Map shouldn't be compulsory

[Pietro Battiston]

Currently, the only way not to have a map or the "missing information" big map icon on the user page is to select "Hide my location details from others." under "Location and time zone".

However, this hides a piece of interesting information from the page (the timezone).

I see two possible solutions:
- the clean one: users should be able to just deactivate map on their page
- more simply, the "interrogative map" icon currently shown when there is not enough information to locate an user should be removed, and eventually replaced with a small blue text link, as currently happens on Launchpad to gain access to any subpage where some piece of information can be edited.

I see this bug as particularly urgent because:
- the service currently providing the map (google maps) is not free software under many points of view (also see bug 264138)
- it is a regression: before September the 17th this problem was not present (otherwise I wouldn't have chosen Launchpad as hosting service)
- it should be fairly simple to fix

This bug was filed to help separate this issue from the still important but less urgent one reported as bug 264138.

[Curtis Hovey (sinzui)]

The bug may be a duplicate of bug 264138, which suggests the same solutions for other reason.

[Pietro Battiston (toobaz)]

Curtis, we evidently have different points of view on the argument, but let's be rational.

The two bugs describe different problems, that though related are independent (one may not like at all a map on his/her page, even if it's free, since it arbitrarily steals lot of of space, while usually details left blank just don't appear on the page).

The two bugs need different solutions: this in particular can be fixed very easily.

The two bugs have different importances: the other is a whishlist, this one is just a regression, described even by 267530. The latter could actually be a duplicate of this, but the request is different: I'm not asking to not view maps on user pages, but to not display it on mine if I inserted no data.

[Curtis Hovey (sinzui)]

My apologies, I think I misread the crux of the issue. Actually I think you are many issues brought up in this bug report: timezone vs. location, wasted page space, proprietary software, and an ambiguous regression. Is it that timezone and location are separate concerns? Timezone information you want public, but not your location?

I agree that timezone and location should not be tightly coupled. I think their coupling was a mistake.

I also agree that it is pointless showing you a map that you have implicitly deactivated to other users--the map cannot be used to set your location.

I think these are separate bugs if I my understanding is correct. The timezone/location rule may be a model change that is more difficult that the UI change to hide a map you cannot use.

[Pietro Battiston (toobaz)]

I just want on my page timezone but not a map, as before.

So while you're right in the fact that timezone and location are separate concerns and should be treated separately, I see a fix for this bug would be just removing the uninformative map icons from user pages, yes (though I don't get what you exactly mean with "map that you have implicitly deactivated to other users--the map cannot be used to set your location", could you clarify?).

thank you

[Curtis Hovey (sinzui)]

I have a branch that restores timezone visibility.

[Curtis Hovey (sinzui)]

The timezone is fixes in launchpad/devel r7875.

[Curtis Hovey (sinzui)]

Fixed in launchpad/devel r7910.

[Curtis Hovey (sinzui)]

Fix released in Launchpad 2.2.3.

[Pietro Battiston (toobaz)]

I'm reopening because the fix only partially solves the problem: the next step is to remove the useless big map with the big question mark.

A clean solution would be to show it only to the user itself, like the "change details" link (it would still be annoying, but one can cope with it if it makes developers who integrated google maps more happy).

Another (even more clean, but requiring some more work) possible solution would be to just remove it and move the editing of "location" details in the same page as the others details, accessible just by clicking "edit details".

A reasonable and simple compromise between the two would be to add a link "Edit location details", which behaves exactly as "Edit details" (it is not shown to other users), but for location.

[Curtis Hovey (sinzui)]

This is fix. no person is compelled to view the page with the big map. There is not reason to visit that page expect to view the bug map.

[Pietro Battiston (toobaz)]

My fault, didn't notice the difference when not being logged in. The fact that (being logged in) I still see the map on other users' pages is stupid (I certainly won't put their location if they don't want it!), but really a very minor problem.

Thank you for your work.

[Pietro Battiston (toobaz)]

No, I understood I was partly right. If I'm not logged in _and_ the user didn't put information about his timezone, I see the big stupid map with a question mark. This is _the_ ugly regression. You fixed it only in the case the user has configured the timezone (which is already a nice thing).

[Pietro Battiston (toobaz)]

No, I understood I was partly right. If I'm not logged in _and_ the user didn't put information about his timezone, I see the big stupid map with a question mark. This is _the_ ugly regression. You fixed it only in the case the user has configured the timezone (which is already a nice thing, so for the moment thank you).

[Curtis Hovey (sinzui)]

I'll file a separate bug to track the image and link for unmapped users.