What Does the Map-Pin Icon Really Mean?
LegacyUser
✭✭✭✭
Jeff Wiseman said: This question comes up occasionally and since I just gave an explanation in a recent topic, I thought I'd post it here so that it might be easier to search for.
The map pin icon identifies any place name that is defined with a geo-coordinate. As you can see in the following, the full address with street number does not have geo-coordinates, but each of the suggestions from the standards database do:
In order to show a place name on a map, it must have geo-coordinates. So the full address location as shown above cannot be shown on a map. However, by associating that displayed place name with a nearby place name that DOES have geo-coordinates (such as the center of the city or county itself), the full address location can be shown at map coordinates in their approximate vicinity.
The method of associating a standard place name with its geo-coordinates to the non-standard displayed name is called "standardizing". In the following image you can see how the full street address location has been "standardized" using the geo-coordinates for the CENTER of the city of Chillicothe:
Obviously, any other addresses on that same street that are standardized with the Chillicothe standard will show up on maps in the same exact location (i.e., the city center of Chillicothe):
Note in the above image, neither of the street addresses have their own specific geo-coordinates so there is no map-pin icon. For mapping purposes, they are each "borrowing" a set of coordinates from a standard place name (in this case being the city of Chillicothe).
Also note that there is not a red "!" data error symbol. If there was, it would mean that they cannot be shown on a map because in addition to not having their own specific geo-coordinates, they ALSO have no standard place name assigned from which they can "borrow" nearby coordinates.
Finally, if either of these locations actually DID have a map-pin icon showing, it would mean that the displayed location is exactly the same as a place name from the standards database (i.e., it actually DOES have a specific set of geo-coordinates of its own).
Note here especially, that the detailed information in the 2nd and third image above are more accurate than that of the standard place name for the standards database. They are "standardized" but they just don't have their own specific geo-coordinates. Changing them to a standard place name such as in the last image above in order to get the map-pin icon to show on the details page destroys useful data and in general SHOULD NOT BE DONE!
Unfortunately FS uses terms like "standard", "standardized", and "standardized event place" in a very inconsistent and poorly thought out way that increases the confusion of these issues.
None of the place names in the Standards database are "standardized". They are each a "standard" which can be used to "standardize" other non-standard (e.g., more detailed) place names.
So technically, only a display name can ever be "standardized". In order to do that, you need a standard of some sort to apply to it.
So the map-pin icon only identifies "Standard" place names and not "Standardized" place names. Misunderstanding of this principle has resulted in people going through the database and removing useful information from locations thinking that they are "Standardizing them" when all that they are doing is replacing previously "standardized" place names with ordinary "standard" place names which typically have LESS information in them.
The map pin icon identifies any place name that is defined with a geo-coordinate. As you can see in the following, the full address with street number does not have geo-coordinates, but each of the suggestions from the standards database do:
In order to show a place name on a map, it must have geo-coordinates. So the full address location as shown above cannot be shown on a map. However, by associating that displayed place name with a nearby place name that DOES have geo-coordinates (such as the center of the city or county itself), the full address location can be shown at map coordinates in their approximate vicinity.
The method of associating a standard place name with its geo-coordinates to the non-standard displayed name is called "standardizing". In the following image you can see how the full street address location has been "standardized" using the geo-coordinates for the CENTER of the city of Chillicothe:
Obviously, any other addresses on that same street that are standardized with the Chillicothe standard will show up on maps in the same exact location (i.e., the city center of Chillicothe):
Note in the above image, neither of the street addresses have their own specific geo-coordinates so there is no map-pin icon. For mapping purposes, they are each "borrowing" a set of coordinates from a standard place name (in this case being the city of Chillicothe).
Also note that there is not a red "!" data error symbol. If there was, it would mean that they cannot be shown on a map because in addition to not having their own specific geo-coordinates, they ALSO have no standard place name assigned from which they can "borrow" nearby coordinates.
Finally, if either of these locations actually DID have a map-pin icon showing, it would mean that the displayed location is exactly the same as a place name from the standards database (i.e., it actually DOES have a specific set of geo-coordinates of its own).
Note here especially, that the detailed information in the 2nd and third image above are more accurate than that of the standard place name for the standards database. They are "standardized" but they just don't have their own specific geo-coordinates. Changing them to a standard place name such as in the last image above in order to get the map-pin icon to show on the details page destroys useful data and in general SHOULD NOT BE DONE!
Unfortunately FS uses terms like "standard", "standardized", and "standardized event place" in a very inconsistent and poorly thought out way that increases the confusion of these issues.
None of the place names in the Standards database are "standardized". They are each a "standard" which can be used to "standardize" other non-standard (e.g., more detailed) place names.
So technically, only a display name can ever be "standardized". In order to do that, you need a standard of some sort to apply to it.
So the map-pin icon only identifies "Standard" place names and not "Standardized" place names. Misunderstanding of this principle has resulted in people going through the database and removing useful information from locations thinking that they are "Standardizing them" when all that they are doing is replacing previously "standardized" place names with ordinary "standard" place names which typically have LESS information in them.
Tagged:
0
This discussion has been closed.