metamaps / metamaps

A deployable web platform for collaborative conversation, ideation & sense-making. Use it for free at

Metamaps

What is Metamaps?

Metamaps is a free and open-source technology for changemakers, innovators, educators and students. It enables individuals and communities to build and visualize their shared knowledge and unlock their collective intelligence.

You can find a version of this software running at metamaps.cc, where the technology is being tested in an open beta.

Metamaps is developed and maintained by a distributed, nomadic community comprised of technologists, artists and storytellers. You can get in touch by using whichever of these channels you prefer:

How do I learn more?

• Contact: [email protected] or @metamapps on Twitter
• User Documentation: docs.metamaps.cc
• User Community: hylo.com/c/metamaps
• To see what we're developing, or to weigh in on what you'd like to see developed, see our Metamaps Feedback and Features board on trello
• To follow along with, or contribute,to our design process, see our Metamaps Design board on trello
• To follow along with, or contribute to, our development process, see our Github Issues and Pull Requests
• Request an invite to the open beta here

• To send us a personal message get in touch with us via email, Twitter, or Hylo
• If you would like to report a bug, please check the issues section in our contributing instructions.
• If you would like to get set up as a developer, that's great! Read on for help getting your development environment set up.

Installation for local use or development of Metamaps

First off is getting the code downloaded to your computer. You can download a zip file from github, but if you've got git you can just run git clone https://github.com/metamaps/metamaps in your terminal.

There are instructions for setup on various platforms, with particular support for Mac and Ubuntu, which can be found here:

• Mac Install Walkthrough
• Ubuntu Install Walkthrough

If you prefer to isolate your install in a virtual machine, you may find it simpler to setup using Vagrant:

• Vagrant installation

We don't promise support for Windows, but at one point we had it running and we've kept those docs available for reference

• Outdated Windows Walkthrough

Licensing information

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or(at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU Affero General Public License for more details.

The license can be read here.

Copyright (c) 2017 Connor Turland

metamaps's Issues

Design and code a Mapper Profile page

Show which Maps Topics Appear In

Somewhere on a topic, let the user see which maps the Topic appears in.

Convert homepage to dashboard showing new/interesting info

New topics

New synapses

New maps

Link to Blank Canvas

when there's too much text in the description section within the map view, it covers the "close" button of the add topic pop-up.

fork/diff/merge tool for topics

to dimensionalize the planes of topic relativity - there's ambiguity in language and expression - meaning.

Maps

Let a user create a new 'map' and then anywhere anytime they can add topics and synapses to their maps.

Make filters work on arranged maps

Save the Console State automatically so that when the user returns to it, it's the same as they left it.

This way, when the user logs into the platform, they resume their last session, and don't get left with the blank screen.

Clear console button when in radial topic view.

This shouldn't say 'clear console' but 'remove all but center topic' or that general idea

Delete Synapses on Console

Design and code an interaction for deleting synapses from the database using the Console. This is different than hiding it from your canvas.

On map view pages, topic creation defaults to "Action".

Assess possibilities for WebSockets and WebRTC for Metamaps

Hey Fabio,

Is it possible that you'll be able to do some thinking about this? I heard from Ishan that you were interested.

Redesign & Code a dedicated Synapses viewing/editing page

Picking metacode while creating topic

Cross-Browser testing

Disable autocomplete bugginess on topic/synapse creation

Sometimes autocomplete boxes show up after you've already submitted a topic/synapse form.

Delete Topics on Console

Design and code an interaction to delete Topics from the database using the console. The user should be made aware of all of the consequences of deleting a topic.

Redesign & Code a dedicated Maps viewing/editing page

Finding/Filtering

A three step process:

1. Define whether you are:
   • Narrowing down the set of topics/synapses visible on your page
   • Pulling results from the database of topics/synapses merging with visible on your page
   • Both of the above
   • Or searching for an object that can not appear itself on your graph, such as a map, or a mapper
2. Define the specifications for your search. Current set to implement:
   • Topic by name, metacode, url, mapper (by name), map (by name)
   • Synapses by topics (by name), directionality, weight, mapper (by name), map (by name)
   • Maps by name, mapper (by name), topic (by name), synapse (by topics)
   • Mappers by name, map (by name), topic (by name), synapse (by topics)
3. Choose an action to take with your dataset
   • Hide all selected
   • Hide all not selected

Search

Add a search box where you can search for Maps. Topics, or Synapses.

