Calling all Travellers! Don't be shy - your input is needed!

Submitted: Monday, May 10, 2021 at 13:39
ThreadID: 141719 Views:6284 Replies:6 FollowUps:6
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Have you travelled anywhere in 2021?
Did you travel anywhere last year in 2020?
....
....
....
If you have travelled anywhere in the past 12 months your input is needed. Simply make a COMMENT in the ExplorOz Places site listings so others can learn from your experiences.

Comments can simply be:
- verification that site exists or is as described in the listing
- add additional information not described in the listing, including changes
- anything that could be useful to other people looking at stopping here
- a rating of your experience whether it was good or bad, please also use the star rating (1-5)

Sites can be any Places listing in the entire ExplorOz system but predominantly the major points of interest, popular places that people expect to visit when in the area.

ExplorOz has over 140,000 Place records in the master database.
Over 10,000 of these are campsites/caravan parks/station stays etc - places offering accommodation.
There are over 37,000 listed POIs for population - towns, villages etc
Nearly 5000 recreation sites which include lookouts, walk tracks, general points of interest
Over 3000 Services - pubs, roadhouses, fuel outlets, water supply points, dump points, picnic areas, rest areas, shops etc.

If you use the website - just go to the main Places page - tap to open the map and zoom in to the areas you've visited. You'll see markers for Places - at low zooms if there' a lot together they'll be clustered together but the more you zoom these separate to show individual on the exact location. Tap the symbol and a box will appear with the link to "Open Place". Do that and then look at what information is provided on the page - tap COMMENTS & REVIEWS and tap the orange button "Post a Comment". You'll then see that the Review option is highlighted. You need to type your comment AND give a star rating to be able to submit this post. Your Review will then be posted to the Place record. Alternatively, tap the button labelled "Discussion" and you can simply write your comment and click submit however not only will it be posted to the Place record, it will also post to the Forum. You are not prompted to give a star rating.



Obviously, you can use the app if you prefer. It's much the same except you can post your comments when offline and it will sync to the site when you're back online.

ExplorOz has been carefully curating this Places system for over 15 years but its up to YOU the travellers to give your visitor comments. Thank you for your support.



Michelle Martin
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Reply By: rumpig - Monday, May 10, 2021 at 17:59

Monday, May 10, 2021 at 17:59
Left Brisbane on Saturday morning, I can officially confirm Tasmania is still here, as the plane made a successful landing at Hobart airport.....lol.
AnswerID: 636353

Follow Up By: Pete Jackman (SA) - Sunday, May 16, 2021 at 17:13

Sunday, May 16, 2021 at 17:13
Thanks Rumpig, I'm catching the boat over in June so its nice to know it has somewhere to pull in
Any mug can be uncomfortable out bush

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Reply By: Member - rocco2010 - Monday, May 10, 2021 at 18:40

Monday, May 10, 2021 at 18:40
Hi Michelle

Prompted by your request I gave it a try for a spot I stayed at a week to so ago . Easy as.

Is there a reason why posting photos to the forum isn't the same simple process or have I missed something there?

Cheers

Ross
AnswerID: 636356

Follow Up By: ExplorOz Team - Michelle - Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 15:59

Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 15:59
Posting photos to forum - press this - button....
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Follow Up By: Member - rocco2010 - Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 16:44

Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 16:44
Thanks Michelle

I use that but I have found that I have to post an image on a hosting service (I use flickr) to get the URL and then copy that into the prompt.

Posting an image on Places it prompts me to select an image in photos (I use an iPad) and it just moves it without going via Flickr.

I am a tech dinosaur and I was wondering if I was missing an easier way.
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Follow Up By: ExplorOz Team - Michelle - Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 17:37

Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 17:37
There are two options
Just use the top option to select an image directly off your device.
You're using the 2nd option to select an image off a website.
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Follow Up By: Member - rocco2010 - Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 17:43

Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 17:43
Dumb as a door I am. Thanks
Here’s a test

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Reply By: Member - nickb "boab" - Monday, May 10, 2021 at 19:55

Monday, May 10, 2021 at 19:55
HEAR HEAR .. i have been talking about this for a while now , We notice when traveling Not many people have left / will leave comments like they do on wiki camp .. So even if its a little out of the way place leave a comment or photo so other know if its worth the trouble to look .I have been doing this as often as possible.. So only then will this app be a good touring app..
Cheers Nick b

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Reply By: ExplorOz Team - Michelle - Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 16:09

Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 16:09
People tend to only be motivated when something is wrong....could it be that there's nothing wrong found on the Places markers so they don't feel compelled to have to post a comment?

What we also see is that people create Places but don't bother to give any details - so this exacerbates the problem. We've already had to put on a staff member to help me do all the verification, research, adding descriptions etc but people should not publish as place into the ExplorOz system unless they are prepared to put in a little effort to give an accurate and useful DESCRIPTION, and at least one photo.

There's so much info sharing that travellers can give to one another if they just use the tools supplied. On the website, you can follow the Places home page and just check the list of New/Update Places and see if anything strikes your eye - and make a comment.

In the app, you can tap to open any Place off the map screen and it prompts you to add a description and photo. How many do that?
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AnswerID: 636367

Reply By: equinox - Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 17:33

Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 17:33
Hi Michelle,

Are you aware that in Western Australia (and probably other states and territories) that the possessive apostrophe is not used?

From "Policies and Standards for Geographical Naming in Western Australia"

"When naming roads, administrative boundaries or topographical features the possessive
apostrophe shall not be used. The use of such an apostrophe in the English language
denotes ownership, possession, or reflects association or affiliation to something.
In all cases of topographic features, localities and roads which have been named in the past
containing an element that has historically been written with a final –‘s or –s’, the apostrophe
is to be removed completely, for example St Georges Terrace, Gentles Corner, Keanes
Point.
An apostrophe forming part of a name may be included, for example O’Connor, A’Dale,
D’Orlando"

This will directly affect searching for places within the places database, such as Desert's Gate out of Laverton.

Cheers
Alan

Looking for adventure.
In whatever comes our way.



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AnswerID: 636370

Follow Up By: ExplorOz Team - Michelle - Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 17:47

Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 17:47
Yep a search for Desert will find Desert but not Desert's
When searching, people will get a match for whatever is the match to what they type in.
If there are Places with naming errors, this can be fixed manually by any Place admin.
As this rule you quote above is not consistent it can't be a global name change as it would find O'Shanessy as well as Desert's as the same thing. So if changes to Place names are identified as needing to be done, they can be done one by one.
I have already changed Desert's Gate for you to Deserts Gate but note there are lots of references in the description and image captions with the use of the apostrophe so its confusing.
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Reply By: ExplorOz Team - Michelle - Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 18:16

Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 18:16
I've already seen some DUPLICATE places appear now. Whilst its great to have people actively updating, please check the place you want to add isn't already there. Especially when its a larger area like a large campground near a beach.

We like to be very specific and put markers at the official locations - we use the highest zoom level to get the accuracy to pin-point precision then drop the marker and so should you.

If there's a carpark and then a hike to reach the POI then put two markers and use the Car Park waypoint type for one, and the Mountain/Summit or Cape/Lighthouse etc for the other (just an example). You'll see this all throughout the system.

Don't just dump all the info, text and photos into one global place marker that covers a wide area. eg. Like a town or national park - don't put images for all the outlying places into one Place record - these need separate places each with their own markers, photos, descriptions and comments.

The use of Places in the app for navigation makes Place accuracy critical so this is why we are so stringent about rules, protocols and data validity and why although we let the public add new places, we do have checks in place to verify every single one.
Michelle Martin
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AnswerID: 636373

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