Introduction
FarOut has filtering now.
It really affects comments.
But, the etiquette of how to comment on FarOut is useful
The recent discussion
https://www.reddit.com/r/PacificCrestTrail/s/fBMERkxeuT is the post that got my attention.
Hereafter I am quoting the post linked to above with my thoughts in italics.
I am not the authority on this!! Just paraphrasing/interpreting what has been said in the past… and keeping the conversation going.
Here is what seems to be consensus, along with some of my commentary.
Most complaints come down to either clogging up the comments…or not being accurate enough to be helpful. What does everybody think?
There was a great post 2 years ago on this;
https://www.reddit.com/r/PacificCrestTrail/s/9xaxN8ucKa
TECHNICAL
NOBO vs SOBO. If you say something is “off to the right”….include whether you are NOBO or SOBO.
This has started to become much more common.
Avoid using mile markers. If reporting water, tent site, etc. located in-between waypoints, then don’t refer to it by mile marker, because mileage changes every year. Say, for example, “0.8 miles NOBO”.
It really helps when you add a note to a waypoint to give the distance past the waypoint and the direction.
Be careful saying “north of here” or “south of here” when you really mean NOBO or SOBO from here—which is 99% of the time what we really mean. If you are truly giving a direction, say ‘compass north’ or ‘compass south’—-let’s leave true or mag to another discussion 🙂
So many times “north” or “west” or any apparent direction turns out not to be the compass direction.
In addition, when using FarOut you generally know if you are NOBO or SOBO on trail regardless of what the current compass directions are.
Water depth. Saying “water was waist high” is …OK. Saying “water was waist high. I am 5’10” tall” is better. Why not simply say…”water was 3 feet deep”?
It was really useful to me when a guy posted “I’m six feet tall and the water was chest deep”—that told me what I needed to know.
SERVICES
Hours: Store/restaurant/post office hours are some of the most useful comments out there—especially after the hours just changed!
Prices: If you mention a hotel price, specify if it was weekday or weekend.
WILDLIFE
Random animals. The random “I saw a bear/I saw a snake” comments are generally despised. It is forgivable if it is the first snake after a 300-mile section with no snakes.
No kidding. Animals don’t stay put.
My favorite comment of all time was in 2023 and someone posted “Anyone have an update on that snake from 2019?” A creative way to make a point 🙂
Problem animals. Always good to report problem bear/deer/mice/etc. at a tent site ….or a snake or alligator or dead rat guarding a water hole.
This is also useful. I changed up plans to avoid areas with problem mice. I also was able to plan around dead animals in water sources.
SOCIAL
Social media. Many users are concerned that the app is turning facebook-ish and don’t like to see social media plugs.
Username Anyone else find it confusing/annoying when the FAROUT user name is not the trail name or the real name? The things we put up with …
Having a long social media signature for your posts is annoying. You can control your FarOut user name so it matches your trail name.
If your trail name matches your user name you don’t need to repeat it.
HUMOR
Comments seemed divided. What I have interpreted is that:
-Inside jokes between family members are frowned upon.
-The first guy doing gate reports was entertaining and generally well received. And the first guy writing in haiku was actually giving useful reports–just in a silly format. But the copycats have since got out of hand and are clogging up the comments.
Too much bad humor will make you the target of practical jokes. Often pretty intense practical jokes. Just a heads up.
LOST AND FOUND
Opinions mixed on this topic, but I will try to paraphrase:
-if you lose…or find… a phone, wallet, passport, small child, insulin pump, wedding ring…then feel free to post at a bunch of key waypoints
-if you lose a bandana…suck it up
-if you find a bandana…one post of “I found this and left it at trailhead/hiker box/picnic table” will be appreciated.
Remember most bandanas are pee rags. Most lost gear is gone for good.
But, if you find gear and leave it at a waypoint, it is an excellent thing to post about that! People are glad of that news.
HOUSEKEEPING
Definitely go to Account page to review and delete your old comments if they have become irrelevant.
This is one way to handle lost gear posts.
WATER SOURCES
A post every 4 or 5 days on a water source is sufficient. 5 posts a day is annoying….but what happens is, with no service, you don’t know there have already been 4 posts that day. So better to post…and delete later if it wasn’t needed.
When dealing with problematic or unreliable water more reports are better than too few.
DISSERVICES TO AVOID
Downplaying conditions. Saying “the snow on San Jacinto is no big deal” without revealing that you are only backpacking this year because you didn’t feel like climbing Everest for a sixth time.
Posturing about conditions “thumps chest, it was nothing” is really annoying. No one needs bragging. They just need/want accurate reporting.
Fearmongering. Stick to the facts or label opinion as opinion.
