Silent Geolocation Errors

[jmfield2]

Summary:

When the client geolocation is either outside of the map bounds (Tampa metro area), or the accuracy of the data is too high (>= 22K), the position is silently ignored and instead the map is centered on USF.

See https://github.com/CUTR-at-USF/usf-mobullity/blob/mobullityrebase/src/client/js/otp/core/Map.js#L278

Steps to reproduce:

Use a wired connection and a browser like IE which supplies an inaccurate position, Or visit the website while travelling.

Expected behavior:

It is OK that the map be recentered on USF, but perhaps we can at least let the user know this happened instead of doing so with no indication anything happened.

Some possibilities:

1. Simple popup message alerting the user to the issue and explanation (could be annoying unless it is controlled by a cookie),
2. Add a passive notice - like a bar at the top of the screen - with a similar message and actionable links like 'Dismiss' . . Less annoying than option 1, but a little more difficult to implement.

Perhaps a good feature to have would be a way to allow the user to override the behavior (like with a link) so the map and marker are still added in these two cases. One problem with this is if the location happens to be outside of Tampa, none of the trip plan or layer functions will work.

Observed behavior:

Activate geolocation when loading the site (outside of Tampa, or with a high accuracy) and note the map centers on USF but offers no indication that this happened or why.

Platform:

Any - Linux, Windows, Firefox, Chrome, IE. IE tends to be a good candidate to test since the geolocation accuracy is high.

[barbeau]

Here's what we do in OneBusAway Android when someone opens the app and are outside the currently assigned region geographic bounds: