About Wikimapia

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{{Languages|About_Wikimapia}}
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{{Navbox user guide}}
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== What is Wikimapia ==
 
== What is Wikimapia ==
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WikiMapia is a privately owned, online map and satellite imaging resource that combines Google Maps with a wiki system, allowing users to add information, in the form of a note, to any location on Earth.
+
WikiMapia is an open-content collaborative mapping project, aimed at marking all geographical objects in the world and providing a useful description of them. It combines an interactive web map with a wiki system. Both registered users and guests have already marked over 20,000,000 objects and this number grows every day. Currently over 1,500,000 people have joined the Wikimapia community. All content added by users is available to re-use under Creative Commons license Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0.
  
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== Wikimapia goal ==
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== Wikimapia's Philosophy ==
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'''Wikimapia is an editable interactive map. The goal of Wikimapia is to create and maintain a free, complete, multilingual, up-to-date map of the whole world. Wikimapia intends to contain detailed information about every place on Earth.'''
+
Wikimapia is an editable, interactive map which provides open-content data through collaborative efforts. The goal of Wikimapia is to create and maintain a free, complete, multilingual and up-to-date map of the whole world by compiling as much useful information about all geographical objects as possible whilst enabling free access to our data for public domain. Wikimapia intends to contain detailed information about every place on Earth.<br>
  
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== Philosophy ==
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Wikimapia is a place where anyone can create place tags and share their knowledge. It should be plain and simple so that anyone without prior experience with maps can easily access interesting descriptions.<br>
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=== NPOV ===
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A '''neutral point of view''' (or "'''NPOV'''") is ''paramount'' to any description of a place in Wikimapia. Places that are not neutrally described, and does not provide a resource when information is challenged, may be [[Editing Places|edited]] or even [[Deletion|deleted]]. The reasons for this are clear: no two people may agree on their feelings and emotions for a place, and therefore editing the places may become a repetitive cycle that strains the resources of Wikimapia as well as the patience and goodwill of the Wikimapia community.
+
  
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A NPOV is not always possible in the physical world in which we live in, as there are many internal and external forces that affect our opinions and the way we perceive truth. Yet, in the world of cyberspace, and more namely, within the confines of Wikimapia, it is unfair and unproductive to provide a slanted or skewed view of places when describing them to others.
+
One of the main characteristics of Wikimapia is that it's constantly changing; striving to be correct and up-to-date through all information sources available to it.
  
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----
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=== Principles ===
 +
Wikimapia's contributors come from many different countries and cultures. We have many different views, perspectives, opinions, and backgrounds, sometimes varying widely. Treating others with respect is the key to collaborating effectively in creating a free, complete, multilingual, up-to-date map of the whole world.
  
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'''What NPOV is not'''
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'''Principles of Wikimapia:'''
  
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Since Wikimapia's maps and the information contained therein, are not a forum for discussion, places added must be done so with extra care. This is especially true of places that are sensitive and controversial in nature. Therefore, brevity is sometimes preferable over verbose information because the temptation to pad out descriptions with opinions and promotions of personal interest is lessened. Typical verbiage to be avoided include:
+
* Share your knowledge
 +
* Assume good faith
 +
* Be civil
 +
* Be polite
 +
* Do not ignore questions
 +
* Do not make misrepresentations
 +
* Do not enforce non-existent rules
 +
* Work towards agreements
 +
* Recognize your own biases, and keep them in check
 +
* Argue facts, not personalities
 +
* If another disagrees with your edit, provide good reasons why you think that it is appropriate
 +
* Concede a point when you have no response to it, or admit when you disagree based on intuition or taste
 +
* Be prepared to apologize. In animated discussions, we often say things we later wish we had not. Say so!
 +
* Forgive and forget
 +
 
 +
(''more to come...'')
 +
 
 +
=== Neutral point of view ===
 +
A '''neutral point of view''' (or "'''NPOV'''") is ''paramount'' to any description of a place in Wikimapia. Places that are not neutrally described, and do not provide a neutral source of information if challenged, may be [[Tools#Editing_places|edited]] or even [[Deletion|deleted]]. The reasons for this are clear: any two people may not agree on their feelings and emotions about a place, and therefore editing the places may become a repetitive cycle that strains the resources of Wikimapia as well as the patience and goodwill of the Wikimapia community.
 +
 
