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Allow "liking" log entries


Alarmed By Fringe

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I'm really tired of seeing boring log entries like "TFTC!". Some folks make really interesting entries with a story, some humor, etc. I think we need to be able to click "Like" and then be able to view logs sorted by most liked if desired.

 

Thoughts?

 

If you do a search of the forums, you will find that this has been suggested previously.

 

It was not a popular idea. Cache pages aren't Fazebook pages. Or Grade 6.

 

Obviously, Groundspeak isn't into implementing useful suggestions. I think silly ones like this will meet the same fate.

 

 

B.

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Fascinating. Everyone thinks this smacks of Facebook when the internet is replete with websites where popularity of an entry can be seen. I'm thinking of the popular programming website Stack Overflow, YouTube, and I'm sure many, many others if I take the time to look.

This isn't YouTube, either.

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Fascinating. Everyone thinks this smacks of Facebook when the internet is replete with websites where popularity of an entry can be seen. I'm thinking of the popular programming website Stack Overflow, YouTube, and I'm sure many, many others if I take the time to look.

While this may be true, those sites aren't owned by Groundspeak, and the majority of those users are not geocachers.

 

Although social networking may arise from geocaching and/or geocachers themselves, geocaching.com is not a social networking site, it is a listing site (service). While some may have the misconception that it is a social network, they need look closer at what the site is intended for.

Now, event caches are a different story... but again, those are only listings as far as geocaching.com is concerned. They themselves (geocaching.com and/or Groundspeak) have nothing else to do with the socializing aspect. Those events hosted by Groundspeak are in essence marketing and not much else (not saying that is a bad thing, either). It's the attendees that make it a social function.

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I'm really tired of seeing boring log entries like "TFTC!". Some folks make really interesting entries with a story, some humor, etc. I think we need to be able to click "Like" and then be able to view logs sorted by most liked if desired.

 

Thoughts?

I don't think liking logs is going to make a difference as to whether or not people post "TFTC" or write a long humorous story. And in anycase I'm not sure that we should care that much.

 

Geocaching is not a creative writing competition. It's about going out and finding caches. I understand (from the number of forum topics about it) that some cache owners like getting long logs on their caches and tend to look down on short logs. On the other hand, many cache owenrs are simply happy that people are finding their caches.

 

Perhaps the most liked logs would be ths same ones you want to read. I personally don't spend much time reading the logs. When I'm out geocaching I may look at recent logs for a hint if I am having trouble finding a cache. I would hate for "liked" to become a synonym for "this log is a spoiler", but I wonder if that is what will happen. Hmm, this one helped me find the cache so I'll like it.

Edited by tozainamboku
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Not Invented Here seems a weak argument against a proposal for adding functionality to Geocaching.com. If other people's ideas can improve the usefulness of Geocaching.com, it would be making a better mistake to at least give them a try than to throw them out because of NIH.

 

However, if you can present an argument as to why the suggestion would not have the benefits claimed or whether these benefits are are even desirable, then you have a reason for not trying. And even if the benefit are desirable and can be brought about with this change, you can argue that other enhancements in the queue have a higher priority.

 

I'm a bit tired of the reaction I keep seeing here when something is labeled as social networking. There is clearly a social networking component to Geocaching.com. Even if the actual finding of geocaches is the key element, the social networking is important just to encourage people to hide caches.

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Simple question, who really cares how many people like a log?

 

More reasoned thoughts - sometimes a cache really is a piece of crap and future finders need to know that it's a film pot buried under a pile of trash behind a guard rail in a dingy corner of a parking area where you really wouldn't want to be after dark and probably wouldn't want to be during the day either. If people start getting "like" counts then sooner or later at least some people are going to start chasing "likes" and writing less honest logs about the lamest caches.

 

I'd rather someone wrote "this really isn't a nice area, wouldn't recommend this cache to anyone" than tried to spin it in a way to earn a few virtual gold stars.

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Not Invented Here seems a weak argument against a proposal for adding functionality to Geocaching.com. If other people's ideas can improve the usefulness of Geocaching.com, it would be making a better mistake to at least give them a try than to throw them out because of NIH.

