Please do NOT make bush hides a FAVORITE

[Clan Riffster]

One thing I could never figure out was why so many folks will favorite the start of a power trail, but will not spread that love to the other 999+ caches which are utterly identical to the first one, except for the number assigned to it. Is Crappy Cache # 001 really that much better than Crappy Cache # 649? From the pictures, I would say they are the same, but then, I haven't been there. I realize that it would be hard to find so many caches that you could give 999 points, but surely, if the first of a thousand identical caches is spectacular enough to warrant a favorite point, the others must be spectacular as well. Right? Maybe they could award a point every 10 caches or so to demonstrate that they enjoyed them? Or could their refusal to give points to all the other PT caches be some kind of subtle indicator that these folks thought the caches themselves pretty much sucked. Maybe?

[+addisonbr]

One thing I could never figure out was why so many folks will favorite the start of a power trail, but will not spread that love to the other 999+ caches which are utterly identical to the first one, except for the number assigned to it. Is Crappy Cache # 001 really that much better than Crappy Cache # 649? From the pictures, I would say they are the same, but then, I haven't been there. I realize that it would be hard to find so many caches that you could give 999 points, but surely, if the first of a thousand identical caches is spectacular enough to warrant a favorite point, the others must be spectacular as well. Right? Maybe they could award a point every 10 caches or so to demonstrate that they enjoyed them? Or could their refusal to give points to all the other PT caches be some kind of subtle indicator that these folks thought the caches themselves pretty much sucked. Maybe?

I'm not one for power trails, but it actually makes some intuitive sense to me. If I did the trail and enjoyed it I would probably designate the first cache in the trail as a favorite too. And maybe the last.

[+all done]

Maybe they need a favorite system for Power Trails....then the Power Trailers could rate the Power Trails as opposed to the number one geocache of the thousand or however many geocaches on the power trail there might be.

 

To each their own but my idea of a Power Trail is a nice long challenging trail with a geocache at the end and the power source being a Polaris Sportsman 500 but that's just me.

[+niraD]

One thing I could never figure out was why so many folks will favorite the start of a power trail, but will not spread that love to the other 999+ caches which are utterly identical to the first one, except for the number assigned to it. Is Crappy Cache # 001 really that much better than Crappy Cache # 649? From the pictures, I would say they are the same, but then, I haven't been there.

I think part of it is that the entire numbers run trail is treated as a single experience. Consider the way the owners of numbers run trails handle logs. They generally ignore logs on all the other caches, and ask seekers to post any logs or notes they want read by the owners to the first cache in the trail. So if someone wants to mark the entire experience as a Favorite (but not the individual caches), the obvious thing to do is to vote for the first cache in the trail.

 

Situations like this make me like fizzymagic's suggestion: treat numbers run trails as a variant of a multi-cache, where you can log multiple finds by specifying how many stages of the numbers run trail you found. Yes, a few weirdos like me might actually find one or two of the caches as individual caches, but the vast majority of people will treat it as a numbers run, as a single experience of finding many, many caches as quickly as possible for an extended period of time. Why not list it that way on the site, rather than as individual caches that require finders to copy-paste hundreds of logs to hundreds of caches with copy-paste descriptions?

[Clan Riffster]

I think part of it is that the entire numbers run trail is treated as a single experience. Consider the way the owners of numbers run trails handle logs. They generally ignore logs on all the other caches, and ask seekers to post any logs or notes they want read by the owners to the first cache in the trail. So if someone wants to mark the entire experience as a Favorite (but not the individual caches), the obvious thing to do is to vote for the first cache in the trail.

Ya know, in a weird kinda way, that actually makes sense!

[+The Leprechauns]

I am thankful for this thread. It reminded me that I hadn't yet assigned Favorite Points to some nice caches I found during a recent vacation.

 

One cache took me to an awesome pond, stocked with turtles like nothing I'd ever seen before. There was a gazebo and park benches to watch the turtles swim around. Mama turtles swam with their babies. Tough guy turtles battled it out with other tough guys. Clumsy turtles bumped into their neighbors. It was such a cool spot that I brought my muggle friends back to watch the fun.

 

So I favorited a bush hide.

