Controversial Categories

Last week Groundspeak held one of their town meetings and the topic was "Political and moral agendas and where (or whether) they fit in with waymarking." The topic was a hot issue thanks to a recent category called "Pro-Life Billboards" that went through peer review. My initial reaction was anger and disgust at the use of the Website to promote a specific agenda. This is a fun hobby promoting unique, interesting spots to visit. Who would look forward to visiting one of these nasty pieces of work. Obviously I lean to the left on this issue, however it went beyond that. I would be equally irritated to see a category like NARAL Headquarter's or something like that on the Website.

After thinking it through for awhile though, and listening to Opinionate's arguments (who by the way should consider a job working for a freedom of speech group) changed my thinking and helped me get past my bias towards the topic of the category. I mean, what is "controversial?" I'm not trying to get all existential on you, but what is controversial for one culture might be the norm for another and who am I to push my opinions on someone else. It is a dangerous thing when any group tries to push their ideals as the only ideals. But I won't go so far as to totally agree with Nate. Groups that deal in violence and intolerance do not have a place on Waymarking.com.

So what do we do with these controversial categories that come up? And how do we keep the site family friendly? Where do you put a category for say, good spots to find a prostitute, adult video stores, or (the example used in the town meeting) Neo-Nazi Headquarters? (I in no way want any of these things to be categories. I'm just throwing out some examples.) One idea that was thrown out was to create a 16th department on the site that would be for controversial categories or categories with agendas. There could be a radio button added during the voting process and after you vote yes, no, or abstain you would click on the button if you believe the category belonged in this section of the Website. It's one option for an issue that will likely come up more and more as the site grows.

So.....Any opinions on this topic out there?

70,000 Waymarks

Did anyone notice that Waymarking.com hit 70,000 waymarks today? That's 20,000 waymarks since July 1st when Bootron noted the 50,000 mark. The site seems to have hit its stride and I've been happy to see new active waymarkers, both posting waymarks and joining in on the forums. Just wanted to announce that good news. When I have more time in the next couple of days I'll post my thoughts about the recent town meeting that Groundspeak led. Happy Waymarking!

Unlucky 7

Today I had decided that I was going to do some armchair waymarking - you know, categories like Lucky 7 and Waytours where your waymark is actually a collection of other waymarks. Anyhow, I put together a couple of Lucky 7 waymarks and was in the middle of posting one when I accidently hit backspace. GONE! All that work was gone. I was going over the top too. I had added tons of html - links, photos, you name it - along with a description of each of the waymarks listed as part of the Lucky 7.

Now one would think that this loss taught me a lesson and instead of starting over I opened up MS Word and first typed the waymark information up there. But no, I did indeed start retyping the waymark into the submission form. This time I had completed the whole waymark. It was beautiful other than one typo that I caught, so I hit backspace to jump into that section and correct the mistake and @#$%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You guessed it. Gone. All gone.

At first I had to grip the edge of the table to keep myself from tossing my laptop across the room. Then I decided to be more constructive and to write this post with a plea to Groundspeak. It would be so nice if the site autosaved the submission page as posters filled in the info. For simple waymarks this doesn't matter, but for the more entailed waymarks like the history categories or some of the games this would be so helpful. Even now as I type Blogger is saving this post in the off chance the power goes out or I do something stupid. If an autosave feature is asking for too much, what about a window that opens when you try to navigate away from the form and warns you that you will lose your work if you continue. It could say something like - "Hey, BOZO! Yeah, you! Do you realize that by leaving this page you will lose all of this information that you've typed in?!" - or something to that effect. I know that you guys get requests about new functions for the website all of the time, but the painful loss is fresh in my mind so I decide to beg while I can still visualize that fresh, totally empty screen in my mind. Please, help this poor fool and save me from further loss!

The above photo is of a glass installation by Dale Chihuly at Union Station in Tacoma, Washington. The piece, entitled Monarch Window, is waymarked in the "Abstract Public Sculpture" category and is one of the waymarks that I plan on using in my new "Union Station's Lucky 7" waymark when I calm down enough to post it.

