Reallocating Favourite Points

[+PeakFault]

I know caching is a fluid game but after taking a break myself, it's been really interesting to see just how much has changed in my area over the past 3/4 years.

 

When I looked about 1 third of my finds are now archived. With them, obviously, were some caches I'd favourited.

 

I decided to reclaim these favourite points and redistribute to currently active caches.

 

Does anyone else do this?

[+MartyBartfast]

Nope, in fact when favourite points were created I went over my history and awarded them to good caches I'd found in the past which were already archived.

 

My favourite aunt didn't cease to be my favourite aunt just because she died.....

[+PeakFault]

Must admit this viewpoint did occur to me and that's why I've posted this really to see what others think.

 

Taking the 'favourite aunt' analogy....difference between having a favourite aunt and a favourite cache is that you're not suddenly getting a new auntie who could become your favourite, if you see what I mean.

 

I came to the conclusion that caching is fluid, things change a lot, and pretty constantly too.

[+wimseyguy]

Nope, I already had a 2% solution bookmark list of all of my favorite caching experiences when they created points. I awarded all of those caches points the first week I could (except the events). I still had over 1000 left and at this point have over 2000 to award.

I guess this means that either I am not picky about what I'll find, or perhaps that 1/10 gives the points out too quickly?

[+Bear and Ragged]

When you look through a cachers finds, and see caches with lots of Favourite Points, and they have been Archived... Look and see why were they marked as Favourite by so many cachers.

 

Now see what YOU need to do, to place a cache, that other cachers will award Favourite Points to.

 

Any caches that I've awarded a Favourite Point to, get to keep the point, even if Archived.

Edited April 9, 2016 by Bear and Ragged

[+PeakFault]

yes, I guess maybe this is a moot point to those cachers with a lot of finds. I do wonder if a point for every 10 caches is a bit high but I guess that's another debate!

[+HHL]

[...]

I decided to reclaim these favourite points and redistribute to currently active caches.

 

Does anyone else do this?

 

Yes. Why? Because I'm not using a favourit as a medal. It's my recommendation to other cachers.

I'm using a GSAK macro for removing them from archived caches.

 

Hans

[+cerberus1]

Nope, in fact when favourite points were created I went over my history and awarded them to good caches I'd found in the past which were already archived.

+1

They were our favorites.

Sadly (while still pm...) those long-archived hides still outnumber the few we've taken notice of today.

When/if I go back to pm, I'll award the handful (so far) we've noted as warranted the past two years.

- We still have 100 or so accrued. I believe that's more than we'd use in some time...

[+AustinMN]

My view is mixed. The reason is I see favorite points as having mixed purposes.

 

One purpose is to draw attention to caches that other people might want to make a priority to find. For this purpose, a Favorite Point on an archived cache is useless.

 

Another purpose is to thank / encourage / reward a Cache Owner who has done a good job of hiding a quality cache. For this purpose, a Favorite Point on an archived cache is still of value.

 

Because of those two opposing purposes, I have decided to redistribute favorite points for archived caches that have more than 10 favorite points. Why 10? I don't know. It is kind of arbitrary, but I think it's enough that anybody looking at the listing later knows "this was a really good cache." But if my FP is on an archived cache with 52 FP's, does it add anything significant? I don't think saying:

 

"This was a really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really good cache,"

 

says anything more than:

 

"This was a , really , really , really good cache."

 

Edit to add: I only look for quality caches, so probably 25% of the caches I find deserve a FP, but only 10% of them can get one. Getting a few extra FP's to dole out is a good thing.

Edited April 9, 2016 by AustinMN

[+Pork King]

Nope, in fact when favourite points were created I went over my history and awarded them to good caches I'd found in the past which were already archived.

 

My favourite aunt didn't cease to be my favourite aunt just because she died.....

 

I did the same thing (not with the aunts...When one dies, I immediately choose another. Dead aunts can't bake cookies). Even by doing that, I have "favorited" only about 7% of caches that I've found. I've obviously enjoyed way more than that, or I wouldn't still be doing this, but those are the ones that I thought were really just great. I like to look back and read my logs on those from time to time, so for me, adding a favorite point to a cache (archived or not) isn't so much to let other cachers know it's a great cache, but as a reminder to me which caches I really enjoyed amidst a sea of street lamp base micros (although one of those has a favorite point from me, but it was very different).

Edited April 9, 2016 by Pork King

[+Walts Hunting]

I know caching is a fluid game but after taking a break myself, it's been really interesting to see just how much has changed in my area over the past 3/4 years.