Again, accurate reporting. The fearmongering is as bad as the chest thumping.
Destroying the reputation of a restaurant/hostel/trail angel over a perceived sleight
SLANG
Using slang is not fetch. Avoid it. It seems about 40% of hikers use English as a 2nd (or 3rd) language… or they are Brits.
So much slang gets tiresome after a while too
Then you have to consider that Boomers (hey, another slang term!!) have no idea what you kids are talking about.
Examples:
WATER: sauce, juice, wawa, insta-fill
Something that starts cute (looking at you “wawa”) can become not appreciated.
ANIMALS: ankle nibbler, dag, doggo, danger noodle, snek, mini bear, mozzie
SUPERLATIVES: sup, rad, the bomb, the shit, sick view, slaps, hella, ginormous
And using slang just to use it. I remember posts about how a hiker box slapped and when I came through the next day it was empty.
Additional comments from posters
If giving a water report, whether it’s a crossing, or a flow for filtering, include the time of day. Waist high at 9 AM may be impassible at 3 PM, and the reverse is true as well.
Many times on trail, I’d see a reference to a “bone dry“ water source, only to get there in the late afternoon to find a nice trickle. Or, I’d see comments talking about a horrible river crossing that was barely ankle deep when I crossed at 8 AM the next morning.
Yes!
Good stuff! The “downplaying conditions” trend really bothers me. I’ve seen some truly irresponsible stuff posted. I’ve also seen some truly factual cautionary stuff immediately labeled as fear mongering. The issue of direction- “NOBO vs north of the trail” is another one.
Most people, in the age of phone navigation, really don’t know where they are most of the time. But it turns out that your location and where compass north is can be a pretty dang big deal.
…
Things I wish people wouldn’t do:
• Post Rude/crude comments.
• Post inaccurate comments that treat conditions like a funny joke. (Humor is fine/good but it can be taken too far.)
• Comments that downplay conditions.
• Post comments that fear monger conditions.
• Post comments that try to torpedo businesses just because some whiney hiker didn’t get a hoped for freebie or whatnot.
• Post social media handles.I honestly don’t mind the lost stuff posts, but keep it within reason. If you lost a $5 bandana, let it go. Or just tell people if they find it, it’s okay to remove it. (Don’t try to obligate someone into trying to send it to you as you are hiking.) If you lost your wedding ring? An entire tent? I’m totally okay with a reasonable amount of posts looking for it and asking for its possible return.
Some things you should do:
• If someone hasn’t posted information regarding a pass in the Sierra in the past 4-5 days, post an update. Be factual instead of saying “it was easy”.
What’s easy for you (say a 24 year old in prime physical condition), may not be easy for another (maybe a 65 year old JMT hiker going over a pass 5 days after you.) helpful info:how much snow there is, how many people were wearing microspikes, crampons, none of the above.
Directional info like far left route seemed safer than those going straight thru. Etc.
• Same for any potential dangerous river crossings. (And if a river was dangerous and now it’s easy peasy, SAY THAT if no one else has yet. Some people may be unnecessarily rerouting or avoiding sections for no reason.)
• In a dry section, if someone hasn’t posted water info in 4-5 days, add a note. If there’s 5 comments per day saying exactly the same thing, you don’t need to repeat that.
• Give your height when posting about river crossing experience. (People are actually pretty good about this already, keep it up!!)
• That is, spend a couple minutes before going to sleep each night, adding a few comments on tough waypoints.
• Remember to give SoBo or NoBo info if you say something like “it’s on the left side” or “it’s just before the water”.
• Give distances from a waypoint rather than mile marker info. This helps the NoBoers be able to understand the SoBoers information – or JMTers and vice versa. Eg, “there’s a great camp spot 0.5 NoBo from here on down hill side” vs “great camping at mm 755.”I personally enjoy wildlife sighting posts. Tell me about your bear, cougar, fox, porcupine, pole chewing deer, rattlesnakes, bald eagles, etc sightings.
Saying “wild horses are in this area” is great. “Snake on trail at mile 948.3” is useless.
Personally I get annoyed by the lost and found posts particularly when someone makes them repeatedly on every waypoint in a given section. Right up there with the post about how there was a rattlesnake at the trail junction at 2:45 pm. Granted I think the downvote feature is mostly there so people don’t email they quite as often to report someone spamming…
I suspect the lost-n-found filter is for this issue.
The advertising is also useful.
Off topic
There was a pretty neat outfitter in Ogden, Utah.
The owner is retiring and selling off all the inventory at fire sale prices.
Three floors of inventory and two locations are now part of one floor.
I was sad to see them go but glad I stumbled across them. Too bad the deals won’t last. Merino socks for $.50 can’t be beat.