Groundspeak Portal

I have created a new group — The Thomas Crapper Society | http://www.waymarking.com/groups/details.aspx?f=1&guid=99462ae7-c310-4bdc-9c79-44c2b0a36aca — with the intent of creating a new category.

This would be about public toilets. In other words, those toilets that are not in shopping malls, gas stations, train stations, and so on. Instead it would be those toilets that can not be Waymarked in any other way. These are the toilets that appear in parks in North America or on high streets in Europe and Australasia.

The prime purpose is to serve us Waymarkers as way to let each other know where the closest toilet may be.

To avoid any privacy issues and respect for cultures that may not approve, there would be no requirement to photograph the toilet. However, there can be optional variables on the facilities. This would cover things like flush vs. latrine, running water to wash hands, baby change tables, and so on.

If this interests you please feel to join up at http://www.waymarking.com/groups/details.aspx?f=1&guid=99462ae7-c310-4bdc-9c79-44c2b0a36aca. There is also a sample photo up at this waymark http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM7J8K_Great_North_Road_Toilets_Winton_New_Zealand

I think someone is taking the pi** .

brentorboxer, not sure if you are trying to be humourous or not.

If it is the latter, I assure that I'm being quite serious about this category.

We have a category for outhouses http://www.waymarking.com/cat/details.aspx?f=1&guid=bbc7b41a-8f6b-4efe-8169-7f1325746e78

Personally, I'm not too thrilled about it (the outhouse cat). It seems creepy that an inside photo is required.

I can see why a travelor might want a good way to locate a good toilet. I will admit that when I was in Mumbai I found the McDonalds had the nicest public toilet in the area and we ate there regularly for that reason alone. I can think of times when geocaching, it would have been nice to click the find nearest waymark, and have a nearby toilet. Especially since I started "paperless" caching.

That was the pro's. The con's? The category could only be valuable if it had a large inventory. If there were only a few postings, nobody would bother using it for anything helpful. It would require a huge amount of participation from waymarkers.

Bottom line, I might vote for it in peer review, but I don't think it would be a successful category.

I will vote no for such a category.  The current outhouse category that does exist is more oriented to those of historical nature especially now that it excludes those with more modern construction. 

We had a short discussion a long time ago in the geocaching forums about this. I know it seems mundane, but boy, it could be very helpful while traveling.

Linky

Yup, unless you're a Luna Moth, you gotta go sometime... I'll vote yea.

team farkle 7:

Yup, unless you're a Luna Moth, you gotta go sometime... I'll vote yea.

As much as the thought of "logging" one of these makes me giggle, the idea is better than some that we do already have in place.

BQ

the blue quasar:

... "logging" ... BQ

OH NO YOU DIDN'T!
You did. You just had to go there.

I think at least it should be limited to public stand alone toilets. That way you wouldn't get every McDonalds or library bathroom.

saopaulo1:

I think at least it should be limited to public stand alone toilets. That way you wouldn't get every McDonalds or library bathroom.

I disagree. If the purpose of the category was to have a place to use when you needed to use it, a McDonalds would be a good choice. Especially helpful if there were hours available.

gt.us:

saopaulo1:

I think at least it should be limited to public stand alone toilets. That way you wouldn't get every McDonalds or library bathroom.

I disagree. If the purpose of the category was to have a place to use when you needed to use it, a McDonalds would be a good choice. Especially helpful if there were hours available.

The OP has already said he will exclude them.  I agree if this category going to go forward I would exclude them... why have every library, gas station, fast food waymarked again... most of them have a bathroom, which is the reason I in general oppose the category.  Only place it is sometimes hard to find a restroom is a large city.

It's global. It's prevalent. It serves a useful purpose.

May not be particularly romantic, but I'd likely vote in favor of a well constructed version of such a category.

BruceS:

Only place it is sometimes hard to find a restroom is a large city.

Not so sure about that. I've encountered a few unexpected public toilets in rural areas that were most welcome. Lots of small towns don't have fast food places, and in small towns especially, libraries and other public buildings can have pretty unusual business hours. But sometimes there are rest rooms located in a small visitor's center just off the town common, or tucked away behind a community center, or located at a baseball field.

i liken this to a payphone.....

I think it should be mainly geared toward public bathrooms that are specifically suplied for everyone. In my mind, places like restaurants expect you to be a patron to use their bathroom. Using their bathroom and not buying something is akin to "stealing" in thier eyes. The same goes for convenience stores, etc (though perhaps not the case with truck stops).

A couple examples from my area would be the public restrooms in our park system, a public restroom smack in a downtown nearby that is there just for tourists (but can be overlooked by visitors). I would have to think about mall bathrooms. They are for the general public, even if you don't buy (I assume?).

Outhouses isn't a superset of this. Outhouses is for a very small subset - ie unplumbed "old fashioned" (whatever that means) toilets, and does not stipulate "public". It also has some rather bizarre requirements and incomprehensible language - but that's beside the point.

A category as described above, for public toilets that exculdes those that are for patrons of commercial establishments (malls, train stations, McD's etc), COULD ... when you come to think about it ... be quite interesting, but it would need careful thought and wording without which it could result in some downright dull and unpleasant waymarks.

