Map Maker Best Practices

● *Do not copy* any content from any other sites or maps.

● Also do not add social networking sites in the website field and Photo URL field.

● Map the features in cities that you are familiar with first.

● Switch to the Hybrid view while editing, this will show both the Imagery and any map features that may have already been drawn. Hence you may accurately draw/mark the features as per the satellite imagery and your local knowledge.

● Draw/mark features at the best/highest zoom level possible. This ensures you have accurately captured that specific feature.

● Before drawing a feature, ensure that the feature does not already exist. If it does you can always edit the existing features to make the required changes!

● Draw the city's borders (using Draw a shape tool and the "City/Town/Village" attribute) before you draw features like roads in a city.

● To add a feature(building, mall etc) that has many businesses in it, create the feature first using the Draw a shape tool and the mark the other businesses in the mall as points of interests (POIs) using the Add a point tool. This approach is also appropriate for universities, large office buildings, IT parks that host different companies etc.

● Be judicious when selecting a category for the feature you are drawing and ensure its appropriate.

● Also assign relevant additional categories according to the feature and the type of feature. For example to mark an Italian restaurant, one can use 'Restaurant' category to mark the feature and add 'Restaurants-Italian' to the 'Additional Categories'.

● Check for the relevant popularity before assigning it to the feature, as this needs to be assigned based on the feature in a particular locality but not on the brand. For example, Mcdonalds in an area will have locality-wide popularity, even though the brand is popular world-wide.

● Do not mistake canals, rivers, railways, compound walls or roads for each other. Please refer to this link for assistance/guidance.

● When making changes to a feature, leave a comment supporting the changes made. This will reduce the time taken for the changes to get published.

● Check the features that you have added in My Changes tab regularly, this will help you get feedback from other users and moderators, if any.

● Its easiest and valuable to draw major landmarks, like airports, universities, highways, etc. to allow you and other users to better orient themselves when looking at the imagery of the town of your interest.

● When creating large regions using the Draw a shape tool, avoid creating more than 250 points or nodes for each feature. If it is impossible to create the accurate shape within 250 points, publish the feature with less points, then edit the feature to add more nodes or points. This prevents the feature from showing up as a square, publishes the feature faster with limited time loss and prevents timed out problems.

● If and when you see and partially incorrect or outdated feature, please edit the feature and its attributes or location, rather than deleting and redoing it completely.

● Elaborate the full word instead of using Abbreviations when drawing roads. For example: "Avenue" instead of "Ave" or "Street" instead of "St".

● Please avoid special characters in the name field, special characters in name are allowed only when a particular brand or name of the feature is recognized officially .

● Always capitalize the first letter of each word whenever you mark a feature for consistency.

● Avoid using parenthesis to include two or more names for a feature. Instead, you can add a second name using the steps mentioned:

a. Once you have created a feature, like a road/poitn of interest.

b. Click Edit in the left panel.

c. Fill out the name information.

d. Click Add more names to add additional names.

● Do not add single stretch roads. Instead you can try and add them in individual sections by stopping them at intersections and whenever they take a diversion.

● Please select appropriate Type of Name and Language Type for every feature,as per the script of the name of the feature.

● Also do not add personal information (like names and personal contact numbers) to maps rather you can add the feature with the complete address, the name of the house if any, and some description.