 

However, if you can present an argument as to why the suggestion would not have the benefits claimed or whether these benefits are are even desirable, then you have a reason for not trying. And even if the benefit are desirable and can be brought about with this change, you can argue that other enhancements in the queue have a higher priority.

 

I'm a bit tired of the reaction I keep seeing here when something is labeled as social networking. There is clearly a social networking component to Geocaching.com. Even if the actual finding of geocaches is the key element, the social networking is important just to encourage people to hide caches.

 

My thoughts are that it offers no benefits and creates a potential downside if people are discouraged from calling a lame cache a lame cache.

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However, if you can present an argument as to why the suggestion would not have the benefits claimed or whether these benefits are are even desirable, then you have a reason for not trying.

That's a very fair and reasonable proposal. Alas, no benefits have been claimed, so it's not really possible to discuss whether they exist or are desireable, is it? I think we need to start one step further back with an explanation what the expected benefits of this feature are.

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However, if you can present an argument as to why the suggestion would not have the benefits claimed or whether these benefits are are even desirable, then you have a reason for not trying.

That's a very fair and reasonable proposal. Alas, no benefits have been claimed, so it's not really possible to discuss whether they exist or are desireable, is it? I think we need to start one step further back with an explanation what the expected benefits of this feature are.

The OP claims that by selecting logs with many "likes", he will find logs to that are "really interesting entries with a story, some humor, etc.' and not "boring log entries like 'TFTC!'."

 

It clearly would be beneficial to someone who reads logs to skip boring entries and focus on interesting ones. I'm not sure how many people read logs this way or would consider it necessary for their enjoyment of geocaching.

Edited by tozainamboku
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I'm really tired of seeing boring log entries like "TFTC!". Some folks make really interesting entries with a story, some humor, etc. I think we need to be able to click "Like" and then be able to view logs sorted by most liked if desired.

 

Thoughts?

Who would click "like" for a log, the CO, or other cachers?

 

If the CO liked the person's log that much, a thank you email works.

 

If it's other cachers, I'd rather they didn't start a forum on my cache pages.

- We were warned once for chat on a cache page.

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I appreciate a well-written log on a cache as much as anyone.

 

I think the authors know if they have written an entertaining log without my affirmation...as if they care.

 

If I see a log that is far and away better than anything I have ever read, I will send a congratulatory note to the author, who most likely would have never seen my 'like' for his log.

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I'm really tired of seeing boring log entries like "TFTC!". Some folks make really interesting entries with a story, some humor, etc. I think we need to be able to click "Like" and then be able to view logs sorted by most liked if desired.

 

Thoughts?

Who would click "like" for a log, the CO, or other cachers?

 

If the CO liked the person's log that much, a thank you email works.

 

If it's other cachers, I'd rather they didn't start a forum on my cache pages.

- We were warned once for chat on a cache page.

 

Perhaps there could be a feature for logs that is similar to "favorite" points for caches. Each time a cache owner receives X amount of Found It/DNF logs on their caches, they receive a "favorite log point" that they can dole out to a cache finder of their choosing. "Favorite log points" would be displayed on geocacher profiles, giving cache finders a public acknowledgement of the "thank you" from the cache owner. It also might serve as a motivation for some to spend extra time crafting a nice Found It log.

 

Personally I write short logs when I'm logging from the field, and go longer when I'm logging later from my computer. My suggestion probably wouldn't provide much extra motivation for geocachers who log their finds similarly to mine, but it could provide a nudge for some to up the ante with some more detailed, well-written logs.

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Another thought on this, once I've written a log the chances are I'm not going to keep going back and revisiting it to see if anyone liked it.

 

If someone likes my log enough to drop me a note and thank me for it that's great (it's happened twice so far out of 2000+ logs). If they don't like it enough to drop me an email there's little point clicking "like" when I'm never going to see it, and I don't really want emails coming in to tell me if someone clicked a button beside my log.

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The notion of a "like" button for logs was actually suggested for the now defunct geocaching challenges and one of the lackeys (might have even been Jeremy) indicated that it was something that they were considering). When challenges were still around I used to say that it wasn't about how many challenges one completes but how one completes challenges. The log and photos that were uploaded were, to me, the most interesting aspect of challenges. For a challenge such as "take a picture of a waterfall" there might be some that took a picture of the nearest waterfall they could find and just post "completed" for the log. However, if someone completed the challenge by taking a photograph of Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe/Zambia or Iguacu Falls in South America those are the logs I would have "liked".

