international searches only by 'Entire Country'

[checkingitout8]

Hello site admin,

again, I have another question although it's an entirely different topic so here's another thread -

You must be able to see what the 'Home Country' selection is, the IP for this account. If you notice, while someone might be able to search by State and further, by City or Zip, if it's any international listing, the only two options on the drop-down (that I see) are 'Entire Country' and... 'Entire Country'

Both return the same results. BTW there were no filtered results among 80+ million people yet. Only 6 results without any filtering.

There must be some database tools that allow for convenient mapping and searching by location at least by city for any given geographical country location (besides what is available for north america), and these can be used to make the search criteria more useful.

[feedback]

We are not aware of a database tool that allows for distance based seaches within Europe, like the zip code databases available for the U.S. and Canada.

We have recently begun the expansion of our network to include specific international sites focused on individual Countries.

As we focus more on International locations, we hope to find ways to address this issue.

If any member is aware of location based search systems specific to Europe, or individual Countries within Europe, please let us know.

Thanks,



.

[checkingitout8]

Instead of a distance tool (explained later), the combo box to the right of Country (which displays 'Entire Country' instead of a list of cities), could be directly-based on a lookup to the database of existing cities members have used for that Country. What do you think?

The search results display:

Cityname, COUNTRY

So the database is storing a clearly-defined city name. Now, if that cityname is spelled wrong by the member, that creates an issue for that member, not the database or members generally. If they want to be found, they aught to at least know the common anglicized spelling for the city they are based-on! It's perfectly allright to leave the network in english for most international locations, as many have english as a second language and are comfortable using other websites which started only in english, or are available only in english.

Also: my experience is, unlike most on USA-areas, in fact QUITE unlike anywhere on the 48+2 State territories, people are more provincial and much less likely to travel to another city to meet someone. They are far more likely to search only within the same city. Even district matters sometimes for those who only want to travel a few km.

That's totally unlike the desire for a distance-tool on much of north america.

Think: bicycle distances.. to give you an idea. Although people DO have cars, short distances are the norm. And many do not have cars for metro areas.

---
in summary; the only thing we care about it is the city is the same, and the City choice can be pulled from a lookup into the existing database. There are some variations to that where distance may be a consideration, however, it's completely unlike the experiences catered-to on north america. It should instantly add-value to the site, may be simple to implement, and really increases the usability for many people.

I hope that helps.




edit: sent a PM with some additional info

[guylittle (deleted)]

@feedback
Now that you have included City for UK addresses, while this is helpful it would be nice to also show the County (called State/Province/Area on your database) on members profiles and in the search.

Eg. My location currently shows Paignton, UK whereas it would be better if it showed Paignton, Devon, UK. While Paignton is a fairly popular location not everyone in the UK is familiar with where it is.

But more to the point there are literally thousands of quaint and odd little place names, sometimes with duplicates, that one has very little clue as to where in the UK it is and therefore I am finding that I have to look them up online. Knowing what County someone is in at least gives an indication of whether they are within a reasonable travelling distance.

Woolfardisworthy? Nope, don't know that one, and that is in Devon according to your database, lol.

As an aside relating to the previous posters idea, imho that would not work for much of the UK due to what I have said above. It would work for major population centres, London for example, but for the more 'provincial' areas, which covers large parts of the UK, there are just too many place names to have to search them individually. There are a couple of dozen within just my local area and several within walking distance. In fact Cornwall is not that far away so I generally just do a UK search and knowing what County a member is in would be helpful (in fact I think it used to show that before you added City).

[feedback]

Thanks for the comments regarding our new International location update project.

For now, we are just gathering information from new (and existing members logging in).

In all likelihood, the location display on member profile pages will change to include more information...and the Search system will also change to display more information.

The 'distance search' option will allow members to search a specific distance from where they are currently located...which should eliminate concerns with determining which specific city or towns they are open to.

Basically, since we will know where someone is (based on their own City location), they will be able to enter the number of miles/kilometers that they are comfortable with traveling.

That being said, we see no reason not to make available more of the related location information on the Search page (ie. the Region/State/Province/Territory) and City.

For the moment, things may appear a little confusing, since we are asking for and storing much more location information than the Search system is currently using...but hopefully once we are able to switch over to the new system, it will greatly enhance the usability of our network for International members.

Hope that helps to explain our thinking, and where we are with the project at the moment.

Thanks,



.

[checkingitout8]

`Guylittle-

I agree about your points about england, wales, etc. And had forgotten how small and closely-located those incorporated town names can be. That's also true nearby, although only outside reasonably-dense population centres. For those who primarily use some variation of english for the local area, I'm sure it comes in more handy.

For those that have re-located, as I don't think passionsnetwork has regional language-specific versions, most of them are english-speakers closer to population centres and much less likely to be out on the countryside.

to feedback:
"BIG CHANGES FOR THE PASSIONS NETWORK SEARCH SYSTEM

We have begun the process to collect more specific International location information from new members, and existing International members.

Specifically, we are asking members to enter their Country, Region/State/Territory/Province, and their City.

As we gather this information, we will begin to switch over to allow distance searching worldwide, instead of just within the U.S. and Canada.

While long overdue, this is a MAJOR step forward for all of our International members.

Once enabled, members will be able to search for members X number of miles/kilometers from their location."

Thanks.

An additional issue the changes resolve, is anything beyond regional transportation on europe is very expensive compared to north american areas. Quickly, finding only those locally becomes the only option if one wants regular, close connection to them.