 +
A NPOV is not always possible in the physical world in which we live, as there are many internal and external forces that affect our opinions and the way we perceive truth as individuals. Yet, in the world of cyberspace, and more specifically, within the confines of Wikimapia, it is unfair and unproductive to provide a slanted or skewed view of places when describing them to others.
 +
 
 +
===What NPOV is not===
 +
 
 +
Since Wikimapia's maps and the information contained therein, are not a forum for discussion, places must be added with extra care. This is especially true of places that are sensitive and controversial in nature. Therefore, brevity is sometimes preferable over verbose information because the temptation to pad out descriptions with opinions and promotions of personal interest is lessened. Typical verbiage to be avoided includes:
 
* Feelings, opinions, experiences. Words which display a personal bias or agenda
 
* Feelings, opinions, experiences. Words which display a personal bias or agenda
 
* Politics
 
* Politics
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===Advertising===
 
===Advertising===
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====I own a business. Can I tag it?====
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Wikimapia only allows advertising through its [http://wikimapia.org/ads Ad] service. Advertising made through any of Wikimapia's other services (i.e. map tools, object comments section, forum etc.) is forbidden. This means that you cannot use non-Ad services for commercial, self-promotional or propaganda purposes.
 +
 
 +
We understand that it can be tempting to tag your projects, company or business, and we do not forbid you to do that, but please remember that a neutral point of view is essential to any description of a place in Wikimapia. In other words, no one will mind seeing factual information about your business eg. company name, address, what you do or sell, how long has the company existed, a link to its website etc.
 +
 
 +
For promotional opportunities please use Wikimapia Ads instead.
 +
 
 +
==Policies==
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 +
=== Wikimapia Guidelines ===
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The [http://wikimapia.org/user/tools/guidelines/ Wikimapia Guidelines] are actually the '''official rules''' for Wikimapia and should be adhered to strictly and regarded as the official regulations which supplement the Terms of Reference.
 +
 
 +
===Terms of Reference ===
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The [http://wikimapia.org/terms_reference.html Terms of Reference] set out the contractual terms which one must agree to abide by in order to use Wikimapia and its services. It also covers the Terms of Use, Copyright Notice and Privacy Notice in greater detail.
 +
 
 +
=== Forum Guidelines ===
 +
''Main article: [[Forum Guidelines]]''
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 +
The [http://wikimapia.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=12217 Forum guidelines] are a set of community rules which must be adhered to by users participating in Wikimapia's [http://wikimapia.org/forum/index.php forum] discussions.
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=== Photo policies ===
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''Main article: [[Photos]]''
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 +
A photo (or photos, photograph(s)) are images that assist in describing places in Wikimapia that words cannot accurately express. We encourage you to upload photos that will help describe places, and make Wikimapia tags even more worthwhile and interesting. However, we do have some rules, mainly because Wikimapia does not wish to, nor allow its users to violate copyrights; nor should photographs and images be used to bypass Wikimapia's philosophy of [[Neutral Point of View]].
 +
 
 +
You are free to '''upload''' any photo you took yourself. If you want to contribute a photo you found on the web, however, you must first determine whether it is protected by copyright. If the website you got the photo from states that their content is copyrighted, you must gain permission to use that photo, or follow their usage guidelines. Once you have uploaded a photo you grant Wikimapia license to use and distribute it according to the Wikimapia Terms of Reference.
 +
 
 +
Personal photos (in close up) which do not show an object clearly or are taken elsewhere, images hurtful to someone's feelings, pictures inciting national, religious or political discord, pornographic images, pictures advertising goods or services as well as images that are not relevant to the place itself should be '''deleted'''. For further clarification please see [[Photos]].
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=== Comments deletion policies ===
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''Main article: [[Comment Guidelines]]''
  
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Yes, you can score. You can give factual information: company name, address, what you do or sell, how long has the company, a link to its website, that sort of thing. You should not include promotional material ("the best in town", "good prices", prices in general ...), that would '''be considered propaganda'''. On the other hand, you can say: "See my website for availability and prices."
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Comments which do not comply with Wikimapia's guidelines will be removed by the Advanced Users or by the Wikimapia Team. If you find comments which may be controversial, please refer to the comment guidelines. If you find comments which breach comment guidelines, please report them for removal in this [http://wikimapia.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1258 thread] of the Wikimapia forum, providing a link to the place where you found the inappropriate comments.
  
