Waze etiquette

The communications in the Waze forums, live chat, wiki, and map editing are all managed in a similar way to Wikipedia:Etiquette with specific highlights and changes covered in this list below. These points are based on civility and respect for every Waze user.

Anyone who violates these points may be advised to receive formal mentoring. Any refusal to receive formal mentoring or if there are repeated violations will result in banning from the system for some period of time appropriate for the situation as defined by the Waze staff, forum administrators, or Waze Champs. Anyone who continues to violate these points after that may be subject to banning from the system forever.

If you feel that a Waze user or map editor is violating any of these etiquette points, please send a private message to any Waze Champ seen in the forums of your country or state. Explain the situation and the Waze Champ will consider the best next steps.

General guidelines

• Follow the Waze Community Communications Guidelines.
• Assume good faith. Editors are here to collaborate and improve Waze for everyone.
• Be civil, polite, and avoid offensive language. We define this the same way as Wikipedia.
• Although it is understandably difficult in an intense argument, if other editors are not as civil as you would like them to be, be more civil, not less. That way at least you are not moving towards open conflict and name-calling; by your own action you are actively doing something about it.
• Be courteous.
• Forgive and forget.
• Remember The Golden Rule: Treat others as you would have them treat you—even if they are new. We were all new once.
• Keep in mind that raw text may be ambiguous and often seems ruder than the same words coming from a person standing in front of you. Irony is not always obvious when written. Remember that text comes without facial expressions, vocal inflection, or body language. Be careful choosing the words you write: what you mean might not be what others understand. Likewise, be careful how you interpret what you read: what you understand might not be what others mean.
• Work towards agreement.
• Argue facts, not personalities.
• Do not make misrepresentations.
• Do not ignore reasonable questions.
• Concede a point when you have no response to it, or admit when you disagree.
• Do not hesitate to politely let the others know if you are not comfortable with their tone (e.g., "I feel that you have been sarcastic above, and I don't feel good about it. Let's try to resolve the issue").
• Be prepared to apologize. In animated discussions, we often say things we later wish we had not. Say so.
• Recognize your own biases, and keep them in check.
• Give praise when it's due. Everybody likes to feel appreciated, especially in an environment that often requires compromise.
• Help mediate disagreements between others.
• If you are arguing, take a break. If you are mediating, recommend a break.
• Take it slowly. If you are angry, spend time away from the forums instead of posting or editing. Come back in a day or a week. You may find that someone else made the desired change or comment for you. If you think mediation is needed, enlist someone.
• Remind yourself that these are people with whom you are dealing. They have feelings. Try to treat others with dignity. The world is a big place, with different cultures and conventions. Do not use jargon that others might not understand. Use acronyms carefully and clarify if there is the possibility of any doubt.
• The Waze community includes speakers of languages from around the world, so don't forget English proficiency varies and can be misunderstood both directions, and there are multiple English forms that include spelling variations, (colour/color, capitalise/capitalize, centre/center, etc.)

Wiki changes

• Any controversial or mapping guideline change should be brought up in the forum before making it in the Wiki. Once a consensus is reached, the change can be made. If a controversial change is made without following this guideline that change should be reverted until it is approved through this process.
• All content in the Wiki shall not use any words or language that would be considered degrading, demeaning, condescending, or otherwise uncivil.
• All discussions around edits and changes in forums and private messages will be made in a civil, non-confrontational manner. Words can be misinterpreted so always assume good faith in their definitions and true purpose before assuming otherwise.
• Waze Wiki pages generally contain guidance and information for other users and editors. Be sure to identify information that may be speculation or inference. Avoid pure opinion with no evidence. Avoid discussions of desired operation, which should only go into the appropriate forums.
• Do not place questions in the Wiki without discussion in the Wiki Updates forum first.
• Do not create pages outside the scope of Waze operation or products.
• Before creating a new page in the Main Wiki namespace, consider creating a page in your own user namespace and then offer up the content in the forum to be considered. There are times when similar pages or content already exist and this prevents multiple pages with the same content making maintenance of the Wiki much more difficult.
• If another editor makes a recommendation about a change you made in the Wiki, at least consider the suggestion. It is possible their experience may exceed your own, or it may not. When it cannot be resolved, bring the concern to the forum for further discussion to get other input.
• Do not blank or delete all content from a page you did not create without discussing it in the forums or with the original page creator.
• Now that the Wazeopedia project is released and the USA has a dedicated wiki, the spelling on the USA wiki will be based on US English spelling variations.

• Any editors who continue to violate any of these etiquette recommendations will be subject to a minimum 24-hour banning from editing in the Wiki. Continued violators will be subject to longer bans.

This list is also presented in the Waze forums.

Forum Etiquette

Communication in the Waze forum is based on civility and respect for every Waze user.

Anyone who violates these points may be subject to banning from the system for some period of time appropriate for the situation as defined by the Waze staff, forum administrators, or Waze Champs. Anyone who continues to violate these points after that may be subject to banning from the system forever.

