Choose map/lat-long or zipcode December 28, 2005 2:21 PM Subscribe
Is there any way to make it possible to choose between the map/lat-long feature and the zipcode list or list without a map? [mi]
I almost posted this exact request a half hour ago. I don't see any maps, however, so maybe I'm looking at something else.
Also, how about a button to switch between the new "show closest 50 users" and the old "show all users within x miles"?
posted by nobody at 2:36 PM on December 28, 2005
Also, how about a button to switch between the new "show closest 50 users" and the old "show all users within x miles"?
posted by nobody at 2:36 PM on December 28, 2005
I think that what is was, nobody, was that the map didn't work well with more than fifty people, so that was the limit. Then there was a map problem, so it was temporarily removed. Thus, if I am correct in my rememberance, the map should be back, but the old way shouldn't.
posted by dame at 2:39 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by dame at 2:39 PM on December 28, 2005
It's really frustrating when for several years, people regularly request their nearby people in distance and lat/lon instead of zip codes, and then to hear a bunch of people want it back the old way.
I'm not saying anyone is in the right or wrong, it's just frustrating. I'll remove the 50 person cap now, but I won't be bring back zipcodes.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 2:41 PM on December 28, 2005
I'm not saying anyone is in the right or wrong, it's just frustrating. I'll remove the 50 person cap now, but I won't be bring back zipcodes.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 2:41 PM on December 28, 2005
lat/long is much better---we were shutting out non-US people for years.
posted by amberglow at 2:43 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by amberglow at 2:43 PM on December 28, 2005
The map is neat and all, but I'd rather have a limit higher than 50. Zip code is also nicer than coordinates because it allows you to cluster people. I can find all the Berkeley residents by looking for those 5 zips. With everyone listed as "x miles away" I'm not so sure who is actually where.
That said, zip code doesn't work for everybody, so perhaps a compromise, or a toggle config for this?
posted by scarabic at 2:43 PM on December 28, 2005
That said, zip code doesn't work for everybody, so perhaps a compromise, or a toggle config for this?
posted by scarabic at 2:43 PM on December 28, 2005
For me, it's actually that the big block of text is just ridiculously hard to read.
posted by occhiblu at 2:47 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by occhiblu at 2:47 PM on December 28, 2005
ok, now I've redone it to show all nearby people, grouped by distance.
Better now? For people in SF and NYC, it will likely get longer, but hopefully more useful.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 2:56 PM on December 28, 2005
Better now? For people in SF and NYC, it will likely get longer, but hopefully more useful.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 2:56 PM on December 28, 2005
Well, Matt, I'm pretty sure we weren't the people complaining. And I would have said that I hated the idea if it had been proposed before being implemented. I suppose removing the cap is better than nothing, but not much: dorian and scazza are both listed as being two miles from me, but really dorian is much closer, as New York goes. Zip codes tell me that.
So thanks. Kinda.
posted by dame at 2:57 PM on December 28, 2005
So thanks. Kinda.
posted by dame at 2:57 PM on December 28, 2005
Shit. I fucked up my example. The point remains. And doesn't it make sense to make it most usable for where more people are?
posted by dame at 2:59 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by dame at 2:59 PM on December 28, 2005
And doesn't it make sense to make it most usable for where more people are?
Swings both ways. In quiet little Portland, and with my crippled, laughable social skills, I am arguably in greater need of geeky web tools like this than you hip motherfuckers in NYC.
posted by cortex at 3:03 PM on December 28, 2005
Swings both ways. In quiet little Portland, and with my crippled, laughable social skills, I am arguably in greater need of geeky web tools like this than you hip motherfuckers in NYC.
posted by cortex at 3:03 PM on December 28, 2005
You being lame doesn't make there more of you, silly. But you make an interesting point.
posted by dame at 3:04 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by dame at 3:04 PM on December 28, 2005
Ignore the naysayers matt - lat/long is a much better idea, even though, unsurprisingly, I have no-one near me at all.