Let's see the visit logs!

Much talk has gone back and forth in the forums about how to entice people to visit existing waymarks, but people haven't really been talking about how the visit logs are used. Isn't that what they are for? Leaving information for people who might want to visit in the future? And yet how often do you come across an interesting waymark and actually read the visit logs? I almost never do, and yet it's not because I'm not interested in them. I just never think about them because they're hidden there at the bottom of the page and I have to click the link to read each log. It's tedious and it doesn't need to be.

I've always wondered why it is that the waymark logs aren't handled similarly to geocaching logs. It would be so great if the last 3 or 4 logs showed at the bottom with a link you could click to see them all. If logging waymarks is to become an integral part of the hobby of waymarking, they need to have a little more emphasis on the page. If it's likely that no one other than the original waymark poster will see the log, then I'm not going to spend as much energy as if it's going to be sitting there at the bottom of the page for all to see. Also, if the databases for the categories are going to be used as a referral system for things like restaurants and hotels, as some have suggested, then what a visitor thought about a spot is as important as the waymark itself.

It would be a simple change, one that might change the community's perspective on how worthwhile a waymark visit is. If a visit log is just to give the original waymark poster a pat on the back, I can't see that logging visits will ever catch on, gps photo or not.

Neon's Illegitimate Sibling :)

I've been posting about the neon dilemma and in my last post I talked about the resolution and how a new category was going to be created for the less artistic of the neon signs that have no place to be waymarked. Well I'm happy to say that the new category passed peer review and is now open for business.

Although some signs don't have the gloss and style needed to make it into the Neon Lights category, the Neon Sign category will provide a place for these simpler and yet still interesting signs. Will the category collect a lot of boring signs? Probably, but the lesson that I have learned is that what is boring to some is wonderful to others. I'm glad to see that open/closed signs have been excluded, and I'd like to see typical beer neon excluded, but other than that I think that the officers did a great job putting together the category. I'd also like to see a variable added for the estimated age of the neon so that eventually if a search function is available to filter the drop-down variables folks who aren't interested in the modern stuff could filter that out - something like "20's -50's", "60's & 70's" and "80's to current". Who knows if that will ever be available, but I keep hoping.

This post is not dissing the "Neon Lights" category. I'm a member of both groups and I understand the desire to keep the category focused on only the artistic, pictorial style of neon. It was wonderful that the group was able to support this new category and pave the way for a smooth time in the peer review process.

I've transferred over the 12 signs that I had posted in the Neon Lights category that work better over in the Neon Sign category. Soon the Neon Lights group will be reevaluating the signs that now fit better in the new category. If you get a few declined, bear with the group and know that there's another home for those waymarks.

Neon Resolution

Well, the long and confusing days of the neon category are almost over. BQ kindly hosted a chat group so that all the officers and interested parties could work things out. Unfortunately I was down for the count during the meeting thanks to my lingering cold so I missed the conversation, but other officers have filled me in and it sounds like things are going to work out well. The final choice was to go with 2 categories. The existing "Neon Lights" category will be a repository for those over-the-top neon creations that people happen upon. Typically these are pictorial in nature and were created during the 1930's to 1950's. The rest of the more basic neon, such as the old parking garage sign shown in this post, would fit in a new second category that Team Farkle 7 is creating. This category is very open and unrestricted and will create a place for the neon signs that aren't quite dazzling enough to make it in the first category. This category is currently in peer review and hopefully it will pass.

It will mean a bit of work for the officers over at Neon Lights. The category description will need to be rewritten slightly and the category will need to have many of the current signs either reevaluated (declined) or switched over to the new category when it comes available. It will be worth it though. In the end everyone will get what they want. There will be one category focused on stellar neon, just like the category founders envisioned, and a second category for all the rest of the neon that, while it may not be stellar, is still deserving of a category.

It is a great example of how when a group works together challenges can be worked through and the category can become even better than when it was first started. I really urge all of you leaders out there to discuss changes with your groups and communicate any concerns as soon as they come up. Your category will be better, thanks to the joint effort.

