Googlemaps API to bring players together

Psilocybe · Post by **Psilocybe** » 13 Feb 2008 00:38

Footbaggers are more lonely than they need to be. It cannot be understated how big a problem this is. Just imagine all the lost talent dude to loneliness and ultimately disinterest. Once we can get more players interacting, supporting, and teaching each other the sport might truly be on its way to "taking off". There are some issues preventing us from locating each other.

1.) This forum really sucks in helping to locate other players. You can't search for members by location. If you can, I'd love to know how. Traversing the 50+ page list is a long and largely unsuccessful venture. Most accounts are long dead. Footbag.org is in a sadder situation, so we wont go there.

2.) Most forum members don't even list a location. I suggest it should be required.

These issues must be fixed. We NEED a way to locate each other.

I propose that we use the Googlemaps API to mark where we live so we can visually see the layout of people near us. If you click on somebody's marker, it opens up a PM dialog box so you can communicate with them.

Personally I'm convinced I'm the only player in Iowa and I would love to prove myself wrong.

So, does anyone have experience with googlemaps? Could we somehow largely implement this into the basic infrastructure of this forum? Would it have support by the mods and you guys? Perhaps most importantly, would it be immediately present to a newcomer so they could find someone to play with?

Good idea?

Drew · Post by **Drew** » 13 Feb 2008 09:00

This sounds like a great idea to me, anything that allows Footbag to be played with people nearby is an improvement in my book!

I'm not sure how effective implementing the location into peoples' profile would be, some people on here don't want to be found, but I agree it would help find local players.

I'm sure it's possible to make a link to personal Googlemap API's in profiles, but it'd be more convenient, like you said, to code the javascript into the forum engine and make an icon for every user to have the choice to add their mark or location.

PhPBB forums should be compatible with Javascript.

Colin · Post by **Colin** » 13 Feb 2008 09:46

footbag.org/clubs is a sad situation? My club is the first result in Google whether 'footbag st. john's' or 'footbag newfoundland' is searched.

The question here is how much time we want to spend making modifed 'functional'. I don't see this being worth the effort. Are there actually any modified users who don't know how to use the .ORG listing? Shame on them, if so.

Psilocybe · Post by **Psilocybe** » 13 Feb 2008 12:39

You're right, .ORG should definitely be the default place to start, but it seems like we have more power here without the need to bother Steve. Then again he works at google so he might want to help.

In my experience, .org just seems so....dead. Thats why I'm turned off by it. The forums are dead. All the people from my home state haven't logged in in over 5+ years. Most of the profiles seem like people who weren't serious. I actually recognize some of the accounts as people from my highschool and I guarantee they never played footbag. In theory, Modified kind of filters out those who give a damn from those who don't.

I'll email Steve.

Rieferman · Post by **Rieferman** » 13 Feb 2008 12:51

I'll email Steve.

heh heh heh... let me know how that works out for you.

I think .org works fine, I've never had trouble finding a player to link up with.

Psilocybe · Post by **Psilocybe** » 13 Feb 2008 13:02

Well I happen to live smackdab in a footbag blackhole....getting desperate. I'm sick of relying on modified to talk about footbag. Its a crutch I wish I didn't need. Then again, its not like I have that many posts for 1.5 years anyways.

Emailed.

Colin · Post by **Colin** » 13 Feb 2008 13:04

Yes, Modified is active, but do you expect to discover that 5 regulars here are from Iowa after this is implemented? Like you said, the posters here are all active, and probably already know everyone who shreds within a hundred miles of them.

It's a neat idea, but I don't see who would actually benefit.

There was a Google map of shredders at some point... anyone have that link?

Psilocybe · Post by **Psilocybe** » 13 Feb 2008 13:13

The way I could see it benefiting is:

I've been only searching for players in Iowa, but I happen to live 70 miles from an Illinois town, Moline. A map could help blur the state boundaries and move it into more of a distance issue. Maybe there are Moline players, I don't know.

Probably just another worthless idea of mine. Oh well, time for class. peace

Post by **Zac Miley** » 13 Feb 2008 13:31

I live in north eastern-ish Kansas which is like, not far from Iowa.

You're in southeast iowa then I presume?

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 13 Feb 2008 13:34

The search function for the .org site is completely fine. I've never had a problem with finding players living in said state and what city they reside in. The only problem I've found is whether they are still active in footbag. Some accounts and profiles are well past their intended meaning, and there is the likelihood that players have started, stopped, or just plain retired.

It just seems like e-mail is the only reliable tool to keep in contact with these members registered on .org, in the standpoint of the one looking for players, and there is also the chance that people never check or delete these e-mail accounts registered under .org (by their own personal reasoning and/or life choice).

I agree that modified.in can only do so much. This site is, after all, a site used for resource, not for locating players. There are plenty of players that choose not to register to modified, or rarely check at all.

There was a Google Map function, and I think I still have the link saved under my Favorites folder at home from a while back. I'll be sure to check and keep this topic updated.

Tsiangkun · Post by **Tsiangkun** » 13 Feb 2008 14:27

I am pretty sure it would be trivial to SELECT users FROM a TABLE WHERE their last post is within $TIME, and address is within $MILES from $YOU

I created my .org account in like 95 or something, forgot the login, created another one, etc etc etc . . . lots of dead links in .org

Psilocybe · Post by **Psilocybe** » 13 Feb 2008 15:27

Tsiangkun wrote:I am pretty sure it would be trivial to SELECT users FROM a TABLE WHERE their last post is within $TIME, and address is within $MILES from $YOU

It wouldn't be entirely trivial. There would have to be a table storing the latitude and longitude for every city around the world, and then a function to compute the distance. I would totally use this sort of thing if I could.

Isilwar wrote:I live in north eastern-ish Kansas which is like, not far from Iowa.

You're in southeast iowa then I presume?

Yeah. Looks like you and I live about 340 miles apart. We're the same skill level too so that could have been cool. And we both have dc bags woot.

edit:

I've concluded this thread is all about me being a crybaby.

Psilocybe · Post by **Psilocybe** » 13 Feb 2008 15:43

Response from Goldberg! I asked " If I helped code it, would you host it on .ORG? Do you like the idea? "

Yes, if you help code it, should be great.

Tsiangkun · Post by **Tsiangkun** » 13 Feb 2008 15:51

Google already has public APIs for doing that exact thing, turning addresses into coordinates. See GeoCoding.

Psilocybe · Post by **Psilocybe** » 13 Feb 2008 16:18

Sweet, I'm looking into it now. Thx

Wasabi · Post by **Wasabi** » 13 Feb 2008 20:05

So, the link that I found in my Favorites folder wasn't the one found in modified I believe, but for an entirely different forum that I used to go to. Here's the link (it's still in Beta form, and I'm sure Google has this same type of software except better): http://www.frappr.com/