Make Location Mandatory

[TEG]

I have noticed, especially with the launch of the iPhone 3G than many people are asking locally specific question, but do not provide a location in the post nor in their profile to appear on the side of the post. I would humbly request that the location field become a mandatory profile requirement, as it would save time and allow for more accurate answers to question asked. Without it, people often give information for their local area or ask where the poster is from.

TEG

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

What is going to prevent people from putting something other than their city/state/country in there, as many people are doing already?

 

[SilentPanda]

You can't make location mandatory. Not everybody wants everybody else to know where they are from. Many questions are responded to with follow up questions... no harm in that.

 

[TEG]

They could at least be required to list the country. That would be all that is really needed, anything more is just fluff.

TEG

 

[PlaceofDis]

perhaps country. but really it shouldn't be necessary. and better kept to the person's profile in any event.

 

[GGJstudios]

What about just planet?

 

[iJohnHenry]

Simple.

If they ask a location-related question, and don't specify their location, don't respond.

They may get it, eventually.

 

[Scarlet Fever]

I agree, in a way. There are a lot of threads made in the Marketplace where people say the cost of their item includes shipping, yet they fail to specify what country they are shipping to. I think at least in the marketplaces, the currency and seller's country should be mandatory information.

 

[Eraserhead]

Mentioning which country you are from hardly rounds down where your from from a privacy perspective. And after all you could always lie if you really don't want people to know.

 

[DiamondMac]

Eh, I put my location in my user name

 

[GSMiller]

It's hella annoying when people ask questions that are region specific and you dunno where they're from, but as iJohnHenry said, I just don't answer their question.

 

[scotty96LSC]

What about just planet?

If the man in the moon joins the forum is he from a planet?

 

[BoyBach]

Eh, I put my location in my user name

You live on Planet MacWorld!

( )

 

[Eraserhead]

It's hella annoying when people ask questions that are region specific and you dunno where they're from, but as iJohnHenry said, I just don't answer their question.

The problem is that they may not think including their location is important for their question, it gets missed very frequently and people don't realise...

 

[iJohnHenry]

So we, who care enough to try to help, have to continually ask "Where the hell are you??"

Which brings us full-circle again.

 

[CalBoy]

I realize that this was suggested out of purely altruistic goals, but I have to humbly object.

Many people do not want to list their true location, even country, because of personal reasons. Others want to use the location field to say something else about them or their personality, or for humor.

If someone needs location specific help (which is essentially limited to the iPhone and some Marketplace threads), then the onus is on them to provide that information if it's relevant.

Just like you can't force people to list their computer (which would arguably be more beneficial in more threads) for the reason that not everyone wants to list such information.

I don't think there's anything too burdensome in asking "What country are you in?"

 

[Eraserhead]

^^ Its not just limited to that. People ask all sorts of questions which require location, such as buying RAM, questions about warranties etc. etc. It also brings up in a subtle way when there may be a language misunderstanding and allows you to have cultural indicators like whether you use Celsius/Fahrenheit temperatures.

I don't see why this couldn't be combined with the more interesting locations given by some members.

 

[CalBoy]

^^ Its not just limited to that. People ask all sorts of questions which require location, such as buying RAM, questions about warranties etc. etc. It also brings up in a subtle way when there may be a language misunderstanding and allows you to have cultural indicators like whether you use Celsius/Fahrenheit temperatures.

The way I view it is, if you want help, provide information. It's on the shoulders of the seeker of help to give as much detailed information as possible. I also don't see how clarifying questions are such a big deal. If I'm going to be helping someone, it doesn't really take much for me to ask, "Are you in the UK or the US?"

I don't see why this couldn't be combined with the more interesting locations given by some members.

How could it? If providing information about location is meant to reduce confusion, then having humorous/non literal locations would impede this goal. If you make exceptions, then it is no longer mandatory, which is the focus of this thread.

Honestly, I think this is really a case of making a mountain out of a mole hill. It isn't such a big deal because it's fairly easy for the one seeking help to include more information in OPs, or for potential helpers to simply ask clarifying questions.

 

[Sayer]

Well lets start by getting the thread starter's home address. And while we are at it lets make everyone use their real name for a "handle" and we might as well make everyone use their real picture for an avatar. That way we can correctly address someone as a male/female/whatever and if we need to stop by in person we already have the address.

And maybe providing yearly income also, so we know what how to deal with the people who make tons of money vs. the poor shlubs who pay their cable bill using government subsidy checks?

 

[Eraserhead]

Revealing which country you are in is hardly on the same lines as the above.

 

[OllyW]

They could at least be required to list the country. That would be all that is really needed, anything more is just fluff.

TEG

You don't state which country you are from

 

[TEG]

You don't state which country you are from

True, but I doubt there are many places with the abbreviation of "WA" that also contain a city called White Salmon.

I am a member of another forum where location is needed to understand software problems caused by left-hand/right-hand side drives or where road lining differences cause problems and the country is needed.

There it is a simple drop-down box for each country, and each post has a little flag for the country under the Avatar.

TEG

 

[mustang_dvs]

Eh, I put my location in my user name

Cool, you're from central France!

 

[EricNau]

Revealing which country you are in is hardly on the same lines as the above.

But still, some may be uncomfortable posting that information, and they shouldn't be forced to.

 

[mkrishnan]

Eh, I put my location in my user name

Thank god it's not because you're one of these guys.

I personally think that few, if any members have a valid reason to be unwilling to even disclose their country of residence, but I think that's not a request that's going to happen... I do think that everyone needs to remember that the world is not as ethnocentric as they are. If there's even a possibility that your locale will determine your answer, then you should be supplying it.