Map Makerpedia: Calling out all mappers..

[Raza]

Hi mappers,

Have you ever had difficulty while mapping? Have you ever looked for a help article and couldn’t find it, or found out that it was missing some crucial tip/information? This can be frustrating for both new and experienced mappers.

Today, we launched Map Makerpedia a crowdsourced guide of the mappers, by the mappers and for the mappers :) This is a chance to make an impact on the mapping community by sharing your experiences, knowledge and most importantly your local expertise.

To start out, I’d like to ask both new and experienced mappers to post back on this thread telling us what features you had trouble with or wish were better explained when you started mapping or even include that cool trick that helped you map easily.

We’re looking upto mappers with knowledge/expertise in mapping these features to create new articles or edit existing ones on Map Makerpedia. This will ensure that existing/new mappers know exactly how to map these features and also learn some useful tips and tricks from the pros.

Let’s make mapping easy for everyone!

Thanks and regards,
Raza

[Ian]

Nice!! Great to see good ideas from the Geo conference being implemented. Keep at it!

[I MAP]

+1

[djboge]

The only problem I can see is that there's duplicated information from the existing MM User Guides (linked to from the wiki). Is the new wiki going to be the de facto documentation for MM features and usage?

For instance: https://sites.google.com/site/mapmakerpedia/map-maker-basics

The information here shouldn't be a subset of the original info I don't think, they're likely going to get out of sync and cause some confusion. Someone shouldn't read a little bit of documentation on one site and then have to go to another for "the rest of the story."

[I MAP]

it will take sometime to unify them

[Mxx]

• I think you guys should better explain that boundaries/buildings should be drawn to feature's baseline, not roof and the reason why(like imagery taken from another angel will make roof-based features look shifted).
• Similarly boundaries should not be drawn to exclude roofs. For example a parking lot should be drawn to its true shape instead of cutting out chunks where a neighboring building's roof overlaps said parking lot.
• Address/Plot should not contain business name or other info. Business information should be a separate entry.
• The reason why some edits don't have name or "request more info" option is because they are coming from Google Maps.
  

[djboge]

1. That's already covered, clearly, in the User Guide. "Draw the building's shape according to the area covered by the building at ground level (also known as its footprint), and not according the outline of the building's roof." I'm not saying that this guideline doesn't confuse people, since it does require reading the User Guide, but it is spelled out and isn't too buried.

2. I haven't run into this problem - I think it would be odd if someone tried to cut out a chunk just because it isn't visible from overhead.

3. That's also in the User Guide, under "points, lines, and shapes."

4. Good point. Maybe the little note that says "not available for Google Maps edits" could be reworded a little bit to make it more clear.

Really, a lot of these sources of confusion come about because people don't read the User Guide... which brings up the question, "should you have to?" I can definitely see the need for some degree of documentation, to outline best practices and some other confusing situations, but the majority of errors that people make it edits are simple things they would know had the read the guide. Should the bits of knowledge that would help users avoid these errors be added directly into the MM interface somehow? Think Sketchup, where it shows the usage of each tool as you select them, to give you a quick reminder. i.e. if you select Address/Plot as the category, it could have a little message reminding people to generally only include the address and no other information. This would help most people avoid most errors, but some official documentation should still exist to clarify some more advanced problems and tricky questions.

[CNR]

It is high time to modify the following:

7. Avoid adding Single Stretch Roads, these are the roads that are drawn without stopping at intersections. Its best to add roads in individual sections stopping at intersections and whenever they take a diversion. This also ensures that they get published faster on Maps.

This instruction leads users adding segments with a length of even 50 meters. There is no problem in adding segments with a length of one km and if diversions or other roads are originated from the main road an intersection will get created automatically. There is no need to stop at each and every intersection.

[Mike Henderson]

No URLs in the comments field.  Not unless a Google Reviewer asks for it.  

 

I wasn't aware of this rule.

Is there a preferred way to give a source of information on an edit?

[I MAP]

Not exactly...but when a Reviewer asks for it, you can 

[Beach Villa]

Correct but when you are from a place where there aren't any reviewers and the reviewers are from a neighboring country who has no idea of the locality.

[I MAP]

If that is the process in US, I feel its wrong.

At least a comment can be given before a denial

[mara]

It is I Map, and that was an abrupt change from the first couple of months when nothing was acceptable without a website (a real problem in the South)

@ Raza,  I had to really debate whether to post here.  It seems as if editing or posting in the US is just asking for the attention of spammers.  I've been doing 'Shrubbery' and 'Police Stations' as those seem  more safe..

