Petition For Mapquest

[+Tonsil]

As many of you have probably noticed, MapQuest removed the feature from their website where you could simply request driving directions from a given lat/lon map. Used to be, you could click on a cache page link to MapQuest, and then from there enter an address and it would give you dirs to the cache, or as close as you could get on roads. Well, we liked it, and fellow cacher Nellsnake started a petition to try to get it back. Here's the link:

http://www.PetitionOnline.com/latlondd/petition.html

 

Or else you can click here. Please join us in getting back a very useful feature!

[+KaPeRsMom]

I signed

[+Robespierre]

O.K.

[+Mopar]

I didn't sign, because I respect a company's right to decide NOT to give away a service at a loss of revenue if they don't want to. I'll be damned if someone were trying to force my company to lose money, and I'll be damned if I'll try to do it to someone elses. There are other free options to use, like MapPoint, or even better, go out and pay for a mapping solution and then at least you'll have a reason to complain if they take the feature away.

[+Jomoma]

I signed and I don't think there's anything wrong with asking a company to bring back a feature which we enjoy.

Is there any alternative for driving directions?

[+Mopar]

Is there any alternative for driving directions?

MapPoint is linked right from the cache pages, same as MapQuest. It will provide free 1 click driving directions to the cache. My experience has been that the MapPoint directions are generally better then MapQuest anyway. Rand McNally maps are also linked right from the cache page, and they will also provide free directions based on coords, but you must manually enter them (Not quite as easy as MapPoint).

Every commercial street mapping program I can think of, MS Streets and Trips, Delorme Street Atlas, Mapsource, MapSend and others will also give you driving directions based on coords. They pay options all do a much better job then any of the free options, since they have lots of added features, like routing mulitple caches, checking online databases for construction delays, real time routing while driving with a laptop, uploading your route to your GPS, etc.

[+Joe Smith]

I didn't sign, because I respect a company's right to decide NOT to give away a service at a loss of revenue if they don't want to. I'll be damned if someone were trying to force my company to lose money, and I'll be damned if I'll try to do it to someone elses. There are other free options to use, like MapPoint, or even better, go out and pay for a mapping solution and then at least you'll have a reason to complain if they take the feature away.

True, and that is why I now have an autorouting GPS.

 

However there are still alot of people (Myself included) That enjoy having printed maps to a lat/ long destination. All i am doing by signing is telling mapquest that there are people who often used a feature, and asking them to bring it back. It is still up to them.

 

I signed, and am proud to have signed.

 

 

Joe Smith

[+Team Tecmage]

I have no idea if the feature causes MapQuest to operate at a loss, or whether the company made the decision as a method of generating additional revenue. My approach to this is the same as Mopar's suggestion- use another service. If MapQuest sees its usage drop (and it's revenue-affecting) they will bring the feature back, or find another way to combat the loss.

 

It's like the Hotmail situation. MSN announced upgrades to its free email service in June or July but did not implement them until October or November- after it started losing customers to Gmail and other free email services that were offering more storage. I still have two Hotmail accounts, but I also have two Gmail accounts to which I am migrating all email.

 

I would rather let MapQuest live with the results of their decision.

[+Stunod]

I didn't sign, because I respect a company's right to decide NOT to give away a service at a loss of revenue if they don't want to. I'll be damned if someone were trying to force my company to lose money, and I'll be damned if I'll try to do it to someone elses. There are other free options to use, like MapPoint, or even better, go out and pay for a mapping solution and then at least you'll have a reason to complain if they take the feature away.

Where did you get the inside knowledge that they were losing money on this feature?

 

A petition like this doesn't force a company to do anything..it is simply a method of giving them feedback. They still have the choice to do whatever they want with their business.

[+Team Perks]

Auto-routing GPSr. Several different kinds of mapping software.

 

Yep...I don't need Mapquest.

[+TeamK-9]

I have Delorme Street Atlas, and find that it forces me to enter coords for caches in Decimal form, which is a slight pain in the butt. Plus, it's alot simpler to use a web based solution, then a paid program...

[+Mopar]

I didn't sign, because I respect a company's right to decide NOT to give away a service at a loss of revenue if they don't want to. I'll be damned if someone were trying to force my company to lose money, and I'll be damned if I'll try to do it to someone elses. There are other free options to use, like MapPoint, or even better, go out and pay for a mapping solution and then at least you'll have a reason to complain if they take the feature away.

Where did you get the inside knowledge that they were losing money on this feature?

 

A petition like this doesn't force a company to do anything..it is simply a method of giving them feedback. They still have the choice to do whatever they want with their business.

Pure speculation.

