Groundspeak Portal

FiVermont:

The SuzyQs:

Since you are asking, how about the ability to serach for waymach by WM number similar to searching for caches by GC number. Maybe add the box at the bottom of the page to goto the next waymark once you have posted your visit.

That's already possible. Under "Waymarks Search" enter the waymark code in the Keywords field.

Perhaps change the label on the field?

Matt

This is true ONLY if you use capital letters.

WM42A7 will work, WM42a7 won't. (WM# chosen at random... )

BQ

the blue quasar:

So you would like something like this but for Waymarking? Geocaching on iPhone BQ

Yes and no. A waymarking on iPhone application would only benefit users of the Apple iPhone. The rest of us using other brand devices would be shut out of that program. I would rather see the something like http://m.waymarking.com that is formatted for mobile screens before a custom application appears. That way Groundspeak isn't dictating which phone I have to buy (particularly an issue in a place like Canada that typically lags the US marketplace by a good 2 years when a mobile device is released).

A mobile formatted website would work fine for iPhone, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Android, or whatever the industry dreams up next year.

Mind you if Groundspeak wants to get writing custom applications that use the GPS and Camera .... please start with Windows Mobile :)

northernpenguin:

Mind you if Groundspeak wants to get writing custom applications that use the GPS and Camera .... please start with Windows Mobile :)

They did for whereigo.

Okay, there are a lot of feature requests that have been mentioned that seem to be pretty universal:  .gpx files and PQ's, using one photo for multiple waymarks, editable photo gallery, various search functions, etc. 

VARIABLES:

Here are some features having to do with variables, some of which were requested a couple of years ago . . .

1. A multi-option drop-down or radio-button field, i.e.  more than one option may be selected - all that apply.

2. A date field that will accept just a year!!  Anyone else tired of typing in 01/01/1889 when all you have, need, or want is the year?

STATISTICS

I'd like to see a lot more capability with statistics.  The category grid is great, and the waymark list is great, too.  The map is a great visual but I'd like to see a list that gives the actual number of waymarks I have in each state and country.  While we're at it, I'd like to see a world map and list.  Waymarking is becoming more and more international, and so the site and functions should reflect that.  (Oh, I still cannot see my state map since I use a non-U.S. address).

As an officer and group leader in a few categories, I'd like to be able to get more stats on an individual category.  Here is what I'd like to see:  Number of waymarks by each individual, by state/country, and a display of waymarks in a list format so I could scan the entire category easier - see at a glance what the waymarks are, date, waymarker, ID number, etc.  Maybe this could be imported into a spreadsheet. (Hey, that might be great for one's own personal waymark list).

Oh, and I'd love to be able to see how many waymarks I've reviewed in each category that I've been involved with!  Don't know if it is possible to access that stat.

Then, it would be interesting to be able to see some global stats for the site.  Some can be found in different places, but it'd be nice to get them easier.  Number of waymarks (by category, state, country, waymarker), number of categories (by classification) for instance.

On the issue of being a global site, I'd like to see drop down menus for state/province divisions for other countries other than the US and Canada!  I think it would be worth the time to set up.

WAYMARK REVIEWING:

Also, as someone who reviews a lot of waymarks, there are some things that would make life easier:
  - a ONE CLICK link from the home page to my review queue!!
  - When there is a list of nearby waymarks, the appoval box and buttons are at the top, so if there is a long list, as there is in some categories, then one has to scroll down the list, then back up to accept/decline.  The approval box should be at the bottom - or, even better, both top and bottom.
 - The ability to select how my list of categories and groups is displayed.  It is hard to locate a specific one.  Sometimes I'd like to see them in alphabetical order, or in order of creation, or ones where I am group leader and then officer.  Right now it seems pretty random.
  - Officer voting:  When a waymark is sent for an officer vote, it can be caught in limbo and difficult for anyone to access if not enough officers vote.  The result of votes seems inconsistent.  I've seen waymarks with only one vote, a nay, get accepted, for instance. 
  - Anonymity:  I don't see any reason why a waymark decline or an officer's vote should be anonymous.  I usually identify myself if I decline a waymark so that person can contact me for further clarification or discussion.  Let's stand by our decisions!