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For commercial buildings, shopping malls, complexes, etc., where there are several companies in the same building, there would be a mess if everyone create their own bookmarks. In this case there should be only one tag for the building, and if you want to mark your company, leave a comment in the markup of the building.
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=== Restrictions/banning policies ===
−
====What is the policy on advertising land for sale?====
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<!-- Document under construction. The articles published herein are subject to discussion. Therefore, the publication of ideas are still to be considered unofficial until A) a consensus is reached between advanced users and B) a final draft is approved by the Wikimapia administration. -->
 +
Restrictions and banning policies are applicable to users who infringe Wikimapia's policies. For the purpose of simplicity, a user who commits violations shall be called an infringer.
  
−
== Advices for new users ==
+
Banning is the act of restricting an infringer's account, and therefore the privileges it offers, by [[Advanced Users]] and [[Wikimapia Administrators]]. Although, Wikimapia Administrators reserve the right to ban any user, Advanced Users can only ban an infringer as per the ban reasons listed under section 4. of the Wikimapia Guidelines.
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# Read this User's Guide. You do not need to memorize it, but you'll see how it helps to know what topics are covered here.
+
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# Add local places, as many as you want, but they must be accurate, useful and organized. Remember that the number of places created is not really important, then more and more places should not be your goal. It is '''MUCH''' more important that you create local places (tags) with '''QUALITY''': Places that will be of interest to others, that will help people learn about the world.
+
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#Read the [http://wikimapia.org/terms_reference.html Terms of Service], especially the part in bold letters. Some of the more relevant parts are section 1.B.b where you agree that you have the written consent of every identifiable person you mention ('''so do not add the homes of their friends and neighbors'''), and section 1.B.c where you agree to not submit falsehoods, obscene, copyrighted or advertising material, for example. The list is longer than that, so have a look at the original, please.
+
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#Familiarise yourself with the [http://wikimapia.org/special_pages/guidelines/ Guidelines].
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#Edit the created local that you own and those of others, if you know that they need fixing.
+
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#Create places, as many as you wish, but they should be correct, useful and non-cluttering. Remember that the number of places you create isn't really important, so creating many, many places should not be your goal.
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#Think twice before you edit or delete a particular location that someone else created.
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#Give short and succinct descriptions of places.
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#Do not advertise, Wikimapia is a geographical website and not a shopping guide.
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#Be patient, be good, and be co-operative with other Wikimapia users.
+
−
#Avoid bad words. Do not defame anyone.
+
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#Visit the [http://wikimapia.org/forum/index.php forum] and get familiar with the topics discussed there, the problems and their solutions. Participate in the discussions. When in doubt, ask the more experienced users in the forum.
+
  
−
'''Remember:''' you are representing yourself, your family, your community and your country. Try to give a good impression on them all.
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The Restrictions/banning policy comprises of four core modules:
 +
* Wikimapia Guidelines
 +
* Terms of Reference
 +
* Banning Guidelines
 +
* Ban Moderation
  
−
== Etiquette ==
+
==== Banning Guidelines ====
−
'''Wikimapia's contributors come from many different countries and cultures. We have many different views, perspectives, opinions, and backgrounds, sometimes varying widely. Treating others with respect is the key to collaborating effectively in creating a free, complete, multilingual, up-to-date map of the whole world.'''
+
The [[Banning Guidelines]] are provided by the Wikimapia Administration to guide Advanced Users on the process of determining and banning an infringer.  
  
−
'''Principles of Wikimapia etiquette:'''
+
===== Ban Moderation =====
 +
[[Ban_Moderation|Ban Moderation]] is a supplementary guide for AUs on the process of banning.
  
