Adding/editing places

Revision as of 18:53, 28 March 2012

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' from the drop down menu. To add a polygon to an old place or to edit an existing polygon, select 'Menu' in a place object and choose 'Resize outline (polygon)' from the drop down menu. Alternatively, right click the polygon of place object and select 'Resize outline (polygon)' from the menu.

You should only create a polygon that outlines the immediate area of the place you are marking. 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. Don't overlap an adjacent area that is not part of the place you are marking.

Titles

The Title is the name that Wikimapia shows us when we hover over the place. Write something short but meaningful. Remember if a title is too long (more than 45-50 characters) the viewer won't be able to see it all in the title box anyway. Also the longer a title is the closer zoomed in a viewer must be in order to see it displayed within the tag, without having to select the place first. Do not include anything that is NOT part of the place's name. Do not include the name of the country in the place title, especially in parts of the world where the borders may be disputed; this will only invite vandalism. Do not use abbreviations, unless you also write the full name. Most places already have a name, so you don’t have to make one up; just use the name it already has. Please take care to enter the correctly-spelled name.

Descriptions

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' section. 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 it (you can add the road object later). If your place object has a building number, add it in the 'Building number' section.

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

If the place you are marking is a building then you should check the building check box in the edit menu.

To check the building check box, select 'Menu' > 'Edit this page' and click 'Building' under the description section. A new section will appear labelled 'This place is a building' with the check box next to it. Checking this box will ensure the place object's polygon will be rendered with grey shade 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' section. A list of categories will appear depending on the characters you enter.

You should avoid using two or more categories as combinations to indicate one category. Also, you should only add a category which best describes the immediate function of your place object. Do not add extra categories for places/services found within your place object if they can be marked separately.

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 whilst they complement the article visually by allowing you to add them to all Wikimapia 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.

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. This is the only place where you can state an opinion which is outside the scope of Wikimapia's Neutral Point of View and therefore does not belong in the place object's article. Keep in mind that unwelcome, offensive, meaningless, chat between users, and comments unrelated to the tagged object are not permissible.

To add a comment, enter your text in the comment section at the bottom of an object's window and click 'Send'. Unregistered users shall be prompted to add a commentator name.

Nested places

Nested places is a term used for place objects marked within place object buildings. A host place object is known as a 'parent' and a place object marked inside it is known as a 'child'. This feature should be used for office units, apartments and tenant units which are found inside buildings.

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. 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 an acceptable place object. The wilful deletion of an acceptable place object is forbidden.

Languages

Wikipedia link