PEER REVIEW:

Some of these have been mentioned in other discussions, but it remains true that there are some flaws in the way this is implemented, in terms of functionality.

- Could an email notification be sent out when a new category has been put up for peer review?
- Notification should be sent, at least to all who voted, on the result of the peer review when it closes.

In terms of policy:  Again, I'm not sure anonymity is useful here, but there might be some justification for it.  There needs to be a clearer statement made about how peer review works.  What is needed for acceptance?  Is it a simple majority, two/thirds?  We know that there is a veto power, but what it is and how it works should be made clear.  Activation:  There should be a time-limit between category approval and activation!  This might avoid some of the problems we've had in the past with "stealth" categories that pop up months after everyone thought they were dead!

++
Okay, that is probably not my whole list, but it is a start.

Also, hope that the ability to sort on variables is in the works, as it has been mentioned as a goal since the beginning.

silverquill:

WAYMARK REVIEWING:

Also, as someone who reviews a lot of waymarks, there are some things that would make life easier:
  - a ONE CLICK link from the home page to my review queue!!

 

I've always just clicked the yellow triangle with the "!" in it beside "My Categories" and that seems to take me right into my review queue.

I like to fully describe the waymark in the long description. Having done so, I am routinely confronted by a bunch of variables that do nothing more than repeat what I've already covered, forcing redundancy. I don't know what word to use to describe a mandatory checkbox by which I have to declare that "I am uploading a photograph of this waymark," which statement sits there in the posted waymark as if it was something in which someone reading the entry would be interested. Some categories have a checklist of several similar items the managers want covered in the description, but which really doesn't need to be seen by anyone but the person posting the waymark.

I said all that to say this: I would like the ability to create "invisible mandatory variables" (for lack of a better term) when designing a category. This would allow managers to lay out a list of things they want covered in the waymark in a list that would be visible in the posting requirements, but not in the posted waymark itself. One would be required to check off each item before submitting, but like the personal message, the checklist would not be visible to anyone else but an officer of the group.

Matt

FiVermont:

I like to fully describe the waymark in the long description. Having done so, I am routinely confronted by a bunch of variables that do nothing more than repeat what I've already covered, forcing redundancy. I don't know what word to use to describe a mandatory checkbox by which I have to declare that "I am uploading a photograph of this waymark," which statement sits there in the posted waymark as if it was something in which someone reading the entry would be interested. Some categories have a checklist of several similar items the managers want covered in the description, but which really doesn't need to be seen by anyone but the person posting the waymark.

I said all that to say this: I would like the ability to create "invisible mandatory variables" (for lack of a better term) when designing a category. This would allow managers to lay out a list of things they want covered in the waymark in a list that would be visible in the posting requirements, but not in the posted waymark itself. One would be required to check off each item before submitting, but like the personal message, the checklist would not be visible to anyone else but an officer of the group.

Matt

I understand your problem.  I'll have to confess that early on I created some categories that required too much redundancy and also were cluttered with too many variables, even though optional.

My pet peeve is the approach of providing ONLY required variable when submitting a waymark and not making much of an attempt at all to supply the requested information.  But, I am also irritated by required variables that are sometimes nearly impossible to supply.

I have seen some categories that do use a check list for requested information.  I find these annoying, too.  Of course these are visible and so provide clutter.   Your idea might provide a solution to that, but any way you slice it, this is going to be a problem.

team farkle 7:

It's been said already, but...

VIDEO!!! how cool would it be to paste a short clip into a waymark?

I have posted some waymarks with links to short movies. I think it really helps to tell a lot about the waymark.

I have the luxury of my own server space to which I can upload videos and link to them from the waymark. So far, that's not affecting my available space, and so far I haven't deleted anything that is linked. It would be nice to be able to keep everything in one place.

