Gas_Buddy
Champion Author
Maryland
Posts:25,957
Points:3,032,095
Joined:Aug 2004
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Message Posted: Jun 25, 2012 3:00:22 PM
Barring an entire rewrite to the existing posting options (three gas prices and a diesel price), you're essentially suggesting, if I understand it, a line of "fill-in-the-blank" boxes. Members, posting fuel prices, can enter in any and all of the boxes, including (if I understand the suggestion correctly), the price for non-ethanol fuel (for multiple octanes), ethanol-blended fuel (for multiple octanes), Barring an entire rewrite to the existing posting options (three gas prices and a diesel price), you're essentially suggesting, if I understand it, a line of "fill-in-the-blank" boxes. Members, posting fuel prices, can enter in any and all of the boxes, including (if I understand the suggestion correctly), the price for non-ethanol fuel (for multiple octanes), ethanol-blended fuel (for multiple octanes), Barring an entire rewrite to the existing posting options (three gas prices and a diesel price), you're essentially suggesting, if I understand it, a line of "fill-in-the-blank" boxes. Members, posting fuel prices, can enter in any and all of the boxes, including (if I understand the suggestion correctly), the price for non-ethanol fuel (for multiple octanes), ethanol-blended fuel (for multiple octanes), compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), or hydrogen, as well as diesel, along with (your words) "every type of fuel and grade known to exist, as well as every possible pricing option. Your suggested pricing options, I assume, would therefore include cash price for each and ever fuel option, credit price for each and every fuel option, debit card price (which, in some areas or for some brands, such as ARCO, includes a surcharge), price with a car wash and price without a car wash; price with a (for example) Kroger's or Winn-Dixie Gas Perks card, the Shell "5 cent per gallon discount" on Wednesdays or Thursdays (varies in different locales), and so on. And you haven't, since you said "every possible pricing option", the need to include the multiple discounts or cash backs, or frequent flyer miles awarded, etc., for using various cards.
First, that's one heckuva lot of boxes that could be filled, just to the possible one or two members of Gas Buddy that might want to fill in the price, and not feel left out.
Second, and while I understand that there may be a number of people who use different or alternative fuels, in the overall scheme of things, I don't believe there are that many that don't use their local octane grade of petroleum or diesel. In other words, consider me as thinking that Gas Buddy doesn't need to be absolutely everything for all things for absolutely everyone.
Third, the last thing I would want is to for a bunch of local yahoos (my word, no one else's) being able to change the dynamics and the structure of the website just because they have a bunch of points. I realize that the moderators may be slow to make changes, but I think that better adds to the integrity of the websites than every local Gas Buddy website being different. For example, why should each of the DC metro Gas Buddy websites, DC-Maryland-Virginia, be different? As said below, there would be, to me, a lot of chaos.
To me, I'd keep it simple. First, in order to keep the size of the "box line" reasonable", and because relatively few use mid-grade octane, I would offer boxes for the following:
Cash price regular grade
credit price regular grade
Cash price premium grade
Credit price premium grade
Cash price diesel
Credit price diesel
And, if you think it appropriate, cash and credit price boxes for regular non-ethanol.
That, to me, should satisfy well over 95 percent of most Gas Buddy members' purchasing. Just because isolated members think the price of electricity or vegetable oil should be listed because either they or someone they know or someone they read about uses that, doesn't mean that it needs to be posted independently.
The comments block (which should be below the pricing line) could indicate if there's a discount for membership, using a certain card, car wash, etc. If there are local pricing issues, and there well may be, there's no reason that a discussion topic couldn't be created for local members to follow or contribute to.
My opinion: In order to keep the website useful, keep it as simple as possible. While it may not satisfy the wants, needs, or desires of every current or future member of Gas Buddy, it will come close to meeting the needs of an overwhelmning majority.
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