posted by Jimbob at 3:06 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by Jimbob at 3:06 PM on December 28, 2005
And, more to the point, I just got a girl to talk to me.
writes in secret diary
posted by cortex at 3:06 PM on December 28, 2005
writes in secret diary
posted by cortex at 3:06 PM on December 28, 2005
I live 18 miles from number one. But if I can just defeat this restraining order...
posted by docpops at 3:11 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by docpops at 3:11 PM on December 28, 2005
How is lat-lon a better idea but by assertion? Do you think in it? It's like telling me how many leagues away someone is. But zip codes tell you something very important: where exactly they are. Now it claims that jonmc and amberglow are the same distance away, but it two totally different directions. The zip would tell me that jon is in Queens and Amber in Manhattan. That's actually useful.
posted by dame at 3:13 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by dame at 3:13 PM on December 28, 2005
lat-lon can be used worldwide, so it works for all the people living outside, say, New York.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 3:16 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by monju_bosatsu at 3:16 PM on December 28, 2005
dame -- the problem is zip codes only apply in the US. We have a sizable canadian and european membership here (in addition to everywhere else, of course) that have requested this for years.
Part of the problem with the distance disparity is that the lat/lon database isn't very exact for every single zip code. So it's possible that two zip codes have the same generic location on the globe, according to the US Census. If people go back and find their neighborhood and put in something more precise, they'll get truer values. Just an example, but LA is currently the worst, with all city zip codes getting one location. I have no idea why the census folks were so imprecise but that's the only free data I had for the zip code conversion.
So, sorry that zips are gone, but they're not coming back.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 3:19 PM on December 28, 2005
Part of the problem with the distance disparity is that the lat/lon database isn't very exact for every single zip code. So it's possible that two zip codes have the same generic location on the globe, according to the US Census. If people go back and find their neighborhood and put in something more precise, they'll get truer values. Just an example, but LA is currently the worst, with all city zip codes getting one location. I have no idea why the census folks were so imprecise but that's the only free data I had for the zip code conversion.
So, sorry that zips are gone, but they're not coming back.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 3:19 PM on December 28, 2005
Corerct me if I'm wrong, but they have zip code equivalents (with funny letters, even) in those strange faraway places that probably give them useful information.
Anyway, like I said, I got half of what I wanted. So thanks, kinda. I could have done without being accused of being a fickle badgerer though.
posted by dame at 3:21 PM on December 28, 2005
Anyway, like I said, I got half of what I wanted. So thanks, kinda. I could have done without being accused of being a fickle badgerer though.
posted by dame at 3:21 PM on December 28, 2005
I like the new layout much better -- much easier to read! Thanks!
posted by occhiblu at 3:21 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by occhiblu at 3:21 PM on December 28, 2005
This doesn't work with NYC, therefore must be changed. If this in anyway interferes with yet another NYC meet-up, heads will roll.
posted by Dennis Murphy at 3:22 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by Dennis Murphy at 3:22 PM on December 28, 2005
Yeah, god forbid it work for people who actually use it.
posted by dame at 3:25 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by dame at 3:25 PM on December 28, 2005
I'm really enjoying the constant updates and changes to the member-stalkenator, but I also long for the maps to come back.
Hey, instead of zip codes, lets show everyone by area codes! Then we could start calling each other! Wait, no, that's a stupid idea. Move along, nothing to see here.
posted by blue_beetle at 3:26 PM on December 28, 2005
Hey, instead of zip codes, lets show everyone by area codes! Then we could start calling each other! Wait, no, that's a stupid idea. Move along, nothing to see here.
posted by blue_beetle at 3:26 PM on December 28, 2005
But zip codes tell you something very important: where exactly they are.
With the map feature re-enabled, you'll be able to see where exactly they are again. You live in NY - that's actually a pretty abberant location compared to where most people in the world live. Lots of people crammed into a very, very small area, where neighbourhoods mean more than geographic location. It's not like that for a lot of other people, out in the 'burbs, out in the country, or sitting on an island off the coast of Madagascar.
