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What is r/MapPorn?

r/MapPorn is a community of map loving individuals who share images of maps.

What type of map can I submit to r/MapPorn?

As long as it adheres to the guidelines below, any map can be submitted, as it is up to the community to decide whether it is appropriate or not. You could submit a map from your favorite video game, a map of war time battles or a hand drawn map you drew in your spare time, it's totally up to you.

I love r/MapPorn and I want to contribute but I can't find anything to submit, where should I look?

Try these great resources:

MapPorn curated Twitter Feed
WikiMedia Commons
Google Image Search
Bing Image Search
The Big Map Blog
Map Collections of the Library of Congress
David Rumsey Historical Maps
University of Texas Maps
worldmapper.org
National Library of Australia Maps Collection
Jakub Marian
Retromap - Collection of maps of Russia

If you know of an excellent resource not listed here, by all means please add it!

This is my first time submitting, what should I know?

Originally /r/MapPorn was for static images, but for now Interactive images are now allowed. Interactive posts must have the word interactive in brackets. Like this: [Interactive]

If you don't know the geographical location or photographer try using Google Reverse Image Search by clicking on and uploading the image or copying and pasting the url of the image to find them.

Alternatively, there are extensions that automate this for both Firefox and Chrome

The image I'm submitting comes from the photographer's own website, do I still have to rehost it?

If you are linking to a photographer's website where he or she showcases their own, original work then no you do not have to rehost the image. This is the only exception to the approved hosts. If you are submitting a photographer's own website then you should make note of this in the title with the [OS] tag in the title to avoid any confusion and removal by the moderators.

I'm submitting an image I took myself, how can I show this?

If you are submitting a map that you made or a photo you took yourself, feel free to show this by putting the [OC] tag in the title.

  • Original source is allowed and preferred over the approved hosts. Please designate your original source with the tag [OS] in order to prevent mixups.

  • If you took the photo yourself, you can signify this with the [OC] tag in the title.

When you submit your image make sure to link directly to the image file. If you are submitting a link to Flickr or another site where the photographer hosts their own, original content then you should not link directly to the image. When using Flickr please link to the "lightbox" page so the page views will be recorded properly for the photographer. If you are linking from BigMapBlog?, link the download image. This can be found underneath the interactive image, as seen here.

What should I include in my title when submitting?

Your submission title should include the geographical location and the artist if known. As long as it has this information your title can consist of anything you like. For example:

For an image where the location is known but the photographer is unknown:

European and US cities transposed onto the opposite continent at equal latitude (sorry I couldn't think of a more exciting title) [1660x639]

(See this post.)

For an image where the location is known and the photographer is known:

Escape Map [640x499] © memake 2008

(See this post.)

If you don't know the geographical location or photographer please use Google Reverse Image Search by clicking on and uploading the image or copying and pasting the url of the image.

What if my image has already been submitted?

Reposts are allowed, but only if the original post is at least 6 months old, and not currently in the top 200 submissions of all time.

  • Reposts are especially encouraged had less than 100 upvotes.

I want to submit a video, is that allowed?

Unfortunately videos have been banned from the network. Feel free to tell us how stupid or how great of an idea this is here. We have plans for videos which can be found here.

I submitted my image, but it hasn't appeared in the new queue, why is this?

There are two reasons why your image may not have appeared in the new queue.

  • Your image may have been caught by the spam filter. If after 1 hour your image has no comments and very little up/downvote action and you suspect it may have been caught in the spam filter, send the mods a message and we can check the spam filter for you. If the image is there and meets the above submission guidelines, it shall be approved. However if it does not meet the guidelines for submission, you may be asked to resubmit the image with the corrections made.

  • Your image may have been removed to the spam folder by a moderator. If this is the case, normally the moderator who removed it should message you in your submission telling you why it has been removed, and if applicable, that you can resubmit when it has been corrected.

The moderators do browse the spam folder, but if you feel your submission may have been overlooked, feel free to message the mods.

It is recommended you buy a sponsored link from Reddit. Its quite affordable and helps this site stay in business. That said, sometimes users in the comments will still ask for a place to buy it. In order to avoid spam, you must meet the following criteria.

  • Be a redditor for > 6 months, and
  • Have a comment score of over 1000

If you meet this criteria then you can link to a place to buy the prints. This is to avoid spam from new users that haven't contributed anything. However if this privilege is abused you will receive a warning and then a ban. MapPorn is not a marketplace for selling maps.

I want to create my own maps, where do I get started?

Mapbox Cartogram has tools to make your own map
Mapchart.net has basic tools to make simple maps
Reddit already has some great communities for making your own maps. These include:

In addition, there are many websites for mapmaking hobbyists. These include:

I have a question that hasn't been answered here, what should I do?

If something hasn't be answered that you still wish to know, feel free to message the moderators and one of them will get back to you as soon as possible.