Thread: Is there a map to find the Member Map?

Has the Member Map been eliminated? I always considered it a useful, but under-utilized, tool. Now I cannot find it.

Yes, it's gone - very old and very inefficient software no longer maintained by the original author, and after a while it wasn't worth my effort maintaining it either.

Okay, soooooo how does a newcomer find someone nearby willing to help?

Start by looking in Library > Local Help. If that doesn't yield a close member try Member List > Advanced Search, in the Location field put in variations on your location. Or ask in a thread for local help.

Jonathan

Said it before,will say it again, should be mandatory to have your local under your screename.
Where do's Gugi Live?? Utopian??

I found the advanced search frustrating for locating user locales.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Said it before,will say it again, should be mandatory to have your local under your screename.
Where do's Gugi Live?? Utopian??

Agreed.
I didn't realize my location was no longer visible but I have fixed that now. Thanks for the heads up. Now all the straight shaving throngs in Rochester can look me up.

Originally Posted by gugi

Yes, it's gone - very old and very inefficient software no longer maintained by the original author, and after a while it wasn't worth my effort maintaining it either.

Thanks for letting me know. I was afraid it was something like that. Unfortunately it was never used as much as it should have been. Hopefully someone someday can find a more workable version that could be brought in.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Said it before,will say it again, should be mandatory to have your local under your screename.

It doesn't look you've thought much about it, though. In my view it should be optional because you can't make people to put their correct location. No location is better than a wrong one or garbage.
As an example:

here is what Kali looks like:



Likewise some people think that members ought to use their real names instead of made up stuff like pixelfixed - again we don't make this a requirement, just like we don't require address, date of birth, SSN, mother's maiden name etc.

Originally Posted by Utopian

Thanks for letting me know. I was afraid it was something like that. Unfortunately it was never used as much as it should have been. Hopefully someone someday can find a more workable version that could be brought in.

The problem is inherent in the way it was done - somebody wrote it back in 2006 and at that time the google interface for putting dots on a map was one at a time. So when you get more than several hundred members the map takes few minutes to get populated. Most forums with the basic skill to set that up could easily grow to few thousand members and at that point the map is next to impossible to use.

What you need is a map that uses the newer interface so that it loads quickly - then it'll be used. There was something like that I was looking into at some point, but I don't remember anymore what was the problem with it. Will check again what's out there that may be adapted for us with small modifications.