Adding/editing places

Polygons

A polygon outlines the shape of an object on the map. It is both a fundamental component and initial process in the creation of a place object.

To create a polygon select 'Edit map' from the menu bar and choose 'Add place'. To add a polygon to an old place or to edit an existing polygon, select 'Menu' > 'Resize outline (polygon)' in the place window. Alternatively, right click the polygon of place object and select 'Resize outline (polygon)' from the context menu.

A polygon must have at least three points (corners) and three sides (edges) to be a manipulable shape. To be useful and accurate as an outline marking a place, points can be dragged by holding down left-click and more points can be added by mousing over an edge and clicking the emergent point. Surplus points can be removed by clicking them and selecting 'Remove'.

You should ensure a polygon only outlines the immediate area of the place you are marking. Never overlap an adjacent area that is not part of the place. For example, you can mark the outline of a building's structure or you could mark the outline of the building's surrounding property, this should always depend on what you are marking. Always ensure a place is marked clearly and accurately so it can be distinguishable as an independent place object.

Satellite/aerial images show places photographed at varying angles because they represent three-dimensional (3D) information. Since Wikimapia's mapping system is two-dimensional (2D), it is recommended you add polygons that are 2D in nature. This means you should "orthorectify" or mark a place's 2D footprint where it converges with the object's nadir (base) on the ground level or data plane which serves as the "canvas" for displaying visual mapping information. Avoid marking 3D elements of the obliquely photographed object such as the perspective projection of its sides and summit. This is especially important when plotting out tall buildings, like skyscrapers, where the visible perspective of its sides in a photograph might be very pronounced.

Titles

The title is the name identified with a place object. You should always add the officially recognized name of the place you are marking, and if by chance this is not apparent, you may add the most popular or widely used name for the title. Anything which is not part of a place's name should be included in the description section instead.

Titles should be written clearly, without errors, according to national language rules. Titles should be written in one language which corresponds to chosen a language page.

For languages which use case distinction, titles should be begin with a capital letter but must not end with a full stop or period (e.g. London). In some languages of name should have quotation mark.

To add a title, select 'Menu' > 'Edit this page' in the place window. You should add the official name in the 'Title' text entry box.

Descriptions

A description is an important cornerstone of a place object in Wikimapia because it conveys a place's history, uniqueness or strangeness through words. Descriptions don't have to be detailed but they must be descriptive; two or three lines of trivia is more useful to a visitor than an empty place window. Remember, only factual information relating to the place object marked is allowed.

To add a description, select 'Menu' > 'Edit this page' in the place window. You can add information about the place object in the 'Description' text entry box.

Street/Addresses

Street/addresses is a special feature which links a place object with a road object. Therefore, both object types will share a common association much like the address of a building with its street. Road objects linked to place objects can be viewed in the place object's window and place objects linked to road objects can be viewed in the road object's window.

To add a street/address, select 'Menu' > 'Edit this page' in the place window. In the edit window, click on 'Address' under the description. A new section will appear where you can add a street name and a building number. To link an existing road object, enter the first few characters of its name in the 'Street' text entry box. A list of road objects with similar characters will be presented in the drop-down list. Choose your street from this list or if it is not available, add its name (you can add the road object later). If your place object has a building number, add it in the 'Building number' text entry box.

You can view the addresses of all place objects linked to a specific road object by clicking on the street name in the place object window.

Building checkbox

As Wikimapia is a mapping website, it is important to distinguish different object types on the map. One of the most crucial aspects of a good map is to differentiate buildings from non-buildings. If the place you are marking is a building then you should check the building check box in the edit window.

To mark a place object as a building, select 'Menu' > 'Edit this page' and click 'Building' under the description section. In the new section, check the check box next to the 'This place is a building' label. Place objects which are buildings will be identified with a 'This place is a building' label under the description section in the place window. In addition, the place object's polygon will be rendered with a darker grey shade, which is only viewable in the 'Map view'.

For place objects which are not buildings (e.g. parks, lakes, external grounds etc.) ensure the building check box is not checked, otherwise the entire polygon will be incorrectly rendered as a building and will conceal actual place object buildings within it in the 'Map view'.

Categories

Categories are labels that classify place objects according to their place type or function. A place object must have at least one category and this is especially necessary when searching for specific place objects via the category search tool. Categories also enrich place objects visually by displaying icons and/or different polygon colours. The latter can only be viewed in the 'Map view'.

To add a category, select 'Menu' > 'Edit this page' and choose 'add category' in the category section. Select the most appropriate category from the list or if it is not available, enter the name of your desired category in the 'Search categories' text entry box. A list of categories will appear depending on the characters you enter.

There are two important points to remember, never use two or more categories as combinations to indicate one category, and only the most appropriate category that best describes the immediate function of your place object should be used. Secondly, do not add extra categories for secondary places/services found within your place object if they can be marked as place objects themselves. This restriction also applies to adding categories for products/services; only categorize the place marked, not something found within it.

Photos

Photos are an integral part of describing a geographic location and this is apparent in sites like Flickr and Panoramio and applications such as Google Earth and Picasa. Wikimapia enables you to enjoy photos of places by allowing you to add them to their respective objects.

