Editor’s Note: This post is being republished from a discussion from our support site at Get Satisfaction. Comments have been closed here and we encourage you to join the discussion over there!

Gowalla’s spot database is created and curated almost exclusively by our community of users who are passionate about discovering the world. As this community and our database grows we felt it would be beneficial for us to provide some official guidelines for creating and editing spot information.

Simply consider this an incomplete list of best practices when creating and edits spots on Gowalla. That said, let’s dive in!

Use Proper Names Where Appropriate
When known, please use proper names when creating a spot (e.g., Soldier Field, Dunkin’ Donuts, Zilker Park, etc.). Pay attention to capitalization and spelling. This will help us all out in the long run.

Double Check for Dupes
Before adding a new spot to Gowalla please double check to ensure that the spot does not already exist in our database. This will save us or a street team member from having to merge your spot later on.

Go for Value
We want you to add your favorite places to Gowalla, whether it’s a hidden gem of a coffeeshop, a heavily trafficked museum, or a scenic overlook off the beaten path.

When you add a new spot to Gowalla ask yourself if this is a place that someone else is likely to find beneficial over time. Your favorite bend in the river is likely of greater value to the community than your garage. Just sayin’.

On that note…

Your Home on Gowalla?
While Gowalla provides several spot categories such as Victorian or Modern that can be applied to homesites, our primary intent is for these to be used on public homesites of historical or architectural value.

Though we do not actively remove personal homesites from Gowalla, we encourage you to think twice before adding your home to Gowalla. And of course, adding your friend’s home to Gowalla without asking is definitely bad form. If you’ve added a home to Gowalla that you would like removed, just drop us a line and we’ll take care of it.

Related: Please DO NOT add every appliance and porcelain edifice in your home to Gowalla. If you do so, we will remove them without prejudice and consider terminating your account. Nobody needs to check in at your microwave. And the folks on Twitter don’t want to read about it.

Keep Descriptions Relevant, Real and Brief
Please use the description field to provide relevant and accurate information about the spot. Keep it short, and when appropriate, feel free to have a little fun. Think of it like an abbreviated wikipedia entry with a twinkle in its eye.

Please DO NOT use the description field to provide personal opinions or color commentary on the spot. Save those for your check in comments.

Don’t Be a Hater
Profane, obscene or hateful spot names and descriptions will be removed. No questions asked. Nobody needs that.

And just so we’re clear… spot names or descriptions that malign, slander or ridicule a location, person or group of people for political, social, racial or religious reasons will be deleted. Repeat offenses will be grounds for account suspension or termination.

Notes on Editing
Each day Gowalla adds new members to the ranks of its Street Team Elite, empowering them with the ability to edit and re-categorize spots. Should you be selected for this trusted community role, we ask that you use your abilities wisely. While we encourage editing spot data for unintended factual, spelling or grammatical error, we prefer our Street Team to honor the original intent of the spot creator.

Featured Spots
Every so often a spot is chosen to be featured on Gowalla with a custom stamp. Once featured, a spot can no longer be edited by the community. It’s details and description are “frozen” and can only by edited further by a member of the Gowalla team.

We continue to be amazed by all the remarkable locations being shared by our community. We’ll aim to improve and update these guidelines as our service grows. Thanks for going out with Gowalla!