What are favourite points really for?

[+thehoomer]

I believe that favourite points are one of the best things that have come out of Geocaching for a good while.

Amongst other things, its a great way of helping you decide if a cache is worth pursuing.

However, to us, it also means exactly what it says on the tin.

 

Despite the fact that it may be a cache from our past, we have awarded several favourite points to caches which have long since been archived.

It could be argued that awarding a favourite point to an archived cache is a waste but personally, we don't see it that way. I have seen a few out there but I'm just interested, does anyone else ever award favorites to archived caches?

 

I ask this because I was once chastised on here for using favourite points in this way .

[patdhill]

I believe that favourite points are one of the best things that have come out of Geocaching for a good while.

Amongst other things, its a great way of helping you decide if a cache is worth pursuing.

However, to us, it also means exactly what it says on the tin.

 

Despite the fact that it may be a cache from our past, we have awarded several favourite points to caches which have long since been archived.

It could be argued that awarding a favourite point to an archived cache is a waste but personally, we don't see it that way. I have seen a few out there but I'm just interested, does anyone else ever award favorites to archived caches?

 

I ask this because I was once chastised on here for using favourite points in this way .

I go through my favourites every so often and un-favourite ones I've put on now archived caches. My belief is they are to help others to pick out good caches to do so no point having then on archived ones.

[Pup Patrol]

I've given out favourite points to caches we enjoyed finding. Period.

 

I've read the arguments about how favourites should be given out, according to other people's terms.

 

I'm giving them out according to my terms.

[+Stuey]

I have seen a few out there but I'm just interested, does anyone else ever award favorites to archived caches?

Of course! If it was a favourite, it gets a favourite point. I have got 470 favourite points available. I have 126 unassigned, and 344 awarded. 25 of which have been given to archived caches.

 

I ask this because I was once chastised on here for using favourite points in this way .

Then whoever chastised you is an idiot. Would they therefore suggest that if a cache that you had given a favourite point to was archived, that you remove your favourite point and award it elsewhere? I think not.

[team tisri]

I give a favourite point to a cache I really enjoyed doing. If a cache gets archived I'll usually recover the point, as telling the world I enjoyed the hunt is pointless if they can't follow me and hunt it themselves.

 

I tend to be quite picky, if I've been out for a day's caching it's quite rare for any one particular cache to stick out in my mind enough for me to give it a point, although if I've really enjoyed a series I'll often give the first or last one in the series a favourite point.

 

As to what they are for, I'd hazard a guess they let us tell the world which caches were our favourites.

[+thebruce0]

I guess the only reason favorite points would be useful to see on archived caches is as a guide for a specific hider, if you're interested in finding out how much other people like(d) their caches. If someone's a great hider, and lots of people award favorites, but then remove them from archived caches, there's no record of how much the cache was enjoyed.

Of course, one could just argue that if they're really that good and you're basing a judgement on how many favorite points they have, one could just look at the active caches and how many favorites they have. But then maybe some really really great caches have been archived, and favorites removed by past finders... its 'legacy' would get lost, at least in db/stats of caches...

 

who knows. the argument could go around in circles. *shrug* if I ever run out of favorite points, only then would I consider recovering points from archived caches... but that's just me.

[+MartyBartfast]

...

Despite the fact that it may be a cache from our past, we have awarded several favourite points to caches which have long since been archived.

...

I ask this because I was once chastised on here for using favourite points in this way .

 

Me too, When favourites first came out I looked at all the caches I'd found and gave favourites to several which were archived long ago but were memorable for me, and there's no way I will go round removing a favourite from a cache which has been archived since I awarded it. I don't see it as a waste as I've still got ~90 to give out (maybe I'm just picky!).

 

And whoever chastised you was talking nonsense.

[I!]

Wouldn't it be nice if favourites were locked when the cache was archived. You can't delete the vote you cast and you can't add a new vote. The vote you cast would, however, be credited back to your account. If the cache is unarchived, then the vote you cast is debited from your account in the normal way (if you can afford it) or deleted from the cache page (if you can't).

[+BCNorwich]

Hello,

So what does no votes actually tell you???

 

I think GCVote is much better at rating a cache than favorite points if enough people would use it. You can award a star rating from poor through to awesome. Thus informing other's of the quality of a particular cache rather than just showing the ones you like.

 

GCVote really took off when it first came out but it seems to have died off a bit possibly because of lack of promotion. Have a look at it and see what you think, by the way I'm not in any way connected to it.

 

Regards

Bernard

[+t.a.folk]

We gave favorites to lots of archived caches .

Some were locationless caches because we enjoyed the info given ,

followed by our research or keeping eyes open for another example .

