Since we don’t really have any guidelines on how to create, manage and maintain Places for Australia, I’ve decided to create a little write up of basic considerations when creating/editing Places.
All segments and Places need to comply with the Waze editing philosophy from Wazeopedia, only add places that are relevant to Waze’s function as a navigation app - that is, possible destinations, or features that aid orientation. Other types of places aren’t in line with the Waze map editing goal of SIMPLICITY.
If you decide you want to create a Place in the editor, the best way to ensure it doesn’t need constant maintenance, is to do it right the first time. Fill in all the information you possibly can, don’t just add Places to the map because it’s there.
At a bare minimum, your created Place needs to have:
- Title/Name
- Relevant Category
And a best effort for the following information: (be aware some fields may not need filling in, depending on the type of Place)
- Address
- Short, Accurate and Unbiased description
By this I mean no opinions on a particular Place, stick to the facts or don’t add Places at all. - Entry point (this aids more in Area Place navigation to ensure the route goes to the correct street.
- Appropriate Lock Level (more on this below).
- Appropriate use of Area/Point Places
Most Places should be a Point Place. The exceptions are water bodies, parks, relevant places that can be used at a glance to orient the driver, and Places that should be shown on the map (petrol stations). See When to use Area/Point - Website and/or Phone (if available)
Do NOT use Facebook, even if it’s the company’s official Facebook page. You must use a website that belongs directly to the business owner, not any third party hosting site.
Check that the website doesn’t prohibit linking without permission. Their Terms & Conditions page will usually include any restrictions. Australia Post, for example, requires a formal approval process. - Accurate Services (some checkboxes may not apply to a certain type of place)
- Opening hours (if set, not variable)
A few extra notes:
- Don’t stretch Area Places so that they intersect with road segments, they should come a little bit back from the road, as this avoids problems with editing geometry.
- If possible, add an external provider. This not only assists with making sure the place is in the correct spot, it also allows us to link that place to the Google Result.
Locking
Lock levels need to take a few factors into consideration:
- Complexity of Place, be it in geometry or data
- Integrity of any linked data, external providers or petrol data.
- Completion
At an absolute max for standard places lock level not under Vandalism or any special circumstances, the lock should be 3.
Examples:
Petrol station with all data filled out and complete, L3.
Petrol station with name and minimal info, L2.
Park in the suburbs, with no data, L1
Park with all relevant data added and nothing left to add, L2.
Sydney Harbour (complex geometrical shape, necessary for orientation on Waze map), L3.
If the above guidance does not cover your query, please refer to the Global Place guidance.
I am open to any suggestions on different wording or amendments to the guide as it stands. Thanks all!
