There had been something going on in our minds for some time now. We haven’t yet found a definite answer to it, so I think it is worth it to put the details aside for a second, and talk about Important Things from a wider perspective. If you only have limited time, please skip directly to the last part of this email, the rest is (probably just) boring ranting. There is light at the end…
Some context
The map is missing one important label. There, I said it as directly as I could.
It’s not an obscure contour label either, hence it is worth mentioning it, of course: a classic case of last minute edits — something that everyone knows should not be done — when we ended up accidentally removing the label of Jukhtakvank monastery. That white monastery icon pointed at by my pencil.
This bugs me, us, beyond your wildest imagination.
[rant on]
It just so happened that last minute changes were always fine for us, we managed them, we surely scrambled a little, but it was working, until it didn’t. Because there comes a time during the printing process when pre-pressing is done, big metal rolls are etched with the map’s features, and from then on, you can’t fix anything any longer. Unless you want to throw everything in the bin and start over that is. Well, we knew it of course, I think I simply miscalculated how close we were to that moment. Or, quite frankly, it looks like checking and re-checking every single label for the ten thousandth time in a day probably leads you to let something slip, especially when that something hides in plain sight. I mean, Jukhtakvank, it is even in the cover of the map!
[rant off]
What the doctors told us
This is the current situation: we asked the professionals, they say apparently we are not alone, it happens to the best of us, and the unanimous response is this: you’ll fix it in your next edition.Well, sure, that’s an option. Only I am not personally happy to leave it like that. Could we fix it? Well, we devised a plan to try to add those labels by hand with a rubber stamp, so it is possible. The map would be more complete if we do, even though the label will be somewhat different, but in the end …would you even care?
—
The Important Thing
If you only want to take home one thought, here it is: we are going to be open about it, one missing label on the map is still a problem, and although it’s importance depends on who you ask to, it is very important to us, so we better own it. No point in hiding the fact. One little label, but our attitude would have been the same for anything else.
Now, if you had to choose, Would you prefer your map to have a stamped label, or should we live it as it is?
If you have a strong preference, please let us know at map@cartisan.org
—
May there be light & fun
I think one day we might organise a hike to go find that mysterious, yet unmapped — on this edition at least — Jukhtakvank monastery deep in the valleys of Dilijan. And we should probably all wear Indiana Jones hats if we go. Could be fun, care to join?
Thanks for listening, and again, let us know what you think about the label-fix at map@cartisan.org
Alessandro
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