Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: lotusfanatic on Saturday,March 28, 2020, 09:06:32 AM
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Hello all,
do we have a simple world map of where the community owners/members are based?
It would be interesting to know just how far Europas have travelled from the factory!
(I’m on Exmoor in the South West of England)
Mark
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Hi Mark,
There was an attempt to create a world map and it started off quite well. The snag was that after 100 views the "free" part stopped and it became a paid-for service. It was (still is) a sticky in the Member's Cars forum.
It's a shame because the idea of being part of a world-wide group is appealing. I wonder if we could do something with google maps, maybe sharing "points of interest" or whatever Google calls it when you add in your own location point ?
Brian
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Brian, Mark, I love the idea. There are 5 Europas that I know about in my province of Ontario, Canada. After I retire it would be great to do a Europa visiting trip around North America and possibly England.
Sandy
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I would also be excited by this. Sadly I don't the skills to make it happen.
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I’m not sure how this could be set up?
I’ll keep my fingers crossed that somebody can set it up (or let me know how to?)
I’d happily do the work to keep it updated if that was possible?
Mark
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I'm also curious about this so I looked at google maps and adding multiple locations. It would appear that you can create a "my map" and then share it. If this works the same as google drive does, then I used that facility to grab and share all the Yahoo files when the future was uncertain, pre migration to the current provider.
From looking at it anyone should be able to create a map and share it. Here's try #1......
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jTRZcWu4mLh2TGGlmcLH5POFnQXI-SHc&usp=sharing (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jTRZcWu4mLh2TGGlmcLH5POFnQXI-SHc&usp=sharing)
The settings for this are that anyone with the link should be able to view and to edit as well, which, in theory, should allow you to put your own location on. If you're interested in the idea, have a go.
If you're not confident about adding your own location then I'll add it, but only after direct permission has been granted ? If it works I'll ask Joe if we can get it as a new "sticky" and remove the old one that we can no longer see without paying !
Brian
Edit to add - just checked the link and I see Chuck Nukem is on there. Is that a real location, did it work Chuck ?
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Thanks Brian!
I’ll give it a go...
update: I can't log in to google, could you add me please Brian?
(PM sent)
Mark
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Brian, Fantastic find. I have added my location. Hope to see more Europa friends on the map.
Sandy
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Easy to add photos as well.
Sorry for my ugly mug though ;-)
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Shared my location.
I think I'm on the map.
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Very cool! I'm on the map.
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Hello Brian,
Thank you for starting the map!
Is there anyway to add the link in the list of forums in the home page?
This is at least something to keep us entertained, if only for a few minutes a day, as we check up on the additions!
:lotus:
stay safe everyone,
Mark
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Alright! The map is back in business. Nice work EuropaTC! :pirate:
Tom
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This map is great, Brian. Thanks for setting this up!
I noticed that it looks there are some stray points that you may be able to delete. For example there is one in Norway, one west of Greenland, and one in Nevada in the States that may not belong to a Europa owner.
Thanks again for putting this together!
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It's "open source". So anyone can edit anything, anytime. Pluses? I did your edits. Minuses? Imminently hackable. You could change my photo to Bozo the clown, for example. Probably an improvement, I'll admit.
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...or anyone who wants a Europa, and doesn't fancy paying, can see where they are...
Or maybe I'm just cynical.
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I think that's a bit cynical or paranoid but if it worries you, you can choose a place near you that wouldn't define you.
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Like the Lotus garage on the nearest roundabout!...........Done
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I’m on it . I may have fat finged something but it’s really tiny on your phone.
Thanks Brian,
I can wait to watch it grow 👍👍 passing the link is o some people on Instagram.
Dakazman
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I guess that putting your entire address including a post code/zip code would be a tad daft, just use the nearest town or city should be safe enough?
Thankfully nobody would be able to help themselves to my car (nor would they wish to, given its current condition!)
Mark
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Hi folks,
Having read a few of the comments it's created a few more "doh" moments for me !
First, Silverbeast and how we are conveniently setting up a handy "how to find your next Lotus" for car thieves. Yep, it's a valid point because with google maps you could set your marker right down to the garage/outbuilding where you keep the car. What I do is not to add my exact location, my marker is about there but it's not over our house.
