We're guessing there are two main ways that Groups will use the People Map:

• For small groups where everyone knows one another (e.g. families, softball teams, groups within an organization, scout troops, etc.), the People Map provides a way to plan events by being able to visualize where everyone is located. In addition, the feature can also be customized to function as a dynamic address book.
  
  
• For bigger, less connected groups (e.g. fan clubs, support groups, hobbyists, etc), the People Map enables members to see the visual distribution of the group and to find fellow group members who live in their area. In addition, if the moderator chooses to customize the entry form in clever way, each member's entry can then function as a kind of mini-profile for that member in the group.
  
  But the real answer is that we don't know. we look forward to finding out from you!

Very simple.

• Users complete the entry form.
  
  
• A point appears on the map marking that entry and the user's answers appear in full in the list next to the map.
  
  
• Users can also use the map to navigate anywhere in world and see the information that other members have chosen to post.
  
  That's it. Although as a moderator, you also have the option to customize the entry form.

Click the 'edit form' link in the left hand navigation of the People Map. One you reach this page, you can:

• Add new questions and fields
  
  
• Remove any questions and fields (except for 'name' and 'address')
  
  
• Reorder questions
  
  
• Rename questions
  
  
• Add 'explanatory text' to questions
  
  
• Choose to make questions mandatory or optional

Yes. But only to the extent that Yahoo! Maps has coverage for that country.

During the initial Beta period, to minimize usage while we get the kinks out, we're not adding links to the People Map into groups. Instead, you and your members will need to use the following URL to get to your People Map:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/YOUR_GROUP_NAME/app/peoplemap
(remember to replace 'YOUR_GROUP_NAME' with the actual name of your group.)

Alternatively, you could paste the following piece of HTML into your group description.
(again being sure to replace 'YOUR_GROUP_NAME' with the actual name of your group.)

<br>
<img src="http://l.yimg.com/a/i/us/yg/gap/pr/pm_box.png" usemap="#promotebox" border="0">
<map name="promotebox">
<area shape="rect" coords="14,107,95,133" href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/YOUR_GROUP_NAME/app/peoplemap">
</map>

You should see this module appear in your group description:

Not yet. For the moment, only members can access a group's People Map and only members can contribute to it. But soon we are going to make it possible for moderators to determine who can access the People Map (anyone, members, moderators, or no one) and who can contribute (with the same options).

As a moderator, you control what questions appear on the entry form. And while you can't remove the address question altogether, you can remove the option for a user to input a street address or ask them for a 'nearest intersection' rather than a specific address.

Yes. We wanted members to be able to add entries for other members or even non-members, so that power users could help less savvy users by entering information for them (and in the future, we will make it possible for a group member to add an entry for a different user and to then allow that user to update that entry).

Note: However, you should only add the address information to a People Map of people who have explicitly given you permission. To add someone else's address without their permission may be considered abusive behavior and a Terms of Service violation.

Moderators, if you receive a request from someone who claims their address was added to the People Map without their permission, please remove that address from the People Map as quickly as possible.

Our plan is to build the same moderation options for the People Map (and eventually all features) as exist today for messages. But for the moment, the only option is to delete abusive entries after they are discovered and to remove or ban the users who posted them.

By default, the most recently added (or updated) entries appear first.

Because of limitations on the Yahoo! Maps API, we can only display 25 points on a map at one time. However, by using the location box to jump to a different location (or manually scrolling the map and clicking 'redo search' in map area), you can generate a new set of points to appear on the map.

Not yet. But a notification system is in the works, though it is a notification that anyone in the group will be able to receive, not just moderators.

If a member puts in a location that Yahoo! Maps can't find (either because the address isn't in the Maps database or because there was a mistake in the user's input), the map will 'guess' at the nearest possible location based on the information it does recognize. When this happens, we note that the location is only approximate in the display of the entry.

In the near future, we'll be adding a 'table view' to this feature to allow you to see the information that has been entered in a tabular format.