[khk...@gmail.com]

Thanks your comments
ỵahoo: heocon.16483
call: 0984303500

2011/8/20 General Map Maker on behalf of mara <google-...@googlegroups.com>

It is I Map, and that was an abrupt change from the first couple of months when nothing was acceptable without a website (a real problem in the South)

@ Raza,  I had to really debate whether to post here.  It seems as if editing or posting in the US is just asking for the attention of spammers.  I've been doing 'Shrubbery' and 'Police Stations' as those seem  more safe..

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[I MAP]

Then, that process should change

[mara]

I Map, the spam reviewers do give 'cut and paste' comments. 

 It shows their contempt for Google and Mapmaker in that their comments are inappropriate at best and stupid as well..."This road is too short" for a building or, more subtle, "address is incorrect. Editor overrode the menu" for a building where Street View shows the building on the correct street at the correct address.

It takes only two denials from any user no matter how new and/or anonymous to to kick an edit into Denied  and the I Object button is a joke.  It's all done by Bot.

I assume that if Google were going to do anything they already would have...more Swarm Theory.  They apparently don't understand "Flash Mob".

Any road, Mapmaker, Maps, and Places are becoming unsafe, and by extension all of Google.  A case in point is khkdgs conanboy.  He's everywhere

[Gary Cox]

Awesome, I'll get started viewing and writing!  This was one of the things I was most excited to see implemented from the Summit.  Probably some finer points of using MM that I had to figure out for myself, and would be great for first-timers to know:

• To extend a segment "A" so that it intersects with a segment "B", don't edit segment "A".  Rather, create a new segment connecting the end of "A" with the point along "B" where you want it to intersect.  A dialogue menu will pop up asking you if you want to continue "A".
• When mapping trails, a trail will automatically intersect with any lines it crosses.  If you want a trail to go over or under an existing segment, use "Pedestrian/bicycle overpass" (for going over) or "Pedestrian/bicycle underpass" (for going under).
• Extend boundaries out along the line features.
• When drawing segments, note that they will not physically "snap" in the UI with other lines, even if the "Snap nearby features" checkmark is enabled.  The checkmark will cause the feature to connect to nearby segments after you have finished drawing it, but not while drawing it.

These are just a few I can think of right off the bat, there are many more!

[Gary Cox]

We were informed at the Geo Summit that the blanket "No URL" policy has been modified.  Google Reviewers are now supposed to check if the source is okay with the legal department, or something along those lines.  Bottom line is: Any reviewer giving a blanket "No URLs in the comment field" statement, without regard to the link itself, is out-of-date policy wise.

[Andrew Kennedy]

I agree that if people read the User Guide it would answer a lot of questions they have. But the User Guide is so full of redundant info that trying to find the pertinent/relevant info means having to dig through a lot of pointless info.
For example, under each topic about a different feature (high tension line, trails, railways, roads, shapes, political regions, etc) there is a section about the name. Each of them has a bit that is slightly different and specific for the type of feature. But the majority of each of the pages is the same, "Multiple Names", "Types of Names", and "Selecting the Right Language" are all completely the same. If someone is looking for something specific they gloss over the stuff they've read 15 times before, and in the process skip over what they were looking for in the first place.
This is the same with Attributes, Location Information, and Description and Comments.
I think this is the real reason people don't read the User Guide, they take one look at it and say "tl;dr"
I like your idea of tool tip reminders though, that would help a lot of things like the footprint issue.

[djboge]

I totally agree with you on the tl;dr part - you wouldn't think this is a tool that should require reading a manual before use - things should be made much more self-explanatory.

[Raza]

Hi mappers,

Thank you for your interest in developing content for the Map Makerpedia. Just wanted to let you know that some of the people from the community team also added a few articles this week to the pedia. Here are the new articles:

Mapping Trails and Paths for Hiking and Biking
Put Your Campus on the Map
Sprucing Up Your Neighborhood

I encourage you to submit content about a topic of your interest using the form on this page:  http://goo.gl/SRnjU

Keep in mind that the content on this site is intended to be different from what already exists on the Help Center. A simple way of ensuring this is by posting use cases on specific topics of your interest (like mapping golf courses, etc), so that other mappers with a similar interest can learn and benefit from you.

Cheers,
Raza

[Neo-2]

Raza

 

Glad you had the team put together the articles. I was trying to find the link to the spam form you sent a few weeks back. Could you email it to me please.

[Tracy James]

Wow, you are fast Dan, thank you, yes this is the one. Regards.

