Tempest in a Teapot
Some people feel that finds and attempts are terrible things to share. Mostly due to the fact that I lost my temper, I left it up to a vote to determine whether people could opt out of sharing such details about their boxes, and the idea went down in flames.
Time has passed, and I'm feeling much more rational than during those heated moments. A number of months ago, I finally decided that the option should be there. It likely won't be a popular option seeing as how soundly it had been voted down before, but it's the right thing to do. If it bothers you that you may not be able to see recent attempts or finds on a box, or possibly not even be able to see the last found date of a box, don't look for it.
You can even ignore all of the boxes by people who won't provide such information. Go to their profile, click the "Ignore Member" button in the upper-right corner of the page, and tell Atlas Quest to ignore their boxes in your searches in the future.
You can set this option in your Miscellaneous Preferences. The bottom of the first big box of options. You can hide just the attempts on your box, both the attempts and finds on your boxes, or the most draconian option available--hiding attempts, finds, and the last found date on your boxes.
I also have a challenge for you. =) Trying to hide this information from people who don't want others to see it is a tricky little business. It oozes. It leaks. People will still record finds, and they'll want it to show up in their logbooks as finds.
So I've tried to hide the pertinent information about your own boxes that you don't want shared, but I'm not entirely convinced I found every single possible place where it might have oozed out. So I've currently set my own boxes to hide everything--finds, attempts, and the last found date. I'd like to challenge some of you find some of that information. If I did a good job, you won't be able to find any of that information.
Admins--this challenge does not apply to you. There are certain places were restrictions are relaxed for admins, so you might be able to find data that others can't. =) Also, when it comes to showing finds and attempts, anyone who can edit a box can see the entire list of data, so it doesn't count if you find data on a box that I share with you. Carvers, planters, authors, owners, and listers of my boxes don't get fully restricted from the information, so if you want to participate, you need to find data on a box we don't have in common.
Let me know if you find any leaks anywhere so I can plug them up properly. =)
After a week or so, I'll return my box settings so you can see the attempts, finds, and last found dates. (I don't have a problem with that! I'm only changing my settings for testing purposes!)
Happy trails!
8 comments:
Interesting. I like to see the attempts on mine because it allows me to track the lbs and see how well people are able to decipher clues. Sometimes a person makes a feable attempt :O at a box and wants more hints. But not too often. If that is the only person to attempt then I will decline updating clues.
Ryan,
I love they way you are always looking for new ways to change AQ. If changes weren’t made, just think of the “rut” we would be in, same old way all the time. The premium hats was a nice addition to AQ this year. It’s fun to see what others like in the way of hats and change mine from time to time. I do agree with the new change of being able to hide Attempts because it I have seen it kill a lot of boxes. People have such a wide range of what an “attempt” is, even though your definition is right on. I have had people who said they had the clue, and in the area, but did not have time to find the box…an attempt for them. I don’t record my attempts, but I do contact the owner to let them know I did try to find the box.
Happy Boxing!
Blue Butterfly
Thanks Ryan! I don't know if I'll add my old boxes back, but if I ever get around to planting more, I'll probably list them on AQ.
Pungent Bob
I'm one happy curmudgeon at this change. I'm way too lazy to put all my older boxes back on your site but now I've got no dang reason to leave the newer ones off. Many thanks!
how about a hits, finds , attempts table for the planter,,
are you warning the snake to beware of people with shovels?
Is there a way for us to determine what member will allow finds to be posted but not attempts? Will the box clearly state that? I hope so, because I'd like to put them on "ignore." I don't want to be misled by a boxer into thinking that everyone is finding a box when in reality maybe the last ten boxers couldn't find it. I don't care whether it's because the box is missing or just hard to find. I probably won't look for any boxes without finds listed either. I don't understand why some people get so secretive. It's creepy. If someone is that secretive, then why even post the box on the internet for all the public to see? Put on some dark glass, an overcoat, and slip the clues to someone in a dark alley.
I guess it's partly because I have so few plants, but I identify with the finder side of this issue. If someone were to log an attempt on one of my boxes, and described that it was actually a half-baked attempt, I would ask them to remove it. If someone described a real attempt, I would go to the box myself and log box maintenance when I found it. If I wasn't anywhere near the box, well, the attempts would be my only line on the status of the box and I would let those attempts show. All of that being said, sounds like the change will bring some old planters back into the AQ fold, which is great.
If attempts do not show up on the box, why bother even having the category? I have never found a box to be there if it has two or more failed attempts -- and if my failed attempts did not appear as a warning to others that I found the spot, seriously looked for the box, and couldn't find it, I would not bother logging failed attempts.
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