FAQ

This website is designed using the <a href="http://www.usahidi.com/">Ushahidi</a> platform. Thanks to Anahi Ayala Iacucci, Crisis Mapper consultant, for providing us with a detailed manual of the Ushahidi platform. The following are excerpts from the <a href="http://ushahidi.s3.amazonaws.com/downloads/community_docs/Ushahidi-Manual_4.pdf">manual</a>. How to submit a Report? Submitting a report  to an Ushahidi  platform  is as easy as filling in any online form; administrators will appreciate that the layout of the form is identical to the finished reports.  Even geo-locating your report is as simple as clicking on the map provided; Ushahidi will figure out the latitude and longitude for you. To access the form, click the “Submit a Report” link in the main navigation.  This entire page is the online form.  There are 10 items in the form in which the user can contribute, in addition to the required title, description, and location, the following: A. Title                                             F. Refine Location Name and Find Location tab B. Description                                  G. News Source Link C. Date and Time                             H. Video Link D. Category                                       I. Upload Photos E. Map                                              J. Contact information     a) Title The person reporting an event (the reporter)  provides a brief description of the event (no more than one sentence), including nearest landmark (eg. Rally near Al-Askari Mosque in Conakry). The title is the first thing that users of the map will see, so it is important that the title gives an idea of what happened and where. b) Description The reporter should  describe the event in a few sentences.  It is important to include the following pieces of information: ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘how’ and any additional, contextual information that you feel is important.  It is also important to describe the source of the information –  e.g., it is from a secondary or primary source. The description should be brief, but comprehensive, with all the additional information that is relevant to the event reported. c) Date & Time This should refer to the date and time of the event, rather than when the report is submitted. Note that the system automatically inserts the  current  date and time, so the reporter will need to change the entry if the event happened on a different date than when  she is submitting the report. d) Category The categories help to categorize the incidents by type. The reporter must select at least one category type but  it is possible to  select as many categories that apply.  If there are subcategories, to see them it is necessary to click on the plus sign placed before the category and a scroll down menu  will appear with all the sub-categories. Correct categorization is important and should not be rushed. In general, try to select just one category if possible. e) Map The map allows  viewers  visually  provide the location of the incident.  If the name of the street, address, or GPS coordinates are not known, but the reporter can find the location on the map,  she can  double click on the location of the event on the map to place the red marker there. This will automatically record the coordinates and point on the Ushahidi map. It is important to zoom in on the map to a level where it is actually possible to accurately place the marker at the correct location. The more specific, the better. In addition to plotting the report location on the map, the reporter is required to write the name of the location in the “Refine Location name” box under the map. f) Refine Location Name and Find Location tab The location of the event is one of the most important pieces of information to be inserted into the report. If the reporter knows  exactly where the event happened she can insert the GPS Coordinates by simply entering them in the box below the map and by clicking on the Find Location tab. The red marker will automatically move to the location identified by the GPS coordinates automatically. If there is no data available about the GPS coordinates and the reporter knows the location, he/she can just write the name in the box under the map and click on the “Find Location” 20 tab: the Ushahidi map will automatically find the coordinates of the location and place the red marker in the map in the right position. If the Ushahidi map cannot find the exact location, then it is highly recommended to use external, online applications such as Google Earth or OpenStreetMap  to find more precise coordinates and then copy and paste them in the find location box. g) News Source Link This section should be used only if the report being submitted is from an online source: the box allows inserting only a URL address. If the information is coming from more than one on line source, it is possible to insert as many links as required by clicking on the plus (“+”) symbol on the side of the box. h) Video Link In this section the reporter can  add a link to a  video related to the event reported.   It is important to be sure that the video is relevant to the accident monitored. Note that  the Ushahidi platform doesn’t allow  you to upload  videos to  the platform;  the reporter can provide a URL to a video hosted elsewhere (such as YouTube). i) Uploads Photo The reporter can also upload a photo related to the event reported.  Again it is important to be sure that the format is JPG or similar and that the picture is relevant to the event being reported on. Unlike videos, it is possible to upload pictures to the platform. j) Contact information The reporter may include  her personal information with report: first name, last name and email address.  Typically, this is important information to be  include because if there  is missing information in the report, or mistakes, the administrator can immediately contact the reporter for clarification. This is not required for the system to accept the report, but it can enormously help the managers of the platform. We should note that in some instances it would not be advised to collect this information, keeping in mind the safety and security of the contributors. k) Submission Button Once  all  form  has been  filled  out, clicking the “submit” button will add the report to the administration queue for approval. If there are missing pieces of information or mistakes in the report, the system will ask the reporter to fix the mistakes. Note that the default functionality of the system is such that unless a site administrator or editor submits a report, the report remains unpublished (not public) until approved by an administrator. It is really important to review all information in the report for accuracy before clicking submit. After submitting the report, it will be sent to an administrator for  approval and verification before appearing on the map unless otherwise decided by the administrator of the platform.   You will re-directed to the same page also if you click on the button on the top of the home page will lead you to the same page that you can access by clicking on the Submit a Report tab on the main tool bar.

Lost & Found pets

FAQ