Waymarking Logs

Waymarking is more than just a game. The information placed on the website extends beyond the dot com. Since Waymarking draws such a diversity of players from across the globe and disagreements can spark on the Waymarking forum, it might be easy to forget that these disagreements have a negative reflection on many more than the participants of the disagreement when the disagreement is carried into the logs of the waymarks themselves.

Many waymarks become significant, personally and professionally, for non-waymarkers. Business owners, historians, academic and non-academic researchers, bloggers, and individuals with a personal interest will monitor waymarks and find them in popular search engines like Google.

marbill's visit log for Bailey's Beef Country in Port Charlotte, Florida, a waymark posted to Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe category, shares a fun experience while visiting this business:

Well, that was definately and interesting visit! We pulled into the lot late on a Saturday evening and I started to get a picture of the cow and the store. They
looked like they were closed so we didn't try to go in. Anyway, this gal comes out and asks if we were taking pictures of the cow and why and wanted to know if there was anything she could do to help us. So I explained Waymarking and gave them the site address, Blah, Blah. They invited us in "afterhours" for a peek at the store and it's really very very nice. They have a nice selection of great looking meat. Can't wait to come shopping for our next BBQ!

It's important for the integrity of the site and the waymark location to respect the individuals connected to the waymark location by restraining personal disagreements from the waymark page logs. The above visit log not only shares a waymarker's positive experience and provides a great story for the waymark page but also creates a positive review for Bailey's Beef Country that is now available for anyone with access to the internet.

On an off-topic personal note, marbill and I get along just fine. Please see my post about marbill. When I was thinking of an example of a great visit log that benefits the waymark location, her visit log for this location came immediately to mind.

Geocaching was the source of Waymarking but Waymarking has grown into its own game with significant differences. One only needs to visit the Geocaching forum to have these differences examined and critiqued at the microscopic level. On a more general level, there's no element of secrecy in Waymarking. There's no such thing as "stealth" in Waymarking. In some cases, a waymarker will approach a stranger associated with a location and explain the game so more information can be collected for the waymark. It's all more public and can foster a great deal of cooperation from and render tremendous benefits for those who don't play the game.

So if you don't like someone and you want to try to teach them a lesson for Lord only knows what reason, refrain from extending your remarks to the waymark page. Keep Waymarking a positive experience for everyone, especially the people who aren't playing the game.

How To Tell If a Waymark Has Been Reviewed

When a waymarker submits a waymark for review to a category, the group officers are all emailed a notification that provides each of them with a direct link to that waymark's review page. Only one officer needs to do an initial review of a waymark, whether that decision is to Approve, Decline or send to a Group Vote. When one of the officers makes that decision, an additional email is not sent out to update the officers unless the waymark is being put up for a Group Vote. When a waymark is approved or declined officers are made aware of the decision when they click through to the review page from their email. An alert will appear at the top of the page saying, "NOTICE: This waymark has already been approved/declined by one of the other group members (officer's username)" This means that waymark has already been reviewed and no action is needed from any other officers in the group.

Every group has a tab labeled "Past Activity" that details every action that's been taken for a category under that group's management. Officers have access to this tab and can use this section to see which waymarks have been reviewed, by which officers, and comments that were made.

It's important to take a moment to notice if this alert is present at the top of the review waymark page because an officer can unintentionally and unknowingly reverse a previous officer's review. This creates general disharmony within a group and confusion for the waymark poster. In fact, even repeated approvals on a single waymark can be disturbing for a poster.

Back in the saddle - Waymarking

I took time today to stop and photograph the flowers. I also did a little Waymarking just to get back into the saddle. Since it was Memorial Day, a day which I have my own connection to as well as a general patriotism and gratitude for the sacrifices made for my freedom, I waymarked two veteran memorials. Only two because I was visiting cemeteries to walk along the graves of those who had dedicated their lives in service and had sacrificed.

This below image has not been submitted for approval, yet. It is the veterans memorial in Charlotte Memorial Gardens. The sculpture is very stunning and symbolic. I really fell in love with the imagery.

The below sunset picture belongs to the veterans memorial located in Indian Spring Cemetery, immediately next door to Charlotte Memorial Gardens. Indian Spring Cemetery is a much older cemetery with a history that connects directly to the pioneers of Charlotte County. Civil War and Spanish-American War veterans are buried here. The Great War veterans, WWII veterans, and almost every war thereafter have representation on these grounds in the form of fallen soldiers beneath solid stone monuments telling us the branch of service, the rank, the name and the dates that marked each individual's life.

A thread concerning the requirements for a veterans memorial category continues to bother me and the sentiments stung a bit today while I was photographing the veterans memorial in Indian Spring Cemetery. Is there really so little to be said about a veterans memorial that a waymark poster fumbles over what to write beyond the lone text on the memorial's tablet? Here there is a flag, a square of unmarked bricks, the regulation spotlight for nighttime and a weather-worn tablet that says no more than what it is. Doesn't this inspire you to write more? Share your feelings? Describe what a visitor will see and experience? Fill in the blanks that someone else won't know? This veterans memorial is humble and to most of the Punta Gorda denizens it is overlooked but that does not mean this veterans memorial is worth overlooking.

Time can be taken to find the meaningful and share that. It's not that hard. You just have to be honest.

Speaking of being honest, this Waymarking trip didn't last all that long. I went over to History Park to photograph some flowers and some of the renovation progress on the Gilchrist House and got distracted by what always distracts me...

Oh well.

Marbill

marbill is a strong Geocaching team in Punta Gorda. In 2008, they started Waymarking. And wow! Over 300 waymarks posted in under a year!

Not only do they make quantity but also quality. There's also a lot to be said for their Waymarking ethics.

You can visit their Waymarking profile, their Blog, and their Waymark Sticker Seekers waymark.

Not to mention that they have great taste in music.

I've Been Around

I'm trying to be around a bit more. I've been making time for the forums. I haven't lost any spark for Waymarking or Geocaching. It's just time management that's left my hobbies berift.

You see, photography pays like butt in this area and my internet print sales downward spiraled with the economy. I'm still available for portrait and event photography but it's in no way reliable income at this point in time. So I've started up a business that manufactures handmade, natural personal care products. These are skills that I've had for years but never thought much about until I had to ask myself the question, "What can I do that's worth money?" Finally, years of the herbalism certification and continuing education courses are justified!

So, if you bathe, and I hope that you do, check out my stuff: www.LiveLaughLoveSoap.com
And also on Etsy: LiveLaughLoveSoap.etsy.com

The more you buy, the more time I'll get to devote back on my hobbies. Haha

Busy

I've been a bit preoccupied with adult responsibilities to entertain any of my hobbies. I've been reviewing Waymarks when possible to continue my commitments but I'm not creating new waymarks or working to establish categories.

I'll be around.

Drawing Waymarks passed Peer Review

Drawing Waymarks has passed Peer Review and final Groundspeak inspection!

With 67 votes, 9 were abstained (only one abstain comment), 16 were nays, and 42 were yeas. 72% approval.

I thought it would be approved at a higher percentage but the majority of naysayers just didn't grasp the concept of a Waymarking Game, or any facet of Waymarking, that didn't involve digital photography. In general, I think the Waymarking voting population has a difficult time accepting games.