Contributor Guide

You need a free account to contribute. Browsing the map does not.

Report only what you saw yourself, at this place, on this visit. Do not send second-hand reports, old memories, or guesses.

Everything except “I Saw This Today” goes to a moderator first. Nothing you send shows up publicly until it is approved.

Describe what is physically there: which sign, where it is, and what it says. Leave legal conclusions out.

If you could not check something, say so. “Unknown” is an honest answer. A wrong “Not Posted” is not.

Posted means you saw the sign at a public entrance.

Not Posted means you checked every public entrance and it wasn’t there.

Unknown means you couldn’t check. Use it rather than guessing.

Every Posted sign needs a validity choice. Choose Valid when it appears to meet the requirements described in the Sign & Legal Guide (wording, size, placement). Choose Invalid when it is posted but appears not to.

Marking a sign Invalid requires a comment that says why, for example “30.06 wording is English only” or “letters look under 1 inch.”

Report the 51% sign you actually see. The TABC license check on a listing is separate data and is not a substitute for looking.

Check each sign type separately. One sign never implies another.

Start with the entrance: main or front door, side door, patio door, or lobby entrance.

Add the exact spot: eye level on the glass, lower-right corner, behind the host stand, or near checkout.

Include context clues: inside the vestibule, next to the hours sticker, beside the 51% sign.

Example: “30.06 posted on front glass door, right side at eye level.”

If a sign isn’t there, say what you checked: “Checked all public entrances; no 30.07 posted.”

These are place-based rules, not extra 30.xx signs: Texas Penal Code §46.03 places, federal facilities, USPS property, military installations, and other federal restrictions.

A missing 30.06 or 30.07 sign does not cancel a place-based restriction.

When you mark a restriction as applying or not applying, add an evidence note of up to 500 characters saying what you saw or which official source supports it.

Each restriction type can be submitted once per update.

To retract a reported restriction, set it back to Unknown and add a comment explaining why.

An on-site photo is encouraged but not required.

Use the in-app camera within about 300 ft of the place. With a current, accurate location fix, the photo is labeled “Taken at the business.”

Gallery photos are welcome too. They are labeled “Uploaded from the gallery.”

Labels come from the camera source and your device’s reported location when the photo was taken. Moderators still review every photo.

Make the evidence readable: shoot the whole sign straight on, and include the door or entrance for context.

Leave out faces, license plates, and personal information. Only upload photos you took yourself.

Photos appear on the listing only after approval. You can add an optional caption.

Approved contributions earn points: new place 30, business info update 20, signs & restrictions update 15, photo 10, comment 5.

These earn no points: “I Saw This Today,” reports, range ratings, feedback, and chat.

Pending and rejected submissions earn nothing. Points count when a moderator approves.

Levels reset every calendar year. Deputy starts at 0. Ranger needs 150 points. Lone Star needs 400 points plus 10 approved “with photo” contributions.

A “with photo” contribution is an approved place or update plus your approved photo of the same place in the same year.

Track your progress in Account → Account Status.

Follow every submission in Account → My Contributions: pending, approved, or rejected, plus any moderator note.

When a moderator reviews something you sent, the app tells you the next time you open it and includes their note.

Approved changes update the listing for everyone.

If something was rejected, read the note, fix the issue, and submit again with new or clearer evidence.

Too vague: no clear sign status or no usable location details.

Contradictory: the status, validity, comment, and photo disagree with each other.

Speculation: legal interpretation without anything observable to back it up.

Not first-hand: it reads like someone else’s report, an old visit, or a guess.

Duplicate: the place already exists, or you repeated an update without new evidence.

Wrong action: business info sent as a sign update, or changes sent as “I Saw This Today.”

Photo problems: wrong place, unreadable, not your photo, or shows personal information.

Inappropriate content: profanity, personal attacks, ads, or contact details.

If you’re rejected, submit again with specific wording, exact sign placement, and a clear photo.

Chat is for the community, not for fixing listings. Use the contribution actions above to change the map.

Chat messages of up to 500 characters are screened automatically. Messages with links or contact details, or sent in quick bursts, can be held for review or rejected.

Report chat messages that break the rules. You can delete your own messages.

Found a bug or have an idea? Use Send Feedback in the Account tab. On the web, you can also suggest a new guide from the Guides page.