Proposal:Map conventions

Status (see valid statuses)

The status of this proposal is:
Request for Discussion / Sign-Ups

Every proposal should be tied to one of the strategic priorities below.

Edit this page to help identify the priorities related to this proposal!


  1. Achieve continued growth in readership
  2. Focus on quality content
  3. Increase Participation
  4. Stabilize and improve the infrastructure
  5. Encourage Innovation



Summary

Instead of hundreds of personal map styles with flashy and heterogenous colours, backgrounds, icons, polices, approximative land shapes, and visual polutions (w:en:Chartjunk), the aim is to officially encourage to produce most maps following some few conventional styles and conventional icons.

Within the Map workshop of the several Graphic Labs, which have produce about thousand maps, continous innovation and studies lead to the creation of 7 major map styles. Enforce them as official convention may help to strengthen Wikipedia pedagogic value, and graphic identity.

Proposal

The proposal regards the enforcement of a set of map conventions, to apply on all wikipedias. This will need to sacrifice some local wikipedia's conventions (i.e. fr:wikipedia), to the benefice of the whole project. Thus, this request a strong top-to-bottom leadership/encouragement.

Motivation

  • Ease readers understanding of our maps, by reducing the map styles to some standards ;
  • Increase the graphic indentity of Wikipedias
  • Get more pro ;

Key Questions

Is it needed? Or are there freely available software out there that can already do the same thing?

Potential Costs

  • Human time,
  • Sacrifice some local convention to the benefice of the whole (all wikipedias) project ;

References

Proposal notes:

Application areas:

  • Wiki articles ; Graphic Labs

Other projects:

Community Discussion

Do you have a thought about this proposal? A suggestion? Discuss this proposal by going to Proposal talk:Map conventions.

See also

Want to work on this proposal?

  1. .. Sign your name here!