Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in helping complete the Toronto Street Sign Database - we can use all the help we can get! The first steps in contributing to this site are taken by signing up and signing in. Having done that, here are the rules...

## Adding Data

### Adding info

Any and all pertinent information regarding a given sign is welcome on this site. There are, however, three main facts we seek to find above all others, namely: WHERE a particular type of sign can be found; WHEN that particular type of sign was installed; and WHO was responsible for installing said sign.

In answering the first question, it is obviously not sufficient to merely state that "*Hillcrest Village signs can be found in Hillcrest Village.*" Rather, we aim to record the specific streets, and ranges thereof, on which the signs can be located. For example: "*Hillcrest Village signs can be found along St. Clair Avenue West, and all intersecting streets, between Christie Street and Winona Drive.*" That being said, in the case of general Typological Signage, widely distributed throughout the city, it may be enough simply to state something like: "*This type of sign can be found across Etobicoke,*" or "*This type of sign can be found city-wide,*" as listing every associated street would be somewhat incessant. With respect to former, or gradually disappearing signs of any sort, an appropriate entry might run as follows: "*These signs could once be found Here. Remaining examples of this sign can currently be found on These streets, at These intersections.*"

In answering the second question - WHEN? - we are mainly interested in when the signs first began physically appearing on the city's streets. Information regarding when the signs were first conceived of, designed, and approved, however, would also be quite appreciated. Dates can be as specific as the resources available, ie: "*These signs first appeared sometime around the 1950s,*" or "*These signs first went up on July 21st, 1983, at 2:45 PM.*"

As to the third question - WHO installed the signs? - it is, of course, the city (or any previous municipality) who is ultimately responsible for installing official street signage. Locational, Commemorative, and certain Miscellaneous signs, however, are often installed at the behest of a community organization, business improvement association, private institution, or some other interest group. Please list any and all parties responsible.

Apart from these three main lines of inquiry, additional information that one might include are things like the persons involved in designing the sign, the company involved in manufacturing the sign, and any specific production details such as the material(s) of its construction or the font(s) employed in its lettering. If the sign is Locational, or Commemorative, some mention should be made of the history of the place, person, or subject being singled out. A brief physical description of the sign is also helpful, especially if no image is available. A good example of this might read: "*These signs are made of metal and characterized by their blue face, white text with border, and rounded corners. The typography is generally title cased, with a large street name preceding a smaller in-line abbreviated street suffix.*"

In any case, regardless of the information being added, you should always remember to cite your sources, *italicizing* any direct quotations within the article.

### Adding images

Images can be uploaded to the site here, or by clicking the "Add Image" / "Add Photo to Gallery" button on any given page (should one appear). Please try to add photos that are at least 640x480 pixels in size (the bigger the better), and do not replace any existing image file unless that file was originally uploaded by yourself.

Ideally, primary sign images should show a clear, unobstructed, close-cropped, full-on view of the entire sign - like so:

If no other photos of a sign exist, however, a substandard picture may serve as a placeholder until a better one can be found. Generally speaking, primary images should speak for themselves, making captions unnecessary. If something about the image needs to be pointed out, though (like the original source if the photo was not taken by yourself), feel free to add a caption. One photo should suffice for a primary sign image. Another might be added directly below it, however, in order to illustrate some specific detail not captured in the first image. All primary images must be default thumbnail size and embedded left of the main article. The applicable wikitext source code should look as follows:

`[[File:*YourImage1.jpg*|thumb|left]]`
`[[File:*YourImage2.jpg*|thumb|left]]`
Any further images should be added as a gallery (if one does not already exist) below the main article in the Source Editor, like so:

`==Gallery==`
`<gallery>`
`*YourImage.jpg*`
`</gallery>`
but be sure to only add images which bring something unique to the table. Do not fill up the gallery with redundant pictures of the same exact sign. Try to pick out the subtle differences between signs of the same type, such as are illustrated here. If the differences are more than just subtle, though, you may consider adding a whole new sign to the database.

## Adding a New Sign

### What should be added

The TSSDB is a database of design types, not of every individual sign in the city. Therefore, one should not add a separate sign page for the Bloordale Village Russett Avenue sign, the Bloordale Village Margueretta Street sign, so on and so forth, et cetera, etc. One Bloordale Village sign page covers them all - unless there happens to be another version of that particular design, in which case it may be added as a new page.

What distinguishes a different version of the same sign, as opposed to a mere anomaly, is not always clear. Generally speaking, the difference must be deliberate and substantial - a new shape, new material, new graphics, etc. - and must be applied over multiple signs (unless it is known to be some sort of special one-off, made for some particular purpose).

Having said all that, if you think you know of a different version of a sign - or entirely new sign - not already listed in the database, you might be ready to add a new page. However, as there are quite a lot of signs already catalogued here, chances are you could still be mistaken. To be absolutely certain, make sure to visually browse each category for similar examples as the sign you want to add may already be listed under a name that wouldn't necessarily show up through a standard search.

### Naming

The first step in adding a new sign page (after clicking the "Add New Page" button in the top right corner of the current page) is naming it.

Locational and Commemorative sign names should be entered verbatim as they read on the actual sign (not including any mottoes/slogans, historical dates, or other such extraneous writing). For example, Islington locational signs can be found under both Village of Islington and Historic Village of Islington. This helps to differentiate between these two signs, and any other potential Islington signs in the future. If two different versions have identical naming schemes, some distinguishing marker should be added in brackets to the end of the newer version, ie: "Historic Village of Islington (v2)".

In the case of Typological, Miscellaneous, and Nonstreet signage, the issue of naming is not so clear cut. The official names of these signs are often unknown, or entirely non-existent. As such, their names on this site may be left to your discretion. We only ask that, in naming, you be as descriptive, yet succinct, as possible. If similar signs are already listed on this site we then ask that you follow whatever pre-established naming convention they currently subscribe to - unless, of course, you are aware of an actual official name, in which case be sure to rename the page itself.

### Page design

After a sign name has been decided upon, creating a sign page is a fairly easy process. Simply place the following wikitext code into the Source Editor and save the page:

`{{subst:Sign}}`
This will produce a generic template into which all further sign information can then be added.

### Categorization

Adding categories to a sign page is accomplished simply enough by clicking the "Add Category" button at the bottom of the page.

You should add at least two categories to every sign: (1) the main Sign Type category to which it belongs, ie: Locational, Commemorative, Typological, Miscellaneous, or Nonstreet, and (2) the District(s) in which the sign can be found, ie: East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, Toronto, or York.

If the sign is Locational, or Commemorative, it may also belong to a Sign Set. Likewise, if it is a Typological, Miscellaneous, or Nonstreet sign it may also belong to a Sign Family. You can click on any of the aforementioned categories to learn more details about each.

Unfortunately, categories cannot be renamed. If the name of a category needs to be changed it must be added as a new category, and re-applied to all applicable pages.