You know your obsessed with waymarking when...

...You drive out to waymark a Nike missile site even though you have a raging sinus/ear infection. I couldn't stand it. Everyweek I try to find a waymark in at least 2-3 new categories that I haven't waymarked in before, but this week was coming to an end and my regular Saturday waymarking outing was cut because I was too sick. By the afternoon though, it was killing me. Sinus infection or not, I was going to waymark that damn missile site. So I talked my husband into driving (I was too "medicated") and in addition to my typical waymarking accoutrements, I armed myself with a box of kleenex, cough drops and a puke bowl.

It was nice to get out, but it wasn't the most interesting spot to be waymarking in. The missile site was turned into an off-leash dog park and was a big treeless area with not much to see other than a few remaining foundations and lots of cute dogs. After walking around the 37 acre site I had used up all of my waymarking gusto so we cut the trip short and headed home. I fell asleep on the drive back, clutching my kleenex box and camera and woke only once to talk my husband into stopping to get the car washed. I still needed to waymark a coin-operated car wash. :)

Category Evolution: My Conflicted Thoughts

Recently there was a debate on the forums about whether a state historic marker category should change to allow "official" and "unofficial" markers so that only one category is needed, or whether a second category should be created to manage waymarks that are unofficial. At first I thought the state historic marker categories (SHM's) were being rigid and uptight. It seemed so silly to have yet another SHM category. Now, I still think that there is an overabundance of non-global categories and that waymarking should shy away from the creation of another 20 or so "unofficial" SHM categories. There are too many of them already. But I now see that it was easy for me to ask the "official" SHM categories to change because I had no investment in the categories. I didn't value the markers. They all seemed the same to me so why not put them in one big category and be done with them?

Now all of you historic marker lovers out there need to just calm down and read the rest of this before you get your panties all in a bunch. Although I haven't changed how I feel about SHM categories, I do have a lot more sympathy for the leaders who wanted to limit their categories to something very specific.

Some of you know that I love vintage neon signs. They are my favorite thing to waymark and when I helped as an officer during the creation process of the neon category I wanted to limit the category to only the great old neon of the past. I didn't want a bunch of boring everyday neon that is easy to find. I wanted great old signs like the cowboy sign above - signs that did more than say "open" or "Bob's Market". You know the ones. The category was approved in peer review with the requirements that the waymarks posted be "unique" and "creative". The officers embarked in a rough ride of what the group definition of "unique" is. I grimaced everytime a simple, modern, neon text sign was approved, thinking "why would people even bother to take the time to waymark that? Why would they want their name on a waymark like that?" Several times the wording of the posting requirements was altered to try to better explain what type of signs the category was looking for. It didn't work. Eventually a rift grew in the officers and now no one knows what to accept or deny.

The result of this rift is that a second neon category is being formed to create a place for the "Neon Lights" rejects. It stopped me cold because I realized that exactly what I had railed about in the SHM categories was happening here. Some people wanted to limit the category, others wanted to expand it, and the result of the officer's not bending resulted in the current push for a second neon sign category. So here I sit, trying to decide which is more important to me: restricting the category and have a second category for the more basic neon signs, or to ask for the category to evolve into something more inclusive. I'm a hypocrite if I push to keep the neon category restricted to unique, creative signs. That's exactly what I was frustrated with during the SHM debate. At the same time, if the requirements are loosened the incredible vintage signs like the one above will get lost in a watered down category.

In the end, I have to side with letting the category evolve. I won't enjoy wading through the waymarks to find vintage neon, but I still believe that it is better that the category evolve than having two categories for a subject that really only needs one. Maybe a drop-down list variable could be added to differentiate between vintage and modern, textual, and the more elaborate neon "pictures". If the site had the functionality to filter waymarks by a drop-down variable it would make the decision easy. I would value this functionality far beyond being able to download GPX files because it would slow down the creation of redundant categories.

Sorry that this is so long, but it's a topic that I'm struggling with right now and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the matter. Thanks.

Happy Waymarking!
- Hikenutty