CONTRIBUTE to INSIDEINFO
Consider the kind of information you would like to know from other members of the community you live with, or especially if you are wanting to research in to other communities views on where they live. This may be useful if you are considering a move to another part of the city, or to the city from another location.
To enter information, simply click on the area, street or location of the map that you are wishing to comment on. If you can't find the street, type the postcode or street name in to the Search bar at the bottom left. Once the location has been found, click on the map in that location, and enter the information you wish to present in your information window from the form provided. You must select a STREET NAME, AREA, an ATTITUDE, a COMMUNITY and enter something in COMMENTS and ideally the other information provided, but these are the most important aspects of the project.
WHY IS MY INFORMATION NEEDED
Your Name is not essential information for the project, but providing a name provides a sense of personality to the comment, rather than just a block of information. If you would rather not enter your real name, please put anon.
The Street Name is important as people searching the site may wish to find information out about a certain street in Plymouth, and providing a street name in your form can help people associate a location along with an aerial view.
The Area is again an important factor, of which people will want to know about, so it is important to add this.
Attitude is a vital component that people will be able to filter the map with. By filtering positive and negative attitudes, you can see at a glance where people feel good about and where people don't feel so good about where they live.
Community is the most important choice. Users must be able to filter the map quickly and efficiently by community type so it is relevant to them, rather than seeing lots of opinions that may not be of interest to them. By selecting your community, you also establish yourself in a category that can provide useful information for other members of that community and those outside the community.
The Comments entry field is your chance to comment on all of the information you've provided and will play a fundamental role in your opinion of the area you live, study, work or visit. It is also your chance to backup the information you have provided previously with reasons why you have a certain attitude perhaps or why it's good to be where you are for some people and not for others. Any information you can provide at this stage will help someone in some shape or form. If you're not sure what to put, have a read of other peoples opinions.
The Choose a file option field is optional. If you'd like to record your opinions rather than write them down, or add to what you've written verbally, then record your information in a .mp3 format and select the file here. Please keep file sizes under 2MB or under 45 seconds depending on quality of recording, and ensure they are saved as a .mp3. Alternatively upload a photo of the location you are talking about, or even yourself if you would like to associate it with your comments. File formats accepted are as follows: .jpg, .png and .gif.
WHAT DO I GET FOR MY INPUT?
This project is essentially a social platform with content created by the people, for the people. The more information provided by the people who use the site, the more information will be available in the future when other people (maybe yourself) require it. Even if you are not after information about different communities at this time, enter information about the area you live and the community you belong to, regardless of where it is, because that might be just the information required by a fellow member of your community.
The spread of information, especially to other major cities, would be an excellent source and exchange of information between people who are considering a change of location for residing, studying, working or visiting.
I ONLY WISH TO SEE A CERTAIN COMMUNITY
The map has a filtering system with a list of links below the map. By clicking on any of these links you can view that category or community, so if you are a student considering coming to University here, you may wish to just view Students and maybe Residents. If you are interested in Council views you may wish to just check out the Crime Rates and Councillor information boxes. It is your map when you visit the site, so it is right to be able to view whatever you are specifically interested in.
I AGREE/DISAGREE WITH SOME COMMENTS. WHAT CAN I DO?
To allow users to rate other peoples comments of the area and their community, there is a star based rating system. The stars range from 1 star to 5 stars, and the current rating is shown above the Rank Me statement at the bottom of the information box. This score represents the validity of the comment. If you wish to comment on the communities opinion of their location and community, you can rate their information box by selecting a score, which will be added to the existing score and displayed as a number between 1 and 5, which represents the current validity rating. It is encouraged to rate peoples posted information to build up an accurate perception of how accurate their view points actually are, and who better to do this then the members of that community. If the number is set at 0, then no one has yet voted.