−
* Assume good faith.
+
=== Interpretation ===
−
* Be civil.
+
Please note, the meaning of policies and rules should be read literally (i.e. as written) and '''not''' subjectively (i.e. what the reader believes is intended). That said, however, there is no sure way to apply an absolute definition to the words of any regulation or requirement and so there will always be a margin for interpretation involved. In situations where you are unsure about a correct or acceptable interpretation or construction, you should:
−
* Be polite.  
+
*use sound judgment
−
* Work towards agreement.
+
*discuss the point with Advanced Users
−
* Argue facts, not personalities.
+
*contact the Wikimapia Administration
−
* Do not make misrepresentations.
+
{{Back to Main Page}}
−
* Do not ignore questions.
+
−
* If another disagrees with your edit, provide good reasons why you think that it is appropriate.
+
−
* Concede a point when you have no response to it, or admit when you disagree based on intuition or taste.
+
−
* ''(more to follow)''
+

Latest revision as of 05:33, 18 July 2015

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[edit] What is Wikimapia

WikiMapia is an open-content collaborative mapping project, aimed at marking all geographical objects in the world and providing a useful description of them. It combines an interactive web map with a wiki system. Both registered users and guests have already marked over 20,000,000 objects and this number grows every day. Currently over 1,500,000 people have joined the Wikimapia community. All content added by users is available to re-use under Creative Commons license Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0.

[edit] Wikimapia's Philosophy

Wikimapia is an editable, interactive map which provides open-content data through collaborative efforts. The goal of Wikimapia is to create and maintain a free, complete, multilingual and up-to-date map of the whole world by compiling as much useful information about all geographical objects as possible whilst enabling free access to our data for public domain. Wikimapia intends to contain detailed information about every place on Earth.

Wikimapia is a place where anyone can create place tags and share their knowledge. It should be plain and simple so that anyone without prior experience with maps can easily access interesting descriptions.

One of the main characteristics of Wikimapia is that it's constantly changing; striving to be correct and up-to-date through all information sources available to it.

[edit] Principles

Wikimapia's contributors come from many different countries and cultures. We have many different views, perspectives, opinions, and backgrounds, sometimes varying widely. Treating others with respect is the key to collaborating effectively in creating a free, complete, multilingual, up-to-date map of the whole world.

Principles of Wikimapia:

  • Share your knowledge
  • Assume good faith
  • Be civil
  • Be polite
  • Do not ignore questions
  • Do not make misrepresentations
  • Do not enforce non-existent rules
  • Work towards agreements
  • Recognize your own biases, and keep them in check
  • Argue facts, not personalities
  • If another disagrees with your edit, provide good reasons why you think that it is appropriate
  • Concede a point when you have no response to it, or admit when you disagree based on intuition or taste
  • Be prepared to apologize. In animated discussions, we often say things we later wish we had not. Say so!
  • Forgive and forget

(more to come...)

[edit] Neutral point of view

A neutral point of view (or "NPOV") is paramount to any description of a place in Wikimapia. Places that are not neutrally described, and do not provide a neutral source of information if challenged, may be edited or even deleted. The reasons for this are clear: any two people may not agree on their feelings and emotions about a place, and therefore editing the places may become a repetitive cycle that strains the resources of Wikimapia as well as the patience and goodwill of the Wikimapia community.

A NPOV is not always possible in the physical world in which we live, as there are many internal and external forces that affect our opinions and the way we perceive truth as individuals. Yet, in the world of cyberspace, and more specifically, within the confines of Wikimapia, it is unfair and unproductive to provide a slanted or skewed view of places when describing them to others.

[edit] What NPOV is not

Since Wikimapia's maps and the information contained therein, are not a forum for discussion, places must be added with extra care. This is especially true of places that are sensitive and controversial in nature. Therefore, brevity is sometimes preferable over verbose information because the temptation to pad out descriptions with opinions and promotions of personal interest is lessened. Typical verbiage to be avoided includes:

  • Feelings, opinions, experiences. Words which display a personal bias or agenda
  • Politics
  • Religion
  • Publicity or advertising.