Second, yep John, it is close to being open source. At the moment it's set up so that if you have the link you get into the map, it shouldn't be available widely across the internet. Ok, if you stumble on this forum topic and find the link, then you can get in. But you shouldn't be able to find it from google ?
The alternatives for security are that we can set it so that anyone can view only via the link but not edit. Perhaps we could leave it a month so that you guys can get on there yourself and then alter the settings so that it's not free to edit.
I can do that and don't mind adding newbies later on, I had intended to keep an eye on it just in case we started getting owners located in the middle of the Atlantic anyway ;)
There's also an option to "invite people" to the map. I need to find out what that means, whether it's like getting permission to post on a forum for example or just look at the map. That might be the most secure option to both Silverbeast & John's points, I don't know.
Any thoughts ?
Brian
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Google indexes this forum, so yes the link could show up as a Google search result. Also, anything you write in this thread could potentially help those with malign intent to find the link to the map. So a little extra caution in the comments is probably sensible. We don't want to make it easy for the tea leaves.
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Has anyone ever stolen a Europa? Find it hard to believe it's much of a problem. What would they do with it? Sell it into the east to be made into handbags? I suppose TC engines have value but the days of kids stealing one to fit the head to their Cortina is surely long over.
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I’m not worried about theft, I have insurance. A simple electric fuel cutoff switch is a good deterrent.
Dogs, and security system help also in a garage. LoJack is another deterrent , but really !
Dakazman
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Just to be safe, I have moved my location to the nearest town. And it would take days to find all the parts between the house and the shop. Guard cat on duty!
Sandy
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Did anyone pay for the old map, or otherwise now have access to it? Maybe they could transfer locations (randomly offset so no thieves can find a car?)
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I'm in! I had to do it on my desktop PC cause the map would not come up on my IPad. Don't know what's going on there.
Thanks Brian!
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I’m waiting for our members in Australia to come on line. I’ve also passed it on to some Europa owners in Japan that are online.😀
Brian, you done well!👏👏👏👏
Dakazman
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So what happened to you, Dave? You were out in the ocean. Now you're gone.
And... anyone concerned about privacy: it's good enough to just drop a point at your town.
Vince
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The 4 near Vancouver seem to be a bit close together for self isolation at the moment.
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I’m waiting for our members in Australia to come on line.
Looks like I'm the 1st in Australia to drop a pin!
Does that win me anything :trophy:
General location only and added an image as well.
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We’re still waiting on other members, some we haven’t heard from since the fires.
Thanks for posting, I would personally like to see 10,000 pins . Keep passing it on!
Dakazman
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Great idea - Im on. We need this always at the top of the forum - or it will get buried and not seen...
Steve
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I’m waiting for our members in Australia to come on line.
Looks like I'm the 1st in Australia to drop a pin!
Does that win me anything :trophy:
General location only and added an image as well.
could there be a "gold" pin for the first in any country?!
:trophy:
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could there be a "gold" pin for the first in any country?!
You can customise the pin (for now), so it can be what you want. That's why mine's a black car. If I get round to it I make make a "Europa" car pin.
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Great idea - Im on. We need this always at the top of the forum - or it will get buried and not seen...
Steve
i Agree, should be a permanent stand alone tab...oh, I added myself!
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Added. Duxbury MA
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Brian , I had a picture but now it’s gone ...???
Dakazman
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Brian , I had a picture but now it’s gone ...???
Dakazman
Not guilty your honour !
I've not touched the map other than dropping in to see if there are any obvious errors (people claiming to be in the middle of the Pacific for example) and I can only think that it's been accidentally deleted. With completely free write access to anyone picking up the link, that's always a risk.
Looking at the way it's grown, perhaps it's time to formalise the way it works. Now I'm new to this Google Map thing, so bear with me because I'm making this up as I go along.
I've just made a backup copy of the Europa Map, and this one is private so only I can edit/view it. That seems to work so if you add your photo again, I'll create another backup. There's going to be a limit to the storage space but I've nothing else on that account's drive so it should be good for at least a weekly backup, rolling over every month ?
With any luck that should sort out any fat finger editing but it would struggle with someone outside the group making a concerted effort to mess it up.
