Successor to ActiveCaptain?

[SuW]

Originally Posted by hpeer

FWIW I just posted to AC through AquaMaps, it appears my post was accepted successfully. I did need to log into Garmin as prompted through the AquaMaps interface.
I have posted before when I thought I had something to add.
There are too many annoying posts with no useful content.

We draw 6-1/2’ and I am frequently looking for info on entrance draft. Damn hard to find.

What I do not know how to do is how to ADD a location. For example I am anchored in the Scuppernong River, good location, not marked. How to add?

I think I posted this at the start of this discussion - the old way was much more intuitive, imo.

Now, you have to:

• Open web browser to activecaptain.com (https://activecaptain.garmin.com/)
• Click the top bar right person icon and sign in (or create account)
• Click top bar “Map”
• Move map to roughly where you are
• Click Chevron on left (right arrow) to pull open Search panel
• Click the blue “Add Marker” link just below the pull close left arrow chevron.
• A cross hairs symbol appears on the map
• Drag the crosshairs to your desired location
• Select the type of marker in the left panel
• Add details and so on.

[SuW]

Originally Posted by rwidman

Well, saying that they had two feet of water under their keel without stating the boat's draft strikes me as being "below average", but my favorite was the guy who gave a marina a bad review because they wanted to charge him to take a shower (he didn't have a slip in the marina, he had anchored nearby).

I do empathize with the people who need to know the draft of the reporting boat. Way back when, I think I suggested to the original developers that they should add this characteristic to their "captains"...right now every review shows the "captain" name and their number of "points".

"Points" is useless, except you can intuit a newer user. Although you originally got a hat (which didn't fit my fat head!)

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

I've looked at reviews and found one that is really useful only to discover at the bottom it's one I wrote some years ago. *grin*

At least you didn't have the opposite reaction, thinking "who is this idiot!"

[Joh.Ghurt]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I don't bother because where I mostly cruise, there really aren't enough people to make it work. Crowd-sourcing needs crowds, and where I spend my time, there just aren't enough cruisers.

Actually, posting in areas where there are few people is the most useful thing you can do. And your posting is worth a lot more if it's the only one for an anchorage than posting 539 on a popular one.

Crowd-sourcing isn't driven by crowds of drones, it's driven by individuals bothering to post.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Joh.Ghurt

Actually, posting in areas where there are few people is the most useful thing you can do. And your posting is worth a lot more if it's the only one for an anchorage than posting 539 on a popular one.

Crowd-sourcing isn't driven by crowds of drones, it's driven by individuals bothering to post.

Yes, with few posters it certainly makes each individual one more valuable. But the fundamental power of crowd-sourcing is that greater numbers increases the likelihood of arriving at the right, or correct, answer.

It's easy for one person to be wrong. It's a lot harder when there are a 100 eyes looking at the same thing.

[SuW]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Yes, with few posters it certainly makes each individual one more valuable. But the fundamental power of crowd-sourcing is that greater numbers increases the likelihood of arriving at the right, or correct, answer.

It's easy for one person to be wrong. It's a lot harder when there are a 100 eyes looking at the same thing.

I agree with Joh.Ghurt on this topic.

Your personal observations and opinions about some anchorage or facility in Newfoundland, for example, would probably be unique and useful.

I'd value a cruiser's opinion over a general user anyday. (Judging by your input on CF, you're a mensch!)

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by SuW

I agree with Joh.Ghurt on this topic.

Your personal observations and opinions about some anchorage or facility in Newfoundland, for example, would probably be unique and useful.

I'd value a cruiser's opinion over a general user anyday. (Judging by your input on CF, you're a mensch!)

Thanks SuW, that's way too kind.



Perhaps I will start populating the site again. But then you have to promise to sail to Newfoundland .

[Jamme]

Originally Posted by SuW

"Points" is useless, except you can intuit a newer user. Although you originally got a hat (which didn't fit my fat head!)

I think you are hinting to a correct piece of the puzzle. I’m afraid that the “points” policy (and the simple rewards that came with it) did incentivize people to post more frequently. As to the quality of these posts… well that’s another story.

[Joh.Ghurt]

As with any crowdsourced opinion forum, one has to learn to read them.

