Written by Janell Brown, Wayward Waymarking

The final steps that your category will need to go through before being listed in the category directory is officer and peer review. If you've taken the time to work out any category problems with your officers and in the forums before you get to this step, then the review process becomes almost a formality. All the hard work is done and now you just have to sit back and see what other people think.

Officer Review - During the officer review, all officers are expected to give a yes or no vote as to whether they feel the category is ready to be sent to peer review. It's a good habit to e-mail your officers before sending the category to officer review to give them a chance to look over the category and e-mail you with any changes they feel are necessary. To pass officer review, all of the officers must vote yes, so it's good to make sure everyone's on board in advance.

When you and your officers are satisfied with the category and variables, you will go to the group page and in the middle will be a box with a line that says something like "call for officer review." Click that box and then wait. The officers have three days to vote on the category. Don't forget that you need to vote too! It would be a shame for you to fail officer review because you forgot to vote. When voting is finished you'll receive an e-mail telling you the results of the vote. If the vote failed, then you need to communicate with your officers to find out what part of the category they feel still needs work. Once that's fixed you can send it out for another officer review. If it passed, then you are ready for the final step of the category creation process: peer review.

Peer Review - Waymarking.com is primarily a user-regulated site. That is, the waymarkers make decisions as to what they feel belongs or doesn't belong on the Website. Of course, Groundspeak can always step in if need be, but for the most part they leave it to the users to decide which type of categories they want on the Website. That decision happens during peer review. Each category must be voted on by you and your fellow waymarkers as to whether they think the category fits the waymarking site, and if it needs any additional work before becoming a category in the directory.

To send your category to peer review, open the group's main page and click on "send this category to peer review." Once you do this, waymarkers will have three days to vote yes, no, or to abstain from the vote. Many waymarkers will comment about changes they think will make the category better and most of the criticism is constructive and can be very helpful. At the end of the three days, if the majority of the votes approve the category, it will pass and be able to be added to the directory. Be patient. It may take a couple of days before you hear anything about the vote because Groundspeak has to check out the category and give it the go-ahead. Once this happens you will receive an e-mail that the category has passed. The e-mail will have a link to a page with all the votes and comments made during peer review. Be sure to check these out. Sometimes the simple changes suggested can make the difference between a good category and a great one.

One more step and you'll be able to kick back and watch the waymarks roll in. The category will not automatically show up in the Website's directory. This gives you the chance to make any changes that were suggested in peer review. To make the category visible in the directory, open the category and click "edit." Click on the "edit settings" tab near the top of the page and check the box "make this category visible in the directory" and then click "update settings." Your work is done. Give yourself a pat on the back and then head out and find some spots to waymark for your new category.

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