+LarsThorwald Posted March 30, 2002 Share Posted March 30, 2002 I'm coming up on 50 caches now and there are two items I'd love to see on future cache pages that might make the NEXT fifty even more rewarding (for me and for others): First: could there be some indication of the distance to a cache? Not from my house, but from a likely starting point? I know that many times there's more than one way to get to the cache, various trailheads, etc... but I'm looking for a way to distinguish "hikes" from getting out of the car, gearing-up, and finding that the cache is only 300' from the parking lot. Maybe a refinement of the "difficulty" rating, or a designation/definition of "car cache?" Many cache placers, myself included, give a rough estimate of the distance to the cache on the cache page. Many more do not. Second: how about a "cache rating" feature similar to that which has been instituted with the forums? Of course it would be subjective, as every cacher has a different idea of what is fun, challenging, etc... but it could be an easy way to tell if the search for the cache has been enjoyable for those going before you. Just my two cents... Charlie "One should never begin a journey by heading in the wrong direction." Link to comment
+Broken Wing Posted March 31, 2002 Share Posted March 31, 2002 I have the advantage of having topo maps on my computer that allow me to narrow in on the cache site, and figure out how long of hike it will be. You can also do the same online by clicking on the map links. I find using "Terra Server" the most useful. You can see topo maps as well as aerial photos for most places. I then look at the aerial phots to find trails (or built-up areas) that often aren't on the topo maps. Link to comment
+rdw Posted March 31, 2002 Share Posted March 31, 2002 quote:Originally posted by LarsThorwald: I'm coming up on 50 caches now and there are two items I'd love to see on future cache pages that might make the NEXT fifty even more rewarding (for me and for others): First: could there be some indication of the distance to a cache? Not from my house, but from a likely starting point? I know that many times there's more than one way to get to the cache, various trailheads, etc... but I'm looking for a way to distinguish "hikes" from getting out of the car, gearing-up, and finding that the cache is only 300' from the parking lot. Maybe a refinement of the "difficulty" rating, or a designation/definition of "car cache?" Many cache placers, myself included, give a rough estimate of the distance to the cache on the cache page. Many more do not. Couldn't you just email the cache owner and ask? I have given approximate distances on a few of mine, but I can envision circumstances where the hider may not want to give this information. You could also get idea from the topo maps or aerial photos. The distance is a factor in the difficulty and terrain ratings, if the cache is rated correctly. quote:Second: how about a "cache rating" feature similar to that which has been instituted with the forums? Of course it would be subjective, as every cacher has a different idea of what is fun, challenging, etc... but it could be an easy way to tell if the search for the cache has been enjoyable for those going before you. This has been discussed repeatedly and a clear consensus has never been reached. Also, note that there is a current topic that indicates most people pay no attention to the topic ratings in the discussions. rdw Link to comment
+inceptor Posted March 31, 2002 Share Posted March 31, 2002 quote:Originally posted by rdw: This has been discussed repeatedly and a clear consensus has never been reached. Also, note that there is a current topic that indicates most people pay no attention to the topic ratings in the discussions. rdw They were talking about the ratings of the discussion boards. Part of the consensus was that (and I agree with this) some would like to see ratings on caches. This would help in deciding which to go after and which to aviod. inceptor the only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys Link to comment
+inceptor Posted March 31, 2002 Share Posted March 31, 2002 quote:Originally posted by rdw: This has been discussed repeatedly and a clear consensus has never been reached. Also, note that there is a current topic that indicates most people pay no attention to the topic ratings in the discussions. rdw They were talking about the ratings of the discussion boards. Part of the consensus was that (and I agree with this) some would like to see ratings on caches. This would help in deciding which to go after and which to aviod. inceptor the only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys Link to comment
+rdw Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 quote:Originally posted by inceptor: They were talking about the ratings of the discussion boards. Part of the consensus was that (and I agree with this) some would like to see ratings on caches. This would help in deciding which to go after and which to aviod. inceptor the only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys I realize they were talking about the forum ratings and that you are talking about cache ratings. My point is that unless we all agree how to rate caches, other people's opinions do not matter much. rdw Link to comment
+rdw Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 quote:Originally posted by inceptor: They were talking about the ratings of the discussion boards. Part of the consensus was that (and I agree with this) some would like to see ratings on caches. This would help in deciding which to go after and which to aviod. inceptor the only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys I realize they were talking about the forum ratings and that you are talking about cache ratings. My point is that unless we all agree how to rate caches, other people's opinions do not matter much. rdw Link to comment
+LarsThorwald Posted April 1, 2002 Author Share Posted April 1, 2002 Again, I realize ratings are subjective. But, in the simplest sense, I don't think it would hurt just to see whether the cachers who had chosen to hunt for a particular cache ended-up feeling that their time was well spent. If I was thinking about a particular cache, read some ambivalent posts, and saw the average rating was 1 out of a possible 5, I think I'd move on. Or maybe I'd come to realize that what I liked about caches was different than anyone else, and I'd read something different into a low score. Either way, it seems like a no-brainer to me. Charlie "One should never begin a journey by heading in the wrong direction." Link to comment
LazyLeopard Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 quote:whether the cachers who had chosen to hunt for a particular cache ended-up feeling that their time was well spent.I hunted a few today, all with "1/1" ratings. None of them should have been rated less than 3 on terrain. The ones I actually found were completely buried under leaves so the difficulty probably shouldn't have been less than 2 either... Just some way of feeding back suggested changes to the ratings that's separate from the main log would help. Purrs... LazyLeopard http://www.lazyleopard.org.uk Link to comment
+unclerojelio Posted April 1, 2002 Share Posted April 1, 2002 quote:Originally posted by Lazy Leopard:Just some way of feeding back suggested changes to the ratings _that's separate from the main log_ would help. Kinda like this thread? ... Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, ... unclerojelio Link to comment
LazyLeopard Posted April 2, 2002 Share Posted April 2, 2002 ...and (to some extent) like this one. Purrs... LazyLeopard http://www.lazyleopard.org.uk Link to comment
+Prime Suspect Posted April 2, 2002 Share Posted April 2, 2002 I'll skip the "rate the cache" discussion, as it's been talked to death elsewhere (except maybe to say "bad idea"). As for a distance indicator, this is eliminating a part of the cache hunting experience. Deciding where to park and where to start from is all part of the game. Besides, sometimes it's possible to discover a faster, shorter route than the cache owner knew about. Link to comment
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