Recruiting and Category Proposals

Re: USPS Blue Boxes

wildwoodke — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 14:18:27 GMT

rmikelyons:
Although I like the idea, I figure if it can't really can't gain acceptance here (or at least is met with this much hesitation), then it won't pass peer review. Maybe at a later date this could work, when blue boxes really start to disappear. Thanks everyone for their comments.

Wise decision...

Re: USPS Blue Boxes

silverquill — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 08:08:05 GMT

BruceS:
rmikelyons:
Do you happen to know why?

Not interesting. Too boring. Too many.

Sums it up perfectly!

Re: USPS Blue Boxes

silverquill — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 08:07:15 GMT

BruceS:
rmikelyons:
Do you happen to know why?

Not interesting. Too boring. Too many.

Sums it up perfectly!

Re: USPS Blue Boxes

rmikelyons — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:24:35 GMT

Although I like the idea, I figure if it can't really can't gain acceptance here (or at least is met with this much hesitation), then it won't pass peer review.

Maybe at a later date this could work, when blue boxes really start to disappear.

Thanks everyone for their comments.

Re: USPS Blue Boxes

dopeyduck — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 22:22:24 GMT

Bruce = The USPS has a very good utility for this and it is complete and up to date. Box Locator

SWEET!!! Thank you Bruce. I've always wondered if there was a listing for Blue Boxes, I just never got around to googling it.

To me, waymarking blue boxes is a BAD idea for the PR of the game. It would be yet another category to be mocked by outsiders. Other than the cataloging of these (which has already been done by USPS), why else would someone want to create a WM or visit it? I have yet to hear a compelling reason for it to pass peer review.

Just my 2cents

Re: USPS Blue Boxes

0ccam — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 20:55:37 GMT

steveherrick:

I don't understand the "must accept incoming calls" thing. A local travel agency puts a lot of the Red British Telephone boxes up around our area. I wanted to waymark them under the payphone category, but I can't seem to find the number to call to see if they accept incoming calls. Of course, now I can waymark them under the British telephone box category, I just haven't gotten out there to do them, yet.

Call your cell from one. Then, return the call. :)

2600 Magazine [used to] publish the numbers for payphones. Maybe they do that online now.

Re: USPS Blue Boxes

steveherrick — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:06:07 GMT

the blue quasar:
It is important to note though... PAYPHONES must accept incoming calls to be accepted. Here in Ontario, none do. I don't know if this is a state-by-state thing but maybe that was to make it more challenging. Or maybe the category was created to demonstrate that not everything needs to be "wow'ish". BQ

As I recall the last time the blue boxes was tried one of the promoters used the concept of a finder service. Doesn't have the wow factor, but still makes sense in my mind for waymarking. For mailboxes, though, at least in the US, there is already a service that works better than waymarking would ever do. I'm not fond of the payphone category, but I do recognize that it does enable people to search out a payphone. (Although, anyone likely to be able to look it up on-line, probably doesn't need a payphone.)

I don't understand the "must accept incoming calls" thing. A local travel agency puts a lot of the Red British Telephone boxes up around our area. I wanted to waymark them under the payphone category, but I can't seem to find the number to call to see if they accept incoming calls. Of course, now I can waymark them under the British telephone box category, I just haven't gotten out there to do them, yet.

Re: USPS Blue Boxes

miatabug — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:15:47 GMT

I think there are too many of these to make this a good category.

Re: USPS Blue Boxes

BruceS — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:40:00 GMT

0ccam:
I can see the utility of being able to look up my nearest USPS post box.

But I do think they're too prevalent for waymarking.com.

The USPS has a very good utility for this and it is complete and up to date. Box Locator

Re: USPS Blue Boxes

the blue quasar — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:22:52 GMT

It is important to note though...

PAYPHONES must accept incoming calls to be accepted. Here in Ontario, none do. I don't know if this is a state-by-state thing but maybe that was to make it more challenging. Or maybe the category was created to demonstrate that not everything needs to be "wow'ish".

BQ

Re: USPS Blue Boxes

rmikelyons — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 05:42:16 GMT

Redneck Parrotheads:
the category can be narrowed to only consider Artistic in-service post boxes... like R2D2. I'm sure there's more out there. There's something along this vein that could work if it was written right.

