Geograph - photograph every grid square

Well, if it's a 'geographism' - a term developed during use on this site, then see this glossary article we have started compiling.
http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Geographisms

Keeping the Geograph website operational requires many people to donate their time or resources, and we want to be sure that the website is a resource free from commercial exploitation in future. To that end, the site software is available for re-use under the terms of the GNU Public Licence (GPL).

Also, we require all submitters to adopt a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licence on their photographic submissions.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Under this licence the photographer keeps the copyright on their images but grants the right to anyone to copy and/or distribute and/or modify the image and its attached metadata, provided they give credit. This right to reuse the image may include someone printing and selling the image on Ebay or elsewhere.

On submission, contributors licence their images at one or more specific sizes. Once a licence is granted it is irrevocable, as that image and licence may legally have been downloaded and used elsewhere.

In a nutshell, we wanted to build a true community project that won't leave a nasty taste in the mouth by getting sold for shedloads of cash and taken away from the people who contributed. These licence terms ensure that the site and content can never be "taken away" from you. See Freedom - The Geograph Manifesto http://www.geograph.org.uk/help/freedom



(Developer? http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Geograph-for-Developers )

Yes, we have a page here https://www.facebook.com/geograph.org.uk
It rarely shows more than the daily home-page image, the wealth of the site is here, on the website, with many ways to search for the images you want to see. Along with collections in the Articles, Galleries and forums.

Here's a quick link to the Ordnance Survey's beginner's guide to grid references: https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/getoutside/guides/beginners-guide-to-grid-references/

Grid references locate places on the map. They consist of one (Ireland) or two (Great Britain) letters followed by an even number of digits. The letters define a (100x100)km^2 square (a 'myriad' in Geograph-speak) and are best looked up on an overview map. The numbers locate the position within that square. To find a location, split the block of numbers in two. The first block is the easting, i.e. the distance from the western edge of the myriad. The second is the northing - the distance from its southern edge.

Grid references always specify square areas, not points. The more digits there are, the smaller is the square referred to, and the higher is the precision of the grid reference. For each pair of digits, the precision increases by a factor of ten: SN58 defines a square of (10x10)km^2, 50km to the east and 80km to the north of the origin of myriad SN. SN5881 is a (1x1)km^2 square 58km east and 81km north of that origin. SN 58272 81324 is a (1x1)m^2 area. When stating a grid reference, the precision given should be in line with the accuracy of the position (how well do we actually know where we are?) and with the size of the object (a building doesn't fit on a 1m^2 footprint).

The system Geograph still uses in Ireland works in exactly the same way, although the Ordnance Surveys of Ireland and of Northern Ireland have recently introduced a different system for their maps. This article http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Locating-photos---Republic-of-Ireland explains the differences.

The answers given by Barry have been on the site for a long time, and they form the basis of what the site is about. Yet many good Geographs do not fulfil any of those criteria, and two are almost contradictory (at close up and being useful in interpreting a map).

It is important to realise that the site has grown way beyond what was first envisaged, and so the site's definition of Geography is now very wide, incorporating a lot of social history, ecology, geology and other allied subjects. This is encouraged but it means that the definition of a Geograph has become broader.

So a Geograph is any photograph, accurately geoloacted, that depicts the Geography of a square, or any aspect of the Geography of the square, shown in some form of context. A description is useful and encouraged, especially for photographs in which the geography is not obvious, but it is not essential.

Some other photographs are still extremely welcome and contain useful geographical information but may not be classified as Geographs*, and listed below:

Firstly, it was felt that it was very important that every square should be actually visited and not just 'view-bagged' from a distance. So, Geographs must be taken within the square. Nevertheless, certain views can only be seen from outside a square. These cross-grid shots are classified as "Cross Grid".

Secondly, some photographs don't have much context. These are usually details of large objects, but they may just be very small objects or they could be large objects that are not shown completely. Most mods would agree that the smaller the object the more context that is needed to make it a Geograph. These close-ups are classified as "Close Look"*. The largest objects that tend to be classed as shown in close-up or incompletely are buildings. Most mods believe that to be a Geograph a building photograph should the whole building or some context, although some mods would prefer both.

Thirdly, indoor shots are classified as "Inside". They can add useful information, but indoors, being an entirely human environment, is on the fringe of the site's definition. Only public indoor areas are acceptable.

Fourthly, shots taken from the air are classified as "Aerial". They are often useful, but they approach the subject of Geography in a different way than was originally envisaged.

