How about adding a map feature so we can find other permies near us?

A month ago I took the Oregon State online Intro to Permaculture class.  One nice feature was that you could pin your location on a map for all to see (if you wanted to).  I've also seen the same thing done on Sugarbush.info (maple syrup forum).  If Permies did that it would allow for many of us to meet our neighbors.  Of course, you wouldn't need to give your location if you didn't want.  Just a thought....

Set it up and we can promote it!

I can do a lot of things but with computers I'm lucky if I can keep my antivirus up to date.  So I hereby summon the powers of the PErmies SofTware ExpeRts (PESTER if you like) to take this wonderful idea and make it happen with my blessings.  

It would confirm your world domination in manner measurable by anyone... I like it.

Well, I thought it would not be too difficult to create one in Google maps. You can use this one if you like:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1KEfAFv3oyrrTRCf8037UE-qb6q4&usp=sharing

Embed code:

<iframe src="https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1KEfAFv3oyrrTRCf8037UE-qb6q4" width="640" height="480"></iframe>

(Edited to add:) After opening the page you should see something like 'add location'. I'm not sure what people on a PC see, because I only have a tablet to connect to the internet and that seems to be different.

Zoom in as far as you can to your location. Place the marker. Then please edit the text with your marker. Where it says 'point x' (x being a number) change that to your name (name you use on permies, so people can actually find your profile). In description you can put what you like. You can also add a picture. When all changes are made don't forget to click on 'save'.

I'm no expert on this, but if questions arise I can try to figure out an answer.

I added myself to the map already  with a link to our website and a picture of our farm.

Okay, I've tried to add my household to the map. Can anyone tell me if I succeeded?

I only see one flag on the map.

Thank you, Tyler. I've tried again, and I'm confident that this time I've succeeded. Just my city and first name, but I'm there.

My two cents:

I think this would be great!!! Often I feel like I have no one to share my successes and failures with in my local community. You know the ones that are traveling this unusual path (Paul W. might call is eco-4 and higher people). Yea, they are just waiting for my failures but they take my successes with a big grain of salt.

Paul Wheaton wrote:

Set it up and we can promote it!  

Yea, that is OK, I think but maybe we can make this a bit simpler at first.

Now, what I am suggesting is re-writing some code on the permies.com site, hence the apprehension ( I am assuming) from Paul. However, I think that is about the only way it could be done.

I think that in your "personal preferences" there could be a check box or something that allows a permies member to be "seen on a map".
Then in that list you check the box that is the amount of information you are willing to publish (Name and location). The "amount of information" I mean is a level of information on your location. So, you could have a check box on "country", "State", "County", "City", "Zipcode". I would not get more detailed than zip code for privacy reasons. Then the member simply checks one of those boxes.

For the "promote it" part, permies.com could have a special page for the "map". This can start out as a searchable data area where a  person can look at "lists". These lists can be clickable member names. So, when searching a level of detail, a list could pop up. Then if a member wants to contact the other member they could send a purple moosage.

As time goes on, this list of lists (or database) could be set to the backdrop of an actual map (like google maps or something).

Unfortunately, I think the programming should be coming from permies.com itself. "Unfortunately" because you all are pretty busy over there. I would be happy to help if I can.

Hi Casie, yes, I can see you!

Im out of town. I assume when you click it, your current location is pinned?

I'll double the number in texas when I get home.

Cool!  I'm on!

Wayne, yes, your current location is used.  I tried to add my future sites, but couldn't.  Though that could just be operator error.  IDK.

Guess its time for a road trip.  Ah, shucks.  

A bit of 'how to add location' because I just noticed things like 'point 6' getting added to the map.

After opening the page you should see something like 'add location'. I'm not sure what people on a PC see, because I only have a tablet to connect to the internet and that seems to be different.

