Newbie Waze client etiquette
Hi,
Relatively new Wazer (although I *have* driven probably 2-3,000 miles with Waze enabled!) with some general questions about proper usage and etiquette when using the client.
1. I was driving along I-70 in IN at a nice clip of 79mph the other day and an alert about a cop popped up, showing the cop about 1,200 feet or so ahead. I started slowing down, and suddenly, I spotted the cop--a good thousand feet before the position indicated on Waze. My guess is the previous person who dropped the marker was a bit late in doing so (understandably so--I usually don't remember to report a cop or other issue until several seconds after passing, and by the time I get the marker dropped, it can be a quarter mile or so after the actual thing I wanted to report). I went ahead and reported the cop pretty much exactly in the right position, and then when I got up to where the previous user had reported the cop to be, I hit "not there." Since I probably wouldn't have noticed the cop in the right position had it not been for the pop-up alerting me of the cop's presence in the area, I felt a bit guilty about tapping "not there" instead of "thanks," as I was really thankful for the alert letting me know to be on the lookout. Is what I did fine, or should I hit "thanks" anyway? Do users who report something and then later have someone come by and tap "not there" get any bad marks for erroneous reports?
2. Sometimes it feels like Waze directions are still in beta. For several noticeably long stretches of Interstate, I would suddenly see a note to "proceed to the highlighted route," even though it showed that I was driving on the roadway. It looked exactly like this: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=34020#p311747 Other times, it'll take me off of a freeway at an onramp only to have me get right back on the same freeway. In these situations, is it enough just to keep driving in the correct direction and trust that a system error will be generated and eventually (with enough people driving the correct way) it'll be corrected, or should I go ahead and drop an error marker to ensure it gets looked at?
3. Are ETAs based on published speed limits or the average speed of other Wazers on the route? If the latter, that would explain why I'm always able to beat Apple and Google's ETAs by a significant margin but am only able to either meet or just barely beat Waze's ETA.
4. If I'm going to take a quick detour off of my route to get gas or stop at a restaurant just off the main road, is it good etiquette to stop navigation so the system doesn't generate any errors that I didn't follow the prescribed route, or does that not matter?
5. Is it good etiquette to shut the app down completely (using the "Switch Off" button) when getting out of the car to go into a store or walk down a path or something to avoid me leaving meandering, off-road Waze GPS tracks that could potentially cause confusion, or does that not matter?
6. Any way to just generally share my location or route with friends, even if they are not headed to the same destination as I am?
7. I reported a cop and returned to the area a half hour later to see the cop still sitting there, but my marker in Waze was gone. Do cops ever join Waze and remove themselves if someone reports their presence? Can a single "not there" report remove a marker, or do a certain threshold of Wazers have to report something as "not there" before it is removed?
8. Speaking of reports of cops and other hazards, it seems to me that the distance to the marker is a bit off. At 70mph, I'm traveling 102 feet per second, but the distance to the marker seems to count down at about half that rate (more like 872 feet, then a second later 820 feet, then a second later 776 feet, etc.); when the display says "1,000 feet ahead," I should be seeing the marker in about 10 or so seconds at that rate, but it's usually more like 20-30 seconds until I arrive at the marker. Anyone else notice this?
Thanks for the help, and I look forward to getting better at the map editor and helping other Wazers find their way!
Relatively new Wazer (although I *have* driven probably 2-3,000 miles with Waze enabled!) with some general questions about proper usage and etiquette when using the client.
1. I was driving along I-70 in IN at a nice clip of 79mph the other day and an alert about a cop popped up, showing the cop about 1,200 feet or so ahead. I started slowing down, and suddenly, I spotted the cop--a good thousand feet before the position indicated on Waze. My guess is the previous person who dropped the marker was a bit late in doing so (understandably so--I usually don't remember to report a cop or other issue until several seconds after passing, and by the time I get the marker dropped, it can be a quarter mile or so after the actual thing I wanted to report). I went ahead and reported the cop pretty much exactly in the right position, and then when I got up to where the previous user had reported the cop to be, I hit "not there." Since I probably wouldn't have noticed the cop in the right position had it not been for the pop-up alerting me of the cop's presence in the area, I felt a bit guilty about tapping "not there" instead of "thanks," as I was really thankful for the alert letting me know to be on the lookout. Is what I did fine, or should I hit "thanks" anyway? Do users who report something and then later have someone come by and tap "not there" get any bad marks for erroneous reports?
2. Sometimes it feels like Waze directions are still in beta. For several noticeably long stretches of Interstate, I would suddenly see a note to "proceed to the highlighted route," even though it showed that I was driving on the roadway. It looked exactly like this: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=34020#p311747 Other times, it'll take me off of a freeway at an onramp only to have me get right back on the same freeway. In these situations, is it enough just to keep driving in the correct direction and trust that a system error will be generated and eventually (with enough people driving the correct way) it'll be corrected, or should I go ahead and drop an error marker to ensure it gets looked at?
3. Are ETAs based on published speed limits or the average speed of other Wazers on the route? If the latter, that would explain why I'm always able to beat Apple and Google's ETAs by a significant margin but am only able to either meet or just barely beat Waze's ETA.
4. If I'm going to take a quick detour off of my route to get gas or stop at a restaurant just off the main road, is it good etiquette to stop navigation so the system doesn't generate any errors that I didn't follow the prescribed route, or does that not matter?
5. Is it good etiquette to shut the app down completely (using the "Switch Off" button) when getting out of the car to go into a store or walk down a path or something to avoid me leaving meandering, off-road Waze GPS tracks that could potentially cause confusion, or does that not matter?
6. Any way to just generally share my location or route with friends, even if they are not headed to the same destination as I am?
7. I reported a cop and returned to the area a half hour later to see the cop still sitting there, but my marker in Waze was gone. Do cops ever join Waze and remove themselves if someone reports their presence? Can a single "not there" report remove a marker, or do a certain threshold of Wazers have to report something as "not there" before it is removed?
8. Speaking of reports of cops and other hazards, it seems to me that the distance to the marker is a bit off. At 70mph, I'm traveling 102 feet per second, but the distance to the marker seems to count down at about half that rate (more like 872 feet, then a second later 820 feet, then a second later 776 feet, etc.); when the display says "1,000 feet ahead," I should be seeing the marker in about 10 or so seconds at that rate, but it's usually more like 20-30 seconds until I arrive at the marker. Anyone else notice this?
Thanks for the help, and I look forward to getting better at the map editor and helping other Wazers find their way!
Re: Newbie Waze client etiquette