Something to consider would be "converted public toilets". A small Victorian public toilet block near where I live has been converted into an Estate Agents (Real Estate Broker). Also, in Turku, Finland, there is a bar that is in a converted toilet called Puutorin Vessa (Puutori Toilet, Puutori (lit wood-market) is a market square in Turku) Their website is in Finnish: http://www.puutorinvessa.fi/files/vessa.php
and here's a review in English: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22523609-27978,00.html

They (in the UK at least) are a bit like public phone boxes really - something that used to be provided by the authorities for use by the public, but which are dying out.

Personally I'm not 100% sold on "wow factor" yet, but the possibility does exist.

The thought I had behind this isn’t so much about the appearance of the toilet or anything unique about it, rather it is just knowing where there is one when we are out in the field. Whether if be Waymarking, Geocaching, or just enjoying the outdoors I often have found find a toilet close at hand is sometimes the most important thing. Anyone with a young child, such as my four-year-old, may truly know how important this is.

 

I would prefer not to log every toilet out there. For example, toilets in McDonald’s, Wendy’s, community centres, gas stations, libraries are not what I’m thinking about. Rather it would be those that you can’t Waymark through existing categories.

 

Take the park I live by. In it are three public toilets. These are stand alone structures where the only reason to enter is use the toilet. Or it could be the public toilets in my downtown where again the only reason you’d enter the doorway is to use the toilet.

 

The criteria could be as follows:

 

o       A municipal or government run and/or sanctioned public toilet.

o       It is available to the public without any commercial attachment, like bing in a gas station where they prefer you purchase something to use the loo.

o       It can include pay-for-use public toilets like those in London, UK.

o       The prime reason you’d enter the building is to use the toilet.

 

This might not be the most exciting reason to Waymark. However, premium members can ignore this category. But I do find it far more interesting than looking at benchmarks.

 

Plus there are interesting toilets out there. In Kawakawa, New Zealand there is the Frederick Hundertwasser designed toilets and in Basel, Switzerland there is Monica Bonvicini’s “Don’t Miss A Sec” toilet. However, the vast majority will be rather bland but necessary to know locations.

I agree.

Go for it. You've clearly thought it through. I'm not opposed. Not terribly excited, but not opposed. I'd submit any really interesting or historically significant ones I came across but I don't think I'd follow the utilitarian spirit of submitting lots of them.

You've got me wondering whether to propose "converted public toilets" ... nah ... Seeing that I can think of a grand total of two I think it would be a leeetle bit short on prevalence.

ambrosia:

We had a short discussion a long time ago in the geocaching forums about this. I know it seems mundane, but boy, it could be very helpful while traveling. Linky

Looks like the original photo on that Forum discussion was deleted or the link is lost.

Here it is again.

cache_test_dummies:

It's global. It's prevalent. It serves a useful purpose.

Global - of course!  We sure hope so, anyway.

Prevalent - fails this test because they are TOO prevalent!  Unless the category is severely restricted.

Useful - in serious doubt!  Especially if it is limited so it is not ubiquitous.  Given the random and sparse nature of waymarking, this wouldn't be very reliable anyway.  You can't seriously tell me someone is going to use a waymark to find a facility when in need!  Really?

When I saw this in the new group listing yesterday, I thought it was one of those gag groups.  Makes me gag anyway.  It is not just that it is unromantic, but that it is entirely pointless to waymark something so mundane and ubiquitous. 

Sometimes it is difficult to find facilites here in Korea.  There are few truly public restrooms, and one can't count on a eating place having them.  They may be up two flights of stairs in a hallway.   There are both western toilets and Asian style ones.  But, I can't see how waymarking them would help at all. Seriously!

Okay, I just waymarked an octagonal one - very unusual for here.  But, that's another story.

No enthusiasm here.

chapterhouseinc:

i liken this to a payphone.....

Not likely,
- I don't carry a portable toilet with me as I do a cell phone.
~ Many places post :   WASHROOMS FOR CUSTOMERS ONLY!

Jeremy didn't like my  "Unique Manhole Cover"  category  either, at the beginning, but changed his mind about them after I posted some examples.
Take a look at these Japanese Manhole Covers.   by lotusHishino & YONEYAMA

Many a time we've pulled into a McD's, walked in, Harvey Jr. & I use the can (curse the weak Irish bladder) and left without a purchase. We can usually find a john at many such places. Mom & Pop establishments generally won't turn away a small child, although we've had it happen.

So if I can find a McD's on a kml file or whatever, great! But, if it turns out somebody posted a public loo that's closer, guess where I'm headed.

I can think of two that would be worth waymarking off the top of my head. One here in the downtown area where we live, and another in Boston. The one by us is pretty standard, the one we saw in Boston is one of those modern ones that closes up after you walk out and hoses itself down. It was a few years ago, so I don't remember if it had the two-way glass or not. I don't think it did, either way I made sure to get its coords and some shots of it. The look my wife gave me...

silverquill:

Prevalent - fails this test because they are TOO prevalent!  Unless the category is severely restricted.

I respectfully disagree that they are too prevalent. The limits to entries in the category as described in the OP and in a follow-up post sound like a reasonable approach to me.

silverquill:

You can't seriously tell me someone is going to use a waymark to find a facility when in need!  Really?

I seriously believe some people would. Once PQs are in place, and there are more than a few entries in this category, I can see myself and others loading up these waymarks when venturing into a new area. Or looking them up on an Internet-enabled phone.

silverquill:

No enthusiasm here.

None here, either.