Finally some shots are classified as "Extra" these include:
Silhouettes
Sunsets and sunrises
Cloudscapes, sky, auroras, celestial bodies etc
Things in the sky such as birds, aircraft, balloons etc.
Things on the sea that are not permanently fixed to the sea bed for extended periods of time such as boats, windsurfers, inflatables


*(From 11 May 2016 the Supplemental Classification is replaced by Image Type Tags:
see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Image-Type-Tags-update ).

Yes, as an established project, with very specific aims, its inevitiable we would develop our own terminology, for more see this article:

http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Geographisms

(explains things like hectads, myriads, and the hamsters amoung others)

The server that ran the Geograph website, was soon noted as being hamster powered, as in 'we need to put more hamsters on wheels' when things where running slow. Or a hamster fell out of its wheel when something broke. Later also used as a general term to refer to any part of the inner workings of the site.

(Exact quote from an article by Barry Hunter, see the link below)

[PERSONAL OPINION OF THE AUTHOR] Geograph takes pride in taking care about accuracy of location and information content. We like to think that this sets us apart from many other picture sites on the internet.

Whether it is one of your own pictures or someone else's, if you think something's wrong, please use the 'change image details' or 'suggest update' link under the main picture. This gives you access to a form where you can amend any of the details (subject and camera position, view direction, title, description etc). After making your changes, leave a short explanation in the box at the end of the form.

Changes to your own images will update immediately. The only exception are changes to the subject grid square, which are moderated; this will typically take a day or so.

If you suggest changes to someone else's pictures, they will be alerted and have an opportunity to reply. Ideally, you should work with the original contributor to come to a consensus. Moderators will try to assist with that. Generally, accuracy is taken very seriously, but if additional information is presented, it is the photo contributor's prerogative to decide whether to accept it.

When making a suggestion, please bear in mind that you are communicating with the original author, not primarily with Geograph. Explain your changes in a friendly and civil manner, and supply sources to verify your point. Avoid making many suggestions to the same contributor at the same time.

Suggestions which are mainly concerned with geograph/supplemental* classification or seek to move positions by small amounts within the stated precision (often 100m) are regarded as a waste of time by many and can cause aggravation out of proportion with their usefulness.

* (From 11 May 2016 the Supplemental Classification is replaced by Image Type Tags:
see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Image-Type-Tags ).

RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, allows you to obtain an up-to-date listing of the latest Geograph submissions for integration into another website or RSS reader. For more information, try this Wikipedia article on RSS.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_(protocol)

We provide an GeoRSS (RSS1.0) feed at http://www.geograph.org.uk/feed/recent.rss which contains links to the latest 20 moderated images.

We have recently added RSS feeds to other parts of the site:
* You will find an RSS button at the bottom of search results, useful to keep updated on local images.
* Registered users can access an RSS feed of the latest topics in the Discussion Forum, and even subscribe to an individual topic, just look for the RSS button!
* the Grid Square Discussions even supports GeoRSS.
* Get an RSS feed of recently updated Articles.
* The newer Content section has an RSS feed.
* Find out about organized meets by following the RSS feed.

(They also accept the format parameter like the main feed.)

If you use the Firefox web browser, you should be able use our feeds as "live bookmarks" - simply click the orange button in the address bar (or in the status bar on older versions).

For more technical information, see
http://www.geograph.org.uk/help/api

All images are licensed for re-use under a Creative Commons Licence, see licence details by viewing a full size image. Also look for the "Find out how to re-use this image?" link under each image on the main photo page, which outlines easy ways to re-use the image.
http://www.geograph.org.uk/faq.php#opensource

Are you a developer?

... maybe looking for ways to access images outside the website?
http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Ways-to-view-Geograph-Images

and more info about our API: https://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Geograph-Image-APIs

Please get in contact if you have an idea for re-using images, beyond what's available via the feeds above. In all likelihood we can provide a feed to suit your requirements.
http://www.geograph.org.uk/contact.php

There are several ways to create a photo collection - http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Content-on-Geograph

Marked list - see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/The-Mark-facility
You can save this as a private list or use it to build a Themed Topic or Article.

Themed Topic - a discussion area where you can gather photos either alone (by locking the topic after each post) or collaboratively.

Article - see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Help_on_formatting_of_articles for help in creating articles which can also be a sole effort or opened up for collaborative editing.

Articles are indexed by google (and other search engines) and are visible to registered and non-registered users of the site.

It depends on the licence the author of the article has chosen. You can find that in the footer of the article page. A summary of acceptable uses is given at http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Licensing-of-Geograph-articles .

Adding a link to the source of information, or showing details of an off-line publication within your description or article are the usual ways to add a citation.

