+CacheCreatures Posted October 15, 2003 Share Posted October 15, 2003 Hi all. First let me say that, yes, I did search on this topic and found an interesting debate regarding a rating system for quality of the cache. However, I am specifically interested in your opinion regarding user ratings for terrain and difficulty, not the quality of the cache. I didn't see this mentioned and am wondering how helpful this info would be. After 5 minutes of considering it, I like it because it would help average out what is difficult and what terrain is suitable for whom. Thus far, my very limited experience with Geocaching has shown that one hiders 4 is another's 2. I wonder if a quality type rating might be to subjective, but a rating specific to T/D might be more general, and more applicable. Has this idea been posed before? What is/are the pros/cons of such a system? CacheCreatures are spreading... They can hide, but they can't run! Quote Link to comment
+Bilder Posted October 15, 2003 Share Posted October 15, 2003 Geocache Rating System This is a nice little tool ClayJar put together. Great way to rate your cache. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have never been lost. Been awful confused for a few days, but never lost! N61.12.041 W149.43.734 Quote Link to comment
+Team GPSaxophone Posted October 15, 2003 Share Posted October 15, 2003 The problem is that someone who hikes a lot might think anything under 2-3 miles is a '1' and a family with young children would think anything more than 1/4 mile is a '4' or '5'. I'd recommend using The Selector to give a better idea of the features/drawbacks to the hunt. Took sun from sky, left world in eternal darkness Quote Link to comment
+Doc-Dean Posted October 15, 2003 Share Posted October 15, 2003 I use Clayjar's system with all my caches. I think its good to have a uniform system so that one person's 2 is not anothers person's 4. The Selector on Texas Geocaching's site is also excellent and I incorporate that as well... Its best advantage is telling people about pet friendly, kid friendly, handicap accessible and many other features. Free your mind and the rest will follow Quote Link to comment
+CacheCreatures Posted October 15, 2003 Author Share Posted October 15, 2003 Hmm that is basically what I was getting at, however it appears that, with both systems, it's up to the cache creator to rate his/her cache? I was considering a more general, per visit, approach. It would seem to me that the more people visit each cache, the more normalized the ratings would become. As you point out GPSaxophone, we are subject to the full range of opinion; but when only a single rating is seen (that of the creator) I'd argue that the level of subjectivity is at its most extreme. Lets dream a little bit. What would be ideal? Maybe a sheet like that of ClayJar's is presented to each reviewer when they log a find? CacheCreatures are spreading... They can hide, but they can't run! Quote Link to comment
+Team GPSaxophone Posted October 15, 2003 Share Posted October 15, 2003 That's more of what the log is for. if you find a cache that is easier/harder than the D/T score suggests, post that in your log and make an email request to the owner. Took sun from sky, left world in eternal darkness Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted October 15, 2003 Share Posted October 15, 2003 It comes up a lot. Someone rates a cache a 1 for terrain and the only way you could get a wheelchair there is to use a catapult. If there was user ratings for terrain they would average out over time. People do comment on ratings in their log. Quote Link to comment
+Doc-Dean Posted October 15, 2003 Share Posted October 15, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Renegade Knight:It comes up a lot. Someone rates a cache a 1 for terrain and the only way you could get a wheelchair there is to use a catapult. I think cheaperthandirt.com has them on sale this week... Free your mind and the rest will follow Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted October 16, 2003 Share Posted October 16, 2003 I use Clayjar's system as a guide, but I find that if you answer the questions, it tends to rate the terrain 1/2 - 1 star too high. So what I go by are the acutal definitions for each rating (which appear after you've completed the questionnaire). "You can't make a man by standing a sheep on his hind legs. But by standing a flock of sheep in that position, you can make a crowd of men" - Max Beerbohm Quote Link to comment
+hikemeister Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 I found this on a cache page from California -- kind of nice: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=97578 Quote Link to comment
+El Diablo Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 I understand what he's saying. It depends on the idividual and a lot of the time the region your in. However a lot of cache owners mis-label the rating. Maybe what we need is a rating system like we have in the fourms. When a cacher logs the cache on line he is asked to rate it, and after a few finds it will average out to a true rating or close to a true rating. El Diablo Everything you do in life...will impact someone,for better or for worse. http://www.geo-hikingstick.com Quote Link to comment
+Shaggy of Mysteries Inc Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 I think this is something you might be interested in. ratings for your cache page. I use this on all my caches. Perhaps someone will develop one similar to this for diff/terr. ~Shaggy~ Quote Link to comment
+Team Og Rof A Klaw Posted October 17, 2003 Share Posted October 17, 2003 I use Clayjar's system, but my big problem with it is that it doesn't factor in the "hiddenness" of the hide. Leaving the cache in plain sight is rated the same as hiding it in a realistic fake tree branch. I don't know how to compensate, though. ____________________________ - Team Og Rof A Klaw All who wander are not lost. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted October 18, 2003 Share Posted October 18, 2003 quote:I use Clayjar's system, but my big problem with it is that it doesn't factor in the "hiddenness" of the hide. Leaving the cache in plain sight is rated the same as hiding it in a realistic fake tree branch. I don't know how to compensate, though. If you read the descriptions of difficulty, that should help you choose the correct rating: 1 Star - Easy. In plain sight or can be found in a few minutes of searching. 2 Stars - Average. The average cache hunter would be able to find this in less than 30 minutes of hunting. 3 Stars - Challenging. An experienced cache hunter will find this challenging, and it could take up a good portion of an afternoon. 4 Stars - Difficult. A real challenge for the experienced cache hunter - may require special skills or knowledge, or in-depth preparation to find. May require multiple days / trips to complete. 5 Stars - Extreme. A serious mental or physical challenge. Requires specialized knowledge, skills, or equipment to find cache. Going by these definitions, a cache hidden in a fake tree branch could be 2.5 - 3 stars. I have one 3 star difficulty cache and it is in plain sight. I started it off as 2 stars, but upped it to three when it was taking some very experienced geocachers 2-3 trips to find it. "You can't make a man by standing a sheep on his hind legs. But by standing a flock of sheep in that position, you can make a crowd of men" - Max Beerbohm Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted October 18, 2003 Share Posted October 18, 2003 For hide diffuculty the ClayJar system works pretty good if you use it correctly. On a 5 diffuculty you have to say though if it's that hard or if you need cache retrieval tools. The terrain rating needs some work. It's very hard to set a terrain rating. Sometimes it's a long distance, sometimes a vertical hike. Sometimes it's a huge rock pile but only 30' off the road. I've learned that any terrain rating less than a 4 is pretty easy to do. If the cache descriptions says "It's a 3 mile hike in lava" then I pay a lot of attention. Quote Link to comment
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