cache rating - request for comments [closed]

[ideology]

thanks guys, very good points

caughtatwork, yes, our recollection of the cache isn't directly reflected in the logs. this is probably due to the fact that panorama was about the fourth or fifth cache that we'd ever done, and we simply didn't realise how good it was at the time! we thought all caches would be like that! in fact, we liked it so much that we went back with leek and swampy a few years later!

if people knew that they were going to recommend a cache, we think they would give a reason why in their log. we are worried about radio button codes because of the risk of tick-the-box conformity that was raised by alex et al a while ago. we would appreciate everyone's views on this.

caughtatwork/mind socket, we hadn't thought much about the criteria for putting a recommendation on the search listing! we just assumed that any cache with a recommendation would be highlighted! but the stats you mention make sense. the recommended:finds ratio sounds reasonable. other people's thoughts?

[Derringer]

Good to see we have moved away from a numeric system.
I like the proposed recommendations format.

I believe that there is no further need to explain in detail why you like/recommend a cache.
A user can read the cache log(s) if need be.
A detailed examination of why a cache is recommended seems to be taking the element of surprise/ adventure out of the experience.

I read the cache logs and then experience the cache first hand.
If a cache has a "good" write up, I have never been dissappointed in attempting the cache.

Kevin

[swampgecko]

Good to see we have moved away from a numeric system.
I like the proposed recommendations format.

I believe that there is no further need to explain in detail why you like/recommend a cache.
A user can read the cache log(s) if need be.
A detailed examination of why a cache is recommended seems to be taking the element of surprise/ adventure out of the experience.

I read the cache logs and then experience the cache first hand.
If a cache has a "good" write up, I have never been dissappointed in attempting the cache.

Kevin

I like it too, nice and simple. Good Work George.


caughtatwork the cache "Panorama" - what makes it great? What makes any cache a good cache? For me, getting out there, and even thou the cache itself was in dire need of maintenance, that didn't retract anything from the overall experience.

It is like recommending a movie, people have different tastes..... so do geocachers. The frill of the chase may be enough, for others it is cracking that mensa puzzle to work out where the next co-ord is. Some people like the quick and easy caches. It is all subjective and up to the individual.... Maybe thats why I enjoy this hobby so much, there are some many varients to it.

[ideology]

we've built a prototype cache recommendation system for testing

when viewing a cache, click the link on the right hand side marked "Recommend this cache"
you should then see it added to your recommended list
the maximum number of recommendations is set to 10

at the moment, the only places that the recommendations are displayed are on the cache and cacher pages
if this works okay, we'll write the code to show the recommendation on the search screen

let us know how it goes!

[Gunn Parker]

yes that works well
Andrew

[edit]
The other thing is, how exact is the suburb listed as the cache being in?
or did I miss that bit.
[/edit]

[Cached]

except it let me recommend 11!!

Love it though - very simple.

oh, hang on, it told me I had to remove 1. Would it have forced me though?

[Mind Socket]

Looks fantastic!

Oh look, a can of worms! ...
I wonder if people should have a number of recommendation slots in proportion to their number of finds. I realise this would be a highly contentious thing to do, but I wonder if someone with 20 finds would knowingly recommend half of their caches, not knowing what constitutes a _really_ good one.

Scratch that thought, probably too hard. I came up with 9 recommendations (out of 180 finds) after a quick browse of my finds.

- Rog

[Gunn Parker]

should you be able to remove a recommendation,?
I just recommended the first one on the list to test it, it's a good one anyway so it can stay but if you recommed 10 and then find another better one, should you be able to change it later.

[caughtatwork]

Just a thought.

Can you recommend an archived cache? Should you?

[caughtatwork]

One other thought.
Will you be putting the location next to the recommendations on the cachers home page?
Then we can get a good idea on which area (or state) they are in.

[riblit]

should you be able to remove a recommendation,?
I just recommended the first one on the list to test it, it's a good one anyway so it can stay but if you recommed 10 and then find another better one, should you be able to change it later.

there is a remove option.

[ideology]

glad you like it! in 7 hours there are approx 70 recommendations from 15 cachers! there's already been some useful info for us. based on recommendations, it looks like we'll be off to 1905 in the near future! (good one, oompas!)

now, onto the questions. caller, are you there?

how exact is the suburb listed as the cache being in

about 80% accurate. we have rough coordinates for most postcodes in australia. we match the cache to the closest postcode coordinate. there are two main innaccuracies: invalid postcode coordinates, and different sized postcodes (the algorithm assumes all postcodes are perfect circles, which they aren't) later on we plan to allow users to edit maps, so if you see that a postcode is in the wrong place, you'll be able to move it. (postcodes are currently shown on the maps in a browny colour. we'll make them easier to see when we get to map editing.)

it told me I had to remove 1. Would it have forced me though?

if you try to add an 11th recommendation, it should prompt you to delete one. if you do so, the new recommendation should be added. if you don't the new recommendation is not added.

number of recommendation slots in proportion to their number of finds... I came up with 9 recommendations (out of 180 finds)

yeah, let's leave it at a constant metric dozen for the time being - hopefully people will realise that a recommendation from someone who's done hundreds of caches is a pretty high recommendation!

Can you recommend an archived cache? Should you?

you can at the moment. two reasons: firstly, depending on the reason for archiving, it might spur the owner to unarchive them. secondly, the cache might be archived after you've recommended it, and we weren't sure that we should automatically remove a recommendation. naturally if you'd already recommended 10 caches and you wanted to recommend another, you'd probably remove the recommendation for the archived cache before removing the recommendation for the others. we've formatted the cache name so you can see that you are recommending an archived cache. you can do also to things which we don't think there is a role for. for example, you can recommend your own caches, and you can recommend things more than once. we will probably put in checks to stop this, unless there's a role for this we hadn't thought of!

Will you be putting the location next to the recommendations on the cachers home page?

good idea! done!

you may be wondering why the recommendation page is called "hotlist." the reason is that we imagine that there will be other sorts of lists that people would like to share. one that comes to mind is an "interested" list, which can be interpreted as "i'd like to do this cache; if you'd also like to do it, give me a yell and we might do it together." for example, we could mark ourselves as interested in the 1905 cache mentioned above, and leek might pm us and say "let's go do it!" if you have other ideas for different types of hotlists, let us know!

[caughtatwork]

Small glitch this morning, from my own stats:

Caches Logged
178 found (approx)

Caches Found: 0

Looks like there are no caches found for anyone.

[ideology]

Small glitch this morning

it was due to us putting in the new code for making recommended caches display in gold. it should be back to normal now!

[GammaPiSigma]

Looks great i!.

Have been following this discussion and think in the end the best system prevailed. Already adding caches to the to-do list based on recommendations. Top work.