Spots

Spots are a basic idea of this site. One problem with searches is how the city may not be the best way to post a request for a ride share.  Spots address this by specifying a location by an easily searchable string.

Spots can also work even if there is no city nearby.  Perhaps you live in a community that is not listed on the map, stuff like that.  Google maps can display a map based on latitude and longitude, so it is very easy to determine exactly where a person is from or wants to go.  Spots avoid miscommunication in this way.  There should be some way to tack on the radius of a spot. For more on calculating spots, see calculating a spot. Spots are a wee bit more difficult to harvest and profile.  Certainly posting your street address for a ride across the country puts a big old blinking light that you will be away for awhile for all to see.  One interesting thing about the above, is if you posted your spot on a page that search engines hit, then anybody would be able to find your spot.