[+mrplenty]

One of the favourite points i gave to was .. a magnetic nano believe it or not, It was for the way it was hidden a very very sneaky hide and i got a great email from the CO thanking me for the point which i thought was really nice.

 

mrplenty

[+Stuey]

One of the favourite points i gave to was .. a magnetic nano believe it or not, It was for the way it was hidden a very very sneaky hide and i got a great email from the CO thanking me for the point which i thought was really nice.

 

mrplenty

 

I did the same, on a cache near the London Eye. A great hide, considering the location.

[+*mouse*]

GCVote really took off when it first came out but it seems to have died off a bit possibly because of lack of promotion. Have a look at it and see what you think, by the way I'm not in any way connected to it.

 

I stopped using it when I realised almost all caches down our way were coming out as a 3 or thereabouts. People were too polite to mark down a bad cache and unless the community is honest what is the point? Maybe it worked better elsewhere in the UK.....

 

I now use favourites instead and find them a better way of identifying good caches. I think the take up of favorites is much higher as it's easier to use so the results are better - lots of people (such as my parents) can understand how to use favourites, but if I'd told them to load a greasemonkey script they'd have looked at me as if I had 6 heads.

 

 

Yes I have awarded points to archived caches - if they were good enough they get a point. When favourites first appeared I went through all my finds and allocated them regardless of status. I have over 100 let to allocate so it's not as if I'm running short of points. I can't imagine ever going back through my finds and reclaiming points - it's not as if I'm running out of points to allocate.....

 

I am also really pleased to see favourite points given to my archived caches as it's a compliment from the finders that they enjoyed my cache even if it's no longer available. It tells me that an idea worked - and as such it's worth recreating again.

[+Simply Paul]

I've 'favo(u)rited' archived caches. It's a reward for the owner to know that, just because the cache has gone, it's not been forgotten. I also use them to help other cachers identify exceptional, memorable, unique and challenging caches. Anything that's 'top 10%' memorable - in a good way - basically. Size, type - none of those are important to me. Just the experience of tracking the cache down. I'd even forgive a damp log if I especially enjoyed the hunt or hide, cache container or contents, if they were really special. I agree with thehoomer; favorite (sic) points are one of the best additions to GC.com in recent years.

[+Croesgadwr]

I've given out favourite points to caches we enjoyed finding. Period.

 

I've read the arguments about how favourites should be given out, according to other people's terms.

 

I'm giving them out according to my terms.

 

I totally agree with you, particularly your last line... I think that too many rules tend to over complicate matters, and maybe take away some of the enjoyment of finding caches in the first place.

[+keehotee]

I believe that favourite points are one of the best things that have come out of Geocaching for a good while.

Amongst other things, its a great way of helping you decide if a cache is worth pursuing.

However, to us, it also means exactly what it says on the tin.

 

Despite the fact that it may be a cache from our past, we have awarded several favourite points to caches which have long since been archived.

It could be argued that awarding a favourite point to an archived cache is a waste but personally, we don't see it that way. I have seen a few out there but I'm just interested, does anyone else ever award favorites to archived caches?

 

I ask this because I was once chastised on here for using favourite points in this way .

 

IMO favourite points are for awarding to your favourite cache finds, and that seems to be Groundspeak's idea of them too

Geocaching Favorites is a simple way to track and share the caches that you enjoyed the most.

I don't see anything in there about them only applying to active caches.. ?

 

What other people choose to do with the scores they see on caches is up to them - and if they want to use them purely as an indication of what is or isn't a worthwhile cache, or a recommendation to others of a good cache to find, they need to take into account a lot more than how many people favourited it.

 

I give them to caches I've enjoyed - whether they're archived or not. And given the choice there are also a couple of events I'd have given them too as well!

[+bones1]

Oh dear dear,i have lots of these favourite points and have not used one yet,or asked what they are for? but after reading this posting on the forum i think i get it. jeff=bones1.

[+milvus-milvus]

I've awarded points to my favourites, including archived ones.

 

But here's a dilemma: I do use the number of favourite points - or more importantly the "points per premium find ratio" (still wish there was an easier way of seeing this) - to select caches that might be worth finding. Always bearing in mind of course that someone else's favourite might not be my favourite - but that's fine, it's still a good indication. But... if I am in agreement with the favoured state of the cache, which is quite often the case, do I award it one of my precious points? Because if I do, then I'm soon going to run out. In other words, is the average quality ("favouriteness") of my finds going up if use this strategy? i.e. Whereas previously a favourite cache had to be in my top 10% (one point for every ten finds) - should I now raise the bar to the top 5% maybe?

