"Cache of the month"

[I!]

You may remember this suggestion from Geocaching Topics early in 2011. I'm reposting it as a feature suggestion because I see that people are still asking for enhancements to the favourites system.

 

So:

• At the end of every month, GS analyses the visitor history for each cache.
  
• GS declares it to be a Cache Of The Month if the cache received a surprisingly high number of favourites.
  
• The "surprisingly high" magic is tuned so that ~10% of caches get the COTM award.
  
• COTM caches get to display a nice icon / attribute / whatever.

The analysis should be done on a regional basis. I don't want there to be no COTMs near me because they're all clustered around Seattle! The analysis should probably also be done by cache type in order to factor out any systemic bias towards (say) earthcaches.

 

Why have COTM when we've got favourites? Just to keep things fresh and to encourage cache maintenance.

[I!]

One example of the analysis that could be done in (say) Southern England for (say) a Traditional cache:

 

• Count the number of visitors this month that are voters (i.e. that ever use the favourites system).
  
• Count the number of favourites, F, received from them against this cache.
  
• Ask what proportion of other Traditional caches in Southern England, with the same(ish) number of voting visitors, have received F or more favourites this month.
  
• If that proportion is 10% or less, this cache is a COTM.

[+niraD]

The "surprisingly high" magic is tuned so that ~10% of caches get the COTM award.

What do you mean by this 10% ratio? Do you mean that 10% of caches will receive the COTM award each month? Or that 10% of caches will receive a COTM award at some point during their lifetime.

 

Either way, once Groundspeak implements some of the favorites-related improvements that they've mentioned, I don't think such a COTM award will be needed.

[+Turtle_Sask]

I absolutely love this Idea! Perhaps they can have a COTM award for each country/state/province/county (Depending on where you live) so you actually have a chance of winning! Groundspeak could even create a souvenir to go with it and maybe a "Prize package"! Doesn't have to be a lot of money, its the thought that counts! And on top of everything it really does support good cache ideas and maintenance! They have to do something like this!

 

Really excited to see if this goes anywhere!

 

-Cheers!

[+StarBrand]

The "surprisingly high" magic is tuned so that ~10% of caches get the COTM award.

What do you mean by this 10% ratio? Do you mean that 10% of caches will receive the COTM award each month? Or that 10% of caches will receive a COTM award at some point during their lifetime.

 

Either way, once Groundspeak implements some of the favorites-related improvements that they've mentioned, I don't think such a COTM award will be needed.

I admit to be somewhat confused by this as well. I read it as 10% of caches that received "some" favorite votes in a given month.

 

I guess my caches that see 1 or 2 visits a year are out of the running.

 

I don't see a need for this but it could just be my utter confusion.

[+Turtle_Sask]

The "surprisingly high" magic is tuned so that ~10% of caches get the COTM award.

What do you mean by this 10% ratio? Do you mean that 10% of caches will receive the COTM award each month? Or that 10% of caches will receive a COTM award at some point during their lifetime.

 

Either way, once Groundspeak implements some of the favorites-related improvements that they've mentioned, I don't think such a COTM award will be needed.

I admit to be somewhat confused by this as well. I read it as 10% of caches that received "some" favorite votes in a given month.

 

I guess my caches that see 1 or 2 visits a year are out of the running.

 

I don't see a need for this but it could just be my utter confusion.

 

I think you guys are missing the point, rather then focusing on one part he may have made confusing the general Idea is to promote good caches, yes favorite points does exactly that but I think Cache of the month is a fantastic idea that would be cool to try and achieve!

[+StarBrand]

...

I think you guys are missing the point, rather then focusing on one part he may have made confusing the general Idea is to promote good caches, yes favorite points does exactly that but I think Cache of the month is a fantastic idea that would be cool to try and achieve!

The official blog has been doing a Geocache of the week for a long time now...

 

http://blog.geocaching.com/category/geocache-of-the-week/

[+Turtle_Sask]

...

I think you guys are missing the point, rather then focusing on one part he may have made confusing the general Idea is to promote good caches, yes favorite points does exactly that but I think Cache of the month is a fantastic idea that would be cool to try and achieve!

The official blog has been doing a Geocache of the week for a long time now...

 

http://blog.geocaching.com/category/geocache-of-the-week/

 

Geocache of the week on the blogging part of geocaching is not the same as what he or I am purposing. It would be a monthly thing and would be integrated into the geocaching.com website. Im going to stop replying for a bit so that we could let others post to this thread on their thoughts on the original subject.