 

The other cache was a high quality bison tube with a fresh, dry logsheet. BUT it was hidden inside the belly of a VERY realistic lizard that blended in perfectly with its surroundings! I jumped a bit when I saw the lizard, even though I was sort of expecting something unusual after reading the cache page. It was one of the best-executed, best-maintained "fake animal" caches I've found in nine years of geocaching.

 

So I favorited a bush hide.

[+ventura_kids]

I am thankful for this thread. It reminded me that I hadn't yet assigned Favorite Points to some nice caches I found during a recent vacation.

 

One cache took me to an awesome pond, stocked with turtles like nothing I'd ever seen before. There was a gazebo and park benches to watch the turtles swim around. Mama turtles swam with their babies. Tough guy turtles battled it out with other tough guys. Clumsy turtles bumped into their neighbors. It was such a cool spot that I brought my muggle friends back to watch the fun.

 

So I favorited a bush hide.

 

The other cache was a high quality bison tube with a fresh, dry logsheet. BUT it was hidden inside the belly of a VERY realistic lizard that blended in perfectly with its surroundings! I jumped a bit when I saw the lizard, even though I was sort of expecting something unusual after reading the cache page. It was one of the best-executed, best-maintained "fake animal" caches I've found in nine years of geocaching.

 

So I favorited a bush hide.

 

Nope. You favorited a wonderful turtle pond cache, and a clever fake lizard cache. I would favorite those also.

 

A bush cache is just a bush with a micro in it....nothing more.

[+ventura_kids]

I think part of it is that the entire numbers run trail is treated as a single experience. Consider the way the owners of numbers run trails handle logs. They generally ignore logs on all the other caches, and ask seekers to post any logs or notes they want read by the owners to the first cache in the trail. So if someone wants to mark the entire experience as a Favorite (but not the individual caches), the obvious thing to do is to vote for the first cache in the trail.

Ya know, in a weird kinda way, that actually makes sense!

 

Exactly correct. Normal behavior on power trails...is to post your story and pictures on #1. The entire rest of the trail can be cut and pasted "TNLNSL", because the entire trail is usually non-descript copies of #1. If there is a cute one in the middle of the trail...perhaps it would get a unique log...Otherwise cut and paste...but that's another thread.

[+SeekerOfTheWay]

When you guys did the Route 66 power trail didn't you miss a lot of nice scenery to look at film cans?

[+GeoBain]

This new challenge thing kind of puts favorited bush hides in perspective.

[+GeoGeeBee]

I have never given a favorite point to a bush hide. But I have to say that I can imagine a situation where I might do so.

 

My favorites are MY favorites. They are my favorites because something about them appealed to me. You are perfectly free to favorite a bush hide, or not, but you can't tell me what caches are my favorites.

[+Badgerdawg]

Favorite Points= FAIL.

 

Too subjective, too meaningless in the long run if people are favoriting their friend's caches just because it's their friend's caches. VK is right. A crappy bush hide is a crappy bush hide. A bush hide that takes me to a turtle pond, beautiful lake or waterfall is not a crappy bush hide, IMHO. See? It's all subjective.

[+Darren V]

I'm a mountain biker. If I'm riding a really fun trail and end off the ride with an ammo can in the bush I'm gonna favourite it - for the trail and the experience of the day

[+tozainamboku]

Favorite Points= FAIL.

 

Too subjective, too meaningless in the long run if people are favoriting their friend's caches just because it's their friend's caches. VK is right. A crappy bush hide is a crappy bush hide. A bush hide that takes me to a turtle pond, beautiful lake or waterfall is not a crappy bush hide, IMHO. See? It's all subjective.

Isn't that the point. Cache enjoyment is subjective. So a rating system that uses average points is pretty meaningless, unless you are the hypothetical average cacher. It's also why I object to the percentage of (premium) finders who favorite a cache. It only estimates the probabilty that the hypothetical average (premium) cacher would favorite a cache.

 

To me, a cache that gets a lot of favorites means that it is more likely that someone in the group of cachers who favorited the cache has taste similar to mine. But it isn't the best way to use favorites. There could be something that lots of cachers like that I don't care that much for. Instead, I like to click on the favorites button to see who favorited a cache. In my home area, at least, I've begun to recognize certain names and gotten a feeling to what sort of caches they like. So I can use this to decide if a cache will likely be on I enjoy. I'll have to wait to see if they is a similar way to take advantage of favorites when not in my home area.