Fearing a Visit

Do you ever waymark something that you hope no one will visit? A waymark that shames you? Only the gridders know what I am talking about. No one else out there would stoop so low. Recently, I haven't done many of these, but being a gridder I try to waymark at least one of each lame McGutbomb type category that ends up on the grid.

I still have no idea why anyone would want to waymark these. I guess if you had this deep love for a specific hamburger joint, maybe I get it, but I just can't understand WHY someone would have a deep abiding love for a fast food place or a grocery store.

One of my most embarrassing waymarking moments was when a waymarker posted a note to my waymark for the Wendy's "restaurant" in our town. Their log was one word - "Why?" I totally agreed with them and E-mailed explaining myself with the shame of an addict - trying to make excuses for this habit of mine that led to photographing fast food locations. Oh the shame! The humiliation!

Thankfully that was one of the only visits I remember receiving for my commercial waymarks (non-indie commercial, that is.) I may have visits to my Sonic Burger waymark, but that isn't as shameful to me for some reason.

So, remember, only YOU can stop commercial waymarking! Vote no when you see that next category that comes up and makes you scratch your head. And before you create a category stop and ask yourself, "am I creating this because I'm dying to see waymarks of these places or am I creating it just because I want to start a category?" If you want to start a category so badly, check the forums. Often good ideas are thrown out that never end up going anywhere. Contact the person who had the idea and see if they mind if you run with it. If it's someone like me, they'll probably be relieved that someone else will be doing the work to get it started.

A "Fast" Visit

I go on and on about how much I can't stand chain business categories, but I have to admit that as much as I hate them, I always try to post one waymark (or log one visit) to a category before I chuck the category over into my ignore list. A bit hypocritical, but I'm a slave to the grid. The thing is, I always assumed my fast food waymarks would sink into database oblivion, never to be heard from again. I was wrong.

Today I came home from a day full of sun, beach, and waymarking to see that I had visits to about 10 of my waymarks. I read through, and this guy really seemed to have enjoyed the waymarks - the fair, a BBQ restaurant, and a few more I can't remember. Then I see the last one - Wendy's. I was mortified. Someone actually logged a visit to my one and only Wendy's waymark. And here was the log - "Why?" I felt the need to email back and say thanks for visiting my waymarks and thanks for rating my Wendy's restaurant a 2, because I think it sucks too.

So the moral to this tale is - if you don't want to be associated with a waymark, don't post it folks. Will I learn my lesson and not post to the new KFC category if it's approved? Probably not. That could mess up a grid bingo! Hopefully you aren't as addicted to the grid as I am, though, and you can learn from my embarrassment. ;)