On Fri, Sep 9, 2011 at 2:03 AM, General Map Maker on behalf of blissfulight <google-...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

You mean this one?  http://is.gd/A0LGo0

On Sep 8, 2011, at 11:01 PM, General Map Maker on behalf of Neo-2 wrote:

Raza

 

Glad you had the team put together the articles. I was trying to find the link to the spam form you sent a few weeks back. Could you email it to me please.

[Tracy James]

Hey Dan, would it be ok to add you to my Google+ circle?

On Fri, Sep 9, 2011 at 2:03 AM, General Map Maker on behalf of blissfulight <google-...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

You mean this one?  http://is.gd/A0LGo0

On Sep 8, 2011, at 11:01 PM, General Map Maker on behalf of Neo-2 wrote:

Raza

 

Glad you had the team put together the articles. I was trying to find the link to the spam form you sent a few weeks back. Could you email it to me please.

[Tracy James]

Here is my profile https://plus.google.com/?tab=mX#113472463494850826737/posts

 

I am trying to navigate to yours but can't find it. Can you send link?

On Fri, Sep 9, 2011 at 2:17 AM, General Map Maker on behalf of blissfulight <google-...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Of course.  Just drop on by…

[mara]

Raza,

    I know that I have mentioned this before, but even manuals usually have an index, something that is badly missing from the User Guide, Mapmaker Help, and now  Makmakerpedia..  Since there is much repetition necessarily in each one, an index would be a tremendous time saver.

 There are projects that I've given up on because I couldn't find all the necessary information, usually something small, without timing out.

[sarahk]

First time I'd seen anything suggesting not all countries could use it. Explains why NZ wouldn't work. Google MapMaker could have been a bit more explicit about it.

[Ramu]

Hello Mappers,

Thanks a lot for the terrific response to the Map Makerpedia.

The last few weeks have seen an influx of plenty of great content from some of you mappers, out of which three articles were published and the rest are in the pipeline. Here they are:

How to Map a Golf Course by Nicholas Vetrovec
Tutorials for Russian Speaking Mappers by Sergey Sudakovskiy
Proposed Specification for a Sandbox and Batch Edit Facility by JD Scott, Greg Noel & Blake Stephens

In addition, our team has also added another article - Map that Parking Lot

The variance in the content of the articles has further diversified the Map Makerpedia, leading to the creation of different sections for Regional Guidelines and the Map Maker Ideas.

Kudos to Nicholas Vetrovec, Sergey Sudakovskiy, JD Scott, Greg Noel & Blake Stephens for their contributions.

Keep rackin 'em up!

Thanks & Regards,
Ram Mohan  

[gzub]

I like the parking lot example, however the two examples in the beginning do not extend the parking lot to the middle of the road on the top, right and bottom sides, which is technically incorrect (I think the left side is OK as there are parking spaces on the other side of the road -- although some would say for aesthetics to end at the middle of the road).

The same issue occurs further down (Basics of Mapping a Parking Lot with Map Maker) where it is correctly to the middle on the left, but other sides do not go to the middle of the road.

I would correct them but it would be like finding a needle in a haystack to locate your examples...

Geoff

[Greg Noel]

While I appreciate that our proposal has been selected for the initial release of content, and I understand that being the first means that we are the guinea pigs, I have some concerns about the details of the transliteration from Google Doc to Map Makerpedia page.  In brief, while the underlying paragraph styling remained intact (and is what is seen on the page) and the links remained intact, all the individual highlighting styles are gone.  In a document like ours, this is a significant loss.

Don't get me wrong:  This is much (note significant individual highlighting) better than what Google Docs itself provides when it publishes a document.  That's simply horrible (ditto) and the engineer that implemented that excrescence should be taken out and shot.  But that's a diatribe for another forum.

Moreover, some of the styling was established by you.  You overrode the base formatting to set the title in 18 point, and it's a reasonable thing to do.  You also set the "edit" link in 14 point, which is also reasonable (I'd have done it differently, but your selection is reasonable).  On that basis, I assumed that other overrides would also work.  Am I wrong?  Is this something that will work in the next pull, for example?  Or some further time in the future?

With that as prelude, here are some specific points:

• You replaced bullet lists with numbered lists.  They're used for different things.  In this case, the bullet list suggests that the items are in no particular order, while a numbered list implies that they're sequenced.
• I set the font size to twelve points for a reason.  Maybe your young eyes can read an 11-point typeface, but I have trouble, even with my reading glasses.   A 12-point typeface is the minimum you should use in a page you expect to be read a lot (and I find that marginal).  See how hard this is?
  
