Item — HN Reader

(op here)

I typically deal with dots at the same place as a single dot and, when clicked, open an infowindow/infopanel that will let people see all of the points’ data.

ie you do need to deal with this issue (by default, no mapping library will do it for you) - and most clustering librairies (or at least their default settings) will also not solve this for you.

The ui for what happens when a point (or even a cluster) is clicked but that point contains more than one point’s worth of data is its own separate problem basically

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Does it end up a darker or at least fully opaque dot to show it's not the same as the individual dots elsewhere? Like from your example in the article, I might make that dot maroon (or some other color entirely) instead of red so people understand "there are multiple things here."

This has been my first adventure dealing with maps with user-generated points and I'm discovering how much goes on behind the scenes that I never noticed!

It’s not easy for sure and I’m not a designer or ui/ux expert - just been around maps for a while

I agree with you that the point itself could show that it’s special - or - rely on users tapping/clicking it and then show all the info

In a sense, maybe conveying that the point has more than one data point attached to it isn’t critical - as long as you can see everything inside when clicking it!

Feel free to email me, would love to jam/chat about this!

I think the reason I might like to have the dot be darker is also because even at closer zooms, it suggests "There's a high density of activity here," which could make it more obvious that a town or neighborhood is active in my app in a way that wouldn't be as obvious if there were just one regular dot on an area that might not have a lot of good places to meet, but does have lots of groups meeting at the one really great meeting place.

If I'm browsing the map trying to decide if it's worth joining the platform at all, I'm a lot more likely to stay and click around if I can tell my area has lots of options, not just one.

I can't sent it right now, but I can follow up with you too. My opinions here might very well be specific to my own project.