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Get rid of the chains please
Gowalla is all about going out and discovering a city and what it has to offer. How is eating at the local Subway or Starbuck's discovering anything worthwhile about a city? Chains should be ban or at least have the option to be turned off and not listed. They have other apps for locating that junk. You have a great program/site and I would hate to see it clogged with chain establishments. It should be about the local eateries and coffee houses...that's the true flavor of a city and something worth discovering.
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Thanks for the thoughts, guys! We use Featured Spots to highlight some of the truly unique and interesting spots in a city and are adding more of those all the time. You can also browse by category to narrow down your searches. We definitely want to focus on what makes a city special, though, so we hear you and we'll continue to explore how to do that.
Happy Gowalling!
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A spot is something different to different people. The Starbuck's on 6th and Congress Ave. in Austin may be just another franchise to you, but it is where the opening scene to "Miss Congeniality" was filmed and one of the most popular downtown establishments in the city.
I suppose a more general method to "turn off" a particular spot from showing in your list might not be a bad idea, but a category-wide check to block any Coffee Shop with the name "Starbuck's" might be a bit much to ask.
Likewise for places that aren't unique to a city, just with unique names. A dance club or bar is pretty much the same in every town. Same with movie theaters. Alamo Drafthouse, while unique in its model, is becoming quite the chain in several cities now. Should we ban them as a result? I don't think so.
If anything, take the advice of Gowallite, Curtis Williams (@lenier): "Pro Tip #743 – If you’re going to tag a McDonald’s, at least include an interesting fact - The Spot." Make that spot more than just another chain business.
Ultimately, play by your own set of rules (there really aren't any) and only create spots you deem worthy of inclusion in the Gowalla catalogue. If you feel strongly against franchises, simply don't check into them.
Happy Gowall'ing!
Dr. Peddingferd
I’m wiggin' out about the "level" you can apply to the emoticons!
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Inappropriate?A spot is something different to different people. The Starbuck's on 6th and Congress Ave. in Austin may be just another franchise to you, but it is where the opening scene to "Miss Congeniality" was filmed and one of the most popular downtown establishments in the city.
I suppose a more general method to "turn off" a particular spot from showing in your list might not be a bad idea, but a category-wide check to block any Coffee Shop with the name "Starbuck's" might be a bit much to ask.
Likewise for places that aren't unique to a city, just with unique names. A dance club or bar is pretty much the same in every town. Same with movie theaters. Alamo Drafthouse, while unique in its model, is becoming quite the chain in several cities now. Should we ban them as a result? I don't think so.
If anything, take the advice of Gowallite, Curtis Williams (@lenier): "Pro Tip #743 – If you’re going to tag a McDonald’s, at least include an interesting fact - The Spot." Make that spot more than just another chain business.
Ultimately, play by your own set of rules (there really aren't any) and only create spots you deem worthy of inclusion in the Gowalla catalogue. If you feel strongly against franchises, simply don't check into them.
Happy Gowall'ing!
Dr. Peddingferd
I’m wiggin' out about the "level" you can apply to the emoticons!
8 people think
this is one of the best points
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Inappropriate?Thanks for the thoughts, guys! We use Featured Spots to highlight some of the truly unique and interesting spots in a city and are adding more of those all the time. You can also browse by category to narrow down your searches. We definitely want to focus on what makes a city special, though, so we hear you and we'll continue to explore how to do that.
Happy Gowalling!
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Inappropriate?I agree with Joe. I'm not looking forward to my area becoming overrun by McDonalds, Burger King and Subway spots. -
Inappropriate?As you're aware, Gowalla gives anyone the freedom to create a spot anywhere. Which means you have to expect spots at places like Starbucks. I've done my local Starbucks as I go there regularly and I can check in. I also like their coffee!
I think the Doctor has made the best point here. If you don't want these kinds of spots in your passport, don't check in to them. Gowalla gives you that freedom too! -
Inappropriate?Yeah I'm not so bothered by chains popping up around the city. Maybe it's less of a problem in Adelaide because we're not a massive city.. but I tend to use the app to find places to eat nearby where I happen to be at the time.. so I can choose to ignore McDonalds if I want to. It doesn't take away from the value of the other spots or the app in general having them in there IMO. -
Inappropriate?Good discussion. I LOVE finding a great new store, coffee shop or museum because it's a Gowalla spot. I don't like scrolling past Costcos and Arbys to get to a truly special spot. When I visit a new city and look at the spot list, I want it to be full of special spots, not chains I can find at home or anywhere.
I think Gowalla should be about discovering more than cataloging. Banning certain spots probably is too harsh, but some guidelines about what makes spots special will help. Of course, it all depends on the rules of the game and they're still being written...partly by us. So here's one Gowallaby's vote to discourage the generic in favor of the special.
I’m in danger of sounding elitist, but my heart's in the right place.
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Inappropriate?A local Starbucks may be a meeting place for a group of friends, so it'd be a shame if they can no longer check-in there, and no longer see which of the friends circle is currently there etc. Chains shouldn't be removed, and I think it's the right choice to be surfacing unique locations through featuring them.
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Inappropriate?Broad sweeping filters, such as *Starbucks*, would probably be too heavy handed, but how about a spot ignore feature? The filtering could be done on the app so that the server wouldn't be affected (that would scale well, right?). Then there would just need to be a preference for "show/hide ignored spots". That way, if you checked in to a spot, found that it didn't interest you, then you could ignore it from then on.
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