I don't have any problem with changing the permissions to "view only" and adding folks by PM request. As you've all seen, it's no big deal to add a pointer with a few details and photo so I'm not going to be losing sleep over that job. I'd prefer to let folks do their own thing, but if we do get problems due to the current access permissions then it's an option. I'm no IT geek but even I can see it's open to mischievous hacking by someone outside the group who's bored.
Next thought is to PM Joe and see if we can tidy up the current Stickie in "Members Cars" and get this added at the top. We shouldn't really have two threads on the same topic and the details/map listed in the original Stickie is no longer viable (without paying).
Any views ? all ideas welcome.
Brian
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I'd suggest we move everyone into the same "layer" and delete all the others ("Lotus Europas around the world"?). It may be simpler to move them all to the layer with the most cars at the moment, delete all the others, then rename it to your choice of name.
I think it adds a new layer when you add a pin, so it probably needs occasional housekeeping to delete the extras - I know I deleted several "untitled" layers when I added my pin.
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Hi all, Ed from Aus
kind of spittin, the missus and me, were in Canada in November and I would have delighted in dragging my wife to see all things Europa there, ahh well next time i will be paying attention to the map.
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Hi Ed!
:Welcome:
Mark
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So that’s why all those strange people show up in my driveway!
Welcome to the group! Start another thread with pictures, please.
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Greetings Ed. :Welcome: Would have loved to meet you and your better 3/4s. Where in the "Great White North" did you get to? We all would like to see more pictures and a history of your Europa.
Sandy
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:Welcome: Ed!! Love to see some pictures of your baby!
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Welcome Ed, Beautiful car!
Dakazman
:Welcome:
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world map is a good idea https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jTRZcWu4mLh2TGGlmcLH5POFnQXI-SHc&usp=sharing
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Only one entry with picture in uk...
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Oh go on then, I'll add one of me & my car.....
Brian
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I hope I haven't screwed up...
In an effort to answer a question on the Europa Facebook page, I listed the world map link. It was my intention to inform the other fb members of it's existence and possibly steer them to join our community.
If this has created a problem, let me know and I will remove it...ld
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I don't see any problem with that Lou. I'll go and back it up, if anyone sees that it's being messed with post on this thread and I'll restrict write access to invited folks rather than anyone with the link.
Brian
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There are a couple of random markers (Point 26 and Point 29)
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Hi Silverbeast, thanks for the input.
Point 29 does seem to be an orphan, point 26 now has a name (Jeff, Manchester)
I'm reluctant to delete stuff I don't know about but even so, a pointer with no name does seem like a mistake.
If it's genuine, can the owner please fill in either username or some other tag so we know it's real ? No need for any identifiable description to either name or location, just so we know it's a real marker. If it's still there unclaimed by month end I'll delete before backing up the map again.
I'd be grateful if anyone else noticing orphan markers would raise them on the thread and help to keep the map up to date.
Brian
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Hi Silverbeast, thanks for the input.
Point 29 does seem to be an orphan, point 26 now has a name (Jeff, Manchester)
I'm reluctant to delete stuff I don't know about but even so, a pointer with no name does seem like a mistake.
If it's genuine, can the owner please fill in either username or some other tag so we know it's real ? No need for any identifiable description to either name or location, just so we know it's a real marker. If it's still there unclaimed by month end I'll delete before backing up the map again.
I'd be grateful if anyone else noticing orphan markers would raise them on the thread and help to keep the map up to date.
Brian
Hello Brian,
I am going to add a photograph once I have worked out how to actually add a photograph!
Mark
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It's easy Mark, all you need to do is open up your marker and click on the camera icon. Then you can upload from your PC/etc, I promise you, it's painless !
I don't know if there's a file size restriction, both my images are both relatively small but no doubt google will tell you if it doesn't like something. There's plenty of space on the drive though, so I wouldn't expect an issue.
Brian
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There is still a link to the old map (not working) on the Members Cars page - which needs updating. It is always good practice to reduce the file size when uploading any pictures to the internet - they can often be reduced to 5% of original file size with no perceptible drop in quality. There are some instructions at the top of the Garage page...
Steve
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You're right Steve, I'm missed that and it's not a good idea to have conflicting addresses. My post was the last one on that thread so I've updated it to point to the same map.
Brian