 

-Cheers

[+Max and 99]

You may remember this suggestion from Geocaching Topics early in 2011. I'm reposting it as a feature suggestion because I see that people are still asking for enhancements to the favourites system.

 

So:

• At the end of every month, GS analyses the visitor history for each cache.
  
• GS declares it to be a Cache Of The Month if the cache received a surprisingly high number of favourites.
  
• The "surprisingly high" magic is tuned so that ~10% of caches get the COTM award.
  
• COTM caches get to display a nice icon / attribute / whatever.

The analysis should be done on a regional basis. I don't want there to be no COTMs near me because they're all clustered around Seattle! The analysis should probably also be done by cache type in order to factor out any systemic bias towards (say) earthcaches.

 

Why have COTM when we've got favourites? Just to keep things fresh and to encourage cache maintenance.

 

I'm wary of a COTM based on Favorite Points. Sorry, but it's too open to abuse. I know, the Favorites system is by far the easiest way to determine a COTM, but still.. I'm not thrilled with the idea. So sorry.

[I!]

To niraD and StarBrand, attempting to clear up some confusion ... here's one way it could work for the April 2012 COTM (for example):

 

• On May 1st, Groundspeak's massively-parallel liquid-cooled petaflop supercomputer looks at every visit by premium members to every cache during April and checks whether or not they gave the cache a favourite.
   
  
• If, during April, the cache received surprisingly many favourites relative to the number of PMs that visited, then it's a COTM. So, for example, 100 PMs + 2 favourites = probably not COTM. 1 PM + 1 favourite = probably COTM.
   
  
• COTM could be displayed as an attribute (that lasts for one month only), or be specially highlighted in search results similar to "beginner cachers" (again, lasting for one month only), or whatever.

The aim is to find some way of recognising a cache for its current merits, not only for its long history of finds. I suggested another means to the same end -- "What's Hot" -- which seemed quite popular but has gone nowhere.

[+niraD]

I still don't see a need for this kind of COTM system. It's already easy enough to find caches with lots of Favorites votes, and Groundspeak has already discussed coming enhancements to the system that will make it easier.

 

What would be useful is a system that helps me find caches that don't receive many Favorites votes, but the Favorites votes they receive are from people whose preferences are very similar to my own. That would be much more useful than yet another way to find caches that receive a lot of Favorites votes from the masses.

[+AustinMN]

Under this system, easily accessible quality caches would be COTM over and over. Meanwhile, quality caches that only get one or two visits a month, would never be COTM even though they may be better (more creative and more interesting) caches.

 

Austin

[+StarBrand]

...

What would be useful is a system that helps me find caches that don't receive many Favorites votes, but the Favorites votes they receive are from people whose preferences are very similar to my own. That would be much more useful than yet another way to find caches that receive a lot of Favorites votes from the masses.

YUP!!!

 

Long promised. Even if it was as simple as "Cachers that favorited this cache also favorited the following nearby caches" as a link on the page.

[I!]

Under this system, easily accessible quality caches would be COTM over and over. Meanwhile, quality caches that only get one or two visits a month, would never be COTM even though they may be better (more creative and more interesting) caches.

No - the cache must receive surprisingly many favourites relative to the number of PMs that visited. The easily-accessible cache might get 20 visitors but only 1 favourite point: that's not "surprisingly-many" so it wouldn't be a COTM. Another cache with 4 visitors and 1 favourite likely would be one of the 10% that was deemed COTM.

 

niraD - where have GS discussed enhancements to the favourites system? (I missed it.)

[+AustinMN]

Under this system, easily accessible quality caches would be COTM over and over. Meanwhile, quality caches that only get one or two visits a month, would never be COTM even though they may be better (more creative and more interesting) caches.

No - the cache must receive surprisingly many favourites relative to the number of PMs that visited. The easily-accessible cache might get 20 visitors but only 1 favourite point: that's not "surprisingly-many" so it wouldn't be a COTM. Another cache with 4 visitors and 1 favourite likely would be one of the 10% that was deemed COTM.

 

niraD - where have GS discussed enhancements to the favourites system? (I missed it.)

 

And next month it gets 6 visits and 2 favorites, so it's COTM again. Then 3 visits and 1 favorite, and guess what...

[I!]

And next month it gets 6 visits and 2 favorites, so it's COTM again. Then 3 visits and 1 favorite, and guess what...