Interior shots are not the main purpose of the site, but we do include them, ideally cross-linked to an exterior shot for context. This generally only applies to publicly accessible places and to sites of a particular interest. Interior shots are always supplemental* images, but they can add valuable information and are generally welcome.

*(From 11 May 2016 the Supplemental Classification is replaced by Image Type Tags:
see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Image-Type-Tags-update ).

I'm sorry, you can't.
We keep the formatting simple on descriptions so the text can be used in the widest possible number of places without causing problems.
You can, however, use italics in articles - see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Help_on_formatting_of_articles

If you've had any front page pictures (a.k.a. Picture of the Day), they're listed on http://www.geograph.org.uk/myphotos.php?tab=featured - the tabs at the top also show where else on Geograph your pictures have been used, e.g. in articles or galleries.

[Question asked on the forum by Martin31 http://www.geograph.org.uk/discuss/index.php?&action=vthread&forum=18&topic=14253 and answered by Barry Hunter.]

Please see the article http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Shared-Descriptions

The easiest place from which to add shared descriptions to a few recently submitted images (or check if you have attached it to all you intended) is your Recent Uploads page http://www.geograph.org.uk/submissions.php (link in side bar).
The Shared Descriptions tab below the description box shows how many shared descriptions are attached to an image. Click it to check which they are, create a new shared description or attach one already created.
There is a bulk attach tool available to facilitate the adding of a shared description to up to 50 images at a time (see article).
Note you can only add shared descriptions to your own images but are free to contact other contributors to alert them to the existence of a shared description relevant to their photo which they may wish to add.

If your friend asks you to and for some reason cannot create their own account then that's fine provided they understand the Creative Commons licence. You should credit them as the photographer when submitting.
See related article: Photos not taken by submitter

You can upload images of any dimensions, portrait or landscape, but the file size needs to be under 8 megabytes. We do resize them so their longest dimension is 640 pixels on the main photo page. Optionally, you can also release larger versions of various sizes for downloading and re-use.
http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Larger-Uploads-Information

We only accept JPEG encoded images. If you have any image in another format it will need to be converted.

Ideally images shouldn't have a longest dimension of fewer than 480 pixels. While we might accept such images if they hold particular interest, we would really prefer a larger image.

We do record the EXIF headers from your original image, so it is advantageous to upload your original camera image or use image editing software that maintains the EXIF data if you want this information to be kept (but we don't currently make use of the data).

(From 11 May 2016 the Supplemental Classification is replaced by Image Type Tags:
see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Image-Type-Tags ).

A. Click on your image to open it.
B. Look for the yellow framed exclamation mark under the photo frame (right side)
- "Change image details" and click on here
C. Scroll down until you come to the last blank text box. It has the words "Please describe what's
wrong..." above it.
D. write your thoughts in the box, the more detail the better
E. select the second tick box underneath "Bring the issue to the ..."
F. Click on Submit Changes.

This will raise what is known as a ticket which other moderators in addition to the original moderator who gave the classification you are unsure of, can read. They are likely to comment (some with more detail than others) and you will receive email notification of this. A decision is usually reached within a week. The time frame is to allow as many moderators as possible to read your comments and add their own. Some moderators only volunteer their time at weekends or may just be away.

Shared descriptions are blocks of text that you can apply to a number of images. You can also use shared descriptions written by others.

This may be useful if you have taken a number of photos at one location, and want to write a paragraph about that location. Also if you make a change to the shared description (e.g. correct a typo) it will be updated on all the images it is attached to.

For example I wrote a shared description for a number of images featuring Epping Long Green, which I can re-use if I take any more images of that location. It also enables a viewer to access a page where all images using that description are displayed.

If someone else has already written a helpful description of a feature, you can re-use this. It also allows a way of grouping images from different contributors together. For example Ian Capper had written a description of Coal Tax Posts, which I was able to attach to one of my images: Anyone searching for "Coal Tax Posts" would be able to access a page where images from all contributors who had used that description are displayed.

You can find a detailed article on the topic written by Barry Hunter here: http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Shared-Descriptions

You can search for shared descriptions already written here: http://www.geograph.org.uk/snippets.php

The main picture on Geograph should be free from annotations because different people may want to use it in different contexts. However, annotated pictures demonstrating features such as geological or geographical details are very welcome. Please upload annotated versions to Geograph's media repository http://media.geograph.org.uk/ and link them from the description of the original image uploaded to Geograph's main archive. This article http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Howto-Crosslinking-descriptions shows how to make such links.

