User:Sketch/Old Louisiana Places page

Approvals and Rejections

For users who are submitting new Places, or Place Updates from the Waze app, be sure to take a clear picture of the building, and try to get the business's sign in the picture. The object is to aid Wazers in finding the place as they approach the location. If it's raining or foggy, you probably won't be able to get a good picture and the picture will be deleted. Night shots are ok if the venue is lighted and you can see the venue in the picture.

When adding a picture of a gas station, do not take a picture that specifically shows the gas prices, as this is not helpful since the gas prices change daily. The sign can be in the picture, but should not be the subject of the picture.

Be sure that you've selected the proper venue, or added a new one. If you attach new information to an existing Place, and it's not the correct place, it will have to be rejected, as there is no way to split this information away to a new or different venue. Likewise, if you create a new Place for an existing venue, we can't merge them and the submission will be rejected.

If you have time, enter additional information about the Place into the app. Select the street if it hasn't selected the correct street automatically. In the "House Number" field, enter only the address number (this is NOT the place for a phone number). Don't try to type in the name of the street. In the phone number field, the number should be formatted (###) ###-#### or ###-###-####.

If you add business hours, be absolutely sure that the different sets of hours don't overlap, otherwise, there will be an error in the editor and the only option is to remove the data completely.

In the "Location" section, you'll see a little map, and you'll be able to pan around to correct the location. This is especially helpful because Waze records your location when you start the process of entering the Place. If you're doing this with a Place that you're navigating to, you may get the popup to add the Place 1/2 mile away. If you select it there, that is where the pin on the map will be, and these Places will often get rejected simply because we can't figure out where the correct location is.

Please note that users who receive a certain number of rejections will be automatically blocked from adding or editing Places. Please contact your State Manager or a senior editor to be considered for getting your privileges reinstated.

Drive-by submissions

If you're doing a drive-by (as a passenger), be sure that you can get a clear picture. Try to get a shot out of a window so that half the picture isn't of the interior of your car. Also, watch out for glare from your windows that will make the picture useless. If you're on a highway and trying to take pictures of places on adjacent roads, your submission will most likely be rejected. If you're driving, you probably won't be able to get a clear picture if the vehicle is in motion, and you're putting yourself and those around you in danger.

Residential Places/Private Homes

Waze has taken measures to protect the privacy of the location of your home. When you add a Private Home, no name is attached to the Place on the editor map. Be absolutely sure you've selected "This is a residential place" when adding a residence. The only other information that is attached to it is the House Number, the Street, and the picture. Tap on the map to adjust the location--it is often difficult to try to correct the location in the editor when every house in the neighborhood looks alike, or the house numbers on the houses/mailboxes aren't readable in streetview.

Private homes must have a House Number and Street, and a useful picture, or they will be rejected. The picture should be of the front of the house as visible from the street. Any other picture will be rejected.

Once a Private Home has been submitted, it can't be changed to any other type of place, so if you've selected this accidentally for a non-private venue, the only option is to reject the submission.

Likewise, don't select any other type of Place category for a Private Home. If you do, you'll reveal your username to anyone who navigates there or looks at the Place in the editor.

Additional Privacy concerns

Any pictures submitted with an identifiable person's face, or license plate will be rejected. Be especially careful at schools to only submit pictures that don't have any children present.

Adding Places from WME

Be sure that you've read the entire Wiki thoroughly before using the editor. Use the guide for Area vs. Point linked above. Don't add Parking Lot Areas in Louisiana, as they will be rejected. Parking Lot Points are acceptable if it's someplace that may need to be navigated to, such as specific parking structures that aren't directly attached to another venue ("Harrah's Parking Garage" is ok, since it's not easily accessible from Harrah's Casino. "Winn Dixie Parking Lot" is not acceptable when it's in the same place as the Winn Dixie grocery store.)

Place location and Navigation Point

The location of the Place, or the Navigation Point in an Area, should be nearest to the entrance of the building. Not in the middle of the parking lot. Not in the middle of the building. Bear in mind that wherever that point is, the Wazer will be navigated to the closest road to that point, so be sure that the closest road to the point is actually accessible to the venue. It may be necessary to add Parking Lot Roads to get the user to the proper location. Consult with a senior editor if you're unsure.

When approving Places in WME...

Any Place that is approved should be minimally checked for correct spelling and capitalization (Title Case) of the name, and location. Add the name of the street the Place is located on if it wasn't done from the app. This helps to differentiate between different locations of a chain type business when searching for the business.

