Geograph Introductory letter
Published: 26 August 2009
Dear New Member, Thank you for your interest in Geograph. We hope you will enjoy contributing to the site.
The aim of Geograph is to collect geographically representative photographs and information for every square kilometre of Great Britain and Ireland.
You are very welcome to explore the site and we hope you will find the information useful. The following are a few tips that will help you as you start submitting photos.
Identifying the location of your photo
All photos on Geograph are stored within Gridsquares. These are 1km by 1km areas based on the Ordnance Survey grid references. A grid reference consists of 1 or 2 letters and 4 numbers, but it is generally possible and preferable to get a more precise reference, such as a 100m x 100m square (which we call

You can find grid references by the following methods
- using standard maps
- using a GPS receiver (or smartphone)
- using an online map such as MagicMap
(list of webmapping sites
)
- converting from latitude/longitude
- dragging the circle on the map for the gridsquare during the submission process.
- converting postcodes
in urban areas (rural postcode areas are too large to produce precise grid references)
Most people use a mixture of these, so feel free to experiment and ask questions

Creative Commons Licence
We are trying to build a long lasting and useful archive. As such we ask all contributors adopt a Creative Commons Licence for submissions. This helps ensures that we at Geograph can freely distribute the image, but also that nearly everyone can freely use the image with little restrictions. For example children can use the image in their school reports.
Can read more about the background here: Freedom - The Geograph Manifesto. It might sound like 'giving way' your images, which to an extent is true, we just hope you will agree it's a worthwhile sacrifice.
Image Moderation
Once you have submitted your photo, our moderators



The difference between a Geograph and other types is not one of quality: both are welcomed and can add to the project.
Photographs are generally located

A photograph that does not fit the criteria of a Geograph can nonetheless offer a valuable contribution and it is important not to see this distinction as being in any way a judgement on the quality of the photograph or its value to the project. You are welcome to ask the moderator to explain the reasons why they have decided on the classification of any particular picture.
Points and 'Games'
One of the major Geograph aims is to collect photographs for every square kilometre. A geograph point is given to the first person to submit a geograph in each gridsquare. There are also personal points given for each gridsquare where you contribute a geograph, regardless of how many people have previously done so. Some members play other 'games'

Finally...
Remember that while we encourage you to have fun getting out, taking pictures, uploading them and tracking your progress, Geograph also has a serious side; the archive is more and more perceived as a valuable research resource for both now and the future. Care in choosing an appropriate title and adding further information in the description


In building the archive, we can help each other by adding and correcting factual information

If you have specialist knowledge on a subject, you can draw together many images (both your own and other people's) and write an article


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We look forward to receiving your submissions

Regards,
Everyone
