Caching Statistics

[RuffRidr]

I'm putting this email out here to gauge the interest in an opt-in stats system. I think it would be pretty cool to have a stats leaderboard on this site that listed the stats for the members who wanted to have theirs listed.

There currently is a webserver that was created by M-Class out there doing this very thing. The purpose of this server is to create leaderboards for clubs and associations. I have sent him an email and have gotten back information on how to go about setting this up if we are interested.

Anyway, have a look at the following webpage and see if it is something that interests everybody.

http://cachestats.made.nu/leaderboard.asp?club_id=3

Again, this would be an opt-in system. If you don't want your stats listed on the site, you wouldn't have to.

--RuffRidr

[Phantom_491]

Sounds like a great idea to me. That way we could maybe hold special events when members reach milestones.

[chili36]

I can remember at one time, there was a site that posted stats for the entire country.

[RuffRidr]

I can remember at one time, there was a site that posted stats for the entire country.

That was Dan's stats page. It was a pretty cool site. I know I watched my progress closely on that site. It was also a good way to find out who the prolific cachers in an area were. Unfortunately, Dan had to take his stats pages down as the site that was hosting it for him would no longer host that much bandwidth.

Overall, I think stats can be a good thing, and I hope we can bring that back to our area.

--RuffRidr

[cachecrazies]

We used to watch Dan's stat page and really enjoyed it. Like RuffRidr it was fun to see who was active and where they were hitting caches. We'll definately opt in - and hope most others do too. It's not a "competion" thing - although if you're close to the top it may encourage another weekend of caching! :lol: I have to admit - it was fun to see our name at the top for at least a couple of weeks! :oops:

But it was all good natured fun as far as we were concerned - no "duel to the death" syndromes here!

[arkansas_stickerdude]

sounds like a great idea to me.

[GEO]

I opt in too.
I like the idea as well.
I have seen it in the other groups and everyone seems to like the idea.
cachecrazies is ahead right now it looks like,I am gonna have to get busy.dude is right behind em.

Can benchmarks be added to the stats as well?

[arkansas_stickerdude]

Golfnutz or Nonniepoppie is in the Lead with over 800 I think.

[nonnipoppy]

We would participate if there was an opportunity. I feel pretty sure that Golfnutz would also. The thing I would like to see from GC.com is the ability to see DNF's. These are often the most enjoyable logs to read. The DNF logs for "The Judge" by HugoNaDie, Mooremonkeys, Golfnutz and others kept us laughing for a while. If it were not our cache we would not have ever seen these. The only other way to see them is to watch the cache. Although we are trying we can't watch every cache.

BTW StickerDude it is nonnipoppY 8O

[arkansas_stickerdude]

I know that it was late and I had a BRAIN FART. Sorry.

[nonnipoppy]

I know that it was late and I had a BRAIN FART. Sorry.


This is not a problem. We are well acquainted with that phenomenon.

Looking at the stats at the link that RuffRidr provided makes me want to get out and cache. I think I'll just go on vacation and add some caches :D :D :D and perhaps a new state. :) ....poppy

[GEO]

http://www.keenpeople.com/index.php
Is this the one?

[nonnipoppy]

No this one.



Anyway, have a look at the following webpage and see if it is something that interests everybody.

http://cachestats.made.nu/leaderboard.asp?club_id=3

Again, this would be an opt-in system. If you don't want your stats listed on the site, you wouldn't have to.

--RuffRidr[/quote]

[GEO]

Do you sign up there or is that just an example?
I could not find how to set up an account.

[RuffRidr]

Geo,
The link I provided above was to another organization's stats page. In order for you to sign up, we need to create a stats section for our organization.

If fact, the following is from the email I received from M-Class. It outlines all we need to do in order to set this up.


-------------------------------------
Thank you for your interest in the cachestats.made.nu stats
application. Yes, it would be possible to set your club up in the
database. First, I recommend reading the FAQ on the site as it will
answer
a lot of questions. Secondly, in order to make the statistics data
collection legal for geocaching.com, a few procedures will have to be
followed:

1) Your club agrees to keep an "opt in" signup sheet (signed by your
members that desire stats) authorizing the club to allow a third party
(that would be me) to collect their data for use in the stats
system. Because of legal reasons, only those who have signed the sheet
can
be included in the stats system. You can simply pass the sheet around
at
your next meeting, etc. I can provide a template based on what other
clubs
are using if you need.

2) Your club will keep a list of members signed up for stats somewhere
on
your web site that my program will regularly use to update your member
list
in the stats system. I'll provide you with a template and details on
what
is necessary for this page.

3) Everything else happens automatically on this end. The stats update
themselves regularly.

4) I provide this service for free, but it does cost me a lot from my
own
pocket in the way of both hardware and bandwidth to keep going. I
welcome
donations to offset the costs.

If you wish to proceed, please let me know and I will send you
additional
details and the necessary documents. Normally I can get a club set up
within a week, but there currently is a few weeks lead time as the
current
stats hardware is reaching it's limits and is due for upgrades before
adding additional clubs.

