Add ability to mark Map Comments as critical with increased visibility
Please add a way to mark some Map Comment (MC) points as "critical" (as opposed to "informational"), with increased visibility. Instead of a small white dot, for example, you could display a slightly larger black-and-white or red-and-white bullseye. You could perhaps even add (gentle!) animation, such as gradual pulsing.
Why do I suggest this? Several times now, I have encountered oversights by editors who seemed to have missed important information in a nearby MC Point. These well-intentioned but uninformed edits degraded the driver experience until they were discovered and repaired. I've asked around and have come to three conclusions:
(1) MC Points are not sufficiently visible to be sure of getting editors' attention.
(2) As a result of MC Points' poor visibility, some editors choose to create MC Areas instead of MC Points. But MC Areas are more intrusive than MC Points, so the proliferation of MC Areas degrades the editing experience and encourages editors to turn off the Comment layer more often.
3) Some MC Points provide less-important background information, for example the location of a mile marker that might be used by emergency services to identify that position on the roadway. It would be distracting for these background MC Points to be given high visibility, thus the need to differentiate between "critical" and "informational" MC Points.
Increasing the visibility of critical MC Points would improve their chances of being noticed and respected by visiting editors. It would also make MC Points an attractive alternative to MC Areas, leading to more judicious use of MC Areas.
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umopapisdn commented
What about making all MCs visible by default until they've been read and acknowledged? Once they've been acknowledged, the status of the MC layer controls visibility as normal.
Also, HARD PASS on any animation in WME.
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DwarfLord commented
> Maybe also critical map comments shouldn't be able to be hidden via the layers menu?
That is a GREAT idea! As long as it only applies to comment points, not comment areas, as editors need to be able to hide comment areas in order to work efficiently underneath them.
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nzahn1 commented
Maybe also critical map comments shouldn't be able to be hidden via the layers menu?
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Damon Hunn commented
Excellent suggestion. Extremely useful and relevant