WikiMapia

WikiMapia

File:Wikimapia.png WikiMapia as seen in Firefox with fullscreen mode
URL	www.wikimapia.org
Slogan	Let's describe the whole World!
Commercial?	Yes
Type of site	Collaborative mapping
Registration	Optional
Available language(s)	101 languages, including English
Content license	available for non-commercial use
Created by	Alexandre Koriakine and Evgeniy Saveliev
Launched	May 24, 2006
Revenue	From AdSense
Current status	Active

WikiMapia is an online map and satellite imaging resource that combines Google Maps with a wiki system, allowing users to add information, in the form of a note, to any location on Earth. Inspired by the success of Google Maps and Wikipedia, two Russian Internet entrepreneurs Alexandre Koriakine and Evgeniy Saveliev launched the website on May 24, 2006. Its aim is to describe the whole world. It now has over 11,742,000 places marked. Although registration is not required to edit or add to WikiMapia, over 650,500 users from around the world currently are registered. All content uploaded by users becomes the intellectual property of WikiMapia and available for non-commercial use through Wikimapia API.

Features

Tag a location

WikiMapia allows any contributor to add a "tag" (placemark) to any location by marking out a polygon around the location and then providing a default language, title, description and one or more categories. An optional note can be provided, as well as images and embedded YouTube videos, which all appear on the place's information window.

Multiple categories can be added to any placemark by clicking the add category link and either selecting from a list of common categories, or by typing in the first few letters of the word to search for a category. The numbers displayed in parentheses next to each category indicate the number of placemarks belonging to that category. Basic functions also allow users to link to a corresponding Wikipedia article, add an address, or specify whether a polygon outlines a building (as opposed to a parcel of land).

Pictures

Users also can add up to seven pictures to each tag by selecting Add/Manage Photos from the placetag's menu. This opens a dialog box, allowing the user to upload a photo from their computer or the internet.

Languages

Location tagging is fully multi-lingual, meaning that there is no need to create separate tags for different languages. If a place is described in multiple languages, the user can navigate to other language pages by clicking on the link at the bottom of the window. Currently a total of 101 languages are supported, and 100% of the interface has been translated into 56 languages. Most of the languages (except Chinese) use ISO 639-1 naming conventions. Registered users can help translate the WikiMapia interface at a special page (http://wikimapia.org/translate/).

Linear features

Wikimapia also allows users to add so-called "linear features", meaning roads, railroads, ferry lines, and rivers. The interface allows users to specify the size of the road (major highway, side street, dirt road, etc.), to indicate one-way streets, and to provide a brief description. It also allows users to describe intersections and tunnels.

The railroad and ferry line interfaces are similar to the one used for roads. The river marking tool is somewhat more complex, as there are secondary lines that can be used to define the river's shoreline.

The roads feature is also used to populate a dropdown list of nearby street names in a tag's address box.

Wikimapia API

In december 2009 Wikimapia opens API for noncommercial use.

Watchlists

WikiMapia also allows registered users to set up watchlists to monitor changes on certain areas of the map. Users can define the size and location of each watched region and save it under a unique name.

WikiMapia forum

In addition to the Messaging system, which runs from the map screen, WikiMapia also operates a forum, which was launched in October 2007. Although a separate wiki User Guide exists, most of WikiMapia's policy discussions take place at the forum.

Voting and user statistics

Users can vote in favor of or against other users' contributions, thereby allowing users to rise in status among the community. There also is a user statistics and ranking board which automatically ranks users based on their contributions. However, vote tallies and user statistics have no impact on a user's user-level.

User accounts and levels

Optional user accounts were introduced in October 2006. User levels and permissions have evolved over time in response to the need to control vandalism or abuse. As explained in the WikiMapia FAQ, there are three user-levels.

• User Level 0 (UL0): Level 0 is the default user level assigned to all new users. UL0 are able to add places, edit existing places, and use the personal messaging system. New users are temporarily prevented from posting in the forum.
• User Level 1 (UL1): Users are automatically upgraded to UL1 after a few days. In addition to the regular UL0 functions, UL1 users are able to change polygons (place outlines), delete places, and contribute to the forum. The vast majority of Wikimapia contributors fall into this category.
• User Level 2 (UL2): A few hundred registered WikiMapia users have been granted Level 2 access. UL2 permissions include functions which are vital to maintaining site security (such as the ability to initiate ban proceedings on vandals) and anti-vandalism efforts on the map itself (such as the ability to delete a greater number of tags, to protect tags against editing by unregistered users, and to quick-delete certain tags).

UL2 status

UL2 status may be one of the most misunderstood aspects of WikiMapia's hierarchy, in part, because the process of promotion remains mysterious to most new users. Level 2 permissions are granted solely at the discretion of WikiMapia Administrators (or site owners), and have been revoked in a few instances. Although Wikimapia Administrators have historically taken recommendations by senior users into account when promoting new users, they have also occasionally acted unilaterally to demote UL2 users.

Clutter and filtering

In some areas of the world with out-of-date or very expensive mapping, such as India, WikiMapia growth has been phenomenally rapid. This rapid growth brought problems of its own, however. Urban areas became covered with thousands of overlapping rectangles marking the positions of private residences, but there was no provision in the WikiMapia interface for distinguishing those residences from places of public interest. Recently, however, category browsing has been introduced, allowing users to select what category or categories of features they want displayed.

Licensing

Unlike Wikipedia, all user content on WikiMapia is licensed exclusively to WikiMapia. WikiMapia does not use a GFDL license, so royalties and many usage rights are forfeited to WikiMapia upon submission. According to the site's Terms of Service, user submissions are available for personal or educational non-commercial purposes through the website and can be used for non-commercial use through Wikimapia API.

Business model

The site generates some income using Google ads. In July 2007, the founders of WikiMapia decided to start looking for an investor to accomplish their plans.

Interoperability

A GPS receiver can be connected to WikiMapia using a plug-in program (beta, download for Windows OS from WikiMapia site ).

Limited WikiMapia functionality is available on:

• Google Earth, using Google Earth dynamic layer in KML file.
• Google Maps Mapplets using special layer.
• Any HTML webpage, using code for a map frame which can be found on the top menu, under "WikiMapia:Map on your page"
• Most Java-enabled cellphones using 3rd party software such as Mobile GMaps.
• iPhone application WikiPlaces.

See also

• Collaborative mapping
• Google Earth
• Bhuvan
• List of wikis
• OpenStreetMap
• Participatory GIS
• Placeopedia
• Public Participation GIS

External links

• WikiMapia
• WikiMapia Terms of Reference
• WikiMapia Forum for discussions
• WikiMapia API
• WikiMapia Full User Guide
• Wikimapia Wiki
• WikiMapper Plus Firefox Add-on
• Official WikiMapia Blog
• Matt Jones' WikiMapia Blog
• Meta.Wikimedia/about the connection with Wikipedia
• 'Borderless' - Wikimapia Anthem