Use of favorite points

[+CanadianRockies]

IMO, being allowed to dish out a fav point for ever 10 caches found is too much. It allows too many fav points on caches that really don't deserve them.

Different folks have different ideas about what types of caches "deserve" favorite points. For some, it simply means they consider the cache to be among the top 10 percent of caches they've found. In such cases, dishing out an FP for every 10 caches found is just about right.

[+CanadianRockies]

That's another reason (among many others) that FPs cannot be compared and mean quite different things.

When I travel, I often compare FPs and generally find it helpful. Are FPs perfect indicators of what caches I'm going to most enjoy? Of course not. But they are a useful tool for me. Your mileage might vary.

[cezanne]

That's another reason (among many others) that FPs cannot be compared and mean quite different things.

When I travel, I often compare FPs and generally find it helpful.

 

But you are comparing caches with regard to the number of FPs obtained while I meant that FPs awarded by different cachers can mean a whole lot different things.

A FP by a cacher like the one I mentioned means something completely different than a FP from a power cacher. If you only look at caches with many FPs such effects to some

extent will average out, but they play a role when trying to interpret the list of favourites of cacher X.

 

Moreover, when travelling you are in a different situation than in your home area.

[Ranger Fox]

This is a different issue entirely with me.

 

Semantics

I read it as favorite points. Despite my large number of finds, I have few favorites. My view of favorite points is to have a short list that is the crème de la crème of what I've found. If you want a favorite point from me, you are going to have to be creative and put something of quality out. If something occurs along the trail that makes we write an absurd eleven page log, this does not in itself guarantee a favorite point as non-reproducible circumstances do not count in considering a cache for a favorite point.

 

If they were called kudos points, I would give them out more often. This would be at the cost of cheapening the system in my point of view. Then again, if they were kudos points, I'd like to be able to assign as many points as I want to a cache. But this time, kudos points couldn't be taken back. That would make people think twice before spamming points.

 

 

Newer Feature

As some have pointed out, favorite points are a feature added after I began caching. I'm not inclined to award them retroactively. Just keeping up on my logging activities is work enough for me as a great deal of my time these days is actually taken up in supporting the community.

 

 

What Constitutes A Favorite?

I did a long hike at the beginning of the year. It was nice and I wrote a long log for it. The scenery was good, too. Does that make it a favorite? I don't think so. I've been on long hikes and even placed the longest hike in the eastern US (around 42 miles). I've seen wonderful mountain scenery many times, too. The cache wasn't creative. The place it took you to was unique, but I've seen a lot of terrain in my time. While it would be a cache I'd recommend and I'll remember for a while, nothing about it is so awe-inspiring as to make it a favorite. In my opinion, 0.002% (100) of my finds might count as favorites, discounting non-reproducible circumstances.

 

What's the upside about having a short favorites list? You're guaranteed to have a special time if you choose a cache from my list.

 

 

Accruing Favorite Points

If favorite points were more difficult to come by, I'd consider them more of a badge of honor. If you can go out and do a 300 cache power trail, that's 30 favorite points for finding caches under rocks. It is really difficult to decide a good way to award additional assignable favorite points. If you make it difficult to get favorite points until someone is experienced, you shut out the cachers that would most likely award more. Perhaps people could get some points quickly, then it gets more difficult to get another assignable point? But at what number would it make sense to start this? At that point, the percentage favorite statistic wouldn't make sense. It's really hard to decide what to do with the favorites system.

 

 

My Point

Coming up with a good, enjoyable system that means the same to everyone is difficult to do, almost impossible. No matter what, people will always put their own meanings on such a system. This is fine; it takes a while and a community with many different points of view to evolve a system and figure out what to do with it.

 

 

Off Topic

I don't like it when I come across caches where there isn't a safe place to ditch my car. Too often caches are on the roadside and the shoulder is barely wide enough to pull all four wheels off the road. If another driver is texting and not paying attention, the situation could become dangerous.

[+CanadianRockies]

But you are comparing caches with regard to the number of FPs obtained while I meant that FPs awarded by different cachers can mean a whole lot different things.

A FP by a cacher like the one I mentioned means something completely different than a FP from a power cacher. If you only look at caches with many FPs such effects to some

extent will average out, but they play a role when trying to interpret the list of favourites of cacher X.

It's obvious that different people award FPs for different reasons; I don't believe anyone in the history of this forum has ever claimed otherwise. But that doesn't mean "FPs cannot be compared." Based on my experience, when you mix together all the various reasons why people award FPs, it generally turns out that caches with a higher percentage of FPs are more likely to be enjoyed by more people.

 

Moreover, when travelling you are in a different situation than in your home area.

The reason I normally don't look at FPs in my home area is that I usually seek out most of the locally published caches, regardless of their FPs. If I have visiting geocachers coming to town, I might compare local FPs (among other factors) when assembling a list of recommended caches to find.

[cezanne]

 

It's obvious that different people award FPs for different reasons; I don't believe anyone in the history of this forum has ever claimed otherwise. But that doesn't mean "FPs cannot be compared." Based on my experience, when you mix together all the various reasons why people award FPs, it generally turns out that caches with a higher percentage of FPs are more likely to be enjoyed by more people.

 

You took my statement out of the context in which I made it. I started with a cacher with over 16000 finds who claimed that getting a FP per every 10 finds is too much and listed his/her criteria.

I provided an example of a local cacher with less than 500 finds who cannot award a FP to all the caches he would like to award a FP to (among those many caches with a high number of FPs).

 

As the comparisons are regarded, you again refer to a comparison between caches based on their number of FPs and not on comparing the lists of favourites of cachers A and B which is what I had in mind with my statement. The most interesting information for me when I notice that a cache has obtained x FPs is to look up the cachers who awarded those points and their lists of favourites.