When in doubt, follow the old saying: If you do not have anything nice to say do not say anything at all. Non-NPOV descriptions shall either be removed or updated to reflect objectivity in compliance with Wikimapia's NPOV policy.

[edit] Advertising

Wikimapia only allows advertising through its Ad service. Advertising made through any of Wikimapia's other services (i.e. map tools, object comments section, forum etc.) is forbidden. This means that you cannot use non-Ad services for commercial, self-promotional or propaganda purposes.

We understand that it can be tempting to tag your projects, company or business, and we do not forbid you to do that, but please remember that a neutral point of view is essential to any description of a place in Wikimapia. In other words, no one will mind seeing factual information about your business eg. company name, address, what you do or sell, how long has the company existed, a link to its website etc.

For promotional opportunities please use Wikimapia Ads instead.

[edit] Policies

[edit] Wikimapia Guidelines

The Wikimapia Guidelines are actually the official rules for Wikimapia and should be adhered to strictly and regarded as the official regulations which supplement the Terms of Reference.

[edit] Terms of Reference

The Terms of Reference set out the contractual terms which one must agree to abide by in order to use Wikimapia and its services. It also covers the Terms of Use, Copyright Notice and Privacy Notice in greater detail.

[edit] Forum Guidelines

Main article: Forum Guidelines

The Forum guidelines are a set of community rules which must be adhered to by users participating in Wikimapia's forum discussions.

[edit] Photo policies

Main article: Photos

A photo (or photos, photograph(s)) are images that assist in describing places in Wikimapia that words cannot accurately express. We encourage you to upload photos that will help describe places, and make Wikimapia tags even more worthwhile and interesting. However, we do have some rules, mainly because Wikimapia does not wish to, nor allow its users to violate copyrights; nor should photographs and images be used to bypass Wikimapia's philosophy of Neutral Point of View.

You are free to upload any photo you took yourself. If you want to contribute a photo you found on the web, however, you must first determine whether it is protected by copyright. If the website you got the photo from states that their content is copyrighted, you must gain permission to use that photo, or follow their usage guidelines. Once you have uploaded a photo you grant Wikimapia license to use and distribute it according to the Wikimapia Terms of Reference.

Personal photos (in close up) which do not show an object clearly or are taken elsewhere, images hurtful to someone's feelings, pictures inciting national, religious or political discord, pornographic images, pictures advertising goods or services as well as images that are not relevant to the place itself should be deleted. For further clarification please see Photos.

[edit] Comments deletion policies

Main article: Comment Guidelines

Comments which do not comply with Wikimapia's guidelines will be removed by the Advanced Users or by the Wikimapia Team. If you find comments which may be controversial, please refer to the comment guidelines. If you find comments which breach comment guidelines, please report them for removal in this thread of the Wikimapia forum, providing a link to the place where you found the inappropriate comments.

[edit] Restrictions/banning policies

Restrictions and banning policies are applicable to users who infringe Wikimapia's policies. For the purpose of simplicity, a user who commits violations shall be called an infringer.

Banning is the act of restricting an infringer's account, and therefore the privileges it offers, by Advanced Users and Wikimapia Administrators. Although, Wikimapia Administrators reserve the right to ban any user, Advanced Users can only ban an infringer as per the ban reasons listed under section 4. of the Wikimapia Guidelines.

The Restrictions/banning policy comprises of four core modules:

  • Wikimapia Guidelines
  • Terms of Reference
  • Banning Guidelines
  • Ban Moderation

[edit] Banning Guidelines

The Banning Guidelines are provided by the Wikimapia Administration to guide Advanced Users on the process of determining and banning an infringer.

[edit] Ban Moderation

Ban Moderation is a supplementary guide for AUs on the process of banning.

[edit] Interpretation

Please note, the meaning of policies and rules should be read literally (i.e. as written) and not subjectively (i.e. what the reader believes is intended). That said, however, there is no sure way to apply an absolute definition to the words of any regulation or requirement and so there will always be a margin for interpretation involved. In situations where you are unsure about a correct or acceptable interpretation or construction, you should:

  • use sound judgment
  • discuss the point with Advanced Users
  • contact the Wikimapia Administration

Back to Main Page

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