My "zipcode" here in Australia probably covers a few hundred square kilometers. It's not very useful to me. It especially wasn't useful since, before the lat/long pony, Australian zipcodes weren't even in Metafilter's database.
lat-lon can be used worldwide, so it works for all the people living outside, say, New York.
True, that.
posted by Jimbob at 3:27 PM on December 28, 2005
With the map feature re-enabled, you'll be able to see where exactly they are again. You live in NY - that's actually a pretty abberant location compared to where most people in the world live. Lots of people crammed into a very, very small area, where neighbourhoods mean more than geographic location. It's not like that for a lot of other people, out in the 'burbs, out in the country, or sitting on an island off the coast of Madagascar.
My "zipcode" here in Australia probably covers a few hundred square kilometers. It's not very useful to me. It especially wasn't useful since, before the lat/long pony, Australian zipcodes weren't even in Metafilter's database.
lat-lon can be used worldwide, so it works for all the people living outside, say, New York.
True, that.
posted by Jimbob at 3:27 PM on December 28, 2005
Jimbob, I'm not talking about the world. I'm talking about here. And there are more peeople from metro areas who actually do stuff with people who live near them than people who live in Middle-Of-Nowhere, Australia.
posted by dame at 3:30 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by dame at 3:30 PM on December 28, 2005
Changing the default lat/long coordinates that are generated for your zip code to the precise lat/long coordinates for your address may help, dame. The converter is helpfully supplied in the preferences screen for your user page.
I did this for mine and it had the desired effect of moving me a little closer to jpoulos and kokogiak and a little farther away from settle.
posted by yhbc at 3:31 PM on December 28, 2005
I did this for mine and it had the desired effect of moving me a little closer to jpoulos and kokogiak and a little farther away from settle.
posted by yhbc at 3:31 PM on December 28, 2005
Yeah, god forbid it work for people who actually use it.
You're making the implication that the only people who do (and should be able to) use this feature are the NYCers, to which I call bullshit. It works great for me here in Baltimore... :)
posted by youcancallmeal at 3:32 PM on December 28, 2005
You're making the implication that the only people who do (and should be able to) use this feature are the NYCers, to which I call bullshit. It works great for me here in Baltimore... :)
posted by youcancallmeal at 3:32 PM on December 28, 2005
Trying to accommodate several different postal code systems would be a biatch for sure, so I can see the appeal of long/lat (though I have to say when the feature first hit I was kinda like "huh? people still using those? aren't we all on GPS codes now or something?"). Tossing in US zip code support as an "exception" might be nice if you ever get around to it.
This is definitely an improvement: more readable and no cap. Thanks. I think the broader need for social networking functionality is probably best served by a small handful of other ponies. God knows out in SF we're held together by Flickr groups, mailing lists, DaShiv's photo threads & roll calls, and the biggest pony of all: caitlinb.
That didn't come out quite right ;D
posted by scarabic at 3:36 PM on December 28, 2005
This is definitely an improvement: more readable and no cap. Thanks. I think the broader need for social networking functionality is probably best served by a small handful of other ponies. God knows out in SF we're held together by Flickr groups, mailing lists, DaShiv's photo threads & roll calls, and the biggest pony of all: caitlinb.
That didn't come out quite right ;D
posted by scarabic at 3:36 PM on December 28, 2005
And, no, I'm not saying New Yorkers are the only people who should be able to use it. I'm saying it makes no sense to make it totally unusable for the places where lots of MeFites live and actually get together often and would like to look up one another or new people.
posted by dame at 3:37 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by dame at 3:37 PM on December 28, 2005
Not as well. Zipcodes here tend to be kind of weird and since I'm too lazy to get a zipcode map to figure out where everyone is...this is nice...especially when the map is in play.
posted by youcancallmeal at 3:37 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by youcancallmeal at 3:37 PM on December 28, 2005
Uh, looking at this I realize I appear more exercised than I am. I'm not going to start a zip code jihad or something, i swear. It's more like that exasperating rock in your shoe or something. I think I'll go off and do something cheerier now. If people are bored later though, maybe I can really lose it over zip codes—then we can laugh about it.