If you are Level 4 or higher, lock the venue to Level 4 once the steps above have been taken, or if you are an Area Manager, lock the Place to Level 3. If you are lower than Level 4, or are not an area manager, leave it unlocked and a higher level editor will lock it when scanning for new Places.

Categories

A couple that need special attention:

The Hospital/Medical Care category should only be used for hospitals that provide emergency services. These Hospitals are drawn as Areas. Additionally, the Emergency Room may be marked at its exact location with a Point, and should also be categorized as Hospital/Medical Care. It should be named "Emergency Room - Hospital Name" for ease in searching.

Doctor's Offices, Dentist's Offices, Eye Doctor's Offices, etc should be categorized as "Offices".

For sub-categories of Lodging (Hotel, Hostel, Camping/Trailer Park, Cottage/Cabin, Bed & Breakfast), please only use these for businesses where you can go and rent a room for a night. These categories don't apply to Nursing Homes or Apartment Complexes.

Nursing Homes and Apartment Complexes don't fit any category very well, and are really residential, however if you want these on the map as a whole (not a specific apartment or room), it's not a good idea to mark them as Residential/Private because some important details such as the name of the complex and phone number will be hidden to anyone trying to search for it. In these cases, it's best to just mark them as Other until we get some better categories. This will allow them to remain searchable by name or address. The address should be the address of the office of an apartment complex. The phone number should be that of the office as well. The Point should be placed at the entrance to an apartment complex, just before other roads start to branch off, and for a nursing home, it should be placed at the main entrance of the building.

(Nursing Homes are not Hospital/Medical Care either)

More specifics are in the "When to use Area or Point" section.

When to use Area or Point

Here is the Louisiana-specific guidance on selecting Area or Point for Places in the Waze Map Editor. (Deviations from Global Guidelines in Bold)

The Primary Category for a Place is used to determine whether to use a Point or Area.

