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. :)