Published: Oct 5, 2025 | Edited: Oct 5, 2025### Introduction
Communications across various Waze platforms (Wazeopedia, Forum, Chat, WME) are managed based on principles of civility and respect for all Waze users.
Anyone who violates these points may be advised to undergo mentorship. Any refusal to receive mentorship or repeated violations will result in being banned from the system for a period of time appropriate to the situation, as defined by the Waze Team, forum administrators, Global Champions, or Local Champions of your country. Anyone who continues to violate these points after said period may be subject to a permanent ban from the system.
If you believe a Waze user or Map Editor is violating any of these etiquette points, please send a private message to a Global Champion or Local Champion in your country. Explain the situation, and the Global/Local Champion will consider the best course of action.
General Guidelines
(Forum, Chat, WME)
- Follow the Waze Community Communications Guidelines.
- Assume good faith. Editors are here to collaborate and improve Waze for everyone.
- Be civil, polite, and avoid offensive language.
- Although it can be understandably difficult in a heated discussion, if other Editors are not as civil as you would like, be more civil, not less. This way, at least you are not moving toward open conflict and insults.
- Be courteous.
- Forgive and forget.
- Remember the golden rule: treat others as you would like to be treated — even if they are less experienced. We were all less experienced once.
- Remember that raw text can be ambiguous and often appear ruder than the same words coming from a person standing in front of you. Irony is not always obvious when written. Remember that text does not convey facial expressions, vocal inflection, or body language. Be careful when choosing the words you write: what you mean may not be what others understand. Similarly, be careful with how you interpret what you read: what you understand may not be what others mean.
- Work toward reaching an agreement.
- Discuss facts, not personalities.
- Do not make misrepresentations.
- Do not ignore reasonable questions.
- Agree to concede points to the other party when you have no answer for the situation under discussion, or admit when you disagree.
- Do not hesitate to politely inform others if you do not feel comfortable with their tone.
- Be prepared to apologize. In heated discussions, we often say things we later wish we hadn’t.
- Recognize your own biases and keep them in check.
- Give praise where it is due. Everyone likes to feel valued, especially in an environment that often requires compromise.
- Help mediate disagreements between other Editors.
- If you are arguing, take a break. If you are mediating, recommend a break.
- Take it easy. If you are angry, step away from the forums instead of posting or editing. Come back after a day or a week. You might find that someone else has made the desired change or comment for you. If you feel mediation is necessary, ask someone for help.
- Remember that you are dealing with people. They have feelings. Try to treat others with dignity. The world is a big place with different cultures and conventions. Do not use jargon that others might not understand. Use acronyms carefully and clarify them if there is any possibility of doubt.
- The Waze community includes speakers of languages from all over the world, so remember that proficiency in various languages varies and there may be misunderstandings in both directions.
Wazeopedia Changes
- Any controversial change or change to mapping guidelines must be discussed on the forum before being published on Wazeopedia. Once consensus is reached, the change can be made. If a change is made without following these guidelines, it should be reverted until approved through this process.
- Wazeopedia content must not contain words or language that could be considered degrading, demeaning, condescending, or otherwise uncivil.
- All forum discussions and private messages regarding edits and changes must be conducted in a civil and non-confrontational manner. Words can be misinterpreted, so always assume good faith and true purpose before assuming otherwise.
- Wazeopedia pages often contain guidelines and information for other users and Editors. Ensure you identify information that may be speculation or inference. Avoid opinions without evidence. Avoid discussions about desired operations, which should be carried out only in the appropriate forums.
- Do not address topics on Wazeopedia without first discussing them on the forum.
- Do not create pages outside the scope of Wazeopedia or other Waze products.
- Before creating a new page on Wazeopedia, consider creating a test page and then sharing the content on the forum for evaluation.
- If another Editor makes a recommendation regarding a change you made to Wazeopedia, at least consider the suggestion. It is possible their experience exceeds yours, or perhaps not. When a doubt cannot be resolved, take the matter to the forum for further discussion and to get other opinions.
- Do not delete all or part of the content of a Wazeopedia page that you did not create without discussing the matter on the forum or with the original creator of the page.
- Any Editor who continues to violate any of these etiquette recommendations will be subject to being banned from editing Wazeopedia.
Posting Guidelines
- Read messages on Discuss before posting.
- Do not double-post: posting immediately after your last post (with no one in between) is highly discouraged, unless the new post includes new or different information not previously identified. Consecutive posts with a 24-hour interval are acceptable if you are indicating that a short-term issue is still occurring, but this should not be done for known long-term issues.
- Do not bump in a period of less than 24 hours: this is defined as posting nothing of value in a thread just to bring it back to the top of the recent messages list. If you were the last to post before bumping a thread, it is considered double-posting.
- Do not hijack threads: if you have a thought that is very different from the topic of the thread you are about to reply to, consider starting a new thread instead of replying to the one you were in at the time.
- DO NOT SHOUT: defined as using all capital letters in a post.
- It is better not to necro-post: if you find an old thread and want to discuss it, consider starting a new thread and including a link to the old thread in your post, along with your question, comment, or related topic.
Advice from Senior Editors
Waze is designed around an open editing community with Editors of different rank levels. Senior Editors (with more experience, knowledge, etc.) will have a higher rank level than beginner and intermediate Editors. Senior Editors (Levels 5 and 6) are there to assist and guide all other Editors.
Disrespecting any Editor is a violation of general etiquette, including Senior Editors. Instructions from Senior Editors should be followed unless they conflict with this page or any editing guidelines found in the Wazeopedia of the country where the edits are being made. Senior Editors with Champion or Mentor status receive this status from the Waze Team after significant contributions to the Waze community and peer review.Senior Editors must also remember that their higher hierarchy levels bring greater responsibilities. A senior Editor’s failure to lead by example and to follow Wazeopedia guidelines and the consensus of other senior Editors will also be considered a violation of Waze etiquette and will be handled accordingly.
If you have any questions or issues, feel free to send a private message to one of the Global Champions or Local Champions in your country. Senior Editors are committed to helping resolve issues as quickly and confidentially as possible.
The following list of actions is considered a violation of general map integrity or general Waze etiquette and is subject to the disciplinary measures discussed above. This is not an exhaustive list:
| Action | Comments |
|---|---|
| Any intentional damage to the map | This will not be tolerated in any way |
| Deleting roads without reason | This is considered intentional damage |
| Deleting and redrawing roads | Opt first to modify the current road to preserve the underlying metadata associated with the segments, unless the new road is truly different |
| Drawing excessive parking lot roads | There are clear guidelines on this type of editing in Wazeopedia |
| Creating roads that overlap existing roads | This creates routing nightmares |
| Disrespecting higher-level Editors who are trying to help another Editor | Violates basic etiquette guidelines |
| Intentionally misleading other Editors | Violates basic etiquette guidelines |
| Not cleaning up your “messes” | This is considered disrespectful |
| Not responding to private messages | This is considered disrespectful |