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Related WikiProjects

The parent of this WikiProject is the Geography WikiProject. WikiProject Maps also is a management type WikiProject for pictorial representations displayed within Wikipedia. The following illustrates the position of WikiProject Maps within the Wikipedia WikiProject lineage:

Lineage of WikiProject Maps
  • Creation/improvement of pictorial representations displayed within Wikipedia
  • Acquisition of pictorial representations displayed within Wikipedia
  • Distribution of pictorial representations displayed within Wikipedia
  • Monitoring of pictorial representations displayed within Wikipedia

WikiProjects that have made use of geographical maps include:

Conventions for visa policy maps

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Hello, WP:MAPS. I am currently working on the visa policy of Nauru, and I was wondering if there was any conventions on the colors would be? It seems like the other visa policy articles have a lot of different colors, and I just wanted to be correct. Thanks in advance. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Michael Jester (talk • contribs) 21 August 2014 (UTC)

Shetland islands

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just dropping a quick note here as I was asked to look at this Talk:Shetland#Need_better_map_image - looks like it ought to get a combination of File:Wfm_shetland_map.png and File:Shetland_UK_location_map.svg — Preceding unsigned comment added by EdwardLane (talk • contribs) 1 November 2014 (UTC)

Please assess

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Please assess Fictitious entry. Thanks! 11:32, 3 October 2018 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Asianflavoure (talk • contribs) 4 October 2018 (UTC)

Registration is open for WCNA 2022 and Mapping USA

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 WikiConference North America 2022 will be virtual, November 11-13. We will hold it jointly with OpenStreetMap US's Mapping USA. Our theme this year is open knowledge allies.

Registration is now open here! Please register by the 10th so that we can set everyone up online on our platform. Like last year, we are planning on using Hopin.

Our schedule is will be finalized and available in the next few days. We have an exciting line-up of sessions related to Wikimedia, OpenStreetMap, and the intersection of the two. Stay tuned!

Local meet-ups will occur in Indianapolis and New York City - if you are available and interested in attending either of these, you can find more details here.

If you want to connect with other participants or have questions, please join our Telegram channel here.

MaggieMaps CC-By-SA
MaggieMaps CC-By-SA

Evaluation

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Hi there, I came here from Wikipedia:WikiProject Eurovision as we have been constantly finding issues, updating and changing our maps. I wanna see if there's anything missing or wrong with this map. Any input is appreciated — IмSтevan talk 15:05, 25 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@ImStevan: did anyone suggest that there is something wrong with it? M.Bitton (talk) 15:27, 25 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
We've been updating it for weeks, and whenever we thought we were done, something new would pop up. For example, we started by adding the missing Channel islands, then we added lakes, fixed Middle eastern borders, added Akrotiri and Dhekelia and so on. I wanna know if there's anything else we missed or that's inaccurate with it, and what better place to ask than the map project — IмSтevan talk 16:08, 25 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I don't like that Kosovo's represented on most maps here. But that's just my opinion. 2001:861:31C0:2E20:B45F:5808:A2E:9898 (talk) 13:04, 8 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Ability to distinguish "D" on map on cell phones

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Resolved
 – The map with dots instead of "D"s reached consensus.
Note. See map in article (top right): Legality of cannabis by U.S. jurisdiction.

Pinging past participants in discussions of this map who may not have noticed this thread: TheTechnician27. SportingFlyer. Remsense. Goran tek-en. Which map below do you prefer on your cell phone? Please look in your cell phone. And even if you notice no improvement would you support using the larger "D" for users like me who need it?

The maps are at the 350px width used in Template:Legality of cannabis by US state. The template is used on several pages. Such as Legality of cannabis by U.S. jurisdiction

Note: Over 50 percent of website traffic is from cell phones.

I find the size 27px "D" much easier to distinguish on my cell phone. See related eye discussion higher up at #Must the text used within maps always be pure black? and Commons:File talk:Map of US state cannabis laws.svg#Color of D's. My vision acuity is common to tens of millions in my country, the US. I hesitate to call it low vision, because it is so common. I guess I am on one side of the bell curve of vision acuity.

The D size is about as big as I could make it and not have the D touch the sides of the state of New Hampshire (the smallest state in the continental US with a "D" on it).