 

When I looked about 1 third of my finds are now archived. With them, obviously, were some caches I'd favourited.

 

I decided to reclaim these favourite points and redistribute to currently active caches.

 

Does anyone else do this?

Once a year I cull the points frpm archived caches. no sense voting for the dead guy.

[+MartyBartfast]

To me it comes down to the definition of the word "favourite", and I'm using the points according to that definition. I'm not using them as a score, or an award to COs, or an indicator to other cachers as to what they should look for; I'm using it simply to record which were my favourite caches and I can remember finding every one of the caches I've "favourited" even the archived ones .

Edited April 9, 2016 by MartyBartfast

[+MartyBartfast]

FWIW I just checked and 20% of the favourites I've given are to caches which are now archived.

[+Ambrosia]

I don't have favorite points on archived caches. For me, favorite points are a way to help other people navigate this site and find geocaches.

 

You can always keep a public bookmark list with archived caches that you would have favorited/did favorite.

[+PeakFault]

Interesting replies and viewpoints all round here.

 

Suppose it's like most things with caching, it's open to how you interpret/want to play the game.

 

Nobody is right or wrong. Appreciate the replies so far.

[+NanCycle]

I do take favorite points away from archived caches. I have also taken the FP away from a cache that was great when I first found it, but had deteriorated badly when I revisited it a couple years later.

[+L0ne.R]

[...]

I decided to reclaim these favourite points and redistribute to currently active caches.

 

Does anyone else do this?

 

Yes. Why? Because I'm not using a favourit as a medal. It's my recommendation to other cachers.

I'm using a GSAK macro for removing them from archived caches.

 

Hans

 

+1

 

From the Help Centre:

 

the point of Favorites is to recommend great caching experiences to others

 

If you are running out of favourite points because you're finding good caches worth recommending to others, why leave points on caches that can no longer be found? If you are not running out of favourite points, may as well leave them on the archived caches.

 

Sometimes, to acknowledge a former good cache, I take the fav off and put the archived cache on my 'Archived Favorites' public bookmark list.

 

I will also remove FPs from active FP'd caches I've found that show signs of abandonment or deterioration (i.e. not worth recommending anymore).

[+L0ne.R]

I do take favorite points away from archived caches. I have also taken the FP away from a cache that was great when I first found it, but had deteriorated badly when I revisited it a couple years later.

 

Glad to see others do the same thing.

 

Regarding old caches that were once good but not anymore, I wish Groundspeak would separate the FPs by year. Perhaps a bar graph icon:

 

 

It will help those of us who go back through our records to remove FPs, so we can give them to recent finds. It will also not reward hiders who abandon caches (even if they start off as good caches). And it will make finding current good caches easier to find.

[+SwineFlew]

I am one of those that keep my fav list archived caches free.

 

To me... archived cache list is like this website... www.findagrave.com Keeping a long list of archived caches is like a roadside shrines. Annoying, ugly and unkempt.

 

I am not looking for dead caches, I am looking for caches that are alive and waiting to be found. The more those are listed out, the better people will find them.

 

Whats the point of geocaching when you cant find a cache because its archived? Do we get a smiley for finding a archived cache? No we dont. We bury the dead and move on in life, we should do the same with archived caches.

[+narcissa]

Some people assign favourite points for the benefit of others. I assign them to denote caches, past or present, that I really enjoyed and I don't care if they are helpful to anybody else. I would never remove them.

[+MartyBartfast]

From the Help Centre:

the point of Favorites is to recommend great caching experiences to others

If that's the point of Favourites, then they chose the wrong name for the "award".

 

However, from the Favourites list page:

 

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

Which does match the meaning of the word "favourite" and is slightly at odds with the quote from the helpcentre.

 

 

Do we get a smiley for finding a archived cache? No we dont.

Minor point, but yes you do. Unless it's also been locked (which is exceptional).

[+cerberus1]

We bury the dead and move on in life, we should do the same with archived caches.

You don't stop and visit time-to-time?

[+fizzymagic]

I do not ever reallocate my favorites. I have a whole lot of unused points anyway.

 

There is a good reason to leave them on archived caches, especially archived puzzle caches. Many cachers go through past finds and see the pages. A 'like' indicates that you liked the puzzle, and may provide inspiration for a new puzzle creator.

 

The average quality of caching puzzles has (at least in my area) taken a steep nosedive in recent years as a result of copycats noticing favorite points on unoriginal and tedious puzzles and then replicating them. I use my favorite points to recommend interesting and original caches. That applies to archived caches as well.