• It's bad style to use a lot of random typefaces and highlighting, not to mention colors (any typographer will be glad to bend your ear about how it shows a lack of control over your tool), so I use the minimal amount.  For the case in point, I italicized the first instance of each word being defined (e.g., sandbox) and each Latin abbreviation, underlined an odd word or two for emphasis, and emboldened transitional locations within sections to make them easier to be picked out by eye.  Losing this formatting makes the document flow worse than it needs to be.

So I guess my question is whether I need to revise the document to deal with this lack of override styling, or if I can expect that the import will be better in the future.  Tks.

[mara]

+1 Greg Noel's critique of the Google changes to his doc...

[djboge]

Agreed. There's no reason that the formatting you chose should have been overridden. Some will get lost in the translation from a document being prepared for print (from Google Docs) and a webpage, but not everything that was lost needed to be.

As far as the font size goes, that's probably just the default size for regular page content. I agree that its a little small. In most browsers you can press Ctrl and roll your mouse wheel to change the text size to make it more readable, which might help in the interim.

From having written some technical documentation, I agree that the bulleted lists should not have been removed. Numbered lists are for procedures, not for collections. No reason they can't use a <ul> instead of an <li>. Also agreed that the bold and italic bits should not have been removed. For things being published on the web, I don't think anything should be underlined, users expect underlined bits to be links. But bolding and italicizing can be very useful to the reader, helping them pick out key words and concepts (just ask any student doing the end-of-chapter questions out of their textbook. Find the bold words and you're probably very close...)

On a side note, it looks like the header levels are a bit off. Every header in this document ought to be an H2. The main title should probably be an H1. Under the Proposal section, the Step 1...8 could be H3 - that would break up that wall of text a bit. Those looked good in the original document but it looks like they got blown away when it was made into that page.

Hopefully the formatting of this page can be tweaked (and not in two weeks, how about on Monday) which will make the document a lot more readable and accessible to mappers.

[Greg Noel]

@djboge:

Agreed. There's no reason that the formatting you chose should have been overridden. ...

I appreciate the support.

... Also agreed that the bold and italic bits should not have been removed.

The interesting thing about the generated HTML is that it's got <SPAN>...</SPAN> in all the places where the overrides should go, but there are no override attributes present.  I think it shows that their hearts are in the right place, it's just that there was a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip...
 

For things being published on the web, I don't think anything should be underlined, users expect underlined bits to be links. ...

Generally true, but italics rendered at 120dpi on a computer screen or typical home printer is a lot less distinctive than italics at 2000dpi rendered by a professional-grade page printer.  In this case, links are also set in blue, so I think it's OK to underline text, as long as it's not used to excess.
 

On a side note, it looks like the header levels are a bit off. ...

D'y'think?  It turns out that the starter page they made for me had the title as normal text set at 18pt and the H2 headers set at 14pt.  I added H3 headers since they are 14pt and looked the same.  I've now made the title H1 (which is 24pt) and the headers H2 (which is 18pt) and converted the run-in headers to H4 (12pt).  (It's too bad that HTML can't support a true run-in header; I kinda miss them.  They were trivial to do in both nroff/troff and TeX, so I got used to them.)  It's not exactly what I want, but the next pull should look more reasonable, even if they don't fix the problem.
 

Hopefully the formatting of this page can be tweaked (and not in two weeks, how about on Monday) which will make the document a lot more readable and accessible to mappers.

Concur.

[Neo-2]

I got one of the HP Touchpads and am trying to use it on the go for mapping. Map Maker hangs at times and sometimes freezes all together. Is there a recommended browser I should use that would work better using WebOs with map maker? Please advise.

[Serge]

@Neo-2, I'm sorry, but can you stop to do a mess in the Group? You create a duplicate thread for one question, but put the other one question (actually a technical issue) to this thread, created for absolutely other things.

[Tracy James]

Sorry, you guys were right.

On Sat, Oct 1, 2011 at 3:33 PM, General Map Maker on behalf of Serge <google-...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

@Neo-2, I'm sorry, but can you stop to do a mess in the Group? You create a duplicate thread for one question, but put the other one question (actually a technical issue) to this thread, created for absolutely other things.

[Raza]

Hi Greg,

The feedback you provided is definitely valid and reasonable. Some of these changes in format were caused unintentionally, this should be fixed now. 

If you find any concerns with the formatting or if you would like anything changed, please drop the Map Makerpedia team a line at this id: mmcrowdsourcedcurriculum at gmail.com

    

@Mara and Dj boge, thank you for your inputs! :) 

Best,

Raza

[djboge]

That's much improved! Looks good.

[Greg Noel]

@Raza:

The feedback you provided is definitely valid and reasonable. Some of these changes in format were caused unintentionally, this should be fixed now.

