Did anyone else get spammed by MapMuse.com? I have glanced at it and it seems pretty cool with an even better user interface than the Google Maps tool Sandalman put together. I like that you can input locations much more generally than a zip code. It also has information on the courses as you hover over the icons with your mouse - no clicks required to browse for information.

I have a few questions before incorporating this onto our website:
They seem to get the info from the PDGA database. Is this appoved by the PDGA?
Who is behind this from the DG world?
Where did they get my email addresses (multiple) from? Did someone give it out, or do they have a bot gathering this info?
Will the PDGA Google maps rise to this level of user interface? I like Google more mainly for their satellite images, speed, and click-n-drag feature. But the features this tools offers surpassed what we have now, IMO.

Here is the email they sent me.


Hi,

I am writing to let disc golf enthusiasts know that MapMuse.com has added a nationwide map of disc golf courses to its services. There are presently over 1700 disc golf courses located on the MapMuse.com maps.

The idea is for disc golf enthusiasts to build upon what we have started by adding information about their favorite courses to the maps. The following information can be provided for each course- the name of the course, number of holes, type of holes, tee type, course length, descriptive text, a photo, contact information, and a link to a website. Through this kind of community effort, we hope to have the most comprehensive, and descriptive maps for disc golfers to use at home, and on their travels. So we invite you to let your fellow disc golfers know about what is available in your community. There is an ADD and EDIT feature on the site (you can refer to http://find.mapmuse.com/re1/mmFAQ.htm#A4 if you have questions about making changes). Once a visitor suggests a change, it is reviewed for appropriateness and then posted within a few hours.

The following is a link to the Disc Golf Map:
http://find.mapmuse.com/re1/interest.php?brandID=DISC_GOLF

If you are not familiar with MapMuse.com, we are a highly trafficked mapping website with an Alexa traffic rating of approximately 12,000 in the world. MapMuse’s goal is to help people find places related to their interests. MapMuse continues to add new topics of interest each week. If you have a topic that you would like to see mapped (disc golf related or not), you can suggest the interest on the MapMuse site, and there is a good chance it will be addressed.

If you find our maps useful, we would appreciate it if you would pass the word on to like-minded friends. And if you have a disc golf related website, blog or newsletter, a mention or a link would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Cindy Jett
MapMuse.com
1326 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20005

"seem" nothin', it IS from the PDGA course directory!!

Yeah, the interface is cool, but Google has the whole travel thing happening...go from place to place and the earth spins under you. Thats very cool. MapMuse doesn't let you navigate in satellite or hybrid view,either.

thanks for throwing this out.
edit to add: Interesting, when I went to the hybrid view, it pops up "Google" in the corner. I wonder if Google knows they're using it, much less the PDGA??
steve

I was spammed also...are our emails being sold out PDGA?

I contacted Cliff and Theo. Cliff said that he hasn't authorized any use of the Directory database but it appears MapMuse has somehow acquired it in the past week. Theo is busy with the NT so may not deal with it for a few days. I got a request from a MapMuse email address to join the MFA Yahoo group. I allowed it before seeing this but haven't seen them post a message about mapping yet.