Matt

I'd like to echo a few of Silverquill's points

> A date field that will accept just a year!!

YES! And it shouldn't be very hard to do!

> STATISTICS

I'd like to see cat-specific stats, such as number of waymarks (natch), number of visits, number of distinct waymarkers (and a list of them?) category footprint.

And you could have one of those auto-update linky box things like you have for your WM/GC stats saying "cat name, No. of waymarks, No. of visits" to put on your own website to advertise your cat and the concept of waymarking.

> PEER REVIEW email notifications

Yes please.

Other things:

In recent threads we have talked about the ability to link waymarks.  Thus when you cross post a location you can add a link to another waymark for that location.  Or you could add a link for some other reason.  This cross-linkedness would add a whole new dimension to the database.   Kind of social networking for waymarks.  (edited to add: see this thread which also requests the ability to a clone waymarks to make things easier when cross posting.)

Bookmark lists?

Ability to use variables as search criteria (otherwise, what are they for?)

One last idea of mine is I'd like a little bit of extra web space for each category, where the cat owner can extoll the virtues of the thing that is being waymarked, without having to needing get the message over to waymarkers exactly what/how to waymark it (which is the purpose of the main page).  So the Neon people can wax lyrical about all things Neon, the Barns people can give full exposure to their featured barn, and I can ramble on about all the different kinds of milestones, all with links to waymarks to illustrate the point. 

 

In what I will call the Summary View (Search Results?), basic information about each waymark is displayed: default image, title, location, short description, etc. Among that is the date "Last Visited." How about a total number of visits?

Any possibility of info on rejected categories?

Not having been involved with Waymarking all that long, I'm somewhat curious as to what cats haven't made it through peer review.

It wouldn't have to be interactive at all, just a listing with the description and vote count. Vote comments would also be interesting.

Matt

FiVermont:

Any possibility of info on rejected categories?

Not having been involved with Waymarking all that long, I'm somewhat curious as to what cats haven't made it through peer review.

It wouldn't have to be interactive at all, just a listing with the description and vote count. Vote comments would also be interesting.

Matt

I like Matt's idea... even if it's just a list of categories that have passed through Peer Review and crashed.

For denied and approved categories, I'm in favor of the Peer Review comments having some sort of permanence. When a category is denied, the peer review comments are no longer accessible when a new category is established by that group. I think it would be nice if Peer Review comments (for however many categories or attempts) were kept accessible via a link from the group's Past Activity section.

On a user level, I think it'd be interesting to have a voting history. That doesn't have to be public or anything... but I'd like to review what I voted on what when. This may be an exhaustive list for some waymarkers, but it could still be useful.

(my two cents)

- Elle

Space saver 1: I've seen comments about clogging the server with images. I wonder how much space would be saved if images were to be simply deleted instead of archived. To begin with, why are they saved at all? Yes, they're still accessible (if one thinks to make note of the file name before archiving it), but does anyone actually do that?

Space saver 2: I have wanted to add or edit the caption or the description, and the only way to do that is to archive the photo and re-upload it with the new caption or description. The archived photo is now sitting there, unnecessarily taking up server space. The ability to edit textual info without having to re-upload would be a major plus, not only in conveience but in not wasting space.

Performance Improvement?: I don't pretend to understand the dynamics (meaning it may just be modern myth), but I have been told that fewer files allows a computer to run better. Assuming this to be true, wouldn't we all benefit from not hanging on to unused image files?

Matt

FiVermont:

Space saver 1: I've seen comments about clogging the server with images. I wonder how much space would be saved if images were to be simply deleted instead of archived. To begin with, why are they saved at all? Yes, they're still accessible (if one thinks to make note of the file name before archiving it), but does anyone actually do that?

Space saver 2: I have wanted to add or edit the caption or the description, and the only way to do that is to archive the photo and re-upload it with the new caption or description. The archived photo is now sitting there, unnecessarily taking up server space. The ability to edit textual info without having to re-upload would be a major plus, not only in conveience but in not wasting space.

