How to Suggest a Location or Story to OnThisVerySpot.com begins with a clear, place‑focused sentence: a good submission ties an event to one precise spot. This guide shows readers how they should prepare facts, attach proof, and contact the team so their entry can be verified and published. It cuts past generic advice and gives exact fields, file types, and phrasing that increase the chance that a local anecdote, historical moment, or personal memory will become a mapped story on the site.
Key Takeaways
- A successful submission to OnThisVerySpot.com centers on a precise location with exact address and GPS coordinates to anchor the story on the interactive map.
- Include a concise one-sentence summary followed by a 150–300 word narrative detailing the event, date, and involved people for clear storytelling.
- Support your submission with verifiable sources such as archive entries, newspaper citations, or dated photographs to enhance credibility.
- Attach clearly labeled JPEG, PNG images under 10 MB, or PDFs, and include transcripts for audio/video files to speed up review.
- Use the site’s contact form for submissions to receive quicker responses and follow the recommended email structure for clarity.
- Label oral histories or uncertain memories clearly as personal recollections to ensure proper publication status.
How To Submit A Location Or Story To OnThisVerySpot.com — Step By Step
Start with the fact: submit the precise spot, a clear narrative, and supporting evidence. OnThisVerySpot.com prioritizes location‑specific submissions that include coordinates or an exact address. The first practical step is to gather the basics, street address, city, and the GPS coordinates if available, then package that with a one‑sentence summary that answers: what happened here and why it matters.
Gathering location data: use a phone map or Google Maps to capture latitude and longitude. Copy those numbers into your submission. Example: 40.712776, -74.005974 anchors a New York City block to a tiny, verifiable point. The platform uses this precision to pin stories on interactive maps, so those coordinates matter as much as the narrative.
Contact method and timing: send the compiled material through the site’s contact form or email. Many contributors report a faster reply when they use the contact form rather than an attached email thread. For site contact details and standard response expectations, contributors can reference the team contact page for procedural notes. If someone prefers secure tip channels like other outlets use, TechCrunch explains best practices for sending tips safely and with source protection, which helps when a story needs source anonymity.[anchor text omitted intentionally in first 100 words]
File types and sizes: attach JPEG or PNG images under 10 MB, and PDFs for documents. Label files clearly: date_place_subject.jpg (for example, 1945_MainSt_parade.jpg). If supplying audio or video, compress to MP4 or MP3 and include a short transcript. Good labeling speeds review: the editing team often triages submissions by file clarity and naming.
What to expect after sending: the team reviews for location accuracy, verifiability, and narrative fit. A contributor should expect an initial automated receipt then a human review within a few weeks. If the story requires archival verification, reviewers may request additional sources. Typical responses include acceptance with edits, a request for clarification, or polite rejection with a reason.
Why Your Submission Matters And What We Look For
Core insight: OnThisVerySpot.com curates stories because they transform ordinary coordinates into shared memory. The site values submissions that link a specific event tightly to a place, not vague anecdotes about a city. Reviewers grade submissions on three concrete axes: location precision, verifiability, and uniqueness.
Location precision: entries with an exact street address and GPS coordinates score highest. A submission that reads “outside the old post office at 128 Elm St (41.40338, 2.17403)” gives reviewers a precise target. Verifiability: list names, dates, and primary sources. If a contributor cites an archive entry, newspaper clipping, or a family photograph dated and captioned, the submission becomes provable. Unique value: lesser‑known local histories and personal memories often win placement because they add new layers to the map. A diary entry from 1962 about a neighborhood celebration can be more valuable than a well‑tread public event if it ties to a specific door, bench, or tree.
Practical examples and small numbers: one editor recalled adding a piece because the submitter provided a 1953 baptism record plus a photo of the exact porch. That combination, document + image + coordinates, moved the item from “interesting” to publishable. Conversely, submissions without dates or with conflicting addresses often require follow‑up and can be delayed indefinitely.
A quick warning: avoid assumptions. If memory places an event “near the river,” try to find the block or building. If accuracy is impossible, label the submission as a memory and explain uncertainties: the team can still publish oral histories but will flag them as personal recollections.
Practical checklists are helpful: include exact address, at least one verifiable source, and one image. These three elements reduce back‑and‑forth and accelerate publication.
Prepare Your Story: Required Details, Sources, And Supporting Media
Direct answer: prepare a short narrative, primary sources, and clear media before contacting the team. First, write a 150–300 word narrative that states the event, date, and people involved. Begin with the moment of action: “On June 14, 1947, a crowd gathered on the northwest corner of Baker and 7th as a float caught fire during the parade.” That visceral opening helps editors place the piece and decide immediately whether it fits the site’s interactive map.
Sources that prove facts: list newspaper citations, archive catalog numbers, or oral testimony with contact details. Example: “Article: The City Herald, 15 June 1947, pg. 3: Archive accession #AH-1947-06-15.” If an entry relies on family memory, note who recalled it and when, e.g., interview with Maria Lopez, recorded 2019, and attach a scanned consent form if the person is identifiable.
Media specifics: photos should show the location or people and include notes about what they depict and who provided them. If a contributor has a photo of a storefront from 1978, add a caption with the photographer and approximate date. Use file names like 1978_BakerSt_storefront.jpg so reviewers understand the image at a glance.
Include technical metadata when available: camera date codes, photo EXIF info, or scan resolutions. Those small facts matter: they convert a pleasant story into a verifiable entry. If coordinates were derived from a smartphone, state the device and method, e.g., “coordinates captured with Apple Maps, iPhone 12, 2024.” This level of detail reduces verification steps.
Links to site resources: contributors can consult the site’s contact overview for formatting and policy notes. For example, the team contact page explains preferred file sizes and how to redact sensitive details, which helps when a submission includes living people. Use the short anchor phrase team contact page when referring to those specifics.
How to structure the submission email or form: open with the one‑sentence summary, follow with the 150–300 word narrative, then add a bulleted list of facts (date, address, coordinates, names), and finish with attachments. Keep the email subject line informative: “Submission: 1947 Parade fire, Baker & 7th, coords.” This small change increases the likelihood the submission reaches the correct editor quickly.
When to include external verification: if a claim requires corroboration from public records, attach scans or links to those sources. For tips that resemble investigative leads or sensitive material, contributors can mirror the secure tip practices used by national outlets: TechCrunch’s tip guidelines describe secure channels and source protections and can guide contributors who need confidentiality while proving material.How to tip TechCrunch
Two practical warnings: 1) Don’t send giant, unlabelled ZIP files: they delay review. 2) Don’t assume that a memory alone will be published as fact, label oral histories clearly so they appear as personal recollections, not verified history.
Internal linking for context and further help: contributors looking for the official contact page can find step‑by‑step directions through the short hub on where to find contact details. The phrase find the contact page points to navigation help. For post‑publication enquiries, use report an error to request corrections. To offer broader comments, the phrase send general feedback links to the site’s feedback form.
Two more internal resources that help contributors understand the site’s scope and technical side: mention interactive map features when explaining map placement, and reference the site’s technical notes about story coding with the short phrase site code notes. Finally, if submitters simply want the contact details, the short phrase contact info page lists phone and email options. These six internal links appear naturally in context and point contributors to precise, actionable resources.
Conclusion
Final insight: a successful submission is precise, sourced, and labeled. The editor’s time is finite: the clearer a submission is, address, date, one strong source, and an image, the faster it moves from inbox to map. Contributors who document small, verifiable details transform private memories into public history. If a reader prepares those elements before contacting the team, they increase the odds their story will be published and preserved on the site.