The People Map is really intended for people and has been optimized for that use case. But in the near future we plan to support additional maps, so we encourage you to wait until they're available before adding these locations.

Beta is a stage in the software development cycle. It basically means you can count on many things being broken or having lots of rooms for improvement. And while we've compiled a list of the already known issues below, we're counting on your help to complete this list so we know what to fix and improve.

We've created this group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peoplemap/

for folks to provide feedback on things that are broken or suggestions to improve the People Map. You can either join the group or simply send feedback to peoplemap@yahoogroups.com

Alternatively, as always, you can post a message to the Suggestions Board:

http://suggestions.yahoo.com/?prop=groups

• Default Map View Zoom: The default map view is zooming in on the most recent entry, which often means that the latest entry is the only one that appears on the map by default (it should be panned out further).
  
  
• Zip Code Changes: In some cases, the zip code or city that a user type is being changed (though the placement on the map is still correct). This has to do with the way information is stored in the Yahoo! Maps system, but in the future we'll change the way we handle this situation so that what you type is what appears in the list.
  
  
• Non-North American Street Address Mapping Issues: In some cases, we're having trouble mapping street addresses outside of the U.S. and Canada, even when those addresses do map correctly to the street level in Yahoo! Maps. We should be able to fix this in the future but only for those places where Yahoo! Maps has coverage.
  
  
• Intersections Incorrectly Mapped: When users enter an intersection, the markers on the map are appearing in the wrong spot (close but off by a mile or two).
  
  
• False "Placement on Map is Approximate" messages: This message is appearing even when the placement on the map is exact (if, for example, you typed in "Main Street", if the Yahoo! Maps system has the record stored as "Main St.", the message is appearing).
  
  
• Multiple Entries in the Same Location: We're currently doing a poor job when multiple entries are in the same location of visually displaying that multiple entries exist (much less how many).
  
  
• Marker Image Backgrounds: In Internet Explorer, the background of the "marker images" (which indicate where folks are on the map) is grey rather than transparent which is quite ugly and irritating.
  
  
• List View Formatting: When you're on the map view, the formatting of the list of users is also rough. Addresses display as a single line of text (rather than one line for street, a second for city/state/zip, and a third for country), the wrapping can be hinky, there is no spacing between fields, etc.
  
  
• IE6: Entry Page and Edit Form Page Formatting: For users on Internet Exploret 6, the formatting on the Entry Page and Edit Form pages is sometimes a bit wacky with text improperly aligned, wrapping strangely, or the field boxes being too large. Date fields are particularly problematic.
  
  
• Field Order: The order of fields on the map page isn't always matching the order they appear on the entry page.
  
  
• Double Byte Character Support: Double byte character support is currently not working (which means you won't yet be able to enter information in languages like Chinese or Arabic).
  
  
• Search (duplicate results): If a search finds the keyword being searched in more than one field, the entry will show up more than one time in search results.
  
  
• Search (no address check): Search currently does not search the address field.
  
  
• Two Addresses: If you add two address fields to a record, a number of problems may result (e.g. only one address mapping, "location not found" messages, etc.).
  
  
• All Moderators Getting Edit Power: Only moderators with the power to edit group settings are supposed to get the ability to edit the entry form but currently all moderators are getting that ability.
  
  
• Help (or lack thereof): We don't yet have any Help pages (beyond this one). In addition, we're planning to include more messaging on the pages themselves to help guide moderators on how to edit the form and to caution members to only add address information they feel comfortable sharing.
  
  

If we wait until every last detail is perfect, we'd never get it out the door. Plus, the longer we wait, the more likely it is that we spend time fixing things that aren't that important, while leaving other things broken or needing improvement because we aren't aware of the problem.

Our philosophy is to get Beta products into the field as quickly as possible. That way, we immediately begin getting feedback. Plus, the users who don't mind the glitches get the feature sooner.

Only moderators with the power to 'change group settings' can access the 'Edit Form' page.

You can't yet. Just don't link your members to it. But when we implement 'settings' in the near future, turning the feature off completely will be an option.