... every month, this particularly good cache is one of the 10% that's a COTM. Clear?

 

Remember that the aim is to (somehow) promote caches that have a particularly good recent history of being liked by PMs, as a complement to the raw favourites count that is biased towards easily-reached caches that have been around for a long time. It's the Billboard Hot 100, if you will, rather than the historical record book.

[+The A-Team]

"Cache of the month" doesn't seem like a good name for what you're proposing. That name seems to imply that there is a single cache that receives this award. If approximately 10% of caches received this award, that would mean 170,000 caches each month. When businesses have an employee of the month, they don't normally award it to 10% of their workers each month, they award it to a single employee.

With the way you've laid out your proposal, it would make more sense to me to have a "popular" tag/attribute/icon on the cache page.

[I!]

With the way you've laid out your proposal, it would make more sense to me to have a "popular" tag/attribute/icon on the cache page.

OK, I'm not fussy about the name. Suggestions welcome.

[+Turtle_Sask]

Under this system, easily accessible quality caches would be COTM over and over. Meanwhile, quality caches that only get one or two visits a month, would never be COTM even though they may be better (more creative and more interesting) caches.

No - the cache must receive surprisingly many favourites relative to the number of PMs that visited. The easily-accessible cache might get 20 visitors but only 1 favourite point: that's not "surprisingly-many" so it wouldn't be a COTM. Another cache with 4 visitors and 1 favourite likely would be one of the 10% that was deemed COTM.

 

niraD - where have GS discussed enhancements to the favourites system? (I missed it.)

 

And next month it gets 6 visits and 2 favorites, so it's COTM again. Then 3 visits and 1 favorite, and guess what...

 

But who said that it could be in the running for cache of the month every month? Im sure once it wins once it is off the running for next month... problem solved. I don't know why went to that conclusion right away

[+The A-Team]

But who said that it could be in the running for cache of the month every month? Im sure once it wins once it is off the running for next month... problem solved. I don't know why went to that conclusion right away

Probably because the cacher that suggested this system said so in their reply to the post you quoted (bolding mine):

 

And next month it gets 6 visits and 2 favorites, so it's COTM again. Then 3 visits and 1 favorite, and guess what...

... every month, this particularly good cache is one of the 10% that's a COTM. Clear?

[+NYPaddleCacher]

"Cache of the month" doesn't seem like a good name for what you're proposing. That name seems to imply that there is a single cache that receives this award. If approximately 10% of caches received this award, that would mean 170,000 caches each month. When businesses have an employee of the month, they don't normally award it to 10% of their workers each month, they award it to a single employee.

 

Using that analogy, there are a lot of "chain" stores/restaurants that have a "employee of the month" for each store. I don't know if 10% of caches would be too many but I get what the OP is trying to accomplish. Whatever criteria is used, or how many caches are recognized, are just details. Recognizing those that go above and beyond to create a memorable cache is, to me, the goal.

 

I have seen people mention that their local geocaching club/group has a local "cache of the month". I know that there are many areas which don't have active local caching groups, but for areas that do, a monthly "vote for your favorite cache" contest would identify goods ones locally. If someone from the club comes up with some an image that can be included (as I've seen on several cache listings) on a cache page that has been voted as "cache of the month" it might create an incentive to place higher quality caches. I think that doing something like this at a local level makes more sense.

[+Turtle_Sask]

But who said that it could be in the running for cache of the month every month? Im sure once it wins once it is off the running for next month... problem solved. I don't know why went to that conclusion right away

Probably because the cacher that suggested this system said so in their reply to the post you quoted (bolding mine):

 

And next month it gets 6 visits and 2 favorites, so it's COTM again. Then 3 visits and 1 favorite, and guess what...

... every month, this particularly good cache is one of the 10% that's a COTM. Clear?

 

Well I don't have the time to follow the threads 24/7, so I am mistaken. I would then suggest that the cache that gets chosen NOT be allowed in the following COTM that follow... Problem solved...

[+niraD]

niraD - where have GS discussed enhancements to the favourites system? (I missed it.)

Honestly, I don't recall if it was in the old UserVoice feedback forums, or in the current feature requests forum. But IIRC, they're planning to add the ability to search for both Favorites votes and ratios to PQs, and they're planning to add both the number of Favorites votes and ratios to GPX data. But it may have been the number of PM Find logs, rather than the ratio of Favorites to PM Find logs.