Many of the postings are just dross. That's the "Wonderful place" type. If you get enough of those, all you can infer is that the place is popular with the less exerienced crowd and probably safe.

Some are sometimes ridiculous but still can useful like this kind:
"Only 1 * because Marina restaurant doesn't serve lobster on Tuesdays" or
"Loud music from beach until 3 am on week-ends"
If it complains about a problem you don't care, at least the poster didn't have any more serious problems. If this is something you care about, you've been warned.

And then you have the genuine useful postings which seem to be written by someone who has some clues. It's the type:
"On the east side of bay, anchor at 5-6m to avoid bommies further inshore. " or
"Katabatic winds on west side between hills possible. With strong Poniente anchor in front of hills, not in between."

[SuW]

Originally Posted by Jamme

I think you are hinting to a correct piece of the puzzle. I’m afraid that the “points” policy (and the simple rewards that came with it) did incentivize people to post more frequently. As to the quality of these posts… well that’s another story.

Yep. Latterly (not sure when) they've put in a grading system for reviews "How helpful was this" or something. I don't remember that at the beginning, but I could be mistaken.

It changes the order that reviews are presented, which is good.

[SuW]

Originally Posted by Joh.Ghurt

As with any crowdsourced opinion forum, one has to learn to read them.

Many of the postings are just dross. That's the "Wonderful place" type. If you get enough of those, all you can infer is that the place is popular with the less exerienced crowd and probably safe.

Some are sometimes ridiculous but still can useful like this kind:
"Only 1 * because Marina restaurant doesn't serve lobster on Tuesdays" or
"Loud music from beach until 3 am on week-ends"
If it complains about a problem you don't care, at least the poster didn't have any more serious problems. If this is something you care about, you've been warned.

And then you have the genuine useful postings which seem to be written by someone who has some clues. It's the type:
"On the east side of bay, anchor at 5-6m to avoid bommies further inshore. " or
"Katabatic winds on west side between hills possible. With strong Poniente anchor in front of hills, not in between."

Yes to this! I try to add helpful information and often find, nearly 10 years later, that it is useful to me!

[SuW]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Thanks SuW, that's way too kind.
Perhaps I will start populating the site again. But then you have to promise to sail to Newfoundland .

Well...we were considering going to Cape Breton at some point (we have friends in Margaree) and perhaps we'd leave the boat our East for a season or two. We basically finished a rebuild and now we have to sail!

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by SuW

Well...we were considering going to Cape Breton at some point (we have friends in Margaree) and perhaps we'd leave the boat our East for a season or two. We basically finished a rebuild and now we have to sail!

You're getting close .

[David Mathis]

Active Captain is a great concept but it isn't user friendly when it comes to getting the data to Garmin for reconciliation then release to the public. This program needs more work before it's useful to non-computer enthusiasts. Garmin should realize that although some boat owners love to play with their new devices while tied to a dock all weekend, some use their time to sail. You can do better Garmin.

[Tom.B]

I will touch on a couple of things. First is that I enjoyed AC and used it a lot around 2012 or so. I posted quite a few things and earned some free navigation software for my efforts. However, as time went on, Jeff did not become the most model citizen of the online boating community. He was banned from nearly every platform and forum he was a member of for blatant abuse of members who would even voice the smallest concerns over his platform or its content. Even to the point of verbally attacking my wife over email and cancelling her account for a disagreement he had with me. I am far from the only one with seriously negative interactions with him. It has tainted the brand for me to this day. Regardless of who owns it now, I can't find the courage to continue to post and update the platform.

I do wish Garmin had not bought it though. More importantly, I wish they had not (IMHO) ruined it after they did. While I could not stomach using the platform for reasons discussed, it had great potential and did provide a great resource for all boaters. Sure, some people still use it regardless of how out-of-date the entries may be. And that's fine. Secretly, I hope people will again embrace it and it becomes the go-to resource.

I can only speculate that selling was a big decision for Jeff. Like any software dev, this could have been the ultimate vindication of his work. Perhaps he had gone as far as he could go and didn't or couldn't find the resources to monetize it and the idea of running a company that size was never in the cards. We know that he bought a huge boat and is cruising to this day. I hope he is happy, but I can't help being pleased that he is not a figurehead for the community any longer.