Hi guys, this is Brendan - I've just joined your Glasgow Green Mappers group!

a bit about myself: I'm a displaced Canadian who is living near Merchant City in Glasgow and I think this city has a lot of work to do and this map project will help significantly in outlining the main areas of improvement. I work for a wind energy company and am involved in a couple other green groups in Glasgow.

Now down to business - some notes on the current state of the website:

1. The map doesn't show the extent of what has been plotted - this has its strengths and its weaknesses, but I'd kind of like to see, from the beginning, what this map has to offer


2. Will the map be larger? Whether you show the extent or show it in its current state, you need to zoom in or out - meaning this doesn't help anyone. I'm lazy and want to click my mouse as little as possible so put everyone on the same page, as opposed to favoring those in the city centre.


3. I'd like a box that says: "put in your postal code and we'll show you what is in your neighborhood", which then adjusts the map size to show what is local.


4. The settings behind 'name', 'address', etc. are too vague and will lead to people adding items which will look different. This needs to be narrowed down - what about the shop should they be saying? Otherwise, people will add too much or too little. Name - fine. Address - needs expansion. About - needs to be more specific. Opening hours - could easily become (I think?!?!?) a drop down menu. Contact - person I assume? So contact name. Telephone - do I put (+44) or 0 or what? What if I'm calling them from outside the UK? Fax - same as phone. e-mail could be _____ @ _________ and website could be http://_________________. Am I the best person to drop the location of this place? What if I'm just a customer of theirs and put it in the wrong spot? Would having a box for postal codes help?


5. Why would I ever want to show things on a 'small map'? Maybe use different language like 'fast map'


6. What does 'show random places' mean? Why would I ever want to see random places? If this is supposed to interest me in places I haven't heard of - perhaps this should just list the businesses which have just been posted instead.


7. I like the idea of the front page being a map on the left and a giant calendar on the right - then you cover 'where' and 'when' quite quickly.


8. I don't like the idea of seeing "show all categories" - why don't you just tell me the various categories? How do I even know that THAT is where to look for the categories listing?


9. Articles - I think you need to keep a tight wrap on the articles thing - as in, all articles that are posted have to do with an event, which will be posted as an entry on the big calendar (which then links to the article) or something new being offered by a shop or organisation. So then you need to split articles into "events" and "updates", which can eventually be localized.