.png)
Adding to maps...?
As well as starting a new map – which you are welcome to do at any time, using the New map button beneath the map in the Hub view – there's a range of ways in which you can contribute to the development of existing maps (and map creators and map communities generally welcome all kinds of contributions):
(1) Add a
Comment to an idea, by clicking on the
Comment radio button at the bottom of the
Details text. The process is just the same as commenting on a blog, and (unlike
Discuss messages, see below) a
Comment is automatically associated with, and generally tends to be about, a specific idea on the map.
(2)
Rate an idea, either by clicking on the
Rating scale shown at the bottom of the
Details text or by clicking on the arrow that points from the idea to its parent (which opens a small version of the rating scale on the map). Rating ideas in this way helps the community to see which ideas are perceived to be the most important (and why).
(3) Add a
Citation to an idea, using either the
Cite button (beneath the map) or the
Cite radio button underneath the
Details text. Citations are one of the easiest and most useful contributions you can make to a map; as they tell the map community about articles elsewhere on the web that you think are relevant to a particular idea and/or that contain ideas that you think should be added to the map.
(4) Use the
Discuss button (under the map in the
Hub view) to make a suggestion about the map, or to introduce yourself, and/or ask for any guidance from to the map community. Discussion messages aren't linked directly to any specific idea – although you can point to an idea by including the #number of an idea in the text of the message – and can be of any length and include links.
(5)
Add a new idea to the map by navigating to the relevant part of the map and then clicking on the
Add idea button (beneath the map in the
Hub view). Prior to adding a new idea, it's generally worth exploring the map and using the
Search this map facility on the
Finder tab to check whether the idea is included elsewhere on the map already. When adding a new idea, it's always fine to use the default
Issue idea type (although you are also welcome to change the idea type using the color selector beneath the idea text entry box – and the idea selector will always guide you as to the types of idea that are available in any given location).
(6) You can also
Edit an existing idea – for example, to correct a typo, to clarify or improve the text, to change the idea type, or to add more details to the
Details text – either by clicking on the small
Edit link (bottom left on the map in the
Hub view) or by clicking on the
Edit details link (at the bottom of the
Details text). Each idea has a full
Edit history; so you can always revert to an earlier version of the idea at any time.
...and each of these ways of contributing to a map is explained in more detail in its own section of the
Help tab.