COTM

[zuma]

Is the WGA’s COTM program still relevent today, what with Groundspeak adding the Favorites function?

zuma

[labrat_wr]

While I like the idea of the Favorites points, I have seen several caches that have received some points but the logs don’t really indicate that there was anything special about the cache itself. Also, when you have a boatload of favorite points to dole out, (1 for every 10 finds is too many IMHO) there may be a tendency to reward just to use the points.

I also just checked on the GC.com site regarding favorites and find that they are a Premium Membership perk. I don’t know if basic membership can even see the favorites rating or not.

If that be the case, the WGA COTM is relevant for those who enjoy the feedback from other cachers.
With the revamp of the COTM, the intention was to be able to reward caches from the five regions instead of just having the winner be from a population dense area that gets alot of action when some of the noteworthy caches that only get logged once or twice miss out on the spotlight.

It may be something that the BOD needs to revisit as the revamp has not had the effect that was intended as monthly voting has dropped off significantly. Hopefully, the COTM can get a bit of revitalization in the coming year.

Disclaimer : Always answering to a higher power.

[JimandLinda]

I remember asking a similar question to the nominees a year ago, wondering if the Favorites system would affect the COTM! The new guidelines had just been put into place, so giving it a go seemed logical.

Some of the membership HAS lost interest in the COTM run by the WGA. That is obvious from a few last minute nominations that get 1 or 2 votes, and it is the only cache nominated in a geograhic area! I should know…I nominated one with 2 days left in a month!

But COTM did what it was supposed to do. It solved the problem of “skewed” results. It is a fair system for Wisconsin cachers. We just need a way to better educate cachers on implementing the winners list into something useful. It is easier to look at the number of Favorite Points on a cache page than to scroll down to see if it is a COTM winner.

The best thing to do would be to post a member survey in the Forums to get input from the membership. We are still a young association, and trial and error should be expected!

[Averith]

First of all in the interest of full disclosure I haven’t really paid all that much attention to the cache of the month, just one of those things I never got around to doing. That being said I still think it is a good way to reward some of the better caches being placed in our state and would like to see it continue.

[Team Black-Cat]

I don’t that the WGA Cache of the Month has lost all relevance, but it is certainly less relevant than it used to be.

I would like to see the COTM reverted back to a single, statewide contest. On many occasions, BOD members have had to scramble at the end of the month to make sure there are nominations in each geographical zone.

I would also like to see the 90 day waiting period dropped to 30 days. That should be enough time to make sure that the COTM doesn’t become the Cache du Jour.

I have to admit that the GC favorites points has worked out a lot better than I thought that they would. It’s not perfect (try finding a good cache by using favorites points in the West Bend area), but works quite well for picking out above average caches.

[lone_gunman]

I don’t think it has lost its relevance. As a geocacher, I get favorite points a little quicker than I’d like. I wouldn’t say that for every 10 I’ve found that I’ve had a favorite. Sometimes I just needed a fix. As far as COTM, maybe we need to tweak it a little to get more out of it. While the WGA grows and the game changes, some of our toys will change.

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