10- Maps from mainstream media are approximate and therefore unreliable for any edit. Reliable media just need their map to give a general idea (approximate) to their readers.
Tɛmplet:Location map+9- Maps from amateur sources are below the standards of Wikipedia for any use. They violate WP:RS: “Anyone can create a personal web page or publish their own book, and also claim to be an expert in a certain field. For that reason, self-published media, such as books, patents, newsletters, personal websites, open wikis, personal or group blogs, Internet forum postings, and tweets, are largely not acceptable as sources.” (Wikipedia:Verifiability#Self-published_sources)
8- Maps from amateur sources also violate WP:CIRCULAR: “Do not use websites that mirror Wikipedia content or publications that rely on material from Wikipedia as sources.” At least one map maker has admitted to using the Wikipedia map as a source, although he said he no longer does so. There is strong suspicion others do the same.
7- Another problem with amateur maps is that we do not know when they are guessing and when they are not. There is a major difference between the Wikipedia map and their maps. Our map marks towns (or bases, etc.) that we have information for. On the other hand, their maps color the whole territory assigning a control status to every area. Do they really have enough information to assign every area to a specific party? Do they have information to be able to draw the frontlines? Our map has started by marking all the towns for which we had information/sources. We did not have the aim to cover the whole Syrian territory. We prefer not to guess. If we do not have reliable sources/information about an area, we just leave it empty.
6- Online maps have been wrong too many times and made the Wikipedia map wrong too many times. Amateur map makers can do what they want without ever having to show verifiability/sources. We gain nothing from copying maps other than pollute the Wikipedia map with mistakes.
5- Adding military bases (and other installations) based on a name found on Wikimapia violates Wikipedia rules. Anyone can edit Wikimapia and put anything they like without any source or explanation. So in terms of finding military bases, Wikimapia is unreliable. We can go now to Wikimapia and put in Brigade 69 (Shaykh Yurbuty) in some random place. Then, we can come back and put it on the Wikipedia map. The problem is that Brigade 69 (Shaykh Yurbuty) does not exist, as we just invented it. That is why we need some source other than Wikimapia to mention the military base before we can put it on the Wikipedia map. In this case, any pro-gov or pro-rebel source is fine. Notice that our problem here is not about which party controls the area in question, but rather whether the military base exists or still exists. For all the above reasons, Wikipedia rules forbid using “wikis” (such as Wikimapia) as a source. Wikipedia rule WP:USERGENERATED states: “open wikis are largely not acceptable as a source. This includes any website whose content is largely user-generated.” So Wikimapia can only be used to get coordinates for something that is already validly sourced.
4- "Map shopping". Copying from maps has just become an easy way to do WP:POV pushing. There is a phenomenon of “map shopping” where the Wikipedia map becomes a sort of a video game between biased editors who shop for a map that is classified anti their favorite side and then look to see if some town colors are different from the Wikipedia map. They then just mindlessly copy the map without worrying about what sources were used on the Wikipedia map in the first place. In this case, they are not updating the Wikipedia map, but rather replacing correct information by the guessing or approximation of some map maker.
Tɛmplet:Location map+3- “Aesthetic coloring”. It is basically putting icons in an area that we know who controls it unambiguously, without using a text source. It makes the map look prettier since there is more color. However, it does not add much value, since we already know who controls that area. Also, it creates a major problem when there is a large enemy offensive which renders the area ambiguous (if the new front line becomes included in that area). Sources might not talk about these villages, which makes it hard to keep them updated. If no one is talking about them now (or in the past), then chances are no one will be talking about them in the future. We will then have to rely on control maps (to draw the front line) which have been found to be unreliable. You then get a front line that might be fake and based on the guess of some map maker. It is better to have front lines that are based on news information. These front lines might be more coarse, but they will be more truthful.
Tɛmplet:Location map+2- Linking towns to sources. Every element on the map should be verifiable. The map was designed to represent the information in Wikipedia articles. Notice the “link=” parameter in the map code. This is supposed to link to the part in the Wikipedia article that contains the source and talks about the events in the town. Unfortunately, these links are not being maintained because of laziness because it is easier to just dump a source in the “Edit summary” rather than to write something in an article and then link it to the dot on the map. However, one day these links could be added after the fact and obviously copying from maps will not allow making these links.
Tɛmplet:Location map+...And the number one reason why copying from maps is strictly prohibited on the Wikipedia Syria war map... "Wikipedia rules!" The Wikipedia map sets the standards for maps on the internet. It does not bring itself down to the level of forums and Twitter junk. Before the Wikipedia map became popular on the internet, there were very few other maps. Now there are plenty of maps, and the main reason is that they more or less copy from the Wikipedia map. Editors should have an appreciation for the Wikipedia map and what it has accomplished. The map was built based on sources up to Wikipedia standards. Editors should have high standards and should not clutter the map with a pile of icons copied from here and there.
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