If you feel that a Waze user or map editor is violating any of these etiquette points, please send a private message to any Waze Champ seen in the forums of your country. Explain the situation and the Waze Champ will consider the best next steps.

• Follow the Waze Community Communications Guidelines.
• Assume good faith. Editors are here to collaborate and improve Waze for everyone.
• Be civil, polite, and avoid offensive language. We define this the same way as Wikipedia.
• Although it is understandably difficult in an intense argument, if other editors are not as civil as you would like them to be, be more civil, not less. That way at least you are not moving towards open conflict and name-calling; by your own action you are actively doing something about it.
• Be courteous.
• Forgive and forget.
• Remember The Golden Rule: Treat others as you would have them treat you—even if they are new. We were all new once.
• Keep in mind that raw text may be ambiguous and often seems ruder than the same words coming from a person standing in front of you. Irony is not always obvious when written. Remember that text comes without facial expressions, vocal inflection, or body language. Be careful choosing the words you write: what you mean might not be what others understand. Likewise, be careful how you interpret what you read: what you understand might not be what others mean.
• Work towards agreement.
• Argue facts, not personalities.
• Do not make misrepresentations.
• Do not ignore reasonable questions.
• Concede a point when you have no response to it, or admit when you disagree.
• Do not hesitate to politely let the others know if you are not comfortable with their tone (e.g., "I feel that you have been sarcastic above, and I don't feel good about it. Let's try to resolve the issue").
• Be prepared to apologize. In animated discussions, we often say things we later wish we had not. Say so.
• Recognize your own biases, and keep them in check.
• Give praise when it's due. Everybody likes to feel appreciated, especially in an environment that often requires compromise.
• Help mediate disagreements between others.
• If you are arguing, take a break. If you are mediating, recommend a break.
• Take it slowly. If you are angry, spend time away from the forums instead of posting or editing. Come back in a day or a week. You may find that someone else made the desired change or comment for you. If you think mediation is needed, enlist someone.
• Remind yourself that these are people with whom you are dealing. They have feelings. Try to treat others with dignity. The world is a big place, with different cultures and conventions. Do not use jargon that others might not understand. Use acronyms carefully and clarify if there is the possibility of any doubt.
• The Waze community includes speakers of languages from around the world, so don't forget English proficiency varies and can be misunderstood both directions, and there are multiple English forms that include spelling variations, (colour/color, capitalise/capitalize, centre/center, etc)

Posting Guidelines

• Read all the posts in this forum before posting.
• No double posting: Posting immediately after your own last post (with no one else in between) is highly discouraged, unless the new post includes new or different information not identified previously. Double posting with a 24 hour gap is acceptable if you are saying a short term problem is still happening, but it should not be done for known longer term issues.
• No bumping inside of 24 hours: This is defined when when you post nothing of value in a thread just to get it back to the top of the list of recent posts. If you were the last one to post before you bump a thread, that is considered double posting.
• No thread hijacking: If you have a thought that is very different from the current thread you are about to reply to, consider starting a new thread instead of reply to the one you were in at that moment.
• NO SHOUTING!: Defined as using all capital letters in a post.
• It is best not to necro post: If you find an old thread and want to discuss it, consider starting a new thread and include a link to the old one in your post with your new or related question or comment.

Advice from senior editors

Waze is designed around an open editing community with editors set up with different ranks. Those more senior (experience, knowledge, etc.) editors will have a higher rank than entry and mid rank editors. The senior editors (rank 5 and 6) are present to help and direct all editors. Disrespect to any editor is a violation of the general etiquette and that includes senior editors. Instructions from senior editors are to be followed, unless it conflicts with this page or any editing guidelines in the Wiki or for the state in which the edits are being made. Senior editors with the rank of Waze Champ or Mentor receive that status from Waze management after significant contributions to the Waze community and a peer review.

Senior editors must also remember their higher ranks come with higher responsibility. Failure of a senior editor to lead by example and follow the guidelines of the Wiki and consensus of other senior editors will also be considered a violation of Waze etiquette and will be addressed accordingly.

If you have any questions or issues, please feel free to PM one of the Rank 5 or 6 editors in the state list. If you are having a problem with one of those editors, contact one of your Country Coordinators, or in large countries, one of the Regional Coordinators for your area. The senior editors are committed to help resolve issues as quickly and confidentially as possible.

The following list of actions are considered violations of the general map integrity or overall Waze etiquette and are subject to the disciplinary actions already discussed above. This is not an exhaustive list:

Action	Explanation
Any willful damage to the map	This will not be tolerated at all
Deleting roads for no reason	This is considered willful damage
Deleting and redrawing roads	Modify the current road to save the underlying meta data associated with the segments, unless the new road is truly different
Overdrawing parking lot roads	Guidelines on parking lot roads are clear
Creating roads on top of already existing roads	This creates routing nightmares
Disrespecting higher ranking editors trying to help an editor	Violates basic etiquette guidelines
Knowingly misleading other editors	Violates basic etiquette guidelines
Not cleaning up your own mess	This is considered disrespectful
Not responding to private messages	This is considered disrespectful