Parent	Category	Type	Comments
Car Services	Car Wash	Point
Car Services	Charging Station	Point
Car Services	Garage / Automotive Shop	Point
Car Services	Gas Station	Area	Many gas stations also have convenience stores and ATMs. Remember to use "Gas Station" as the primary category and the add any others which are relevant. Please see the Places/Gas Station article.
Car Services	Parking Lot	Both	Parking Lots are generally not used in Louisiana. If you feel that a Parking Lot should be mapped, please consult with a Level 4+ editor.
Transportation	Airport	Area	Special-handling
Transportation	Bridge	Area	Use only to represent a named road bridge with local or navigational significance. This should be an official/locally-used name, preferably signed at each approach. Do not use for unnamed bridges signed only for the feature they cross. Bridge areas are normally not used if road segments crossing a bridge use the bridge's name. Non-road bridges (e.g. railroad, pedestrian, aqueduct) are normally not mapped.
Transportation	Bus Station	Point
Transportation	Ferry Pier	Point
Transportation	Junction / Interchange	Area	Please consult with a Level 4+ editor before mapping
Transportation	Seaport / Marina / Harbor	Area	Please consult with a Level 4+ editor before mapping
Transportation	Subway Station	Point	N/A
Transportation	Taxi Station	Point
Transportation	Train Station	Point
Transportation	Tunnel	Area
Professional and public	Cemetery	Area
Professional and public	City Hall	Area
Professional and public	College / University	Area
Professional and public	Conventions / Event Center	Area	Size-dependent
Professional and public	Courthouse	Area
Professional and public	Embassy / Consulate	Area
Professional and public	Factory / Industrial	Point
Professional and public	Fire Department	Area
Professional and public	Government	Point
Professional and public	Hospital / Medical Care	Area	ONLY Hospitals, Emergency Rooms, and places offering Urgent Medical Care should use this category. ERs encompassed in a hospital Place Area should be Points, and use the naming of "Emergency Room - (hospital name)". Clinics, and Medical offices which do not offer urgent medical care for Walk-Ins should use the Office, (and any other appropriate) category instead.
Professional and public	Information Point	Point
Professional and public	Kindergarten	Area
Professional and public	Library	Area
Professional and public	Military	Area
Professional and public	Offices	Point	May be Area if Landmark
Professional and public	Organization or Association	Point
Professional and public	Police Station	Area
Professional and public	Prison / Correctional Facility	Area
Professional and public	Post Office	Area	Naming should be "U.S. Post Office". For specifically named Post Offices, "U.S. Post Office - (name)" is acceptable.
Professional and public	Religious Center	Area
Professional and public	School	Area
Shopping and services	Arts & Crafts	Point
Shopping and services	ATM	Point
Shopping and services	Bank / Financial	Point
Shopping and services	Bookstore	Point
Shopping and services	Car Dealership	Point	Size-dependent
Shopping and services	Car Rental	Point
Shopping and services	Convenience Store	Point
Shopping and services	Currency Exchange	Point
Shopping and services	Department Store	Point
Shopping and services	Electronics	Point
Shopping and services	Fashion and Clothing	Point
Shopping and services	Flowers	Point
Shopping and services	Furniture / Home Store	Point
Shopping and services	Gifts	Point
Shopping and services	Gym / Fitness	Point
Shopping and services	Hardware Store	Point
Shopping and services	Jewelry	Point
Shopping and services	Laundry / Dry Cleaning	Point
Shopping and services	Market	Point
Shopping and services	Music Store	Point
Shopping and services	Personal Care	Point
Shopping and services	Pet Store / Veterinarian	Point
Shopping and services	Pharmacy	Point
Shopping and services	Photography	Point
Shopping and services	Shopping Center	Area	Area only used for major shopping malls. Consult with a Level 4+ editor if unsure.
Shopping and services	Sporting Goods	Point
Shopping and services	Supermarket / Grocery	Point
Shopping and services	Swimming Pool	Point
Shopping and services	Toy Store	Point
Shopping and services	Travel Agency	Point
Food and drink	Bakery	Point
Food and drink	Bar	Point
Food and drink	Coffee shop	Point
Food and drink	Dessert	Point
Food and drink	Fast Food	Point
Food and drink	Food Court	Point
Food and drink	Ice Cream	Point
Food and drink	Restaurant	Point
Culture & entertainment	Art Gallery	Point
Culture & entertainment	Casino	Area	Large hotel-casinos should be Area Places.
Culture & entertainment	Club	Point
Culture & entertainment	Game Club	Point
Culture & entertainment	Movie Theater	Point
Culture & entertainment	Museum	Point
Culture & entertainment	Music Venue	Point
Culture & entertainment	Performing Arts Venue	Point
Culture & entertainment	Racing Track	Point
Culture & entertainment	Stadium / Arena	Area
Culture & entertainment	Theme Park	Area
Culture & entertainment	Theater	Point
Culture & entertainment	Tourist Attraction / Historic Site	Point
Culture & entertainment	Zoo / Aquarium	Area	Size-dependent
Other	Construction Site	Area	Not mapped.
Lodging	Bed & Breakfast	Point
Lodging	Camping / Trailer Park	Point
Lodging	Cottage / Cabin	Point
Lodging	Hostel	Point
Lodging	Hotel	Point
Outdoors	Beach	Area
Outdoors	Golf Course	Area
Outdoors	Park	Area
Outdoors	Playground	Point	Area for large Playgrounds.
Outdoors	Plaza	Point
Outdoors	Promenade	Point	Unsure about mapping these at all
Outdoors	Scenic Lookout / Viewpoint	Point
Outdoors	Ski Area	Area	Obtain Level 4+ permission before mapping Ski Areas.
Outdoors	Sports Court	Point
Natural features	Farm	NONE	Do not map.
Natural features	Forest / Grove	Area	Only map official state/national forests, not every stand of trees.
Natural features	Island	Area	Should not be added unless the water features in basemap do not include it. Consult with Level 4+ editor first.
Natural features	River / Stream	Area	Should not be added unless the water features in basemap do not include it. Consult with Level 4+ editor first.
Natural features	Sea / Lake / Pool	Area	Should not be added unless the water features in basemap do not include it. Consult with Level 4+ editor first.
Natural features	Canal	Area	Should not be added unless the water features in basemap do not include it. Consult with Level 4+ editor first.
Natural features	Swamp / Marsh	Area	Should not be added unless the water features in basemap do not include it. Consult with Level 4+ editor first.
Natural features	Dam	Area

Place Name Standardization

In the interest of making Place searches optimal, please use the following names of Places, and the categories in parentheses. (Check back often, as we will add to this list as problems occur.)

• AutoZone (Car Services)
• Baskin-Robbins (Ice Cream)
• CVS/pharmacy (Pharmacy)
• Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers (Fast Food)
• Sonic Drive-In (Fast Food)
• Starbucks (Coffee Shop)
• Subway Restaurant (Fast Food)
• Walgreens (Pharmacy)
• Walmart Neighborhood Market (Supermarket/Grocery, Pharmacy)
• Walmart Supercenter (Department Store, Supermarket/Grocery, Fashion and Clothing, Pharmacy, Bakery, Garage/Automotive Shop, Sporting Goods)