Lost & Found structure feedback

[spanky]

[Lost & Found] usually gets pretty full of one hit posts which quickly crowds the thread up. I imagine it can be disheartening for someone looking for something they lost and see that they mush have to wade through hundreds and hundreds of posts. Would it be difficult to set up the following folder hierarchy both a 'Lost' and a 'Found' thread:

Lost:
tech items (cameras and phones)
clothing
backpacks
equipment
tools
etc...

Seems that way it'd go a long way towards making the search for such items easier.

-Badger

[theCryptofishist]

That actually sounds like a good idea. Is it "enforceable" (that is stray threads moved to the proper subheading)? Can verifibly returned items be locked or frozen or archived so that they don't show up. Although the verifying would be a PITA. That way you wouldn't have to deal with items that are happily reunited with their people.

[MissNev]

Bikes and People seem to be big topics.

[Tancorix]

I like Badger's l&f separation idea vs. the lumped together mess we had before.

[AntiM]

One thread simply for lost and found Hats too ...

[spanky]

I see potential for a little bit of potential confusion with the proposed Lost list. Some of the categories seem too close together. If we go this route, I'd like it to be very clear. SOOOooo, I propose:

Bikes
Clothes
Equipment/Tools
Gadgets (phones/cameras/etc.)
Other

More suggestions? Missing something? Otherwise, I like the idea. We should probably ping the Fishbowl girls (who deal with Lost & Found from the office) to see what they think.

~Spanky

[theCryptofishist]

Definately bring in the experts. Will they be able to moniter or consolidate or whatever's needed to bring coherency etc to the forum?

[Chai Guy]

My suggestion would be:

People
Cameras
Bikes
Misc. (all other)

[Chai Guy]

Oh yeah, and how about one for "Lost and Found Off Playa" for things like Decom and what not (but I would just have one folder for everything since it won't be as large).

[theCryptofishist]

With different threads for each event? (as if people would be that complacent with a structure)

[theCryptofishist]

Just tested and we are allowed to start threads in lost and found.

[LeChatNoir]

I see potential for a little bit of potential confusion with the proposed Lost list. Some of the categories seem too close together. If we go this route, I'd like it to be very clear. SOOOooo, I propose:

Bikes
Clothes
Equipment/Tools
Gadgets (phones/cameras/etc.)
Other

I like it. Makes much more sense than just one big list. I started to look for something that a friend lost, but it was just overwhelming and the item wasn't all that important when it came right down to it. Categories would have certainly helped out since it was a sweater.

Kudos Badger and spanky

[geekster]

Badger's suggestion was to make it easier for searchers to find their stuff by not having to wade through a bunch of stuff they aren't looking for. You have to be careful that making it better of searchers doesn't make it confusing for posters.

While we do see a lot of lost bike ones, do we see many FOUND bikes? I think most bikes are provided some kind of mass disposition after the event, aren't they?

Anyhow, I like Spanky's proposed reduction of categories.

[spanky]

OK, so without further ado, I will go ahead and rework lost and found to this new layout. We'll see how it goes. Maybe I'll even spend time to go back and move existing threads into the new categories...at least till I go blind.

Anyone opposed?

~Spanky

[theCryptofishist]

Dang, spanky, i can think of better ways to go blind (and without quite the risk of tunnel carpool)

All joking aside, I think trying it out is a good idea. I think more active administration of that sort of hting would be good too, but the idea of doing it to the archives sounds like a lot a work and a lot of those topics are essentially dead. So you're a real mensch for taking that on.

[gerhard]

Hi
Last year's postBurn meandering through the lost and found posts using the old structure (nonstructure?) left me feeling the system was difficult and tedious to use, as has been noted.

My interest then was in the usual lost minor-to-medium value stuff we'd lost that I thought maybe could be turned up via posts. Now though--motivated by the loss of my wallet several days ago (presumably in the blue pack with most of my film, etc.)--I'm much keener to use a good lost/found system, and so I'm glad for the greatly improved targeted categorization system and am already an appreciative beneficiary of the new categorized and less tedious incipient structure.

With this instant feedback recorded here, I admit I'm also specifically interested in finding more about the Fishbowl girls mentioned in this post (below), who may be a means for me to improve the chances I get my wallet back. Can anyone tell us who these Fishbowl girls are, and how they might figure in a search for my (important) lost item? Thanks.

[color=darkblue]>>We should probably ping the Fishbowl girls (who deal with Lost & Found >>from the office) to see what they think. [/color]

Here right now on this (Tuesday) early afternoon post Burn, we're out and have been enjoying the Sparks Nugget suite for our first showers in a week and the oh so big Kingsize magical love-fueled bed.

A related question: With the Playa dust off and some sleep, I'm wondering whether it would be worthwhile to go back to BRC--as some friends have advised--so as to increase the likelihood of the sucess of the unexpected wallet recovery. For instance, can I find the Fishbowl girls there, I wonder. Also should I post these queries in another ePlaya forum? Thanks anybody who has info on these subjects.

More generally--dusty rocking music and artful Playa energies to everybody!
Gerhard (Spear)

[TroubleJane]

have looked through the site and can't find anywhere that states when all the lost and found items from BRC will be posted onto this site.... does anyone know?
Thanks
J

[AntiM]

have looked through the site and can't find anywhere that states when all the lost and found items from BRC will be posted onto this site.... does anyone know?
Thanks
J

It takes a few weeks to get everything back from the playa, catalog it all, then post. I don't think there is a firm date announced.

[Dork]

I can confirm that there is no set date. It will happen in a few weeks or so.

If you lost anything your best bet is to post a detailed description in the appropriate folder. The lost and found person will look through the forums first to see if there is a match before posting. The most specific and personal the detail the better - a tell-tale broken corner on the phone, the contents of the first few pictures stored on a camera, etc.