In previous discussion here and at the other talk pages we had agreed on the lighter green color. We also agreed that the diagonal hash lines weren't a help due to the 3rd color effect of the lines. --Timeshifter (talk) 12:59, 11 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

This is what you said previously about the D's at 17 px size, which you now want to increase to 27.

I can miss the "D" on the small state of New Hampshire if not paying attention. Red text was especially bad. Whereas pure black stands out even at smaller map sizes. I don't have to squint, or make an effort. This is even more important on cell phones.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File_talk:Map_of_US_state_cannabis_laws.svg#Color_of_D's
Between making the D's black, making the green lighter, and increasing the size to 20 px I think the map is already plenty accessible and there is no need to keep beating this dead horse to death.--Jamesy0627144 (talk) 14:44, 11 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
As I explained at Talk:Legality of cannabis by U.S. jurisdiction#Lighter green in the map I hadn't actually looked at the 350px-wide map (as in the template used in several articles) in a cell phone yet. When I did I saw that it was very difficult for me to distinguish the "D" at the current size (20px) in the template. You keep ignoring that point. This is not just about me or you. There are tens of millions with similar vision as me in the US where I am.
And on a desktop PC (as I said before) I can see the 20px D if I get right up on the monitor. But if I am 2 to 3 feet away as I usually am when sitting in my chair then it is a problem.
This is how I am seeing it on various screens. Maybe you can see the D at 20px perfectly clearly at any distance and on any screen, be it a cell phone or PC. Lucky for you. But the map is not "plenty accessible" for others.
Also, Wikimedia is rolling out a text sizing menu with 3 choices: small, standard, and large. I have it set on large. So there is a definite desire for more accessibility. Map editors should honor this too. See:
https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topic:Y5nbfld32in1ud0k
It is a default setting for logged out users. Log out and bypass your cache to see the text-sizing menu. It can be hidden to a link toggle that shows the menu.
Logged in users can enable it via the beta preferences:
Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-betafeatures - "Accessibility for Reading (Vector 2022)".
So people are waking up to the need to make Wikipedia even more accessible.
Wikipedia has never settled for barely adequate. Articles can be constantly improved. So can images. Improving things on Wikipedia is not beating a dead horse, as you say. It seems like you are the one beating a dead horse for a long time by saying this image does not need to be improved. Which you have said many times along the way since when we had a pure red D at 17px size against a darker green background. --Timeshifter (talk) 15:56, 16 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Does it have to be a letter? I don't know about you, but I find symbols (dots, stars, etc.) easier to detect on a map. M.Bitton (talk) 21:11, 2 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
M.Bitton. I like that idea. In either case one has to look at the legend to see what it means. Whether using a letter or a symbol. But a dot is a lot easier to distinguish as a dot. Versus trying to figure out what letter of the alphabet one is looking at when the map is thumbnail size. It is easier on the 350px-wide map on a cell phone. It would work on even smaller maps too. And since there is only one symbol on the map, there is no confusion trying to distinguish between multiple symbols. A dot is a dot. It just needs to be big enough not to be confused with dust on the screen, etc..
Right now we are using a 20px D. Converting to a 20px dot would solve the problem.
--Timeshifter (talk) 22:07, 2 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I think so. Try it and see what it looks like. M.Bitton (talk) 22:10, 2 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I moved the old map from my previous message down here next to the new map with the dot. The dot came from a navbox. I centered the dot better in the states. The dot placement code is at the end of the SVG code. Its size is at the top of the SVG code:

.decrim {fill:#000000; font-family:Arial; font-size:40px;}

The dot is actually smaller than the D, though its font size is larger. I find the dot to be much more distinct. Especially the smaller the image. The space inside the D makes the D seem less dark and distinct. I am sitting my usual 3 feet away (I measured it with a yardstick to my eyes) from my desktop screen. I can see the dot on the 220px-wide map. The edges may not be clear to my eyes, but it is obvious it is a dot. The D is difficult. I have to get much closer. I have large-screen desktop monitors and I use larger font sizes. Plus I have a zoom text button on the Firefox toolbar. I have it set to only zoom text on the whole page, not images.