 

I actually used this last week, and declined to award a point to a good cache that might otherwise have been in my top 10% (sorry FD!)

[+Bear and Ragged]

Good location/hide, and I enjoyed the cache -It gets a point.

Archived? It wasn't when I found the cache, but was archived when the points came in -Still gets a point!

[+The Chaos Crew]

I just checked my list – only one of my favourites has since been archived – but that one still has 8 favourite points (including mine), and I think that’s about as many points as it had while it was still up and running, so it can’t be all that commonplace to whip back the point and reallocate it as soon as you notice a cache has gone….

[+redsox_mark]

When I did my initial awarding of favourite points, I did not allocate any to archived caches.

 

I have since had some favourites become archived. I have not removed their points, and don't plan to do so... but I suppose if I ran out of points to award and felt the need for more, I might do so in future.

[+abanazar]

They are my favourites. Anyone else is welcome to judge and use them as they wish. Possibly my most favourite cache was already archived when favourites were introduced; I favourited it immediately and I seriously doubt that I will ever unfavourite it. I haven't been caching so much of late and most of my finds are well-researched, hand-picked as likely favourite material. Unfortunately this means that I tend to run out of credits, so my favourite 10% may shift: caches may get unfavourited by me to make room for new, more favourite finds, but this selection is not necessarily based on whether the cache is active or not. How anyone else uses my favourites is up to them, just as I make my own judgement when looking at others' favourites. I think favourites were a really good addition to geocaching.com.

[+pklong]

It's not a problem for me as more than 90% of the caches I have found do not warrant a favorite point. I do remove them from archived caches sometimes, but this just increases the unallocated pool. If they got scarce I would quickly reallocate them, and archived caches would be the first to lose the points.

[+Simply Paul]

Some of my favourite caching experiences were on DNFs, for one reason or another. I can't Favorite them though. Ditto events, both of which suggests to me TPTB would rather Fav Points are only added to caches open to others to find..? I'll still award them to exceptional archived caches I've found in the past though. I'm a rebel

[+thehoomer]

Some of my favourite caching experiences were on DNFs, for one reason or another. I can't Favorite them though. Ditto events, both of which suggests to me TPTB would rather Fav Points are only added to caches open to others to find..? I'll still award them to exceptional archived caches I've found in the past though. I'm a rebel

I guess I am a rebel too then. Military Intelligence was adorned with one of our favourite points a good while ago .

We had a DNF on a lovely old cache yesterday (GCH4X1). The fact that we didn't find a plastic box after collecting info from graves (or in our case not collecting info from graves ) didn't really matter. The place was incredible and we let the CO know that had we been fully successful, it would've been awarded a favpo.

[+thehoomer]

I guess that if you haven't got that many favpo's at your disposal, you would have to be a little more selective on where you award them. Removing them from archived caches and re-issuing them to your new favourites may be your only choice. We currently have 612 unused favpo's, so we are fortunate to not have to jiggle existing ones about. I'm not sure we will ever be in a position where we have run out .

[+Delta68]

Some of my favourite caching experiences were on DNFs, for one reason or another. I can't Favorite them though.

 

You can favourite a DNF easily enough.

Just log as a find, award a favourite point and delete/edit the found log

 

The favourite point will remain in place

 

 

Mark

[+sTeamTraen]

I stopped using it when I realised almost all caches down our way were coming out as a 3 or thereabouts. People were too polite to mark down a bad cache and unless the community is honest what is the point? Maybe it worked better elsewhere in the UK.....

This is pretty much what happens when ratings (of anything) are made in a public way. Think about the appraisal system at your office - I'll bet that 90% of people are in the "OK" category.

 

Actually, of course, there is some information in a "1 to 5" system. The truly great caches will have 3.3 and the wastes of space will have 3.1.

 

I really like the "only positive" favourite system. It's no coincidence that it looks like Facebook's "like", but it also reflects the excellent "Geo D'Or" system from the Netherlands, which is way older than Facebook. About the only thing I'd change with the current favourites is to allow you to "favouritise" events too.

[+metal-bijou]

I too add favourite points to archived caches or rather did when they first come out.

 

If I ran out of favourite points then I would reallocate if I found one more deserving but that doesn't mean I would take it from an archived cache unless that was the one at the bottom of my list.

 

I find the favourite points great as others indication of where to focus if I want to do a few caches only. This weekend I was surprised at how many people had given favourite points to the majority of caches in a series of 11 (Toby lane - http://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/view.aspx?guid=e2f79ea4-b918-4212-a3df-4899f5754d8e) until I used up 8 favourite points myself.

