User:Melamrawy (WMF)/ThoughtsOnMaps

Notes from meeting with Yuri last month

About:
Extension: Kartographer provides the ability to add a map to articles using simple tags with JSON data. It was deployed on some Wikivoyages this week.

What is this ultimately supposed to do? *
Add to projects free licensed maps that are: mobile friendly (For obvious reasons :) interactive (you can pin and tag, etc) Wikimedia styled (a map that doesn’t look like google maps) customized (showing information relevant to what the project or the community needs)

What is missing?
Right now it is a basic feature that allows adding a map to the articles. In addition to general bugs, there are major issues need to be resolved, such as:

a. Styling
Related read: https://github.com/yohanboniface/OpenRiverboatMap#design-philosophy
 * Currently maps don’t have a unique WMF style. Major decision depend on how is the map supposed to look like. For instance, how should country borders look like. (width, color, etc), in addition to unique icons, etc.
 * Needs: Design skills to help with the visual aspect + basic CSS knowledge. (Nothing to do with mediawiki. This happens in Mapbox. Existing styles are available for tweaking)

b. Customization

 * Usability is different based on each community need and project. While Wikivoyage needs  a fully details map, some Wikipedia articles might need very broad outlined map.
 * Needs: SQL development skills to allow building relevant data layers to maps + fronted development

Major mediawiki and general issues:
https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T119043
 * Data storage architecture and capacity, more below:

https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Yurik/Storing_data

Very simply, how is map data stored in DB for different stages of editing and across different projects? Maps are not yet VE friendly. Supposedly they got approval for next year budget.
 * Visual editor
 * Major expansion in deployments will requires hardware investment

( * ) Major questions:

 * 1) Do we need to build services on top on maps.wikimedia.org or do we want to ensure maps within Wikipedia are providing enough rich content?
 * 2) How are Wikimedia maps different? What do we offer, differently to our community of editors and readers?
 * 3) Are we building a tool that helps represent content, or helps provide a service?
 * 4) A working tool is fine for initial engagement, how can we move with further community engagement for a tool that has major issues?