[Page Update] Duplicate cities (changing/merging)

[jushag]

I recently wanted to submit a city merge but could not find the form to submit the change/merge on the Duplicate cities page:

https://wazeopedia.waze.com/wiki/USA/Duplicate_cities#Changing_or_Merging_an_Entire_City_Name

This seems like a good addition to this section of the page. In addition, alluding to the fact some city renames can be done by Country Managers might be a good idea. I’d propose something like the following:

Changing or Merging an Entire City Name

Using mass editing tools to change a city name on all segments is strongly discouraged - mass editing tools can lead to errors and loss of data. Some city renames can be done without the involvement of the regional coordinator and Waze staff. If a city rename is desired, please contact a local State Manager to see if the rename can be done by an editor of rank {{Rank|cityrename}}. If this cannot be done or a merge is requested, the correct procedure is to fill out the [[Forms#Cities_Form|Cities Form]] and follow up with your Regional Coordinator or Assistant Regional Coordinator with the request. The coordinator will then ask Waze to make the correction in their database. A side benefit is any polygon with the old city name will be removed at the same time.

I also mocked it up here:

https://wazeopedia.waze.com/wiki/USA/User:Jushag/CityRename

Thanks for considering it!

[juliansean]

I have seen this in Texas. I like this proposal. Direct and to the point.

Sean

[itzwolf]

Looks good to me.

[anon33958190]

I agree with this

[jushag]

It doesn’t sound like there’s any objection to making this change, so I’m going to go ahead and publish it. Thanks for the feedback!

[subs5]

The proposed wording should be refined for just a duplicate city name change.
If there is a change from one name to a new one then Country Managers+ can make that change for all segments and places. That is by design from WME and not a mass edit so that wording should be tweaked a little.

[jushag]

@subs5

The proposed wording should be refined for just a duplicate city name change.
If there is a change from one name to a new one then Country Managers+ can make that change for all segments and places. That is by design from WME and not a mass edit so that wording should be tweaked a little.

Sure, so this line:

If a city rename is desired, please contact a local State Manager to see if the rename can be done by an editor of rank {{Rank|cityrename}}.

Could be:

To change a city name on all places and segments to a new (never used) city name, please contact a local State Manager to see if the rename can be done by an editor of rank {{Rank|cityrename}}.

Let me know if that’s clear enough and satisfies your concern.

Thanks!

[anon33958190]

How about:

Using mass editing tools to change a city name on all segments is strongly discouraged - mass editing tools can lead to errors and loss of data. Instead, to rename a city to a new name that is not used elsewhere in the state, contact a local State Manager and an editor of rank {{Rank|cityrename}}, who will be able to rename it. To merge or delete a city, or to rename a city to a name that has been used in the state, the correct procedure is to fill out the Cities Form and follow up with your Regional Coordinator(s) with the request. The coordinator will then ask Waze to make the correction in their database. A side benefit is any polygon with the old city name will be removed at the same time.

Also, and I know you’re not working on this section, but I’d like to add some info to city polygon creation and updating and the following section to specify which city polygons are fixed and which ones can change with segment renaming:

City polygon creation and updating
Many of the city polygons were created by Waze separately from segments during the original map import. They were not visible to editors in early versions of WME.
Waze runs a server process regularly that looks for new roads or road segments with changed city names. If the city name is new, a polygon will be created to cover all the segments with the same name. If a polygon with that name exists, it may expand or contract to match the new road locations. Experience has shown that many of the older polygons resist changes and remain the same shape, no matter what city name is applied to the roads. Waze has never explained this. To identify which city polygons are locked (unresponsive to segment changes), look for concave angles, holes and vertices that don’t correspond to nodes. Unlocked or segment-responsive city polygons are always convex and have vertices at nodes, outside which segments do not have the city in their primary names.
City name and polygon removal
Waze runs a server process periodically that removes unlocked city polygons if there are no road segments with that name. Locked polygons are not removed by this process. Also, the old city name can remain on the Live Map, even if the polygon is gone. Your Regional Coordinator can request that Waze remove these polygons and ghost names. The process is the same as changing a city name.

[subs5]

@Kartografer

How about:

Using mass editing tools to change a city name on all segments is strongly discouraged - mass editing tools can lead to errors and loss of data. Instead, to rename a city to a new name that is not used elsewhere in the state, contact a local State Manager and an editor of rank {{Rank|cityrename}}, who will be able to rename it. To merge or delete a city, or to rename a city to a name that has been used in the state, the correct procedure is to fill out the Cities Form and follow up with your Regional Coordinator(s) with the request. The coordinator will then ask Waze to make the correction in their database. A side benefit is any polygon with the old city name will be removed at the same time.

The new wording doesn’t specify that it is all of the old city name to the new name not used in the state and doesn’t cover it is for both road segments and places.

So would "to rename a city to a new name that is not used elsewhere in the state, contact a local State Manager and an editor of rank {{Rank|cityrename}}, who will be able to rename it.
be better as
to rename an entire city to a new name that is not used elsewhere in the state, contact a local State Manager and an editor of rank {{Rank|cityrename}}, who will be able to rename it. This change will affect all existing road segments and places to update to the new city name.

[itzwolf]

@subs5

@Kartografer

How about:

Using mass editing tools to change a city name on all segments is strongly discouraged - mass editing tools can lead to errors and loss of data. Instead, to rename a city to a new name that is not used elsewhere in the state, contact a local State Manager and an editor of rank {{Rank|cityrename}}, who will be able to rename it. To merge or delete a city, or to rename a city to a name that has been used in the state, the correct procedure is to fill out the Cities Form and follow up with your Regional Coordinator(s) with the request. The coordinator will then ask Waze to make the correction in their database. A side benefit is any polygon with the old city name will be removed at the same time.

The new wording doesn’t specify that it is all of the old city name to the new name not used in the state and doesn’t cover it is for both road segments and places.

So would "to rename a city to a new name that is not used elsewhere in the state, contact a local State Manager and an editor of rank {{Rank|cityrename}}, who will be able to rename it.
be better as
to rename an entire city to a new name that is not used elsewhere in the state, contact a local State Manager and an editor of rank {{Rank|cityrename}}, who will be able to rename it. This change will affect all existing road segments and places to update to the new city name.

I think that is a good addition to have as it clarifies the outcome better.

[anon33958190]

Thanks Alan. For some reason I thought that was mentioned elsewhere, but it isn’t. However, wouldn’t merge and delete also affect all segments and places? If so, let’s add your sentence at the end of the paragraph and expand it to

These changes will affect all road segments and places where the city name exists. In the case of a rename, all instances of the former city name will be updated to the new name. In the case of deletion, they will become “no city.”

Let me know if I’m off-base on this.