Category talk:Not reached - Did not attempt

Renaming category

This category was originally intended to be used for "expeditions which went to alternative locations instead of the actual hashpoint". It was perhaps badly named, and the intended purpose is now mixed with "expeditions which were aborted before they began", for which the "expedition planning" category was originally suggested. I would therefore like to rename this category to "Not reached - Attended alternate" which I think fits the intention better. Thoughts, please? — Benjw  _{talk} 16:17, 2 August 2013 (EDT)

I think the reason that "the intended purpose is now mixed with 'expeditions which were aborted before they began'" is that there is a need for such a descriptor, and "did not attempt" fits the bill perfectly. I feel "Did not attempt" is and ought to be a good label for expeditions for which serious plans were made and/or the geohasher set forth into the world, but at some point made the decision to abandon the attempt before continuing on to the area of the hashpoint.

Whereas, "going to an alternative location" is really by definition not geohashing. If it is not an attempt on the hashpoint, writing it up as an expedition doesn't make a lot of sense to me. A category for "community social events" might fill that niche. That would free up "did not attempt" for expeditions that weren't attempted, and leave "Planning" for expeditions that really didn't make it past the planning stage. Michael5000 (talk) 08:51, 3 September 2013 (EDT)

When I read "Did not attempt" I think "didn't actually go on an expedition", not "went on an expedition and then abandoned it". Perhaps "Not reached - Attempt abandoned" would be a better category name. I'm also in favor of an "Attended alternate" category, if nothing else than for the sake of clarity. Mystrsyko (talk) 12:10, 22 April 2015 (EDT)

I support "Not reached - Did not attempt" for plans that weren't followed through with. For those alternative locations I think "Not reached - Attended alternate" (or Attended alternative location) fits better than "Not reached - Attempt abandoned" since I feel the latter could be misinterpreted as "left the front door, realized there was rain, abandoned expedition plans" (non-native speaker here, I could be wrong) - Danatar (talk) 06:40, 23 April 2015 (EDT)

I agree that this category is problematic. I think "Not reached - attended alternate location" very nicely describes the original purpose of this category which was that the folks in a graticule could choose an alternate meetup point and it counts as an expedition. (I suspect the original category name was a shorthand for "Did not attempt original hashpoint but went to alternate meetup location instead.")

That said, I'm not sure there really are any expeditions that would fall into this category after we move the alternate locations ones out. I guess we could say (by convention) that if you didn't head out the door for the hashpoint, then it falls into "Expedition planning." Once you head out the door, it becomes "Did not attempt", until at some point, it falls into one of the other "thwarted" categories by the actions of humans, Father Time, or Mother Nature. I'm unclear on where that point is, however. Jiml (talk) 21:02, 25 May 2015 (EDT)

I think Benjw is right and I agree with him. I'm used to it like it is now, but it really is counterintuitive. ---RecentlyChanged (talk)

As a newer member to geohashing, let me first say this was very confusing and also annoying(once I eventually figured things out). To me Expedition Planning is a preliminary step(kind of like the New Report category; Is that expedition from 2008 really still being planned?). Once you are past the planning, there should be a conclusion. I totally agree with Michael5000(although, I think once an expedition has started, it should have the appropriate not reached tag rather than this one) and Danatar. In the interest of being clear, my opinion: Leave 'Not reached - Did not attempt' for those that were not attempted and clean out the planning category, and make a new category for 'Not reached - Attended alternate location' Pedalpusher (talk) 15:59, 1 June 2015 (EDT)