Alright, I'll give you a bit of an FAQ. If I missed anything, let me know. Moderators, feel free to add to this, or move it to a more appropriate forum.
> What is the LDB?
The UER Location Database is a database of locations for urban exploration, categorised by region. Its content is created and edited by UER full members. Basic members and non-members are only able to see locations which are marked Publically Viewable or Demolished, but there are many other locations in there.
> Who can contribute to the location database?
Any full member may create a new entry or modify any existing entry.
> What do I need in order to create a new entry?
You should know its geographic location and have pictures you've taken there. That's the bare minimum for a fully-validated location.
And of course, this link:
http://www.uer.ca/....asp?action=newloc > Should I add a location if I haven't been there yet?
No. You're obviously just squatting on the space so that when other people visit, they'll be obligated to post in
your entry.
> Should I add a location if I have been there, but don't have any pictures?
If you have information about it, it can be useful for getting others to visit. Hopefully someone else will have pictures to put up. Until then, don't be surprised if it only gets conditional validation.
> Should I add a location if I've visited, but only got exteriors and couldn't get inside?
Yes, and it will probably remain conditionally validated until you update with pictures of the interior. Consider this a reminder to do it.
> What doesn't belong in the location database?
There's no one single rule. Some locations that are public are okay. We do frown on tourist locations, even if they are of ruins like the Pyramids of Giza.
Active locations aren't a great idea, unless they involve some sort of infiltration or you get somewhere interesting, such as the rooftop of an active building, or backstage in an amusement park.
Graveyards, while certainly UE-worthy locations, tend to get booted from the LDB unless they're (a) abandoned and (b) photogenic.
We occasionally have purges of locations that we don't want in there.
> What should I name the location?
It's best to use the real name if you know it. If the real name is too sensitive, you're always free to set its viewability to private. If you don't know the actual name, or there isn't one (ie for a house), a nickname is acceptable, and you can always change it later if you learn the real name.
> What's the purpose of the "Type" setting?
There are only four official types, Building, Drain, Tunnel, and Outdoors. If these aren't adequate for your location, you can type in your own.
Keep in mind that this field is used for certain types of searches, so if you come up with a name any more exotic it might not be easily found.
> What do I put for Street Address, City, Province / State, and Country?
Try to keep this information accurate. Don't use any abbreviations; ie for Texas, don't put TX. Street Address is an optional field.
> What if it's not in a city?
Take your best guess. You must put something in the City field. You can either put the closest city, or write something like "countryside."
> Should I put in the map coordinates?
If you know them, definitely. If you don't know the exact location, be sure to note that in Co-ordinate Accuracy.
> Should I fill out the Historical section?
This section is optional. If you have accurate information, definitely. If you're going to add rumours or unconfirmed information, make sure you note it as such.
> What should I put for the Status field?
You're given seven categories to choose from: Abandoned, Under Construction, Being Demolished, Closed, Active, Demolished, and Repurposed. Remember that if you select Demolished, the location will automatically be set to Publically Viewable.
If none of these apply, you can write your own in the field provided. Keep it brief.
> How do I set the Accessibility?
Go by your own frame of reference. Easy should mean you had no trouble walking right in, and Difficult should mean you had to challenge yourself.
> What should I put for Interesting Features?
Put anything here that you think would make this place really worth seeing.
> What do I put for Recommendation?
For this, you're given five options:
1) drop everything - must see
2) worth the trip
3) check it out if you're nearby
4) not very exciting
5) forget it
Although these can be a little esoteric, it's probably just best to think of this as a grade from 1 to 5.
> Do I need to fill in Media Coverage, Future Plans, Description, and Web Links?
You definitely should put something for Description, but all fields are optional.
> Do I need a Main Picture?
Yes. Even if you don't have pictures for a gallery, your location will not look complete without a Main Picture.
> Should I write a Story?
If you have something interesting to say about a visit there, a Story is a good idea. For everything else, you can just start a thread on the entry page. Note that you can link a story to a gallery, in case you're telling a story about a particular visit.
You can also edit stories later. Anyone has the privilege to edit other people's stories, but it's probably not a good idea to do so without their permission.
> Should I create a Panorama?
If you have one, sure. The site software is pretty intuitive.
> Should I add a Photo Gallery?
Yes, if you ever hope to get your entry out of Conditional Validation Hell.
> Should I make my gallery anonymous?
If you really must, sure, it's an option. However, why is it anonymous? Security reasons? You don't want to get caught? If you don't trust the full-member system of UER enough to post, maybe you shouldn't upload.
The software is a bit glitchy, so it would likely be possible for moderators to figure out who you are.
> Should I make this gallery available to the general public and Level 2 users?
I don't even know if this feature works. If the location entry itself is public or private, tagging this box or untagging it will have no effect.
> What format should my pictures be in?
They must be *.JPG format. You don't need to worry about them being too big, as UER will resize them. You also have the option to rotate your pictures after they've been uploaded, so if you don't have a lot of editing to do, you can just put them in as they are.
> Should I add my credit statement into each picture?
This just creates a very basic watermark in your image. It's mostly useful if you're concerned about your images being stolen from the LDB and used somewhere else. Probably bet to do it just to be safe.
> What's Step 2?
Photo captions, descriptions, and reordering the photos in the gallery if necessary.
> How many pictures can I upload?
You can upload up to ten at a time, to a total of 25 per gallery.
> But I want to upload more!
You should probably reconsider this. Why does your gallery need more than 25 photos? It will reduce the number of people willing to look through it all.