The media repository can also be used for out-of-copyright images such as old postcards to compare with the same scene in a current geograph, or for user-generated maps of the area.

You can also annotate other people's images and link them as external images from an article you're writing. To get started with article writing, have a look at this overview: http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Help_on_formatting_of_articles .

(From 11 May 2016 the Supplemental Classification is replaced by Image Type Tags:
see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Image-Type-Tags-update ).

If an image doesn't quite fulfill the Geograph criteria above, but is still a good image, we'll accept it as "Supplemental image" - no Geograph points are awarded, but the image will still appear on the selected grid square. A square that just contains Supplemental images is still open to be claimed as a Geograph though!

Supplemental images are not inferior to Geographs, just different. For the interpretation of a square they are just as valuable as they add extra information (in the case of close-ups) or wider views (in the case of aerial shots or images taken from another square).

In general you will only get a point the first time you visit a grid square, and your photo is moderated as a "geograph". You may also get extra points if you are one of the first 4 people to visit the square. Subsequent photos in the same square will not get you any points, photos classified as "supplemental" will not get you any points.

(From 11 May 2016 the Supplemental Classification is replaced by Image Type Tags:
see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Image-Type-Tags ).

Tpoints work slightly differently to the above: you get a Tpoint if you submit a geograph which has a time difference of 5 years (before or after) compared to other geographs in the grid square: So with Tpoints it may be possible to get subsequent points for the same grid square.

(From 11 May 2016 the Supplemental Classification is replaced by Image Type Tags:
see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Image-Type-Tags ).

No points unfortunately, but that doesn't mean they're pointless - they can give much more detail or, on the other hand, broad vistas which wouldn't fit in otherwise.

They have their own leaderboard, though: http://www.geograph.org.uk/statistics/moversboard.php?type=supps .

(From 11 May 2016 the Supplemental Classification is replaced by Image Type Tags:
see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Image-Type-Tags-update ).

The short answer is "Yes": Whilst in the past there was some degree of discretion if the camera position was close to a grid-line, current guidance (2016) is quite strict.

One of the aims of Geograph is to encourage people to visit all possible land squares. If there was not a general rule requiring the camera to be in the same grid square as the subject a photographer could go to the top of a mountain or tall building and use a telephoto lens to "bag" a number of grid-squares without having to visit them.

I am guessing this is a question as to the suitability of family snaps. The general rule is the people should be the secondary element of the photo rather than the main feature, and posed shots (it can be worked out in most cases) are more suitable to other photo sites as not related to the area they are in. Having said that a discussion thread has refined this recently, and the general conclusion was if there are local events or occupations which are taken spontaneously then a person featuring as the main subject can be included although without a reasonable amount of background would normally be added as a supplemental*. But for straightforward posed family snaps then the only circumstance they would be suitable is if they were a small part of the whole scene, and as with most the older the photo the more flexible the criteria.

*From 11 May 2016 the Supplemental classification will be replaced by Image Type Tags: see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Image-Type-Tags-update

(From 11 May 2016 the Supplemental Classification is replaced by Image Type Tags:
see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Image-Type-Tags-update ).

see also http://www.nearby.org.uk/geograph/answers/view.php?id=16

Supplementals are all photos that are not Geographs.

Any photographs that show close up details without sufficient surrounding context to be deemed geographs are classed as supplemental as are photographs of the insides of buildings. Also photographs taken from outside the grid square are commonly referred to as cross-grid supplemantals.

Aerial and underground shots are always classed as supplementals as are "all-at-sea" photographs with no land or permanent structure (such as a fixed navigational aid) in the square.

The distinction may be "borderline" in some instances and different moderaters' decisions might fall another side of the border but such decisions are initially based on their interpretation of the guidelines and generally without reference to other similar images.

The "aesthetic quality" of the image is irrelevant.

Sometimes pictures get relocated if they have been uploaded to the wrong grid square by mistake. This is often the case with images from the very early days of Geograph, when there was no or only scanned out-of-copyright mapping available.

Very occasionally, a (first) Geograph gets reclassified as a supplemental image* if there had been a clear error in the original classification.

Also rarely, images are withdrawn or vaulted for a long period because they weren't taken from a place with public access and the land owner has complained.

In all these cases, the next uploaded geograph (if any) will take the point, and if that was yours, then you'll find a miraculous extra point on your profile.

*From 11 May 2016 the Supplemental Classification is replaced by Image Type Tags:
see http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Image-Type-Tags

Full details of how Geograph uses cookies to personalise the pages you are served are given in this article: http://www.geograph.org.uk/article/Use-of-Cookies-on-Geograph-Website .