posted by dame at 3:40 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by dame at 3:40 PM on December 28, 2005
So it doesn't work because you are incapable of actually making your own map. See that's different from the information *not existing anymore*, as I said at the beginning.
posted by dame at 3:42 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by dame at 3:42 PM on December 28, 2005
for a bridge and tunnel person, you're awfully interested in people's zip codes as a sign of things, dame. ; >
posted by amberglow at 4:00 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by amberglow at 4:00 PM on December 28, 2005
I think the current revised thing is great. Except that it has trailing slashes after the list of names per distance. Which annoys me for whatever reason.
If you really want to make your own map, you can always go to the profile page of the person and copy the long lat to google maps or something :)
posted by JZig at 4:02 PM on December 28, 2005
If you really want to make your own map, you can always go to the profile page of the person and copy the long lat to google maps or something :)
posted by JZig at 4:02 PM on December 28, 2005
There are no other MetaFilter members nearby, sorry.
Some things never change.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:14 PM on December 28, 2005
Some things never change.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:14 PM on December 28, 2005
I still have no users listed as 0 miles away from me, and I know that such people exist (including my best friend who lives 2 blocks away from me and is a MeFi member).
posted by matildaben at 4:20 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by matildaben at 4:20 PM on December 28, 2005
dame : "Yeah, god forbid it work for people who actually use it."
Yeah, good point. After all, it didn't work for us people who don't live in the US, so we didn't actually use it, so thus we didn't need it.
But, wait, hey! Now it works for us people who don't live in New York, but it doesn't work well for y'all in New York. So now we're the people who actually use it, and you're the people who don't actually use it! And yet you want matt to change it? Why? God forbid it work for people who actually use it.
posted by Bugbread at 4:30 PM on December 28, 2005
Yeah, good point. After all, it didn't work for us people who don't live in the US, so we didn't actually use it, so thus we didn't need it.
But, wait, hey! Now it works for us people who don't live in New York, but it doesn't work well for y'all in New York. So now we're the people who actually use it, and you're the people who don't actually use it! And yet you want matt to change it? Why? God forbid it work for people who actually use it.
posted by Bugbread at 4:30 PM on December 28, 2005
matildaben : "I still have no users listed as 0 miles away from me, and I know that such people exist (including my best friend who lives 2 blocks away from me and is a MeFi member)."
Has this member entered their latitude and longitude?
posted by Bugbread at 4:31 PM on December 28, 2005
Has this member entered their latitude and longitude?
posted by Bugbread at 4:31 PM on December 28, 2005
Pony tangent:
Imagine Matt exports a list of usernames and lat/long to some sort of file that can loaded into google earth. Zooming about looking at mefites woo fun!
That is all.
posted by cortex at 4:34 PM on December 28, 2005
Imagine Matt exports a list of usernames and lat/long to some sort of file that can loaded into google earth. Zooming about looking at mefites woo fun!
That is all.
posted by cortex at 4:34 PM on December 28, 2005
matildaben, I automatically converted old zip codes to location when I changed over a couple weeks ago. Did your friend have your same zip code in their profile? If so, can you link to it here? They should show up as 0 miles away if you had the same zip.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 4:35 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by mathowie (staff) at 4:35 PM on December 28, 2005
There are no other MetaFilter members nearby, sorry.
Some things never change.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:14 PM PST on December 28 [!]
No kidding. There I was excited to put in my lat/long as well.
Thanks for doing this, Matt.
posted by geekyguy at 4:47 PM on December 28, 2005
Some things never change.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 4:14 PM PST on December 28 [!]
No kidding. There I was excited to put in my lat/long as well.
Thanks for doing this, Matt.
posted by geekyguy at 4:47 PM on December 28, 2005
But, wait, hey! Now it works for us people who don't live in New York, but it doesn't work well for y'all in New York.
