06-04-2006, 10:45 AM
During the last two days, Jasper and I have added more than 250 Roman (and a couple of non-Roman) sites to the map. You can contribute by adding links to museums, to your reenactment group, or to your home town. The system has some growing pains, however. Here are some do's and dont's, to make sure that Jasper will not have extra work.
First, log in. There are types of two registration: the one of the forum (which you have probably used when you can read this) and the one of RomanArmy.Com ([url:1jagf4wn]http://www.romanarmy.com[/url]), where you will see the form to the left, at the bottom of the page. You will receive an e-mail message to confirm. After that, you have access to the map and can fill in whatever info you want to share.
There are two ways to submit map items. You can type a name, plus address, plus town, plus country; and you can offer coordinates plus country. The first and easiest way is also the most accurate.
You can check the spelling of the place name on the map that the system provides. The town all the world knows as Pompeii is known in Italy as Pompei.
However, things can go wrong when a small town is not well-known. E.g., Holland has two towns called Valkenburg, and the software invariably uses the wrong town. In those situations, coordinates are better. If you use Google Earth, you can easily find them. In my experience, the format 31.4565 (lat) and 35.3845 (lon) works better than 31 27'23" N and 35 23'04" E.
If you use coordinates, you must add the state. (Please note that the software recognizes West Bank as an independent state.)
Try to be precise. Cologne is a bit vague because the city boasts several museums and archaeological sites, and covers three ancient Roman sites.
Do not use accents in "City/Town:" (in the "Name" is okay). Cádiz and København are not recognizable for the system.
Try to add links to websites. Links have the following format: <a
href="http://www.yoursite.etc">name
When you are submitting ancient topographical information, use the Latin name of a town as name of the marker. E.g., Sirmium, not Stremska Mitrovica. Of course, this is not always possible.
Please make several markers to enable specialized searches. People will not find the museum of Cologne (red marker) when there is only a pink marker for "Roman sites". Thermopylae, the site of both a Greek and a Roman battle, need two markers.
After you have submitted your information, it takes some time before it appears. Jasper must check and activate it.
After this, check it yourself. About 10% of the entrances is not picked up by the system (send a message to Jasper if it's wrong).
Don't let this discourage you; showing museums and Roman sites to your RAT-friends is fun (and addictive, I have discovered).
Good luck!
First, log in. There are types of two registration: the one of the forum (which you have probably used when you can read this) and the one of RomanArmy.Com ([url:1jagf4wn]http://www.romanarmy.com[/url]), where you will see the form to the left, at the bottom of the page. You will receive an e-mail message to confirm. After that, you have access to the map and can fill in whatever info you want to share.
There are two ways to submit map items. You can type a name, plus address, plus town, plus country; and you can offer coordinates plus country. The first and easiest way is also the most accurate.
You can check the spelling of the place name on the map that the system provides. The town all the world knows as Pompeii is known in Italy as Pompei.
However, things can go wrong when a small town is not well-known. E.g., Holland has two towns called Valkenburg, and the software invariably uses the wrong town. In those situations, coordinates are better. If you use Google Earth, you can easily find them. In my experience, the format 31.4565 (lat) and 35.3845 (lon) works better than 31 27'23" N and 35 23'04" E.
If you use coordinates, you must add the state. (Please note that the software recognizes West Bank as an independent state.)
Try to be precise. Cologne is a bit vague because the city boasts several museums and archaeological sites, and covers three ancient Roman sites.
Do not use accents in "City/Town:" (in the "Name" is okay). Cádiz and København are not recognizable for the system.
Try to add links to websites. Links have the following format: <a
href="http://www.yoursite.etc">name
When you are submitting ancient topographical information, use the Latin name of a town as name of the marker. E.g., Sirmium, not Stremska Mitrovica. Of course, this is not always possible.
Please make several markers to enable specialized searches. People will not find the museum of Cologne (red marker) when there is only a pink marker for "Roman sites". Thermopylae, the site of both a Greek and a Roman battle, need two markers.
After you have submitted your information, it takes some time before it appears. Jasper must check and activate it.
After this, check it yourself. About 10% of the entrances is not picked up by the system (send a message to Jasper if it's wrong).
Don't let this discourage you; showing museums and Roman sites to your RAT-friends is fun (and addictive, I have discovered).
Good luck!