Thanks, it does look better (I also changed the run-in headers to H4, which helped), but it still has some way to go.  Instead of using Google Docs as your base content, perhaps you should look into a WYSIWYG interface for the HTML in your displayed content.  The interface in this reply box seems about right: you'd want to replace the font-selection and font-size selectors with one that chooses the paragraph style and make the box much larger (or self-expanding to fit the content), but otherwise, it's just about the right thing.

The one thing I do notice is that the index is set too large: it looks like about 14pt and it should be more like 10pt or even 9pt.  It also shouldn't include the H1 header (more accurately, it should only include the H1 header if there's more than one in the document, which happens occasionally for legitimate reasons which probably won't occur in your case).
 

If you find any concerns with the formatting or if you would like anything changed, please drop the Map Makerpedia team a line at this id: mmcrowdsourcedcurriculum at gmail.com

Uh, I tried that; I sent mail to that address more than a week ago, asking for some information.  I got no response, so I assumed it was a black hole.

[R01k]

Hello everybody.

The good: When started mapping, I found really encouraging the tips from the moderators. It made me feel that my first and modest efforts were not in vain.

The bad: One of the worst problems I can remember right now is the old Issue 397.

[Paul Furman]

If there is duplication, it will be more work to maintain. Can we assume the documentation is being moved to this wiki? That would make sense. Or this wiki is more like a supplemental blog with random topics that add to the documentation? That's how it looked to me when I visited the site.

My biggest struggles as a new user:

Data is complicated to view completely and it seems like data only appears randomly depending on what buttons you click and the mood of the data feed. If this is as real as it seems, it would be nice to hear confirmation that yes you won't see everything in a particular location and it's necessary to take multiple investigation approaches to fully understand what's there. This is the result of the enormous amount of data (or because my internet connection is slow or what???) It is very disconcerting to have data that is ambiguous, slippery, etc. I wrote an eight-point list of different ways to find data when viewing a particular spot in another post here and I feel like I only began to touch on the subtleties.

Way up front, explain that changes are a slow careful process and new users should not expect results without weeks of waiting for reviews and establishing credibility. There are lots of rules about how edits should be made and it's essential to know exactly what you are doing before initiating an edit which ends up putting data on hold for weeks or even removing your business listing because of not following abstruse protocol.

The relationship between Mapmaker, Google Maps, Google Places, Sketchup Building Maker, etc. Which I don't understand but have encountered baffling conflicts. One fix is for the owner of the Place to go make a 'Post' in Google Places to re-assert their control and approval of the current edit status which is pending edits in Mapmaker.

How to go about correcting streets which have mixed up addresses. See Cargo Way, San Francisco please if you have the power to review edits. It was set up wrong and is a freaking mess which I've been struggling to fix with very small incremental successes. Please approve deletion of both instances of 30 and 150 address plots and any 10 address plot at the northwest (upper-left) end of the street. I've put about 10 hours into this over a couple weeks and it's still messed up.

What to do when you see a business marker in the wrong location. Don't try deleting, try moving it to the address listed in the details but first try calling their number and get them to do it and confirm in Google Places. I suspect much of the reason I've had so much trouble with this is because of a bug but it has been an enormous struggle for me which is not even close to being resolved. I've got most of my issues outlined in this thread where I tacked onto someone else's similar issues and on which topic I've sunk probably 30 hours of frustrating work and still don't know if it'll ever get ironed out: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/google-mapmaker/MNIlyo4IMnc

[djboge]

As far as I can tell, the mapmakerpedia is exactly as you put it, a random list of assorted articles/entries with supplemental information over the main documentation, which I believe is still located here. I don't believe the official documentation is moving anywhere anytime soon but I could be wrong. It would be nice if everything was in a single place.

[Zahid Sumayari]

very nice

[hendrix]

Could you kindly explain how one can change the color of lines when mapping up different road routes on a bus map so as to make it similar to the London one. check out the link http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaround/maps/buses/

Hope to find some assistance soonest.

[Cris Bilby]

I am very new to this process. I was brought in through my work to try to correct an issue. I can not find an answer to this question. How do I get the correct area to come up with an address search. I have changed the street name to the correct name, but it still will not come up. I know this must be a simple thing...but I am getting frustrated with this....Thanks for any help!

[Cris Bilby]

115 Meadow Lane, Coffeyville, Kansas

 

From: General Map Maker on behalf of blissfulight [mailto:google-...@googlegroups.com]
Sent: Thursday, October 20, 2011 1:44 PM
To: General Map Maker on behalf of Cris Bilby
Subject: Re: Map Makerpedia: Calling out all mappers..