Zoom in as far as you can to your location. Place the marker. Then please edit the text with your marker. Where it says 'point x' (x being a number) change that to your name (name you use on permies, so people can actually find your profile). In description you can put what you like. You can also add a picture. When all changes are made don't forget to click on 'save'.

Thanks Rene.  I got it.  I'm using a tablet, too.  

Now I don't need to do the road trip.  Shucks.  Gotta figure out another really good reason to use the gas.  

Oooo, like emptying the brush outta my pickup! Oooo!  Gonna take a purposeful road trip yet!

I just added my location.  Good start, peeps!  Now, get the rest of the hoard in board.

I have mighty powers!

Cool idea. Really easy to pin. Now if anyone were closers lol

It IS easy.....I got pinned

The map is slowly filling up a bit and it's really cool to see some small clusters appear of people who are located in the same area.

Sometimes I see an unnamed entry (point #). I leave them for a few hours to allow who put it there to edit it and change it to their name. If that does not happen, I delete that point, because without a name it is not clear if it's indeed a valid entry.

If you have a problem editing your marked location, please click on my name to the left of this post and send me a purple moosage, so I can edit it for you.

Thanks for making it happen Rene !!!

I think that we should start a whole new thread so that the mappy bits appear at the top of the thread.   Maybe it can be that whole "wiki page with comments" thing that we recently set up.

You're welcome Mike!

Paul, I made a new topic in community/communication. I have a problem with the image though, already reported that, so hopefully someone can fix that. I checked the wiki with comments option, no idea what it does though, but I'll find out.

Rene Nijstad wrote: I have a problem with the image though, already reported that, so hopefully someone can fix that.

I think I managed to fix it for you, and I even added a pin to the map!

It would be kind of neat to have a map somehow incorporated into the permies forum code.  We could separate out different regions, provinces or states (cantons, prefectures, countries, whatever), then take the IP address, and/or let the person choose, which region they want to belong to.  Also an opt-in/opt-out choice.  If someone wanted to find permies in their area, they could go to the map, click on their region, then it would come up with a list of permies members in that region.  The regions could be linked to the regional forums.  It would also be neat for people traveling long distances that want to meet up with other members.  

By having it grouped by region, it would preserve some privacy, in that it wouldn't show the exact town the person is in (unless they state it in their profile), but would still help members feel connected to each other.  

I don't know enough about code to know if it's possible.


In the meantime, thanks for making this map.  Looks good.

I already make the mistake to criticize Rene for putting the map up, while there was already one.
(I am currently reading "The Timeless way of building", so my thinking is a bit patterned …)

Why do "we" need this feature?
Is it a permies.com only thing, or is generally about people doing permaculture?

What is the effect on permies.com? Is the gain of "feeling connected" greater then the loss of privacy?

The map brings permies.com and permacultureglobal.org closer together (in terms of features and data availability). Is this a god or bad thing?

Sebastian Köln wrote:Why do "we" need this feature?

I don't know if 'we' 'need' this feature.  I can see advantages of it and disadvantages.  Opt out is necessary, in my opinion, as some people are more alert to privacy issues than others.  On the whole, I see it as an interesting thought experiment.  

For me, I don't like putting my 'pin' on a map.  However, I would find it EXTREMELY useful to connect to other people who live in the same area as me.  I don't need to know exactly what city they live in and I'm not partial to them knowing exactly where I live.  The advantage of connecting to other local people is that we can share regional growing information better.  I find the regional info is very cookie cutter.  Either we are zone 8 (actually, I'm zone 8.5 to 9, but never mind) and therefore we are told to follow the global standard of gardening for zone 8.  Zone 8 gardening is terrible here because our rainfall is so different than the standard zone 8.  So we are told to follow Mediterranean planting time... which also don't work because of the temperature, and more importantly, daylength differences.  Pooling together experiences from my region, especially with other permaculture minded individuals, would be useful to me.  We can work together to see if there are any cowpeas that can withstand our day length, or if someone needs to breed a variety that will thrive here.  Maybe they have drought-tolerant beans or maybe they are interested in my early-frost hardy squash project?

