Feature Request: Informative Icons

I for one am really excited about the recently announced partnership between MP and REI, which will allow Nick and others to focus on improving the site and worry less about business bullshit. I have a few ideas for improvements as the site gets revamped and this is the first.

Pages for walls could have informative icons that convey several pieces of essential information that most people want to know when deciding where to climb for the day. This includes aspect, approximate approach time, approach distance, elevation gain, and difficulty (i.e. YDS class), wall steepness, and type of rock features (face, hand crack, offwidth, etc.). This information is sometimes included in the 'description' and 'getting there' sections, but it can be a real pain to skim these paragraphs on dozens of pages to find the relevant information for choosing a place to go. An icon makes the important info pop out of the page. If you've picked up a recent Sharp End guidebook then you know just how useful this can be. Also, collecting this info in a database would enable the creation of a search or filter function which would make finding a climbing destination even easier.

Routes could also incorporate more info directly into the database and have corresponding icons in addition to the route description. This could include steepness, rock features (jugs, pockets, hand crack, etc.), rope length required, and protection (number of bolts and size range for natural pro). Specifics would still be included in the route description of course, but collecting this data would enable more advanced searching and filtering. It would also make it easier for users to quickly skim multiple route pages for the most important info.

I think inclusion of this information in the database would be best implemented as a 'value added' feature. Don't make it necessary for adding a route or wall but allow anyone to add the info later. If MP is considering reworking their database then it may be beneficial to enable the collection of more information from contributors and then decide whether and how to utilize this information.

SteveF wrote:I for one am really excited about the recently announced partnership between MP and REI, which will allow Nick and others to focus on improving the site and worry less about business bullshit. I have a few ideas for improvements as the site gets revamped and this is the first. Pages for walls could have informative icons that convey several pieces of essential information that most people want to know when deciding where to climb for the day. This includes aspect, approximate approach time, approach distance, elevation gain, and difficulty (i.e. YDS class), wall steepness, and type of rock features (face, hand crack, offwidth, etc.). This information is sometimes included in the 'description' and 'getting there' sections, but it can be a real pain to skim these paragraphs on dozens of pages to find the relevant information for choosing a place to go. An icon makes the important info pop out of the page. If you've picked up a recent Sharp End guidebook then you know just how useful this can be. Also, collecting this info in a database would enable the creation of a search or filter function which would make finding a climbing destination even easier. Routes could also incorporate more info directly into the database and have corresponding icons in addition to the route description. This could include steepness, rock features (jugs, pockets, hand crack, etc.), rope length required, and protection (number of bolts and size range for natural pro). Specifics would still be included in the route description of course, but collecting this data would enable more advanced searching and filtering. It would also make it easier for users to quickly skim multiple route pages for the most important info. I think inclusion of this information in the database would be best implemented as a 'value added' feature. Don't make it necessary for adding a route or wall but allow anyone to add the info later. If MP is considering reworking their database then it may be beneficial to enable the collection of more information from contributors and then decide whether and how to utilize this information.

These ideas are great - sun/aspect is actually near the top of our list.

The big challenge is how to make things editable by more users without letting in a bunch of garbage. With 125,000 routes and most popular areas "done", any new data fields will rely very heavily on editing / updating existing content.

We have an "Improve this page" feature but it needs work.

I know MP isn't a wiki format, but you could allow some of the data to be altered by any user while leaving written descriptions un-editable except by request. This does require some faith that users will mostly add good content and that area admins will occasionally check content edits and submissions. Most of us use the data we submit so there's motivation to submit good content. People make mistakes, but I doubt there'd be much intentional misinformation on site like MP.

The RRG site is a good example of this kind of thing.

redriverclimbing.com/RRCGuide/

The most useful part in my opinion is the "stays dry" field because it rains all the time out east. It would be more useful with better defined values that mean: belayer and anchors stay dry, good to go once it stops raining, an easier section gets wet but still climbable after a rain, does not stay dry, prone to seepage, and soft rock - do not climb for several days after a rain.