To add a photo, click 'Menu' > 'Add/manage photos' in the window. You can upload an image from your computer or you can add the URL of an image hosted on another website. Please note that photos must be related to the object and you cannot submit copyrighted material.

To add a photo to street, it is necessary to open the description of object which has the address with this street, and to click the road name. Click 'Menu' > 'Add/manage photos' in the window.

Comments

The comments section, which is available in all Wikimapia objects, allows you to make a comment or add an opinion about the tagged object. Comments which are political, critical, evaluative or express opinions are acceptable if they do not breach site policy. This is the only place where you can state an opinion which does not belong in the place object's article because it is outside the scope of Wikimapia's Neutral Point of View policy.

These are comment types which are not permissible:

• Offensive comments (e.g. racist, sexist, discriminatory, negative comments attacking freedom and rights etc.)
• Comments revealing personal data or invading privacy
• Comments with harmful or pornographic links
• Chat (comment exchanges) and comments completely unrelated to the tagged object

To add a comment, enter your text in the comment text entry box at the bottom of an object's window and click 'Send'. Unregistered users shall be prompted to add a commentator name in the 'Your name' text entry box. You must also keep in mind that if you choose a derogatory commenter's name, despite the nature of the comment is fair the comment will still be removed by the Advanced Users.

The comment guidelines can be found here.

Nested places

Nested places is a term used for place objects marked within place object buildings. This feature should be used for office units, apartments and tenant units which are found inside buildings. A host place object is known as a 'parent' and a place object marked inside it is known as a 'child'. Please note that only 'parent' place objects with the building check box checked can contain nested places ('child' place objects).

To add a nested place, open the window of the 'parent' place object and select 'Add place (company, shop, etc.) to this building'. From the child edit window, you can choose to add a new 'child' place object (called embedding) or you can add an existing place object as a 'child' (called binding).

To add or embed a new place object, simply fill out its details in the text entry boxes of the child edit window, much like the process for a standard place object.

To add or bind an existing place object, select 'Click to add existing place to this place' in the child edit window. Select your desired place object from the drop down list and click 'Bind'.

Child place objects will appear in a nested list in the 'parent' place object's window.

History

The history shows all edits made to an object since it was created. Each saved edit is known as a revision, and each revision is stored as a version number with a brief overview of the editor's name, edits made and date of edits in the history.

To access an object's history select 'Menu' > 'History' in the object's window.

Deleting Places

Some place objects in Wikimapia are not satisfactory because they do not contain useful or interesting information. Then there are other place objects which do not describe places or are offensive, defamatory or hurtful in nature. If you encounter place objects like these, you should always attempt to correct them first. If they cannot be corrected, and they meet the deletion criteria of the Wikimapia Guidelines, they should be deleted.

To delete a place object, select 'Menu' > 'Delete place' in the place object's window. You will be prompted to choose a deletion reason; it is important to note that you are obligated to confirm deletion only for the reason chosen. The place object will enter a deletion period, after which it shall be deleted. The duration of the deletion period varies and depends on your user level.

Remember, only delete a place object if it cannot be reclaimed into something acceptable. The wilful deletion of a good place object is forbidden.

Undeleting/Place restoration

If you think if a tag has been wrongfully been deleted, you can restore the tag by undeleting it. You'd first need to select 'Deleted places' option from the Map type menu, the Map type menu is situated at the top-left of the screen, when you click on the Map type menu a drop down list will appear. The 'Deleted places' option will appear on the tenth row, select it and deleted places will start to appear on the map in square boxes.

When you find the tag which has been deleted, click on the tag and hover the mouse arrow on the 'Menu' text and it will show a drop down menu. When you see the text 'Undelete; click on it and it will give you the option to write a brief explanation as to why the tag was wrongfully deleted, but this is optional. It is recommended however to write one as to clear up any misunderstandings, then you can go ahead by pressing the 'Undelete place' button which is situated at the bottom left of the tag. It takes about 2-3 minutes for a tag to be restored on the map.

Languages

As a website handling global mapping data, it is understandable and inevitable Wikimapia has drawn large worldwide interest. With this in mind, Wikimapia provides a multilingual interface for visitors fluent in different languages. Visitors can enjoy reading object articles from every corner of the world in their own native language without having to worry about foreign language barriers.

There are two ways to add a language to a place object. Firstly, you can select 'Menu' > 'Add another language' in a place window, or you can select 'edit info in other language >>' in a place object's edit window. Choose your desired language from the list of over a hundred choices available and proceed to add your language as normal.

To read a place object article in another language, simply click the blue country code at the bottom of a place window. If a desired language is not available, this means the place object has not been translated yet.

Wikipedia link

If your new place has a Wikipedia entry, it goes here. If your new place does not have a Wikipedia® entry, don't invent one just so you can put it in this field. This field is optional. When the place has a valid Wikipedia® page in that language with an appropriate title, update the Wikimapia title so that the Wikipedia® entry and the Wikimapia entry are the same.

Protect

If a place object has been the target of vandalism (e.g. a genuine article is repeatedly placed for unjustified deletion), you can request its protection by contacting an Advanced User. You can request protection in this forum topic or you can contact an Advanced User directly through PM. Only advanced users can enable protection on place objects.