Attributes: Why are they different?

[+JessicasDaddy]

I'm helping set up a geotrail for a local nature preserve. In doing so I've set up nine traditional caches and one mystery cache. On all nine of the traditional caches, the attribute selection page is exactly the same. On the mystery cache, the attribute selection page is different — everything's in a different order. Why? This makes consistency between caches unnecessarily difficult.

 

Furthermore, I also noticed that even though my attributes are (mostly) the same for both the traditional and puzzle caches, the cache listing pages show the attributes in a different order. For example, on my traditional cache page the attributes list as: Parking Available, Recommended for Tourists, Restrooms Available, Drinking Water Nearby, Scenic View, Takes Less Than 1 Hour, Kid Friendly, Thorns, and Ticks. But on the mystery cache page the attributes list as: Restrooms Available, Drinking Water Nearby, Parking Available, Ticks, Scenic View, Takes Less Than 1 Hour, Kid Friendly, and Thorns.

 

What's the benefit of having multiple different selection and presentation formats for different cache types?

 

EDIT: I also just noticed something else. On all of my traditional caches I have four "NO" attributes set — no camping, no handicapped accessible, no winter access, and no strollers. On some of these caches I have "hike shorter than 1km" selected and on others I have "hike between 1km-10km" selected. All other attributes are identical. On the ones with "hike shorter than 1km" the "NO" attributes show up as camping/handicapped/winter/stroller and the "ticks" attribute shows up BEFORE the "hike" attribute, while on the "hike between 1km-10km) the "NO" attributes show up as camping/winter/stroller/handicapped and the "ticks" attribute shows up AFTER the "hike" attribute.

Edited February 19, 2017 by JessicasDaddy

[+Mama514]

I think I know what you're asking but not sure. Did you click every attribute in the same order for every cache page?

[+Isonzo Karst]

I don't believe there is a benefit. It's how it developed - possibly as a logic about different cache types needing different attributes available?

 

At one time, few to none of the Hazard attributes were available for events, you couldn't add the "boat required" attribute. Possibly the idea being that all events took place in restaurants or as stroller accessible "walk in the parks" (?)

 

You can't add the Field Puzzle attribute to a Letterbox hybrid, apparently because it got grouped with Earthcaches, which by definition, have no physical "field puzzle"? Nor to a Wherigo, for whatever reason.....

 

Here's the order for the Attributes Groups on the edit page of each cache type:

Permissions Equipment Conditions Facilites Hazards - Event & CITO

Permissions Conditions Equipment Facilites Hazards - Wherigo

Conditions Permissions Equipment Hazards Facilites - Traditional

Conditions Equipment Permissions Facilities Hazards - Letterbox Hybrid & Earthcache

Conditions Equipment Facilities Permissions Hazards - Multi-cache & Mystery

 

Further confusing matters, the current cache report attributes section uses the PQ attributes illustration (removing attributes that players cannot add to listings; Lost and Found, Partnership, GeoTour and Needs Maintenance.)

This lacks the critical additional info of the Attribute groups: Conditions, Equipment - Required/Not Required, Facilities, Permissions, Hazards.

 

So, for example, the boat and tree climbing icons aren't under a REQUIRED / NOT REQUIRED header, so these days, if you see the boat attribute, it likely means that there may be a boat ramp around, or tree climbing required has become hey, trees!

 

Edited February 19, 2017 by Isonzo Karst

[+JessicasDaddy]

I think I know what you're asking but not sure. Did you click every attribute in the same order for every cache page?

Yes, and I thought that too so I played around a bit and discovered it doesn't matter what order you clicked them in.

[+TeamRabbitRun]

I don't believe there is a benefit. It's how it developed - possibly as a logic about different cache types needing different attributes available?

 

At one time, few to none of the Hazard attributes were available for events, you couldn't add the "boat required" attribute. Possibly the idea being that all events took place in restaurants or as stroller accessible "walk in the parks" (?)

 

You can't add the Field Puzzle attribute to a Letterbox hybrid, apparently because it got grouped with Earthcaches, which by definition, have no physical "field puzzle"? Nor to a Wherigo, for whatever reason.....

 

Here's the order for the Attributes Groups on the edit page of each cache type:

Permissions Equipment Conditions Facilites Hazards - Event & CITO

Permissions Conditions Equipment Facilites Hazards - Wherigo

Conditions Permissions Equipment Hazards Facilites - Traditional

Conditions Equipment Permissions Facilities Hazards - Letterbox Hybrid & Earthcache

Conditions Equipment Facilities Permissions Hazards - Multi-cache & Mystery

 

Further confusing matters, the current cache report attributes section uses the PQ attributes illustration (removing attributes that players cannot add to listings; Lost and Found, Partnership, GeoTour and Needs Maintenance.)

This lacks the critical additional info of the Attribute groups: Conditions, Equipment - Required/Not Required, Facilities, Permissions, Hazards.

 

So, for example, the boat and tree climbing icons aren't under a REQUIRED / NOT REQUIRED header, so these days, if you see the boat attribute, it likely means that there may be a boat ramp around, or tree climbing required has become hey, trees!

 

 

Completely unresponsive to the question.

 

Daddy - I'd advise you to just roll with it. In the grand scheme of things and given bigger but similar problems such as logs appearing in unexpected orders, I'd say this isn't all that significant.

 

Just tell your people, "Over here is a list of Attributes." There shouldn't be so many that the order is important.

 

Mama514's idea was a good one - I would have guessed that was the factor.

 

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Hey, wait a minute ----- "JessicasDaddy", "Mama514" --- Something we should know?