Trip destinations wanted

[Once_Eagle-Always_Eagle]

Hey leaders:

 

i hope this doesn't violate the terms and conditions of this forum. However, I am completing one of my woodbadge ticket items and am so proud of it and believe so strongly in the potential, I wanted to share it here. Plus, the more the site becomes known and used, the more valuable it will become for everyone.

 

I have completed the development of http://www.scoutdestinations.com The premise of the site is like tripadvisor.com meets Wikipedia for scouts. I am trying to provide a site where scouts and leaders can record destinations you are familiar with, describe activities available, view maps (including topographic overlays), upload pictures, write trip reviews, save attachments (like trail maps) and link to other sources for more information. Other users then can come and search for matching destinations (e.g. Show all the climbing destinations within 250 miles). Ideally, youll be able to learn about the destination and arrive prepared before you ever get there- and better yet, discover new outdoor destinations you might have never known on your own.

 

Your feedback to improve the site is REALLY desired!

 

Thanks in advance.

Anthony

 

[SeattlePioneer]

Nice idea, and good execution.

 

The problem is likely to be promoting it and getting people to use it.

 

What about Cub Scouts! Good Cub Scout activities are not just destinations, but programs that include visits to cultural features like libraries, tours and activities like hot dog roasts, but I find that a lot of pack programs are slow to realize that.

[Once_Eagle-Always_Eagle]

Thanks for the complement!

 

I don't disagree with you about the difficulty promoting. My hope was that I could raise an initial awareness here but REALLY the greatest value would be if you (and others) would print the flyer on the website (found in the FAQ's) and share it at your own district roundtable- because the more it is shared in a geographic area, the more it becomes valuable to the units in that region.

 

As to cubscouts, although my greater love is for the Boy Scouts, I am admittedly partial to cubscouts (because my own son is a bear scout for one more month). Honestly, it is an idea I hadn't thought of. I like the idea though. would you recommend adding 'Cub Scout Activity' as a single item (like I do with Points of Interest)?

 

Some feedback I have received already is to make the POI icons a different color than the destination icons. I could see doing the same thing for cub scouts.

 

I'll think about it more and how to do that.

[moxieman]

Comments/feedback:

 

I think this is a great idea. I like it so much, I've already passed it on through our district's Facebook page. I'll probably also pass it on through our e-newsletter (next issue goes out next week).

 

I logged on, found nothing in my state yet, so I registered and tested your add a destination feature. As a trial run, I added the Cutler Bold Coast Preserve in far Downeast Maine. Yes, I put the pin in the "middle of nowhere" on purpose. It's smack dab in the middle of the Preserve rather than along the public road access point.

 

I encountered a few problems (I use Firefox as a browser if that makes a difference):

 

1. When I moved the red pin to my new location, a balloon appears over the pin reminding me to click the "update map" button. I can't find this button. Things seem to work without clicking this hidden button. Clicking on the pin a second time enabled me to add the destination.

 

2. On the new destination editing page, the links section won't let me edit/add links. If I click on "Edit" I get the message: "No links are active yet. No links have been deleted.". I can't add anything. All I can do is go back to the main destination edit page. So, I can't add links in the right place. Since I couldn't put the links in the proper section, I stuck'em in the description for now. When you fix this, either you can move them, or I can go back and move them.

 

3. You may want to note somewhere on the edit pages that the content boxes will accept HTML code and without it, it will jumble the text together. IE: if you want a blank line between paragraphs you need to either wrap your paragraphs with the "" html code or put a couple of "

"'s between paragraphs. If you just hit the enter key it won't stay that when when you're done editing. Not everyone uses/knows HTML, so if you have a way to upgrade the edit features to WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), it would be more user-friendly.

 

4. Photo upload: It asks for a description, but after it's been uploaded, that description can't be found. I know this is an "undocumented feature" (bug) in Firefox that you usually can't see a description when you mouse over a picture, so maybe this isn't a problem.

[moxieman]

(chuckle) Leave it to me to forget that this forum will also accept html code.

 

So, where it's put in extra blank spaced in my previous post, I meant for it to show < p > and < br >.