User:DwarfLord/Responding to incorrect edits

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If you have arrived at this wiki by following a link sent to you in a private message, it means another editor believes some of your edits to the Waze map are incorrect. Those edits may already have been modified or deleted. This may be an unpleasant surprise, especially if you put a lot of time and energy into those edits, but rest assured that you are in good company. Every one of Waze's many volunteer editors has made mistakes that required correction or removal.

The purpose of this wiki is to help you understand what about your edits may have needed undoing and to offer you suggestions on where your editing energy could do the most good.

Incorrect edits are a natural part of Waze

Having edits undone or redone may make you feel like being a Waze editor is not for you. That's a sensible response, but actually, Waze and the volunteer editing community need you.

It is so important to Waze to encourage new editors that they deliberately omit any training requirements to get started. Without any information, practice, or tests -- in fact within minutes of discovering Waze -- you can begin modifying Waze's maps. This is exciting, but it also means you will make mistakes. We all do.

Incorrect edits are a natural part of Waze. So please don't feel bad.

What did I do wrong?

Incorrect edits include both functional mistakes and misunderstood conventions. Functional mistakes are more serious but both require response.

Functional mistakes

A functional error introduces wrong or incomplete data or faulty routing. Functional errors must be addressed as soon as possible after they are detected. If your incorrect edit was a functional mistake the editor who discovered it has already taken steps to fix it.

Common functional mistakes
Wrong example	Description
	Red roads. Roads that appear bright red in the editor were published before all necessary parameters were set properly. These roads will appear on the Waze client but are useless for routing. Their prominent display calls attention to incomplete edits. See the Map Editing Quick-start Guide for details.
	Misplaced roundabouts. The Waze roundabout tool creates an intersection that gives roundabout-specific routing instructions to drivers. It should only be used for real roundabout intersections with three or more exits! It does not belong at cul-de-sacs, decorative entrance driveways, or traffic calming circles without roundabout signs. It is also inappropriate for large traffic circles with street names of their own. It goes without saying that it should never be used for an ordinary intersection, as the routing instructions will confuse drivers.
	Overlapping segments. There should be only one segment representing a given length of street. Overlapping segments wreak havoc with the routing and house-numbering systems. Sometimes editors create overlapping segments because they don't know how to modify the existing segment, or find it is locked above their level. The correct approach is to seek help, not to add a new segment on top of an existing one.
	Disconnected/disjoint segments. Just because segments appear to intersect doesn't mean they really do. A proper intersection will display all turn restrictions if any connecting segment is selected. A segment that appears to connect but doesn't really will fail to route and will confuse editors trying to understand the failure.
	Corrupted turn restrictions. Sometimes when modifying an intersection an editor will, through accident or lack of awareness, leave important turn restrictions red. This will prevent routing on the affected segments. In the worst cases significant roads may be effectively closed to Wazers, who are instead detoured through the neighborhoods.
	Critical segments missing. It should go without saying that a road will not route if it does not go through, but it happens that editors delete or leave out critical segments.
	Failed editing due to locked segments. The more significant the road, the more likely it is to be locked so that only higher-ranking editors can modify it. It is impossible for a junior editor to attach new segments to a locked road, although they can and do try, leading to disconnected/disjoint segments as described above.
	Excessive and misaligned geometry nodes. Use only the minimum number of geometry nodes to match the road. Excessive nodes slow the display and make the segment harder to edit, while misaligned nodes affect display aesthetics and in extreme cases ruin Waze's ability to determine what road a driver is on.
	Cowboy road splitting. Just because a road is divided by a median strip in reality is not enough reason to split it in Waze. Splitting roads can cause a great deal of trouble and should not be attempted without great care and adequate preparation. Always check with the local Area Manager before splitting any road.
	Unnecessary and/or connected walking paths. Walking paths are not benign! Waze will route drivers over them! Even when not connected to the drivable road network, walking paths that come too close to drivable destinations can corrupt routing results. In addition to their negative potential effects on routing, walking paths may encourage people to use Waze while walking or bicycling, a practice that can significantly damage Waze's traffic detection since Waze will simply think traffic is very slow. So, editors should not create walking paths to support people using Waze while walking or bicycling; we do not want to support that application! There are few circumstances that call for the mapping of walking paths.
	Unnecessary alleys and private driveways.
	Unnecessary at-grade connectors. At-grade connectors are not necessary unless the driver needs advance warning of a turn. Unnecessary at-grade connectors are more trouble to analyze and maintain, and their close proximity to the through road from which they split can lead Waze to snap drivers to the wrong road. Asking for a route while snapped to the wrong road will result in incorrect routing.

Misunderstood conventions

Misunderstood conventions do not necessarily involve wrong data or faulty routing, but violate editing conventions agreed upon by the local Waze editing community.

Excessive parking-lot roads.

Use of the Parking-Lot Area Place for private or dedicated-purpose parking

Use of Area Places for general businesses.

Guidance for those modifying or deleting another's edits

First of all, be absolutely sure it really is a mistake! What appears at first to be an incorrect road, for example, may reflect changes that have taken place since the satellite and street-view images were captured. Disagreement with other mapping services may result from errors in the other services, not in the Waze data. Do not automatically assume that the satellite imagery, street-view photographs, or other mapping services are correct.

Wherever possible, resist the urge to delete and start again. Nobody enjoys seeing their work deleted, even if it was in error. To the extent possible, modify and build on the incorrect work. If deletion is required but the maps and routing are not broken, send the author a permalink to the issue and a link to this wiki and give them a chance to delete the issue themselves. If the error must be reworked immediately, at least send the author a link to this wiki and some indication of where the repairs took place so they have the opportunity to learn.