I don't use the regional forums here because I am totally confused which of the three areas that sort of match where I live, I should be posting in.  If the map was combined with regional forums here on premies, then it would solve these problems for me (knowing where I fit and finding people who also fit where I do).  It would only really be useful to me if it was combined with the forum, otherwise, I see a map of permaculturists as a novelty.

I can also see permies wanting to get in touch with each other during road trips, or if they were considering moving to an area, looking to buy livestock, and lots of other reasons.  

As I concluded on the topic of the map I made available, this map might not be the best option, because it allows anyone to edit anything. You can check on other comments here https://permies.com/t/57396/communication/Add-Permies-Worldwide-map

The problem was something I did not notice because the browser I double checked the map with did not properly function with the site. I rechecked on another computer without logging in and I could move and change everything. That's obviously not working out. Google maps does not give me any way to fine tune the editing options. My conclusion is that if we like a map on permies it's probably better to integrate it with the site itself.

The map did draw quite a few enthusiastic comments so I think it's absolutely worth it to figure out a better way.

I decided to change the access to the map to 'view only' so we can avoid people to change what is already there. It can stay online like this as an example of what it could look like.

Paul or any other steward can let me know if they like the map to be opened again, or stay in 'view only' or be deleted.

I like the idea of putting your general location on the map. It doesn't need to be exact if you feel privacy is important. I would like to request that people put their state or section of the state after their name: like SE Oklahoma or NE Texas for example. That would make it easier to pick someone out from the list you go to once you click on any one pin in the map.

R Ranson wrote:I don't use the regional forums here because I am totally confused which of the three areas that sort of match where I live, I should be posting in.  If the map was combined with regional forums here on premies, then it would solve these problems for me (knowing where I fit and finding people who also fit where I do).  It would only really be useful to me if it was combined with the forum, otherwise, I see a map of permaculturists as a novelty.

Would an option to assign a location to a particular post (with an default setting in the profile) help?
Then you could search for posts within a given range from the location in your profile, eliminating the border problem of the regional forums.

Sebastian Köln wrote:

R Ranson wrote:I don't use the regional forums here because I am totally confused which of the three areas that sort of match where I live, I should be posting in.  If the map was combined with regional forums here on premies, then it would solve these problems for me (knowing where I fit and finding people who also fit where I do).  It would only really be useful to me if it was combined with the forum, otherwise, I see a map of permaculturists as a novelty.

Would an option to assign a location to a particular post (with an default setting in the profile) help?
Then you could search for posts within a given range from the location in your profile, eliminating the border problem of the regional forums.

It might work for others, but for me,  that would be too much information.

What I envision using the regional forums for is much more specific than I use the rest of the site.  Buying and selling local things.  Talking about local specific growing (not growing plants in general - which to me is a completely different kind of conversation).  Farmers market.  Job and volunteer keeping.  Maybe even finding a life partner.  These are the types of things I could see the regional forums being about.  Permies is so much more than those things, that I imagine if I was searching the entire board by location, then it would be overwhelming since we have people all over the world talking about such a huge variety of amazing things.  I would be more interested in just seeing what people choose to put in their regional forum.

First of all; Hello from AK. I have no idea what the heck I'm doing......how does a newcomer navigate around this site.....just jump in?
Am I replying in the right place, do I introduce myself, so on. I'm still searching to find my way around. How about a " Newbie" section?

Second: I agree with the map feature, and I would love to take an online course for permaculture, so thanks for the idea!
With our climate changing, I can use all the help available.

Ok.....ttfn
Kat

Is there any way to change the location of my pin?

I would really love a map feature.  Until I found this website - I thought I was the only one who was eccentric enough to live this way.   Now I realize that a bomb went off and Permies got blasted all over the planet.   It would be great to know a few landed near me.