> What about creating multiple galleries?
There are a few exceptions. For instance, if you visited two distinctly different buildings. Or, if you've been on several visits. You cannot create two different galleries together: the site software makes you wait a few days. However, this can be overridden by a moderator.
If you need to upload more than the standard one gallery/25 photos, contact a moderator about overriding the limit. All we need to do is press a button.
> Can I upload content not originally created by me?
UER hopes that all content uploaded by its members to the LDB is owned by those members. However, sometimes historical photographs, newspaper articles, or articles from other websites appear in the LDB.
UER follows the general policies of "Fair Use" in these cases. The information or photographs will be displayed until the original owner or license holder requests for them to be removed.
> What content is not allowed in the database?
Any photographs depicting pornography are not allowed in the LDB, as there is a risk it could show up on the front page at an inopportune moment. I know I've been caught violating this one a few times.
Please ensure, if you are uploading photos containing unobscured faces, that you have the permission of the person(s) in those photographs.
UER reserves the right to selectively censor or delete any photographs which violate these policies.
Any kind of information which reveals entrance details (such as locations of fence holes, unlocked doors, etc) is not allowed.
> Who owns the photos once I've uploaded them?
When you upload photographs to the UER Location Database, you are granting UER a license to display the photos alongside your name or credit. This license can be revoked by you (and you only) at any time, and the affected photos will subsequently be removed as soon as possible.
This policy only applies if you are the owner of the photographs in question. Any photos uploaded for which you do not have the distribution rights (photos you did not take) are not affected by the preceding policy.
> What about stories?
When you create a new "story", you are granting UER a license to display the story alongside your name or credit. This license can be revoked by you (and only you) at any time, and the affected stories will subsequently be removed as soon as possible.
This policy only applies if you are the original author of the story. Any stories of which you are not the author (such as newspaper articles) are not affected by the preceding policy.
> I'm ready to show off my entry. What do I do now?
Before it's viewable by anyone, including moderators, you must click the Make Available button on the Location Gallery Edit page.
> How do I get my location validated? What does that even mean?
Once you've hit the Make Available button, the entry will enter a queue where moderators will see it. At some point over the next few days, depending on how lazy we are, it will receive validation.
Validation just means that it looks right to the moderator who validated it. We don't know if it's real or fake, or what its status is. All we can judge is whether it fits the criteria of a location entry.
> What is conditional validation?
Conditional validation is given if we have some sort of problem with the entry, but we figure you will get around to fixing it on your own if we're just patient.
The most common reasons for conditional validation are:
-no photo gallery
-no proof of entry
-looks like a crap location
Conditional validation grants the entry a provisional validation of three months, at which point it turns up in our queue again. At this point, we'll probably conditionally validate it again, but if it's been bouncing back here for a couple years without any updates, we might just delete it. If it's just an issue of not having enough pictures, we probably will still keep it in the hope that someone actually does visit and gets photos for an update. But if the information is weak or it doesn't look very interesting, it could get sent to the deletion queue.
> How do I bump my location's conditional validation up to full validation?
See what's wrong with it. Chances are you just don't have enough pictures. If it's not clear, feel free to contact the moderator who conditionally validated it to find out why.
> When should I make a thread in a location entry?
This is a good place to keep a conversation going. If you don't want to just modify an existing entry, but maybe want to confirm details, ask for updates, or something related, this is the place. If you have comments about the site that aren't related to the pictures in the gallery, you can start a thread.
> Can I modify someone else's LDB entry?
Of course, as long as you're not vandalising the entry. All contributions should be positive additions to the entry. For instance, a photo gallery, updates on status/hazards/etc, or more accurate descriptive information.
Removing or falsifying textual database information placed in the database by another member, or by yourself at a previous instance, shall be deemed as Vandalism of the Location Database, and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken.
Remember, once created, an entry becomes part of the UER community and does not "belong" to the person who created it.
> Some jerk modified my entry! What the hell?
If they added pictures, great. If they improved on the information you provided, great. If they deleted info you put or changed it in a way you disagree with, you should send them a message or contact a moderator.
Remember that the information in the LDB is part of the community in the same way information on Wikipedia is.
> I found a duplicate of a site I created! What can we do?
Which came first? If yours is oldest, you should probably just contact a moderator. If the other is oldest, you'll need to move your gallery into theirs.
Technically, anyone can move any database gallery to any other location. The moderators will take notice, so it's probably best you only use this for moving your own pictures.
> Should I make my entry publically viewable or private?
If you only want UER full members to see it, mark it private. When in doubt, it's probably best to go with private.
If it's demolished, it will automatically be changed to public.
You always have the choice with any location to change its privacy setting.
> How do I search the database?
There are four search methods. The first is obviously clicking through based on continent/country/city names.
The second is the Location List Filter, which allows you to screen for particular contributors, particular names, Type, or Status.
The third method is the Location Map, which places all locations on an online map tool.
http://www.uer.ca/locations/gmaps/ Last, there is the more extensive Location Search feature.
http://www.uer.ca/locations/search.asp > My location's been added to the deletion queue! What do I do?
You will have received an automated message from the moderator who moved it to the deletion queue, which contained an explanation. It will be sitting in a queue, possibly for quite a long time, so you have time to rescue it.
> My location's been demolished. What do I have to do now?
The only edit you really need to make is to change the status to Demolished. This will make it publically viewable. Don't bother changing every detail, such as Recommendation.
> Won't adding a location to the LDB ensure its destruction?
Possibly, but it may have happened if you didn't add it anyway.