Able to specify which one you are searching for, or search all 3 types.

Metamaps Manual map in database fixtures

I think there's something to having data show up right away - right now I see nothing or sparse maps often on opening up, which doesn't draw me right in. I think having a well-populated manual map be the default start page would be a good intro. Then you don't have to know you're supposed to go to the "Find..." section at the left.

When pulling in topics from a map, synapses are not pulled in along with them.

User settings.

Create a set of settings for each user that saves their preferences.

1. Save a users ItemCategory filters.

Let user claim Person topic as Them

Ishan, what do you think of this? Letting people topics be linked to Users through some kind of moderator doing a confirmation that the person is the same one as the topic identifies. Helps address the concept addressing for people, and adds a fun element.

Save layout of a map

We should be able to save the layout of the map to the database and probably use JSON or something to retrieve it.

Are UI elements needed to save/load the layouts?

Layouts are going to be central to maps - maps will store the layout no matter what.

Do you manually save the layout or does it automatically update?

Probably we want it to auto update and tell you when it does, like Gmail's drafts.

Analyze Tab

A tab that appears beneath 'find' which when pulled out shows you information about the content on your canvas, or about a set of Topics/Synapses that you've selected

32 Topics
40 Synapses

4 Metacodes

3 Contributing Mappers
Topics appearing in 10 Maps

Generic metacodes show a small artifact in the rendering.

Filters

Ability to easily turn off visibility of all Topic Categories except the one you specify.

Ability to filter by degrees of connectivity from focus node: Drop down select with options of 1-10 + Unlimited

Ability to filter by Synapse type from focus node : Drop down select with options: Belongs to, includes, etc.

different font in the map view. its not so readable when you zoom in.

need "delete from map" feature for nodes within the mapview. otherwise u make a mistake and that node stays there.

Permissions

Ability to set permissions on any map, topic, or synapse (independent of one another) to:

private: only you can view and edit

public: anyone can view

commons: anyone can view and edit

Define & Implement a framework for taking Actions on 1orMore Topics

When many topics and/or synapses are selected, multiple options of what actions to take on that set need to implemented. Edit all, hide all from canvas, delete all, hide everything else from canvas, etc.

Add link to hide popup Topic Card.

The little card which shows up to view topics should be hide-able again.

Create new directional synapse from non-existing topic to existing topic.

need to be able to to bring a topic into a map without creating a duplicate topic - some sort of import node

Create proper images for all metacodes

Create a metamaps spinner

Is it possible that you'll be able to do this Ishan?

Edit Topics on Console

When you're on the console and you click on a topic, it's card comes up. We want each field of that card that to transform into an editable text field on double click that saves changes with AJAX to database without refreshing the page.

Save Canvas to Map

In a test map "Creating Art", synapse count is not accurate. Shows 0 synapses even though there's multiple synapses in the map.

Add actions to take with found topics

These include:

When searching on Canvas:
Fade this set
Fade the rest
Highlight this set
Remove set from Canvas
Remove rest from Canvas
Cancel

When searching in Commons:
Add this set to Canvas
Only keep this set
Cancel

When searching Both:
Add new set to Canvas
Fade this set
Fade the rest
Highlight this set
Remove set from Canvas
Remove rest from Canvas
Cancel

Edit Synapses on Console

Design an interaction for users to edit all of the information on synapses that they might want to, without having to refresh the page by using AJAX. Edit on double click on synapse.

Dynamically add/remove topics/synapses from Maps

Make sure that it is clear between when you are:

1. Removing a topic from a map
2. Hiding a topic from your canvas
3. Deleting a topic from the database

These are all very different things. The user must be able to remove a topic individually from her map without reloading the page.

Organize Tab

Appears beneath the Analyze tab on the left side of the screen.

Build a few basic ways of reorganizing the graph.

Order by date created,

Group by metacode,

Group by mapper,

Group by map

can't delete synapses

Enable shift + select multiple icons.

Redesign & Code a dedicated Topics viewing/editing page

Synapses

Make the highlight feature of the platform the synapses.

Add weight field to synapses.

Show the description of the synapse somewhere.

Show an edit link for each synapse.

Add Clear Canvas to Actions

Replace all references to items with topics

First replace all the references in the files, then create a migrate file to change the table name in the database.