 

Hopefully the favourite will raise the quality level. I will use my favourite list and favourite lists of others to place my caches in future.

 

GCVote was inconsistent, while I agree that it was more comprehensive it wasn’t widely used and negated it’s helpfulness. I also found it really strange that a cache of mine got wonderful feedback but the GCVote is/was low. I much prefer the comments, both good and constructive.

[+Legochugglers]

Just an alternative thought? Why should we be limited to 1 favourite point per 10 finds. This was fine when I was doing a lot of 'number chasing' as I was only wishing to favourite about 1 in 10 so the allocation was about right. More recently I have been concentrating on, shall we say, more interesting/challenging caches and so my wish to allocate favourites will go up considerably. We have paid our $30 why cant we just favourite the ones we enjoy every time?

[+keehotee]

Just an alternative thought? Why should we be limited to 1 favourite point per 10 finds. This was fine when I was doing a lot of 'number chasing' as I was only wishing to favourite about 1 in 10 so the allocation was about right. More recently I have been concentrating on, shall we say, more interesting/challenging caches and so my wish to allocate favourites will go up considerably. We have paid our $30 why cant we just favourite the ones we enjoy every time?

 

Possibly because if you could favourite every cache you found, any cache that you didn't favourite you might as well be saying straight out that you didn't like. At the moment favourite points should, if you so wish, go only to your top 10% of finds.... so anybody not getting a point could assume they'd just missed out

While this might be fine with some of us, some cache owners might get the hump and take it (rightly) as a negative point.

And if you could favourite every cache you found, favourite points would just end up reflecting PM finds, and as Syndrome so succinctly put it, "When everybody's special, nobody will be"

[+thehoomer]

As always, interesting to see another cachers point of view.

Previously, I was more of the opinion that we get too many and that a favourite point should only become available once you have found 20 or even 30 caches. I was concerned that because they were so easily earned, flippancy would become the norm, thus negating their original purpose.

I can understand now, how frustrating this would be if you are concentrating on finding caches which are possibly more likely to warrant a favpo, ie: multi's & puzzles. I live and learn.

[+Legochugglers]

Just an alternative thought? Why should we be limited to 1 favourite point per 10 finds. This was fine when I was doing a lot of 'number chasing' as I was only wishing to favourite about 1 in 10 so the allocation was about right. More recently I have been concentrating on, shall we say, more interesting/challenging caches and so my wish to allocate favourites will go up considerably. We have paid our $30 why cant we just favourite the ones we enjoy every time?

 

Possibly because if you could favourite every cache you found, any cache that you didn't favourite you might as well be saying straight out that you didn't like. At the moment favourite points should, if you so wish, go only to your top 10% of finds.... so anybody not getting a point could assume they'd just missed out

While this might be fine with some of us, some cache owners might get the hump and take it (rightly) as a negative point.

And if you could favourite every cache you found, favourite points would just end up reflecting PM finds, and as Syndrome so succinctly put it, "When everybody's special, nobody will be"

 

But I wouldn't favourite every cache I found, it would only be the ones I thought deserved it. So if I did my research correctly over a 6 month period and highlighted 100 caches that looked good and went and found them and really enjoyed 90% of them why shouldnt I favourite 90% of them?. If there was a reason for not liking the 10% and I put a polite note in the log explaining why then I would be content that I was 'saying straight out that I didnt like it'. Thats the whole point isnt it?.

[+The Chaos Crew]

I also get frustrated over the lack of points - we don't do much in the way of 'numbers runs' - we only do a couple of caches a week usually, but we research them beforehand to make sure they are going to be good ones. I could very easily hand out 2 or 3 times as many as we're allocated. But all that said, I don't think I'd like it if people could favourite as many caches as they wanted to. The system seems to be working very well as it is, with just the top 10% getting points. Not everyone's 10%s will be of equal caliber, depending on the types of caches they look for, but overall, it seems to be doing a good job at highlighting the better caches and helping us decide which ones to go after....

[+NattyBooshka]

Did the Beatles cease to be everyone's favourite band just because they spilt up? Not that I like them in the slightest... But it's pretty much the same argument. Your favourite ever cache may be archived... But most of the time the reasons why it became your favourite are still there. The walk, the view, the challenge of getting to ground zero, etc... Unless the favourite was for the container, then everything that made it a favourite is still there a lot of the time, and so the favourite is valid IMO.

 

Of course... One of my favourites is for a particularly funny (nothing hurt but the pride) spectacular tumble that a mate took in finding it. One of my favourite geocaching moments, once the lack of injury was apparent and the laughter started! That one may lose its favourite once it is archived.

Edited October 26, 2011 by NattyBooshka