Write ups

[+ripraff]

Since most of the way marks are found, I don't usually know much about them before I start using Google. Some places never get way marked because there is NOTHING out there that I can find. There are churches that look old, but they have no webpage. Usually about all you can find is an address. If they are a big denomination the group, say Methodists have an online directory which has address and name of minister. Only some even give you service time. If they say community church for instance, you don't know if they are currently a known denomination or even if they are still active. Some towns have online histories where they list different churches and when they were built. It is still hard to distinguish between first building and current building.

 

Topics like bridges I rely on a couple sites that list information, but that is all I know. It they don't list, I generally don't waymark.

 

Some places actually do turn up interesting threads that produce stories that a fun to get into.

 

Sometimes the amount of writeup is due to how tired I am, are we on a trip and I want to get down to breakfast, but I want to keep the streak going.

Usually if I am asked to do more, I give Google another shot and try to think of ways I can get something related, even if not directly. Or I wait until I have more energy and can spend more time hunting down something.

 

I interested in photos, but I still try to write something.

I have had some reviewers suggest databases that have proved useful (New York has National Historic sites on a database including contributing buildings to historic districts). Without this database many sites would not have been way marked.

 

I realize that way marks can be rejected, if they don't please the reviewer, but please give ideas to help with the research or explain what you think I can find and maybe how.

[+elyob]

Go to the library. Even if you're not spoiled like me (I'm at a national library everyday), if you have enough time for your waymark creation you can bring in useful material to your local library from all over the world using interlibrary loan. Even in 2016, more than 90% of research material is still OFF line. Go to the library.

Edited August 26, 2016 by elyob

[+fi67]

And don't forget the humans. You know, these two-legged creatures that always tend to walk into the picture in the wrong moment. Sometimes locals have informations you do not find anywhere else, or they can open new doors by dropping names you didn't know before but might be helpful for the next steps.

 

When you really do not find anything, ask yourself. You have been there, didn't you? Describe the location, the building, the surrounding, how to get there! In the end, this is more valuable than copying something that was available before, because you add something new, not only to Waymarking, but to global knowledge.

[+MountainWoods]

One of the big problems I've repeatedly encountered when doing research on the web is the bias of the search engines. For example, if I type in:

 

History of Such-and-so Church

 

The first 8 or 10 pages of results will be: Where it is located; How to get there; Hotels near Such-and-so Church; The weather at Such-and-so Church; and on and on.

 

Note that I deliberately typed History as the first word because, supposedly, that is supposed to bias the search toward that word. But the first 8 or 10 pages have nothing to do with history at all. IF there is eventually some useful information, it might be buried in those useless where/what/how sites.

 

Also, another problem is that there are a lot of paid sites where you have to be a member to get any information at all. If it boiled down to just one or two sites it might be worth it. But one cannot spend one's entire yearly budget for registering on all of the sites necessary to do research!

[+ripraff]

It is a little annoying when a reviewer adds something not usually required. The way marks are generally gathered by traveling some distance. If the photos do not contain the necessary information, a return trip may be required (or the waymark is left in a rejected state.).