But they have meet-ups in nyc dammit.
posted by Dennis Murphy at 4:48 PM on December 28, 2005
But they have meet-ups in nyc dammit.
posted by Dennis Murphy at 4:48 PM on December 28, 2005
I made a 2.3Mb file of all 4200 metafilter users in a Google Earth kml file here. I'm not sure if it works yet, it crashes Google Earth on my mac.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 5:08 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by mathowie (staff) at 5:08 PM on December 28, 2005
Matt, I get a Google Earth error when I try to use your file -
"Open of file "C:\\WINDOWS\Temp\TEMPOR~1\Content.IE5\C1F6NOT\METAFI~1.KML" failed" Parse error: Only a single root object allowed within ‹kml› tag at line: 26."
Maybe that means something?
posted by yhbc at 5:41 PM on December 28, 2005
"Open of file "C:\\WINDOWS\Temp\TEMPOR~1\Content.IE5\C1F6NOT\METAFI~1.KML" failed" Parse error: Only a single root object allowed within ‹kml› tag at line: 26."
Maybe that means something?
posted by yhbc at 5:41 PM on December 28, 2005
Jimbob, I'm not talking about the world. I'm talking about here. And there are more peeople from metro areas who actually do stuff with people who live near them than people who live in Middle-Of-Nowhere, Australia.
That said, it should in theory be possible to support both methods, but it would be a bitch in practice. Lat/Lon is much better for people who don't live in the most densely populated place on earth (Manhattan, followed by the rest of NYC).
posted by delmoi at 5:54 PM on December 28, 2005
That said, it should in theory be possible to support both methods, but it would be a bitch in practice. Lat/Lon is much better for people who don't live in the most densely populated place on earth (Manhattan, followed by the rest of NYC).
posted by delmoi at 5:54 PM on December 28, 2005
No way is Manhattan the most densely populated place on earth.
And Amberglow, I care so I can filter out those people who think they have to live in Manhattan because otherwise they might miss something. Duh. Haven't we established that I hate you if you don't live in Brooklyn?
posted by dame at 7:16 PM on December 28, 2005
And Amberglow, I care so I can filter out those people who think they have to live in Manhattan because otherwise they might miss something. Duh. Haven't we established that I hate you if you don't live in Brooklyn?
posted by dame at 7:16 PM on December 28, 2005
people who live in outer boroughs always have some kind of rationalization--poor souls. ; p
posted by amberglow at 7:31 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by amberglow at 7:31 PM on December 28, 2005
Can I just say that thanks to you all I found out that Google Earth recently sent their satellite over our neighborhood? For about 4 years now I've been living in a black hole out here... used to not be able to see anything in my new development. Now I exist and I can stare in marvel at my pile of dirt out back. Very, very cool.
posted by ajpresto at 7:36 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by ajpresto at 7:36 PM on December 28, 2005
Same error here. WinXP, fresh download of GE. But then, I'm just double-clicking on it. Should I be importing it or something else?
posted by scarabic at 7:36 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by scarabic at 7:36 PM on December 28, 2005
The kml file works if you encapsulate everything between <kml blahblah> and </kml> in <Folder> </Folder>. Hopefully someone with communication skills will interpret what I'm trying to say...
posted by Marit at 7:56 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by Marit at 7:56 PM on December 28, 2005
Might the error have something to do with the HTML entities in the description tag?
posted by Jimbob at 7:58 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by Jimbob at 7:58 PM on December 28, 2005
I don't think it's the biggest deal ever, but I wouldn't mind it if users could enter their zip codes as an optional part of their profiles, so it could be displayed there. Like dame, there're some zipcodes that I can recognize offhand, and sometimes that's interesting, but there are no lat/long pairs that I recognize. Obviously, zip codes shouldn't be used for the location data, though, since they are US-only and imprecise (although maybe when a user is signing up, their US zip code could be used to seed their lat/long if it's available).