 

What's the address?  

 

Simple answer is that search on GMM is lousy.  It's not like either GM or Google itself.  

 

On Oct 20, 2011, at 12:35 PM, General Map Maker on behalf of Cris Bilby wrote:

I am very new to this process. I was brought in through my work to try to correct an issue. I can not find an answer to this question. How do I get the correct area to come up with an address search. I have changed the street name to the correct name, but it still will not come up. I know this must be a simple thing...but I am getting frustrated with this....Thanks for any help!

 

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[gzub]

A good way to edit things that you can find in Maps is to zoom in all the way when you have found it.  In the bottom of the screen you will see "Edit in Map Maker" click on this and it will bring the area up in map maker.

As blissfulight said, you will have to add an Address/Plot marker for each house that you want to have street information in Google Maps using Map Maker.

Also if you still have trouble create a new thread for help as it will make sure that people notice your question and help you as people may have overlooked this thread that you posted on...

Geoff

[Mxx]

Cris, blissfulight and gzub:
This conversation is very much offtopic for this thread. Please start a new thread, no need to pollute this thread further.

[Cris Bilby]

Thanks…it comes up as Parker, Kansas…why is that? Parker would be the Township it is in, but not the City of address.

 

From: General Map Maker on behalf of blissfulight [mailto:google-...@googlegroups.com]
Sent: Thursday, October 20, 2011 2:27 PM
To: General Map Maker on behalf of Cris Bilby
Subject: Re: Map Makerpedia: Calling out all mappers..

 

I found the address without issue on Google Maps, but Map Maker is more of a…challenge…

 

Here's the street:  

http://goo.gl/VVA1y

 

You can always drop an Address/Plot for the house at the correct location.  

[Cris Bilby]

Sorry Mxx, I thought this was about having difficulty while mapping? Or looking for a help article and not finding it. My bad!

[Craig Hartel]

Personally I would like to see there be a Google MapMaker sandbox where new mappers like myself can go and get some experience and feedback before we start out in the real world. The sandbox would be a great place to have a bunch of the most common mistakes people make starting out. We could have an example set of imagery to use to capture features, and then our peers could quickly and easily show us what we did right and what we did wrong.

There could also be a sandbox to teach people how to review. I have barely done 150 edits, I certainly don't feel competent to do more than cursory reviews. I don't always want to map, so reviewing is another way I can help out and change up my GMM contributions.

I would also suggest that a person not be able to do live map updates until they have done x number of feature captures and editing as well as y number of reviews. It doesn't have to be a lot, but enough to give people a bit of confidence. Once they have finished in the sandboxes, they get a badge and move to the live mapping, editing and reviewing.

Another suggestion is to set up a MapMaker Mentor list where experienced people volunteer to follow along with a new mapper who signs up for some help.

[R01k]

Hello there.

The sandbox has been asked for so many users for so long... Even me sometimes have to create a test feature just for trying something (I make sure to delete it shortly later of course). You can follow this link and star this Issue on the list.

Issue 2070: Proposed Specification for a Sandbox and Batch Edit Facility

[Raza]

Hi guys, 

Thanks for posting your suggestions, keep them coming! 

I see some great suggestions already that do not exist on the current help center,  I think these would really help out our new co-mappers:

• Cool tricks to help you map places(shapes and points).- Dan’s suggestion
  
• Cool tricks to help you map roads, trail paths etc- Gary Cox’s suggestion
  

If you are interested in contributing and writing up an article on one of the topics I mentioned above, then please post back to claim it. You can then fill out the contribution form to get started.

If more than one mapper is interested in the same topic, you can team up and collaborate on it using Google docs :)

Cheers,

Raza 

[Craig Hartel]

Raza,

Would you be so kind as to post the links to the ideas - there are a lot of discussions to follow in this thread and it's hard to find the exact ideas to which you are referring.

Thank you!

Craig.

[Bryson Guptill]

Hi!  I'm having difficulty getting overlays to work.  I'd like to upload some traces - works like a charm on OpenStreetMap.  The conversion to KML seems to be awkward, and the instructions to create a URL on Google Earth are not working for me.

'Hope this is helpful.

[Jeff Smith]

 

Er . . . I have no intention of being a regularly contributing Map Maker, couldn't see how to start a new thread, not interested in spending a lot of time here . . . but I have on very pregnant question for the google map community.  Why is it, on google maps, that the roads are not depicted with a color that sharply contrasts with the surrounding land area???????????