[+L0ne.R]

Some people assign favourite points for the benefit of others. I assign them to denote caches, past or present, that I really enjoyed and I don't care if they are helpful to anybody else.

 

You can do that with a personal bookmark list.

[+dprovan]

I'm credited with 10% favorite points based on all my finds whether they are now archived or not. If I were to recycle favorite points from archived caches, I'd be diluting their value. To me, that makes the decision obvious even before I consider that I wouldn't want to erase the fact that I appreciated a cache back before it was archived.

[+Harry Dolphin]

Some people assign favourite points for the benefit of others. I assign them to denote caches, past or present, that I really enjoyed and I don't care if they are helpful to anybody else. I would never remove them.

 

Yup! I give favorite points to my favorite cache finds. If a cache has been archived, it was still one of my favorite finds! I don't give them out too often. I think I still have 159. But, I give a favorite point if it's one of my favorite finds. If it is now archived, that does not change the fact that it was one of my favorite finds!

[+zoothornrollo]

When we award a favorite point, it is for a cache that is out of the ordinary, something new that we haven't seen before, something extra clever. We have almost 2000 points we can award, but are stingy with them. I think accruing a fav. pt. for every 10 finds is too many - makes them rather too easy to give away, IMHO. We sometimes find them awarded to skirtlifters, I assume by cachers who figure one of those out for the first time so it appears clever, not commonplace.

[cezanne]

Some people assign favourite points for the benefit of others. I assign them to denote caches, past or present, that I really enjoyed and I don't care if they are helpful to anybody else.

 

You can do that with a personal bookmark list.

 

Yes, she can but why do that for something which is called "favourite"? Moreover, complete favourite lists can be useful for others even now where no tools exist to recommend caches that one might like based on matching favourite lists. Often a few archived caches are the only nice caches that I know in an area that I do not visit often and it helps to see who has favourited those and what else these people have favourited.

The mere fact that someone recommends a cache means absolutely nothing to me as long as I know nothing about the reasons and what other caches the cacher has enjoyed.

[+bflentje]

Some people assign favourite points for the benefit of others. I assign them to denote caches, past or present, that I really enjoyed and I don't care if they are helpful to anybody else. I would never remove them.

 

This. Besides, I already have to many extra favorite points. If I reclaimed them it'd serve "me" no useful purpose. Besides, whether the cache gets archived or goes to crap, for me, it's still part of the history of the cache.

[+L0ne.R]

Some people assign favourite points for the benefit of others. I assign them to denote caches, past or present, that I really enjoyed and I don't care if they are helpful to anybody else. I would never remove them.

 

This. Besides, I already have to many extra favorite points.

 

You have over 11,000 finds. That gives you over 1,100 FPs to give out. To get that high a found count I bet you've seen a lot of junk. It's probably a good thing that you're not giving 10% of your finds an FP.

 

I've been caching for 14 years and have 3000 recorded finds. I filter out micros. I use FPs to help me determine which caches to find. I read current logs. I will drive past a cache that's just a few feet away if I don't like the location (LPCs, ditch caches, garbage-strewn area). I won't find bad caches just so I can get more FP points to give to good caches. So it's not unusual for me to find 1 or 2 in 10 finds are decent well-maintained water-tight caches in nice locations that I would like to recommend to others. Some days, especially in a new town, I might end up doing 10 or 15 really good caches by one or two hiders that care. Not to recommend those caches because I'm all out of FPs seems a disservice to the owner and the caching community.

If anyone is like me - doesn't do a lot of geocaching and tries to filter for better caches, they may run out. If it were one of my active cache hides, I would like it if they gave it an FP instead of letting it sit on an archived cache. Especially an archived cache that ended up abandoned junk and archived by a reviewer.

[+narcissa]

Some people assign favourite points for the benefit of others. I assign them to denote caches, past or present, that I really enjoyed and I don't care if they are helpful to anybody else.

 

You can do that with a personal bookmark list.

 

Sure, I could. Or I could use the points. Since I don't find favourite points to be in any way useful for selecting caches to find, and I have no interest in assigning them in a manner that is useful for others, using them to denote my actual favourite caches is my preferred course of action.

[+narcissa]

Some people assign favourite points for the benefit of others. I assign them to denote caches, past or present, that I really enjoyed and I don't care if they are helpful to anybody else.

 

You can do that with a personal bookmark list.

 

Yes, she can but why do that for something which is called "favourite"? Moreover, complete favourite lists can be useful for others even now where no tools exist to recommend caches that one might like based on matching favourite lists. Often a few archived caches are the only nice caches that I know in an area that I do not visit often and it helps to see who has favourited those and what else these people have favourited.