 

I'm not sure how effective a like button would be for geocache logs though. The like button has a been a FB feature for a long time. Does anyone have any evidence that it's improved the quality of FB posts?

 

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This isn't Facebook.

Well said, Well said.

On the otherhand, anyone who claims that Geocaching.com isn't a social networking site is missing half of what goes on here.

 

The founders of Groundspeak could have put up a site that was purely a listing of geocaches. In fact they started by taking over such a site. Letterboxing sites of the time were often like this. Simply the listing of letterboxes by area with no online support for logging finds or reporting problems.

 

Instead they had the foresight to see that by setting up a site where people logged their finds and shared there experiences online that they could attract more users and make geocaching into something more popular. From that first decision, TPTB have continued to add more "social networking" features to the site. Trackables, friends, bookmark lists, favorites, souvenirs, the Geocaching blog, etc. all contribute to providing an online social environment for sharing our common obsession.

 

This isn't Facebook, but it is a social networking site - just one dedicated to the common interest of its members.

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This isn't Facebook.

Well said, Well said.

On the otherhand, anyone who claims that Geocaching.com isn't a social networking site is missing half of what goes on here.

 

The founders of Groundspeak could have put up a site that was purely a listing of geocaches. In fact they started by taking over such a site. Letterboxing sites of the time were often like this. Simply the listing of letterboxes by area with no online support for logging finds or reporting problems.

 

Instead they had the foresight to see that by setting up a site where people logged their finds and shared there experiences online that they could attract more users and make geocaching into something more popular. From that first decision, TPTB have continued to add more "social networking" features to the site. Trackables, friends, bookmark lists, favorites, souvenirs, the Geocaching blog, etc. all contribute to providing an online social environment for sharing our common obsession.

 

This isn't Facebook, but it is a social networking site - just one dedicated to the common interest of its members.

 

I agree that geocaching has a strong social component but I think it's a stretch call it a social networking site. The geocaching forums are about the closest thing we have to a social networking feature.

 

That said, sometimes I think that geocaching could use more of a social networking component, because I think that in many ways the notion of a geocaching community has degraded.

 

 

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This isn't Facebook.

Well said, Well said.

On the otherhand, anyone who claims that Geocaching.com isn't a social networking site is missing half of what goes on here.

 

The founders of Groundspeak could have put up a site that was purely a listing of geocaches. In fact they started by taking over such a site. Letterboxing sites of the time were often like this. Simply the listing of letterboxes by area with no online support for logging finds or reporting problems.

 

Instead they had the foresight to see that by setting up a site where people logged their finds and shared there experiences online that they could attract more users and make geocaching into something more popular. From that first decision, TPTB have continued to add more "social networking" features to the site. Trackables, friends, bookmark lists, favorites, souvenirs, the Geocaching blog, etc. all contribute to providing an online social environment for sharing our common obsession.

 

This isn't Facebook, but it is a social networking site - just one dedicated to the common interest of its members.

 

I agree that geocaching has a strong social component but I think it's a stretch call it a social networking site. The geocaching forums are about the closest thing we have to a social networking feature.

 

That said, sometimes I think that geocaching could use more of a social networking component, because I think that in many ways the notion of a geocaching community has degraded.

 

I can't help but wonder if the rise of smartphone apps to geocache is at least partly responsible for that. When you've got a device out in the field that lets you find the caches near you, go and find them, then log them, there's no requirement to consider what you might like to do that day, no particular incentive to think about your log (other than to log you found it with "tftc" or "nice easy find in my lunch break" or some other copy-and-paste generic rubbish) and so on. Then you get the associated issues of people grabbing travel bugs Right This Instant because they don't want to wait until the last cacher has chance to log them into the cache.

 

I must admit I prefer going out with a GPS, finding some caches, then logging them when I get home. If nothing else it gives people more chance to log travel bugs into caches, and if I'm using a proper keyboard rather than the screen on a phone I'm more likely to write something specific to the find.

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