@hack1of2 wrote:

The new feature at geocaching.com is so cool! Starting today premium members are able to rate their favorite geocaches of all time. For every 10 caches found you can pick one additional cache as a “favorite.” Per Groundspeak: “By awarding a point to a favorite cache, you help call attention to the highest quality caches in your area and reward cache owners for placing exceptional caches.

The Favorite Points earned by a cache are tallied and displayed on each cache page and in the search results for everyone’s benefit. Premium Members have the additional perk of sorting search results by the most Favorited caches.”

What a great idea! This is my first-ever post, by the way. I’ve been reading the posts in the forum (so many messages, so little time…), have found about 300 caches (so far) but haven’t posted anything in the forums until now. Another new experience! 😀

Good to have you aboard. Welcome to the WGA.

I like the new feature as well, and I think it is gonna be a good thing. I would give it an awesomeness rating of 2, docking it a couple of points since the 1:10 ratio seems a little generous now that I have played with it more.

zuma

Well, nobody says you have use all your favorites. 😀

I am having fun just looking at what other people are picking. I don’t have a need for all of mine, I think a 1:50 ratio would be good. Its nice to see some of the fun caches in this area getting added to peoples favorites lists, like the Lair and KVR HiLo

@3 Hawks wrote:

I don’t see how this popularity contest is going to be of any real value.

BTW…..my “favorites” may be purchased for the low cost of one ice cold beer for one vote. A dozen freshly baked cookies could even get you two votes.

I think its awesome, because if I am going to a city I have never been to and have a limited time to cache, I can hit ones other people think are good caches. Pretty much the same thing as going on the local cachers forums and asking for suggestions, except you get a bigger sample size.

@hack1of2 wrote:

@Team Black-Cat wrote:

Does anyone know what the most “favorite” cache in Wisconosin is? Hint: It has never won COTM.

Is there a way to search for caches by “popularity?”

If yo preview a list (pocket query or any other search) you can sort by that column.

@TheBalks wrote:

@3 Hawks wrote:

I don’t see how this popularity contest is going to be of any real value.

BTW…..my “favorites” may be purchased for the low cost of one ice cold beer for one vote. A dozen freshly baked cookies could even get you two votes.

I think its awesome, because if I am going to a city I have never been to and have a limited time to cache, I can hit ones other people think are good caches. Pretty much the same thing as going on the local cachers forums and asking for suggestions, except you get a bigger sample size.

That all sounds fine and dandy. However, the votes only have real meaning when taken in their proper context. Unfortunately, that requires knowing the motivation of each voter.

I will go out on a limb here……I predict that we will quickly see this new system turn into a popularity contest that has nothing to do with cache quality. Those cachers who have a “posse” of followers will garner large totals for even the most average of caches simply because it is expected. Others will vote for a cache simply to gain acceptance in a local caching community.

I understand the intent of the system. I understand how it could be useful if used properly. However, I’ve been caching long enough to know that many cachers don’t follow accepted guidelines with regards to cache placement. New cachers see bad placements an think they are clever. They then hide their own cache that is technically against established caching policy.

Case in point…how many cachers know that it is against the “rules” to bury a cache in the ground? How many actually know the definition of a buried cache? Many cachers think you can dig a hole in the ground, place a 5 gallon bucked in the hole, and backfill around the hole with only the top exposed. They think this is not a buried cache because the top of the cache is not covered by dirt. They are wrong. Simply review the cache placement guidelines or talk to one of he friendly reviewers.

I would not think such a cache has any value even if 100 cachers had it on their favorite list. There are hundreds of caches just in the great state of Wisconsin that are placed in any number of fashions that technically violate the placement guidelines. In many situations, the cache owners know they are breaking the rules. They simply don’t care or they intentionally break the rules to increase the difficulty. They want to play the game their way. They do not care about the consequences. A good many of the finders know such caches violate the rules, but they don’t want to say anything because they could get “black listed.” Do such caches deserve any votes regardless of any other factors which would otherwise make them exceptional?

You see, a vote only has meaning if you know the cache hider, the placement styles of the area, the people who vote for the cache, and their personal motivation. If you do not know these variables, the arbitrary “favorite” system is almost meaningless.

Sample size???? The size of the sample does not mean there is value in the result.