existing email or existing PM features. There are several website tweeks that I'd like to see, especially in updating the public profile page, but I'd be a lot happier if the site worked at all.

[knowschad]

Here are the new updates for the website: http://forums.Ground...pic=269950&st=0

 

A video section (YouTube implementation, that is). I like this. Although it's youtube implemented which people should hate - I mean, youtube is banned in schools as well and it, like Facebook, is a social network with an extremely large amount of members. I must've forgotten what's the problem with this again, as Groundspeak seem to have missed it as well.

 

A very nice addition to the site. At first glance I thought this video section was something like the photos section in profiles, where members can share their experiences with personal photos and images. But sharing experiences is not the important thing, right. The important thing is geocaching, right. Let's remove the photos section, right.

 

Psst... your gallery is empty.

[+LukeTrocity]

Here are the new updates for the website: http://forums.Ground...pic=269950&st=0

 

A video section (YouTube implementation, that is). I like this. Although it's youtube implemented which people should hate - I mean, youtube is banned in schools as well and it, like Facebook, is a social network with an extremely large amount of members. I must've forgotten what's the problem with this again, as Groundspeak seem to have missed it as well.

 

A very nice addition to the site. At first glance I thought this video section was something like the photos section in profiles, where members can share their experiences with personal photos and images. But sharing experiences is not the important thing, right. The important thing is geocaching, right. Let's remove the photos section, right.

 

Psst... your gallery is empty.

Oops!

[+mtn-man]

Here are the new updates for the website: http://forums.Ground...pic=269950&st=0

 

A video section (YouTube implementation, that is). I like this. Although it's youtube implemented which people should hate - I mean, youtube is banned in schools as well and it, like Facebook, is a social network with an extremely large amount of members. I must've forgotten what's the problem with this again, as Groundspeak seem to have missed it as well.

 

A very nice addition to the site. At first glance I thought this video section was something like the photos section in profiles, where members can share their experiences with personal photos and images. But sharing experiences is not the important thing, right. The important thing is geocaching, right. Let's remove the photos section, right.

 

Psst... your gallery is empty.

Oops!

Just an observation, but I also looked at your logs. All of the older ones had nothing in them at all. I don't want you to get beat up on that, but if you are not even going to comment in a log I don't see this being too much of a social game for you.