The mere fact that someone recommends a cache means absolutely nothing to me as long as I know nothing about the reasons and what other caches the cacher has enjoyed.

 

Yes, seeing *who* has favourited a cache is far more interesting than *how many* people have favourited it. When I notice a cache has many favourite points, it's usually because it's something gimmicky or a glaring violation of the guidelines that a reviewer hasn't found out about yet. If I was being extra picky about caches I would probably be inclined to *avoid* caches with lots of these points.

[+narcissa]

When we award a favorite point, it is for a cache that is out of the ordinary, something new that we haven't seen before, something extra clever. We have almost 2000 points we can award, but are stingy with them. I think accruing a fav. pt. for every 10 finds is too many - makes them rather too easy to give away, IMHO. We sometimes find them awarded to skirtlifters, I assume by cachers who figure one of those out for the first time so it appears clever, not commonplace.

 

I'm sure I've given a couple of points to skirtlifters because there was some other reason why a cache was fun and memorable enough to be a favourite for me. Geocaching, for me, is about so much more than just the container.

[+cerberus1]

Some people assign favourite points for the benefit of others. I assign them to denote caches, past or present, that I really enjoyed and I don't care if they are helpful to anybody else.

 

You can do that with a personal bookmark list.

 

Sure, I could. Or I could use the points. Since I don't find favourite points to be in any way useful for selecting caches to find, and I have no interest in assigning them in a manner that is useful for others, using them to denote my actual favourite caches is my preferred course of action.

+1

Guess everyone else is caching in awesome areas, as many of the FPs around here come from FTFers (no matter what it is), hitting a friend's cache, and groups who had a good time at a (again, no matter what it is) cache..."This one gets a favorite, we stopped for lunch here, and had SUCH a good time! ".

[+narcissa]

+1

Guess everyone else is caching in awesome areas, as many of the FPs around here come from FTFers (no matter what it is), hitting a friend's cache, and groups who had a good time at a (again, no matter what it is) cache..."This one gets a favorite, we stopped for lunch here, and had SUCH a good time! ".

 

Many of my points are assigned to caches that aren't particularly remarkable in and of themselves, but are hidden at or very close to something really cool. I just assigned a favourite point to a pretty run-of-the-mill traditional that happens to be hidden next to a ghost town we just discovered. Exploring the road, and seeing those old buildings was important to the entire experience of the cache for us and it deserved recognition for that reason. I think the container itself was a little damp (as most are at this time of year). Oh well!

[+bflentje]

Some people assign favourite points for the benefit of others. I assign them to denote caches, past or present, that I really enjoyed and I don't care if they are helpful to anybody else. I would never remove them.

 

This. Besides, I already have to many extra favorite points.

 

You have over 11,000 finds. That gives you over 1,100 FPs to give out. To get that high a found count I bet you've seen a lot of junk. It's probably a good thing that you're not giving 10% of your finds an FP.

 

I've been caching for 14 years and have 3000 recorded finds. I filter out micros. I use FPs to help me determine which caches to find. I read current logs. I will drive past a cache that's just a few feet away if I don't like the location (LPCs, ditch caches, garbage-strewn area). I won't find bad caches just so I can get more FP points to give to good caches. So it's not unusual for me to find 1 or 2 in 10 finds are decent well-maintained water-tight caches in nice locations that I would like to recommend to others. Some days, especially in a new town, I might end up doing 10 or 15 really good caches by one or two hiders that care. Not to recommend those caches because I'm all out of FPs seems a disservice to the owner and the caching community.

If anyone is like me - doesn't do a lot of geocaching and tries to filter for better caches, they may run out. If it were one of my active cache hides, I would like it if they gave it an FP instead of letting it sit on an archived cache. Especially an archived cache that ended up abandoned junk and archived by a reviewer.

 

I will dish out a favorite point to any cache that even remotely deserves it. I think you may be on to something.. but before you judge my caching style (if), I've done a power trail, what, two or three times in my life? Most of my 11,000+ finds I did the old fashioned way, by hiking in the woods. And there's still a lot of junk.

[+The Happy Hodag!]

IMO, favorite points are meant to highlight active caches. What I do when I give a favorite point out is I also put that cache on a bookmark list. That way, I can reclaim those favorite points when a cache is archived. Even tho I have over 70 favorite points available, I still want to have some on reserve in case I come across a bunch of quality caches down the line.

 

-The Happy Hodag!