And here below is the 350px-wide size of the map in the template. On my cell phone only the dot in the 350px map is obvious. I can't distinguish the D or the dot on the 220px image. You have to remember that I use larger font sizes on my cell phone too. The 20px D on the 350px map is small for me, and I can't tell what it is. Getting closer does not help. All the other text on the cell phone pages is larger for me. And 20px on the map is not the same as 20px elsewhere. The D size changes depending on the screen and the image width. The D is only 20px at the larger sizes of the map on a desktop.

--Timeshifter (talk) 11:55, 3 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I tested the new map and the legend (see template). M.Bitton (talk) 23:50, 3 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Looks good. As does the legend with the larger dot. --Timeshifter (talk) 06:02, 4 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It looks alright I think.--Jamesy0627144 (talk) 04:07, 6 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Map with dots has been uploaded to File:Map of US state cannabis laws.svg. --Timeshifter (talk) 12:57, 8 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Creating Congressional Maps on Wikipedia

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Hi, I was wondering how I can create maps of congressional districts for use on election pages, as I've seen a lot of them and wonder where and how to get started making them. Wei-On Yeo (talk) 05:04, 26 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Wei-On Yeo: Looking at List of United States congressional districts, I find that many of them were made by Commons:User:Twotwofourtysix. Forty of the states are available at Commons:Category:Congressional district maps of the 118th Congress. Try reaching out to that user to see how you can help complete the collection. DutchTreat (talk) 11:08, 4 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Need a white background (instead of transparent) on US map. For dark-reader browser addons

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Resolved

See: File:Map of US state cannabis laws.svg - would appreciate if someone would make the transparent background white.

See Template:Legality of cannabis by US state. It is on various pages. Dark mode is a problem when toggled on via some addons such as Dark Reader on Firefox, etc.. That addon is very popular.

The problem is that the map has a transparent background surrounding the continental US. So when the background turns black one can't see the black dot next to Hawaii.

The Wikipedia:Dark mode (gadget) does not have this problem. It makes the transparent background white.

So if we make the transparent map background white it won't hurt the gadget action. --Timeshifter (talk) 12:53, 8 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Apparently the add-on completely disregards the "background-color" property in SVG, which is probably an intentional choice on the part of the designers, but the problem can be fixed by using the <rect> element instead. I uploaded a new map that does this.--Jamesy0627144 (talk) 01:36, 11 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks. --Timeshifter (talk) 15:57, 11 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
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I would like to add a map to a bike highway article. I want to display major cities and other bike highways. Is OpenStreetMap vector data legal as data source? Cruiser68 (talk) 21:05, 28 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@Cruiser68 yes, OpenStreetMap data is usable. If you are uploading a map, please use {{ODbL OpenStreetMap}} on Wikimedia Commons in the licence field. – Isochrone (talk) 21:40, 28 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

How to deal with the inconsistencies in Security Council membership maps

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I asked about this at the help desk (please see the problem statement there) – since there was no reply, someone suggested to bring the issue up here. Any advice would be much appreciated. Joriki (talk) 14:42, 4 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Joriki, agree with your assessment that the maps should reflect the general UN position where possible, while keeping in mind that can sometimes be hard to define. This is what is done with File:United Nations (Member States and Territories).svg. The file sizes and slight graphical differences probably don't matter too much, but there seems little harm in standardising them absent other considerations. Shifting from inkscape to code styles is a boon. I would draft up the set of design principles used to post as an explanation for file overwrites. You can request permission for file overwrites at Commons:Requests for rights. CMD (talk) 15:10, 4 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Hi CMD – thanks for your quick and helpful response! The UN map you linked to does indeed show Taiwan as part of China and Crimea as part of Ukraine (when you hover over those areas), so my approach would be compatible with that.
Do you mean I should request autopatrol rights at commons:Commons:Requests for rights? I only have a couple dozen edits at Commons; it says you need about 500; and the top two requests were denied because of low edit counts. Joriki (talk) 20:04, 4 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Hi Joriki, it's true perhaps the the general flag might be hard to get. However, if that is not possible (and your current request is clear so there is a chance), individual files can be 'unlocked' to allow auto-confirmed editors to update them. CMD (talk) 08:44, 7 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I was granted the right for three months to pursue this project. Thanks again for your advice! Joriki (talk) 12:36, 17 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
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