 

Cezanne

Edited January 26, 2015 by cezanne

[+CanadianRockies]

I read it as favorite points. Despite my large number of finds, I have few favorites. My view of favorite points is to have a short list that is the crème de la crème of what I've found. If you want a favorite point from me, you are going to have to be creative and put something of quality out.

One of the nice features of the FP system is that it doesn't really matter much whether some people award FPs to their top 1% of caches while others award them to their top 5% and still others award them to their top 10%. That just means the most favorited cache in an area is more likely to receive a 53% FP rating rather than an 83% FP rating. But the most favorited caches are still quite likely to be enjoyed by many future visitors.

[cezanne]

 

One of the nice features of the FP system is that it doesn't really matter much whether some people award FPs to their top 1% of caches while others award them to their top 5% and still others award them to their top 10%.

 

Oh well it does matter for the point of view which I'm interested into the most. Finding recommendations for decent caches I might enjoy, not stellar caches. Those who only recommend their top 1% or those who are so selective that their top 10% covers a small proportion of the caches of interest to me, will not provide me with what I'm looking for the most.

[+Fugads]

This is a different issue entirely with me.

 

Semantics

I read it as favorite points. Despite my large number of finds, I have few favorites. My view of favorite points is to have a short list that is the crème de la crème of what I've found. If you want a favorite point from me, you are going to have to be creative and put something of quality out. If something occurs along the trail that makes we write an absurd eleven page log, this does not in itself guarantee a favorite point as non-reproducible circumstances do not count in considering a cache for a favorite point.

 

If they were called kudos points, I would give them out more often. This would be at the cost of cheapening the system in my point of view. Then again, if they were kudos points, I'd like to be able to assign as many points as I want to a cache. But this time, kudos points couldn't be taken back. That would make people think twice before spamming points.

 

 

Nicely written post, you almost make me want to be more stingy with my FPs. But I'm pretty happy with doling them out more frequently, rather than keeping a short list of the "best". If you start limiting your list to a certain size, is there room for growth and change? Would you start telling yourself that a certain cache, while as good as some of the other ones on your list, doesn't deserve a FP because you already have one like it on your list?

 

I tend to think about favorite points as whether I would recommend the cache to someone as a really good geocaching experience, the kind of cache that might get someone really excited about the hobby. Since people often use the number of favorite points a cache has as a filter when searching for caches, this approach makes sense to me. That doesn't mean it is my only criteria but it is a dominant one.

[+edscott]

I have kept a personal favorite list since I started caching, long before GC.Com started the favorites program. I have continued that list, but it is a much more exclusive group of caches. Only 80 are currently on that list. I also use the generic favorites listing now, but seem to only find enough really outstanding hides to give out about half of what I collect. Put a cache in the woods, well off trail with multiple route choices for accessing it.. in a scenic spot and hopefully a couple different parking spots that might work. (don't need to tell me where to park.. make me figure it out). Use a solid container and list good coordinates and your cache will make both lists. Good weather probably helps too, but I try not to let that be a factor.

[+KatnissRue]

Perhaps I should add a bit of detail. My stress about this is abnormal, but I haven’t had much time to work at it because I’m only 18. Until recently, I’ve had no reason to drive anywhere. Everything I went to out of town, was either school sponsored or a group event. I don’t just drive out for a fun time in the city, as it’s not my style. I usually do look only for caches in the country, but I’m running out of those and have had to look to driving into nearby towns.

 

I am working on that stress level, and it's slowly going down, but I realize it's still pretty bad.

 

Don't feel bad - your comfort level will go up as you get more experience driving. It's totally normal to have stress about driving in situations you aren't accustomed to.

 

Knowing your limits means you are being a cautious and conscientious driver - that's a good thing.

 

Have you thought about approaching it sort of like urban hiking? Find a good place to park, and plan a day of caching on foot from there. I often do that in my own city, or when visiting others.

Thank you for being so considerate. By the way, I like that idea of urban hiking, I'll try it out!

[+KatnissRue]

Perhaps I should add a bit of detail. My stress about this is abnormal, but I haven’t had much time to work at it because I’m only 18. Until recently, I’ve had no reason to drive anywhere. Everything I went to out of town, was either school sponsored or a group event. I don’t just drive out for a fun time in the city, as it’s not my style. I usually do look only for caches in the country, but I’m running out of those and have had to look to driving into nearby towns.

 

I am working on that stress level, and it's slowly going down, but I realize it's still pretty bad.

 

In which case you have my sincere sympathy.

 

I'd have to rewind the clock over two decades to be 18 again - and I've been driving since I was 17 - and I still find driving and parking in busy and unfamiliar territories highly stressful - so you're certainly not alone in that.

 

Narcissa offers good suggestions - try gradually build up a list of good, safe, inexpensive parking locations and keep a note of them - perhaps stick a pin in Google Earth to record the coordinates - and then walk from there into the busier areas.

 

As you're walking around, if you come across what looks like a good parking location for future trips, take a waypoint on your GPS device and add it to your list for future use

 

I'll sometimes mention where I parked - including GPS coordinates to make it easy to locate - in my find logs on caches in the hope it will help others.

 

Take your time, stay safe and allow your confidence to grow at a comfortable pace

Thank you for that idea. I'd never thought of it before and will definitely start using it. Thank you also for your understanding. Not everyone is like that

[+narcissa]

Thank you for being so considerate. By the way, I like that idea of urban hiking, I'll try it out!

 

The nice thing about urban hiking is that you don't need to pack as much stuff.

 

I've been driving for more than half my life and I still get stressed about parking downtown, especially on-street parking.