Take care,
Michael Miller
a.k.a. M-Class

[arkansas_stickerdude]

That sounds great count me in.I would donate to do this.

[LongDogs]

I'll see what it takes to get this going. I can probably incorporate it or hook it in someway, but if not, we can still link it.

We still have to follow the geocaching.com rules, though, so it sounds like we'll have to have a paper sign-up sheet, instead of just an online opt-in form. We'll see. I got inquiries out about it, but so far no answers.

I'm still checking into this, but it involves coordination with GC.com, and that isn't always quick.

[GEO]

Thanks for the info.
I will sign it as well as many others here.
I am sure most want it and as stated at the meeting to sign the form maybe we could all chip in a little.

[Rusty_da_dog]

I to think it would be a pretty cool deal, at least as long as it doesn't turn into a competition. When it starts getting competitive I think I will have to pass. This is something I think most everyone does for FUN. I have to admit though as I say it would be pretty cool, and I did enjoy Dan's Stats Page before it went down.

[Geoark1]

I to think it would be a pretty cool deal, at least as long as it doesn't turn into a competition. When it starts getting competitive I think I will have to pass. This is something I think most everyone does for FUN. I have to admit though as I say it would be pretty cool, and I did enjoy Dan's Stats Page before it went down.

I could have not said what I was thinking any better thanks Rusty

[southdeltan]

I never felt there was any competition when Dan's stats page was up, and there's been plenty of evidence of all sorts of counter-productive things (fake logs, cache pirates, etc) since that site went down. Forgive me, I've been pretty vocal in the past that stats are a good thing and don't necessarily mean competition. Dan's page had tons of information, a lot of it required the leaderboard setup - and it is fun to compete from time to time - but it's about information to me (and so what if some people compete, different people geocache for different reasons).

I offer another possibilty - because I never felt right paying somebody or giving them my geocaching.com password (and I wouldnt' ask msga.net users to give out their gc.com passwords either)...

http://www.keenpeople.com

The only hard thing is the FIRST time you list your caches by state and type - it's time consuming, but after you do it the first time it's very easy to keep up.

It's a free website, you get no spam email from them (you get no email at all from them unless you email spongrob (rmech) personally).

The code to put the leaderboard on your website is provided as well.

The only confusing thing is they have 2 leaderboards. One that keeps track of the TOTAL finds/hides for people that call an area home - and another for total finds/hides within a STATE.

Arkansas AFFILIATION Leaderboard (http://www.keenpeople.com/index.php?option=com_cachestat&Itemid=87&func=showstate&stateval=AR&submit=GO)

Arkansas FINDS Leaderboard (http://www.keenpeople.com/index.php?option=com_cachestat&Itemid=87&func=showstatefinds&stateval=AR)

If you'll notice 15 people are affiliated with AR (IE, they call AR home), but 45 people have found at least 1 cache there.

You can also send them one of your buttons and they'll put it there.

Here's what it looks like on the MSGA website: http://www.msga.net/modules.php?name=Geocaching_Stats

Anyways - you might not be interested but I thought I'd show that to you. There are some drawbacks to it, the main one is the first time you break down your finds by type/state - but after that upkeep is fairly simple.

The good points are it's free, it's EASY to set up for the website, it doesn't violate any Groundspeak, Inc (Geocaching.com) rules because it's opt-in... and it's free.

southdeltan

[cachecrazies]

First of all, the only ones that we compete with are ourselves - but we truly enjoyed Dan's stat pages for all the info it had. For us, it was a fun thing in connection to, but not in place of, geocaching. It was informative - "Oh look, dah, dah dah was out this weekend - where'd he go, what'd he find?" interest type of thing.

We have also joined Keenpeople and it's been very laid back. As southdeltan said - no ads, no spam, no contact. Just a way for us to keep up with what we do. Yes, the first time to break your finds down into states is a real pain! But it was worth it to us - and hope it will be for more. After the first time, just add a number. I can understand that cachers with large numbers would hesitate because of the time involved at first because it is a daunting task! And some of the people that we're interested in don't update often, which we understand, but which we'd love to see. Just to repeat ourselves - for us, it's just a fun part of the geocaching experience.

[geowoodstock]

Has anything ever become of this? I would be interested in a stat page for us!

[idratherbehiking]

I used Keenpeople for a while, but it becomes tiresome trying to keep up with it, so I have not updated it in a while. Also, not everyone uses it, so you don't see what everyone else is doing. Some time ago I ran across this, http://grand_high_pobah.home.comcast.net/Arkansas1.html and I don't remember where I found it. I use this to see where I compare with everyone else in the state and as someone else mentioned above, I like to see what everyone else is up to or if there are others that are catching up to me in finds. Maumellean has been nipping at my heels for a while now and I just passed another cacher the other day. I am not trying to compete with any one I just like to see where I stand.

[geowoodstock]

Cool...I'm ranked 73rd!! :P At least I am in the top 100!!