I believe by doing that you'll lose the usefulness of the category. Also, the only really unique ones I have seen are the R2-D2 boxes, and there are several already waymarked in All Things Star Wars. There could be other unique ones, but I'm not aware of any.

Re: USPS Blue Boxes

rmikelyons — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 05:38:41 GMT

Alright, I just kind of skimmed through the other replies.

Boring - Sure, it's boring, but there a ton of "boring" categories out there. You have a point, BruceS, when you say that just because we have some doesn't mean we need more.

Prevalence - I agree with many of the comments about post office locations having post office boxes. After some thought, I think those should be exluded as it kind of goes without saying that post offices will have the blue boxes. The other part of the prevalence issue is that there are so many. While this is true, I think again to the payphones. At every 7-11 I can think of in town here, there are two payphones right outside. Should each one count as it's own waymark? As far as I can tell, the category will allow it (based on the cat description). In the USPS blue boxes cat I have in mind, a grouping of two or three boxes would count simply as one waymark.

To sum up my arguments:

Global - No, but there is no need for it to be. I believe that this would work best in a framework similar to historical markers where each region (post service area) would get its own category.

Prevalence - I believe by excluding post offices and having groups of boxes count as one waymark, the number will be greatly diminished.

Interesting or Informative - I will not debate whether or not it is interesting. I think we can all agree that this is a downright boring category, with the occasional interesting waymark. That being said, however, it is an extremely useful category, such as payphones. Variables would include things of use to visitors, such as pickup times.

Redundant - Hardly. Since post office locations would not be included, no cross posting would occur there. There would be a few cross posts from other categories (such as All Things Star Wars), but those are going to be rare.

Re: USPS Blue Boxes

0ccam — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:30:50 GMT

I can see the utility of being able to look up my nearest USPS post box.

But I do think they're too prevalent for waymarking.com.

Re: USPS Blue Boxes

globetrotters.us — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 21:01:09 GMT

I guess all waymark categories don't need to be interesting. In my mind, I break the waymarks out into different types, mostly interesting and inventory.

For the inventory, I ask myself is there is a value to having a complete inventory of all (...). I can usually find a good reason to have a complete inventory of an uninteresting thing.

The interesting and inventory aren't mutually exclusive.

Re: USPS Blue Boxes

Redneck Parrotheads — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 18:05:06 GMT

BruceS:

One of the criteria for voting is "Interesting" and what the person is saying when they say "Too Boring' is that it lacks interest. They are to think in terms of what would interest waymarking community as a whole rather than individually but I can only assume when they did this they came to the conclusion it was still lacking interest.

BTW I have one Taco Bell. (I don't say "Too Boring" when I vote)

That must be a pretty special Taco Bell!

And there are people who say "too boring" when they vote. This isn't about how you vote.

When someone says, "I don't like this," I don't think they're considering Waymarking as a game. I think they're voting according to their preference. I would like to be optimistic that every voter does adhere to the criteria but terms like "boring" and "prevalent" and "not prevalent enough" are used to such an extent, and often in such contradiction, that they lose meaning. If I see those comments in Peer Review, I toss it out because it doesn't tell me anything. Even when these terms are used in the forum by respectable people who always consider Waymarking as a game before their personal preferences, I don't understand where "boring" suddenly means "lack of interest" when the category has function. Interest can fluctuate.

How many people are really interested in zinc headstones? Ask anyone who's waymarked one (who isn't me) if they'd happily engage in or start a conversation about headstones made out of zinc. Until mtekk77 brought up Butcher Shops, I hadn't thought about them in the slightest but it's pretty interesting to think about these butcher shops and the people who make them their business. Things become interesting. We've talked about Payphones and how there's really only one payphone that I'm interested in waymarking and, really, if it weren't for the category, I wouldn't have considered it.

Can a post box ever in a million years be an interesting thing? Depends on where it is and what's going on.

But since I'm going to lose this argument and derailing with Peer Review whinging won't stop that from happening, the category can be narrowed to only consider Artistic in-service post boxes... like R2D2. I'm sure there's more out there. There's something along this vein that could work if it was written right.