 

For instance, if you go to, let's say, Death Valley, and zoom in on West Side Road and Warm Springs Road, you can BARELY see the roads against the background . . . because there's virtually NO CONTRAST!!!  It's even worse -- if that's possilble -- when you get to Goler Wash Road, which is white-on-white.  No contrast.

 

I mean, isn't this mapmaking 101?????

 

CONTRAST ?????

 

Visual distinctiveness?????

 

Trying to use the maps is freaking MADDENING.

 

So, who do we have to kill to get some contrast in the maps so they're actually USEFUL?  Is there some Mapular Potentate somewhere who needs to be tied up with duct tape and flogged mercilessly with a wet noodle so some Star Wars-shirted nerd can code some color and shading into google maps?????

 

I mean, how old is google maps?  Some years?  And at this late date, The Powers That Be at google maps STILL haven't figured out that . . . um . . . MAPS NEED CONTRAST?????

 

What could possibly explain the lack of contrast on google maps?

 

Are colored pixels prohibitively expensive at google maps?

 

Does the Chief Executive Nerd at google maps have a very bland, pastel personality and want the site to reflect it?

 

Sactified bovine, Batman, this is riDICulous.

 

It really is ridiculous.  Look for yourself and then tell me otherwise. [shakes head with utter, incredulous bewilderment]

 

 

 

(Please feel free to repost this wherever the right people will see it.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Warren Chu]

While I did join a while back, I only recently started contributing. One thing I haven't figured out is how to delete a body of water that no longer exists. I can't seem to get it to show up as a point or boundary to edit.

[Ramu]

Hi all,

As you are probably aware, Dan Austin has been very active in fighting spam.

The latest in his series of efforts is an article concerning fighting spam on Map Makerpedia. Link.

Lucid in style and articulate in content, the article serves as a wonderful guide to all those involved in fighting spam.

Thanks Dan! Keep up the great work!

Regards,

Ram Mohan. 

[Arlete Meneguette]

Hi Raza

I have just filled out the form at https://sites.google.com/site/mapmakerpedia/contribute. I intend to submit a Tutorial (in Portuguese) on how to map using GMM. I have already written ten tutorials which are available at https://sites.google.com/site/arletemeneguette/tutorialgmm

Actually, three of my tutorials have already been published at http://mundogeo.com/infogeo630407.php, http://mundogeo.com/infogeo640629.php and http://mundogeo.com/infogeo65.php.

Hope to hear from you.

Arlete

[JPF]

Hi all,

Just to endorse Arlete's work on her GMM tutorials in Portuguese. Thanks Arlete!

Although we(Portuguese speaking users and RER's) have a GMM Help Center, partially in portuguese, with some translation issues and broken links (reported several months ago); It would be great, not only regarding coaching new GMM users but also to use this tutorial(s) link(s), on the reviewing process, since they would become "official" GMM links to refer.

IMHO, regarding any prospective language issue, I don't think this represents an important one now, since small language differences that one may have, can easily be understood/adapted. This tutorials can be used as a reference to all Portuguese speaking countries(Brazil, Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe and East Timor) that have GMM up and running, and, it will be already here for Portugal reference, if/when GMM goes on there.

OT: We may need to address a discussion with GMM team regarding Language: Portuguese:

1- GMM UI(user interface): Users can use at least 3 different UI: English, Portuguese(Brazil) and Portuguese(Portugal); meaning: at least 3 categories list, and depending on Reviewer UI categories may not be well translated and/or make sense/be consistent.

2- Translation issues: How can expert GMM users help on getting both a better Help Center and Category list ?

3- A clear policy and guidance on name language edit usage and implication, for new users, regardless of UI, user IP address and google maps address entered. Again, here, we have 3, Portuguese, Portuguese(Brazil) and Portuguese(Portugal). It can be confusing and most pick language randomly.

4- Changing GMM Brazil forum into a language forum?

Thanks and regards ;)

JPF

[Ramu]

Hi all,

Plussing time, fellow mappers!

From now on in, you will see a '+1' button to the right of the title for each article in the Map Makerpedia.

You fancy the article, if you found it useful while mapping or if you have just been impressed by the keen mapping insight of the author of the article, just go ahead and click the +1.

A motivation for the authors, a guide for the readers, an insight for us, this should help us all.

Let the plussing begin :-)

Regards,

Ram Mohan,

The Map Makerpedia Team. 

[Ramu]

Hello Mappers,

More mapping knowledge for you all to lap up.

We have two more articles from our Indian mappers that encompass plenty of mapping knowledge with simplicity..

Check them out here:

How to effectively draw a Roundabout by Amith ES

How to Modify an Existing Road to Bridge by Srinivas

Be sure to '+1' the articles, if you find them useful!

