CLOSED: New points system (comments welcome)

[sketch]

I don't have any particular axe to grind on points or rights - everyone's use will be different and the system will always be a compromise for all concerned. I do have one observation, however.

In my area we have people plonking new roads into the system but, for whatever reason, not completing the associated editing tasks i.e. we get a lot of new 'completed' roads but they aren't joined together.

Now, I'm quite happy to follow along behind them and tidy up the map, create intersections, delete all the unused odds and ends of roads but without a suitable editing range outside my driven area (or area manager rights, I guess) I'm unable to do so. The fact that they will then get the majority of the points for the task also makes it a little thankless in my view. Editing the map takes a different skill-set from driving the roads and it appears that not everyone has those skills in abundance!

Driving round the area just to gain map editing rights isn't really feasible but I'll do it soon just to get rid of the displayed errors, I'd just like to suggest that a little more weighting on the edits might be appropriate in these cases.

You sound like the kind of user that would make a good area manager. Shoot an email to alpha@waze.com and they'll be quite accommodating (if you're interested)!

[NexNecis]

In my area we have people plonking new roads into the system but, for whatever reason, not completing the associated editing tasks i.e. we get a lot of new 'completed' roads but they aren't joined together.

Whenever I create a new road the client says that it will send me an email w/ a link to edit the new road. I never get any kind of notice in my email. I still edit my new roads but if other people aren't getting notices then they might forget or not even know that they can edit it.

I wish I could name the new road through the client while I'm staring at the street sign... my memory is hit & miss.

[kwed]

That is a great idea.
Possibly add a comment box after recording a new road(s) where you can type the name(s) of the road(s) you drove.

[Feathers44]

Actually, after the last 12 hours experience I'm getting pretty hacked off with the whole experience.

First, the server seems to have dumped a pretty major detour I made last night - all for the sake of waze - and second, people continue to dump unusable roads across the map and then leave them there for others to tidy up. Please press the 'Map Problems' button once you've laid a road and connect all the broken bits you've left behind!

I'm pretty much fed up with the whole thing at this point. Maybe I'm just expecting too much of people.

[cobra]

I wish I could name the new road through the client while I'm staring at the street sign... my memory is hit & miss.

I often enter map problem reports at the location I record new roads with the road name. That way when you go to edit the names will be right there in the database and you can close the trouble reports as you finish off the new roads in the editor.

[robin1979]

Actually, after the last 12 hours experience I'm getting pretty hacked off with the whole experience.

First, the server seems to have dumped a pretty major detour I made last night - all for the sake of waze - and second, people continue to dump unusable roads across the map and then leave them there for others to tidy up. Please press the 'Map Problems' button once you've laid a road and connect all the broken bits you've left behind!

I'm pretty much fed up with the whole thing at this point. Maybe I'm just expecting too much of people.

I can only say there was a stage I felt this way, users all putting red lines on the map creating a big mess. We're now 3 months or so after this, and the situation has become so much better. Less red lines on the routes (probably because most clients have recent tiles now), and more and more people editing (even it's just a couple of roads they drove). It's a bit of a chicken and egg problem, but as more users discover it, you will get editors. Hang in there! BTW: we opted to map the freeways to a decent level first, that might be the best way to go. Don't bother with all the small local roads right now, it's too much of a hassle for what it's worth.

For the server dumping/losing routes there's no excuse, this really needs to be resolved. It hasn't happened for me in a long time, knock on wood, but I remember how frustrating it was when I drove out just to see my roads not coming in Cartouche (and even now, when they always pop up, I'm not feeling like going out there, just because i might lose them).

[sketch]

Actually, after the last 12 hours experience I'm getting pretty hacked off with the whole experience.

First, the server seems to have dumped a pretty major detour I made last night - all for the sake of waze - and second, people continue to dump unusable roads across the map and then leave them there for others to tidy up. Please press the 'Map Problems' button once you've laid a road and connect all the broken bits you've left behind!

I'm pretty much fed up with the whole thing at this point. Maybe I'm just expecting too much of people.

I know what you mean, I drove around a neighbourhood for about an hour just for waze once, and the route never showed. This is a rare problem, though, and it certainly isn't the norm. To be safe, I have been making sure not to close the app when it says there is no network connectivity, and if the connectivity is shaky, I will reopen the app (because one that's there and one that's not is better than one big one that never shows up) as a precautionary measure.

Don't get too disheartened, though. I've made a lot of good routes since then; it seems to have been a fluke.

[robin1979]

I know what you mean, I drove around a neighbourhood for about an hour just for waze once, and the route never showed. This is a rare problem, though, and it certainly isn't the norm.

I beg to differ

[sketch]

I know what you mean, I drove around a neighbourhood for about an hour just for waze once, and the route never showed. This is a rare problem, though, and it certainly isn't the norm.

I beg to differ

You might be right... I have been paying less attention to routes recently--finals week and all that, you know--especially the routes I do every day. When I drive long trips or drive simply for wazing, I check them, and while most of them show I've had one or two disappear.

I know one of them was due to a poor network connection on the way--the network was overcrowded where I was driving and I had poor signal for most of the trip. Could be at least partially that, as opposed to the server dropping routes, the client does not handle poor network conditions well.

[Wekkel]

I had a bad week in terms of lost routes. Keeps my body in shape (do most of the local routing by bicycle)

Bottom line, the client is not always responsible for bad reception; that could be a local thing.

However, it is a waste to throw away good GPS logs of routes. Just like error reports, this data could be cached and send to the server upon the connection being restored/renewed. The client should have a hidden/automatic procedure for that.

Furthermore, it could be helpful if the client provides for an option to retry connection to network manually. In several occasions, the network was gone forever but was A-OK the moment I restarted Waze.