I WILL however point out that nowhere in MapQuest's documented FREE services are any long/lat based mapping services. That means, as far as I can see in their online documentation, that those types of services are intended to be a pay option. Indeed, requests for info about such services are directed to email sales@mapquest.com. I think it rather nieve to think that MapQuest didn't already know who was using the directions before they killed them. 30 seconds scanning the server logs for referrals would show them that. I would think a company like MapQuest that subsidizes the free maps by selling premium mapping services (gee, that sounds like how GC.com works) would probably expect a commercial company like GC.com to actually buy them. Maybe that's the case, I don't know. Maybe GC is paying MapQuest for maps, but not driving directions. Maybe GC isn't paying anything, and this is the first step toward MapQuest blocking GC.com from using it's free maps. Looking at MapQuest's free services, I see 2 things. One, under linking restrictions it says "The MapQuest page you are linking to may not be displayed in a new browser window. ". The cache pages open the MapQuest map in a new browser window. Second, these are the only allowed FREE field combinations:

> Address, city, state and ZIP code

> Address, city and state

> Address and city

> City and state

 

Notice there is no mention of longitude or latitude in their free services. However, it DOES say this:

While LinkFree offers an unlimited number of calls from a referring website, it does not support integrated mapping within your branded site or many other features common in the Advantage product line such as integrated driving directions, text labeling of locations and plotting multiple locations.

 

So, now are we complaining that we aren't getting something for free that we aren't supposed to be getting for free, or did GC com just stop paying for the driving directions option?

EDIT: Or the 3rd option; GC.com is using free maps under old, outdated TOS and MapQuest hadn't actually noticed GC.com is now violating their usage agreement (or hasn't cared) and making a big stink will point this out to them. Something to consider.

Edited December 29, 2004 by Mopar

[+Polgara]

I can't support the petition, although good luck to those participating. I live within an hour of Philly, and all i can say is good riddance to driving directions from mapquest, they don't know how to get around the schuylkill expressway or King of Prussia Mall, I95/ 202 Philly suburb area to save their lives.

[+Tonsil]

I didn't sign, because I respect a company's right to decide NOT to give away a service at a loss of revenue if they don't want to. I'll be damned if someone were trying to force my company to lose money, and I'll be damned if I'll try to do it to someone elses. There are other free options to use, like MapPoint, or even better, go out and pay for a mapping solution and then at least you'll have a reason to complain if they take the feature away.

Be damned, then. While I can understand why you wouldn't be interested in signing the petition, I see no reason to be so combative towards those who are. We contacted MapQuest directly, and received the following response:

We apologize for the delay of our reply and any inconvenience this may have caused you. This feature is not currently supported.  We will add your comments to include this feature to our suggestion box.  These suggestions

are used to evaluate future improvements to the MapQuest Web site.

Please feel free to contact us if you have further questions or concerns.

There is nothing in the reply to indicate that it was an intentional decision based on losses or a violation of TOS. It sounds like a stock answer which doesn't even acknowledge that the feature had been there and was removed. I don't think that it is unreasonable for us as users to request that a removed feature be restored. If MapQuest decides to make it a pay-only feature, then so be it. However, they haven't done anything yet to suggest that that is the reason for removing it. I for one thought it was handy. The fact that I have alternatives has nothing to do with the fact that I liked the directions and would like them back, or at least know that they were intentionally removed by MapQuest. The fact that we do not pay for this service directly is something that is decided by MapQuest, and does not change the fact that we are users with concerns. MapQuest does receive money from advertising, and that income is affected by the amount of people that use the site. While they have every right to run their business however they like, ultimately it behooves them to keep their users happy.

[+R-100-GS]

Don't like Mapquest never have.

I like microsoft's MapPoint,

http://mappoint.msn.com/(rlbmw02cwj1qob2ui3dt5455)/home.aspx

or Maps on Us.

http://mapsonus.switchboard.com/index.cgi/...329a.2bf3.9/c=7

But then again, I now have a Garmin V with Mapsource.

Auto routing with turn by turn directions makes life SO good!

Edited January 1, 2005 by R-100-GS

[+Woof!]

I didn't sign, because I respect a company's right to decide NOT to give away a service at a loss of revenue if they don't want to. I'll be damned if someone were trying to force my company to lose money, and I'll be damned if I'll try to do it to someone elses. There are other free options to use, like MapPoint, or even better, go out and pay for a mapping solution and then at least you'll have a reason to complain if they take the feature away.

I might add that Mapquest also receives revenues from the ads that appear when you do driving directions, and on other pages in the site. Our traffic to these ads encourages sponsors to want to pay, and pay more, to advertise on the Mapquest site.

 

I totally support a companies right to do whatever they want, but it's also not unreasonable to make suggestions to a company. After all, "free" service or not, anyone who visits the Mapquest site is still a customer.

 

This isn't the first time Mapquest has removed usability from the maps linked to from gc.com. They also removed the "big map" option not too long ago. I miss this option, as well as the driving directions. I hope they come back.

Edited January 1, 2005 by Woof!

[Jeremy]

I have no idea if the feature causes MapQuest to operate at a loss [..]

The whole mapping industry is a cash cow. The small number of folks who own autorouting maps charge a per transaction fee for use of their driving directions, or a massive flat fee (but this may have changed). I can understand how they would have to remove this feature as a freebie.

 

Petition all you want, but at the end of the day the cost/benefit analysis didn't pan out. Some folks need to realize that free online services aren't "free" to someone.

[+TEAM 360]

We used to get scrolling maps here on GC.com for non-premium members, too...which allowed us to search along a corridor or highway route, but that got taken away, too.....

[+Vic303]

I just wish these online services would 1. Update their base maps with correct/current info. 2. for addresses, provide lat/lon coords for found addresses, so I could input them into my gpsr.