Happy Reading,

[Jaxcoffee]

Has anyone ever considered putting together some kind of list of categories showing the color they render in Maps, and in what order they render in?

The new UI has some boundary color changes, but no one ever mentions it, or has any kind of reference for being able to check.

Sounds like it would be a great addition to this site.

[Craig Hartel]

I just finished reading the article by Srinivas and it is a great resource. Thank you, Srinivas for contributing to the community in this way.

I do have on suggestion regarding the instructions under Create an Artificial Intersection:

The first step says "Draw two perpendicular roads at both ends of the bridge" - I found that to be slightly confusing. If I followed that instruction literally, I would have drawn four roads. My suggestion is that it should say "Draw a perpendicular road at each end of the bridge".

Srinivas is a very helpful and friendly member of the mapping community; I appreciate his contribution to Map Makerpedia very much.

Ramu: Does the Map Makerpedia team have resources to share about how to make video tutorials and suggestions on what software might be used to accomplish this? 

[Srini vas]

Thanks a lot for the suggestion Mr.Craig. This is what keeps me going and always addicted to Map Maker. Please I request you to make appropriate changes to the article wherever possible to make it represent a worldwide view of the subject ;)

With regards

Srinivas

[Raza]

Jax, that sounds like a superb idea. I don't think even the help center has that information and needless to say it would be awesome for all mappers to refer to. Feel free to start it off and i'm sure other mappers will help you complete it! 

@Srini and Craig, great to see some good feedback coming in.  As Srini suggested, you can edit the article to make the required changes, which will be published soon after we take a look :)

Cheers,

Raza

[Jaxcoffee]

Thanks Raza,

I was on a Hangout for Map Maker with Joel Headley the other day, and I mentioned the need for a comprehensive list of the boundary colors and layered order, and they also thought it would be useful.

So hopefully we can get some good accurate information from some Googler's to help us out.

With that thought in mind. What would you think about creating an area in Google Maps, with Map Maker that would have actual colored boundary squares placed maybe in some remote area, but in Maps?  

Users could then actually see what color renders for which category. 

Not only could they be referenced by mappers, but they would update in real time when and if there are any changes.

Maybe we could use the parking lot of the GooglePlex?

Thoughts?

[vandelay]

The roundabout instructions are correct as far as the drawing tools and overlays, however it makes the mistake of assuming that a roundabout and a traffic circle are the same thing.  They are not.

 

I am not yet an expert at Google Map Maker, but I am however a licenced engineer who designs and studies roundabouts throughout the world.  However, the term "roundabout" is applied to different types of intersections depending on the country or region that you are in.  Drawing them incorrectly can lead to driver error and crashes.

 

One must carefully consider the lane markings.  Often times, especially in the USA, Australia, and New Zealand, the roundabout should NOT consist of drawing a circle but rather should consist of drawing a series of intersecting one-way roads.  Below is an example of a correctly drawn and incorrectly drawn USA or Australian style roundabout.  The trough routes must follow the lanes marked as through lanes (note the pavement arrows).

 

Correct (Four intersection points):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Incorrect (Eight intersection points):

 

[gzub]

Great information... Vandelay!

I definitely see what you are talking about on that roundabout as there are two entry/exit lanes for the major throughfare.  It would be great to see you contribute more information to the Map Makerpedia, or even an Ask the traffic engineer thread ;-) 

Geoff

[Geoffrey Perez]

Ooh, an "Ask the traffic engineer" thread! Personally, I don't think I'll need it (I'll just ask my dad!) but I'm sure it will be very beneficial to everyone else. I'm sure the traffic engineer we'll be asking has memorized the MUTCD from front to back and can interpret what it says for the layman (lol! I hope). MUTCD:  http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/

The MUTCD (Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices) is in the public domain, so we don't have to worry about copyright:  http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/knowledge/faqs/faq_general.htm#q29 

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[Ramu]

Hello all,

Five more articles on the Map Makerpedia that you all would want to check out and contribute to,

How to Draw Flyovers by Saikrishna Arcot
Advanced Flyover/Underpass Guide by KaliJay
How to add an Address/Plot by Kiran Bheemidi

Know the Layers and Views on Google Map Maker by Kiran Bheemidi and Geoffrey Zub
TIST Mapping Party by CNR Nair

Kudos to all these helpful mappers.

A special mention of the TIST Mapping Party article by CNR Nair. Mr.Nair, for long has been one of the major contributors and flag bearer for Map Maker in India. He has now taken the awesome initiative to spread his tomes of knowledge to the future generations. This article makes an attempt to chronicle those efforts.

Thanks,