Expedition

Here are some of the most common contents for an expedition or meetup page. I've got a brief version you can copy and paste located here.

Creating and Linking the expedition page

Creating any expedition page is as simple as creating the link, then clicking it to edit the page. Two good places to start are your own user page, or the page for the graticule.

Expedition pages are usually named in the following manner

2005-05-26 37 -122 - Date (hyphenated), followed by the graticule latitude and longitude.

Another good location to link to the page is from the main page Gallery of Recent Expeditions.

Expedition contents

Meetup Graticule template

The expedition page should probably contain a meetup template. Comments below an example:

{{meetup graticule
| map=<map lat="47" lon="-122" date="2008-06-28" />
| lat=47
| lon=-122
| date=2008-06-28
| graticule_name=Seattle
| graticule_link=Seattle, Washington}}

The coordinates within the map argument are used to display the map, along with primary and any alternate location pins.

Other arguments are used to display the text and create links below the map.

The final two arguments are optional. The first specifies a "pretty" name, the second the graticule it links to.

Gallery

It is always nice to include a gallery if possible. The syntax for that is here, comments below:

<gallery perrow="3">
Image:2008_07_26_47_-122_ravine.jpg|One side of ravine...
Image:2008_07_26_47_-122_ravine2.jpg|... and the other.
Image:2008_07_26_47_-122_tree.jpg|This tree leads towards the spot.
Image:2008_07_26_47_-122_tree2.jpg|No further for me.
</gallery>

The perrow argument for gallery is optional, and specifies how many per row. If missing, the browser window width is the determining factor.

Image names as uploaded are listed. After the optional vertical bar (or pipe) you can list a caption for the image, if you like.

You can have multiple galleries within the expedition.

Categories

Finally, a good set of categories should be included. Was your expedition a success? Do you have photos? Was your failure because of Mother Nature, or Private Property? These categories will be helpful for various data collectors too.

If the expedition is just in the planning stages (and some never make it past that), use:

[[Category:Expedition Planning]]

If the expedition happens, use one or more of the following set:

[[Category:Expeditions]]
[[Category:Expeditions with photos]]
[[Category:Expeditions with videos]]
[[Category:Expedition without GPS]]

This was a Geohashing expedition, so did a group make it to the coordinates, or not? Select one of the following:

[[Category:Coordinates reached]]
[[Category:Coordinates not reached]]

The satellite view didn't show that river or that no-trespassing sign, or the GPS dies in the woods - hey, failure happens! Select one of the following categories that best describes why. The last category is best used for XKCD meetups where the coordinates weren't the real goal.

[[Category:Failed - Mother Nature]]
[[Category:Failed - No public access]]
[[Category:Failed - Technology]]
[[Category:Failed - Did not attempt]]

Uploading photos

Image filename can be whatever you like, as long as it isn't already on the system. That said, we will run out of space for images with names like Raptor and Big Tree pretty soon. I prefer to create an image filename based on the date and graticule. See above for examples.

Images should be 150k or less. This can be done by cropping, resizing the image, or reducing the save quality of a JPG image. Consider the contents of the image to make your decision - if you are showing GPS readings, you want to make sure the result is readable!

Finally, uploaded images can have a description (where you can optionally credit the photographer) and should have a pair of categories. These same categories will be automatically added to your expedition page (courtesy of the meetup graticule template) and help to connect your pictures to your page, graticule, and date.

[[Category:Meetup on 2008-07-26]]
[[Category:Meetup in 47 -122]]