This direction of course ;)
I'll PM everyone so they can add themselves to my map.
Edit: Done spamming people. 6 of the 28 names weren't LW accounts nor on the IRC channel.
There's a displace function that I suppose is meant for this (check your markers now and you'll understand). I could pull them farther apart if you wish.
As an alternative solution, I could put both names on the same marker.
FWIW, there are ways to find a marker that got buried below others. Browsing the list on the right is obvious, but not very helpful I suppose. Additionally, when you click a marker and then close the popover that appears, the marker will be moved behind the markers it was in front of.
I volunteer. I'm in a good position to commit to it. But I'm wondering why can't the process of posting regular threads be automated? I assume it's not possible because I'd expect it to be commonplace if it was, but all regular threads seem to be posted manually.
You guys worry too much :)
Personally, I'd be happy to meet someone who has read LW even if they aren't around the community anymore, so I don't get what the concern is. The map may have "LessWrong" in the title, but it's really about meeting interesting people.
Particularly as you are a relatively recent joiner, how much confidence should we have that you will be around to manage the location map in future?
I'm actually not new - this is just a new account. I don't see myself leaving LessWrong anytime soon. Regardless, if I disappear I don't see why someone else can't take over. I just changed the security settings to allow for anyone to export the data. Gram_Stone suggested circulating the map around survey time. I think that would be a good, predictable time to update people on the state of the map, including notifying them of a possible change of hands.
Yes, I'm going to post to Discussion, but I wanted to test the waters in an Open Thread first.
I would also like to see that sort of thing circulated around survey time at the end of this year
Good idea. I'll see what I can do about that.
it's conceivable to me that ZeeMaps is not the only service like this
ZeeMaps is the one I know. I did check AlternativeTo, but haven't found anything promising so I just went with ZeeMaps. It's possible to export the data if someone comes up with a better alternative.
I mean in general. Clicking a confirmation link might not seem much, but when you multiply by every person every month it is. I suspect it would be more work than just fixing problems as they are found, but I might be underestimating the amount of problems that will be found I guess.
Most importantly, I don't want to risk people not participating because they don't want to be spammed. An alternative solution to consider is redoing the map every year, but I still feel it's unnecessary.
Regardless of how true what you're saying is, it all sounds like very weak reasons not to try. Some people find aversive to contact an stranger? Whatever, some don't. I'm sure there'll be plenty of people who won't hesitate in seizing an opportunity to meet a fellow LWer, especially if they live in less developed places where meeting interesting people is really hard.
A monthly mail confirmation sounds like more trouble than it's worth, and people might be put off by the spammy nature of it. I think fixing the map as people report problems is a better approach.
Honestly, your complaints sound like those of someone who already can meet interesting people and has little need for the map in the first place. I'm sure those who really need it won't have any problems with it. The map doesn't have to be perfect to be useful.
I'm interested in seeing how previous attempts went however. If you recall any others don't hesitate to tell me.
I found a setting that fixes this by clustering close markers and displaying the number of them.