Performance Improvement?: I don't pretend to understand the dynamics (meaning it may just be modern myth), but I have been told that fewer files allows a computer to run better. Assuming this to be true, wouldn't we all benefit from not hanging on to unused image files?

Matt

I would say that there amount of space for achieved photos would be fairly small, I know only a hundred or so archived and have a several thousand not archived.  Now your 2nd space saver recommendation would be a great time saver and a great addition.  As far as performance by having fewer files really is not the case much any more.

What would be a major space saver would be if photos were stored in a gallery and just attached to waymarks and visits thus only being uploaded once no matter how many waymarks or visits they were attached to.  This would also be a major time saver and also would be a big band width saver.

I realize I am new, but a nice feature would be a mobile version for the ability to pull up basic information on a mobile, palm or smart phone, without pictures or the like that makes downloading slow.  I can access the site on my Palm Centro... but it doesn't like it when I do a search... too much data.

I've decided that we need to be able to put a watch on specific waymarks, like we can do with geocaches.

The reason is because I'd like to know when someone posts a visit so I can see if the picture is better than the current default, then appeal to the waymark owner to update the pic (before I do it as category owner).

What needs to be done? I seem to recall receiving a notice whenever someone visits one of my waymarks...

Matt

FiVermont:

What needs to be done? I seem to recall receiving a notice whenever someone visits one of my waymarks...

Matt

Occam is referring to waymarks which are not his own but are in categories where he is an officer.

0ccam:

I've decided that we need to be able to put a watch on specific waymarks, like we can do with geocaches.

The reason is because I'd like to know when someone posts a visit so I can see if the picture is better than the current default, then appeal to the waymark owner to update the pic (before I do it as category owner).

FiVermont:

What needs to be done? I seem to recall receiving a notice whenever someone visits one of my waymarks...

Matt

I think this is a good idea. Here is how I would use a feature of this sort. Currently I approve some waymarks with suggestions that they add or expand something. I like to go back and see if they did so. I often do but sometimes forget. If the update was not made I will on occasion update the waymark myself (gasp).  This would help me track which waymarks I have requested additions to variables and the like since I don't get emails for waymarks I don' own when activity occurs I am not aware of it. In 0ccam's example as a category owner if a particular waymark had a terrible night photo but a visitor posted a better daytime photo as a category manager we could actually...manage the category and change the default.

Yup, I misunderstood what was being asked.

Matt

After last night's chat, I would like to see the "Search Screen" overhauled. Apart from a lot of redundancy, which is okay actually, or at least a link below "Miscellaneous Searches:" for 'advanced searching options' that would go directly to the blue box search.

Maybe I'm just starting to see some features in one area, some others elsewhere and some in both. If I find the time this weekend, I could photoshop something as an example.

BQ

I think a very good 'feature' for waymarking.com to have would be the ability to write a log, post it, and then edit it to make a correction or addition without the system immediately adding

[Log Edited by trainlove on 11/29/2008 12:31:49 PM]

 

some 52 characters in the limited 2000 space for a log.

On geocaching.com you can edit a log for something like a half an hour afterwards without being inundated by that gobbledygook.

trainlove:

I think a very good 'feature' for waymarking.com to have would be the ability to write a log, post it, and then edit it to make a correction or addition without the system immediately adding

[Log Edited by trainlove on 11/29/2008 12:31:49 PM]

 

some 52 characters in the limited 2000 space for a log.

On geocaching.com you can edit a log for something like a half an hour afterwards without being inundated by that gobbledygook.

Editing of logs is problematic at best. People shouldn't need to do so if they consider what they are posting before submitting it.

My favourite analogy in this case is that logs are like tattoos. Be sure that what you write is what you want the world to see.

I see no reason to hide the fact that a log was edited, through the use of a date/time stamp. It was edited, so what? In Waymarking, you only get one hour to make any edits... unlike Geocaching where you get your whole lifetime to Orwell yourself. I prefer Waymarking's system.

BQ

edit: I edited this to add more LOL.

Pocket Queries...?

Timeframe?