On the other hand, I suppose that everyone could just put their zip codes in the location field, too, ie "San Francisco, 94114."
posted by whir at 8:02 PM on December 28, 2005
On the other hand, I suppose that everyone could just put their zip codes in the location field, too, ie "San Francisco, 94114."
posted by whir at 8:02 PM on December 28, 2005
You can also fix the kml file by using <Document> after the <Kml> and </Document> before the </Kml>
posted by blue_beetle at 8:05 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by blue_beetle at 8:05 PM on December 28, 2005
You know, amber, outer boroughs is really mean. It hurts to lumped in with Staten Island and the Bronx.
posted by dame at 8:46 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by dame at 8:46 PM on December 28, 2005
I got it working here, with screenshots of the globe.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 8:53 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by mathowie (staff) at 8:53 PM on December 28, 2005
Thanks for the edited kml file, Matt. It works fine now.
Wow, I never realized how many Mefites live right in the middle of large bodies of water...
posted by Bugbread at 8:56 PM on December 28, 2005
Wow, I never realized how many Mefites live right in the middle of large bodies of water...
posted by Bugbread at 8:56 PM on December 28, 2005
The new formatting is great. Much better than the original, even. (but adding parenthetical zipcodes where applicable would make everybody happy -- I guess this could be done with a greasemonkey script).
posted by nobody at 9:34 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by nobody at 9:34 PM on December 28, 2005
Just do a reverse lookup with the same database mathowie has been using and you will have your zipcodes back. How hard is that... I would never do it, but then I like the new system, except that he still hasn't added a geocoder.ca link, which would be much easier than a parallel system... Oh, and I just noticed, geocoder.ca has an open API, that would be harder though...
posted by Chuckles at 9:36 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by Chuckles at 9:36 PM on December 28, 2005
It's irritating for we LA MeFites too, so don't everyone get all snotty just about NY! Get snotty about how *I* can't tell where anybody lives now, too! (Not that we lame-o/decentralized Angelenos ever manage to have a successful meetup more than once or twice a year...)
posted by scody at 10:57 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by scody at 10:57 PM on December 28, 2005
As a boater, I demand the inclusion of accurate Tide Tables; otherwise this location thingy is pretty much useless.
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 11:42 PM on December 28, 2005
posted by PareidoliaticBoy at 11:42 PM on December 28, 2005
Okay! So I've entered my latitude and longitude... Where's my happy meetup party? Why doesn't it show how far I am from dame? Is this thing on?
posted by taz at 3:31 AM on December 29, 2005
posted by taz at 3:31 AM on December 29, 2005
MetaTalk 2020: Is there any way to make it possible to choose between the implanted gps chip and the tattoo id nbr? [mi]
posted by amberglow at 5:12 AM on December 29, 2005
posted by amberglow at 5:12 AM on December 29, 2005
Christ amber, only moldy old fuckers like you still use the tattoo id. Get with the hep beat daddio!
posted by dodgygeezer at 5:50 AM on December 29, 2005
posted by dodgygeezer at 5:50 AM on December 29, 2005
Yeah, god forbid it work for people who actually use it. - dame
Of course you realize that non-Americans didn't use it before because it didn't recognize that we exist, not for lack of useful opportunity or desire.
posted by raedyn at 6:53 AM on December 29, 2005
Of course you realize that non-Americans didn't use it before because it didn't recognize that we exist, not for lack of useful opportunity or desire.
posted by raedyn at 6:53 AM on December 29, 2005
Dude, I didn't want lat-lon to go away. I just wanted happy zipcodes as a possibility.
posted by dame at 7:32 AM on December 29, 2005
posted by dame at 7:32 AM on December 29, 2005
I feel it's necessary that the view of the world from 9th avenue be linked from this thread.
posted by IshmaelGraves at 9:12 AM on December 29, 2005
posted by IshmaelGraves at 9:12 AM on December 29, 2005
Christ amber, only moldy old fuckers like you still use the tattoo id. Get with the hep beat daddio!
Hey, Grandpa BirthdayBoy! ; p
posted by amberglow at 1:42 PM on December 29, 2005
Hey, Grandpa Birthday
posted by amberglow at 1:42 PM on December 29, 2005
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posted by dame at 2:22 PM on December 28, 2005