geteilt von: https://feddit.nl/post/33407329

We’ve all already talked about switching away from google/apple maps to something like openstreetmaps, mapy, tomtom amigo, etc. But all of these services use openstreetmaps (UK non-profit) as a source and they still miss a lot of local data even for bigger cities!

If you have some spare time, think about adding a bit of data to the map with your local knowledge. There’s a lot of business data missing that is on google maps like websites, phone numbers and opening hours but also stuff like parking lots and whether they’re publicly accessible and free or not. Adding these makes the competition of ALL services using OSM as a source better.

I also use the mobile app https://streetcomplete.app/ and https://every-door.app/ to add data while on my walks, these make my walks more engaging and I actually take longer ones + see new places because of it. Streetcomplete also has a focus on important and easy to collect data with their default filters, and you can choose what you want to contribute.

If you really want to get into the thick of it and contribute more than just simple data you can always check out https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/How_to_contribute and see in which of the many ways you can contribute!

  • Vroomfondel ( Vroomfondel@lemmy.ml ) OP
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    1 year ago

    Personal addition: You would be surprised, how many details in your area are still missing! And if you want to “increase gamification” or even make it more challenging, you try to catch features while on your commute or lunch break! Or by going out with a group - doing it in "team mode.

  • selokichtli ( selokichtli@lemmy.ml ) 
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    1 year ago

    I’m a committed contributor in the OSM Notes area. As I see a lot of people here recommending StreetComplete, which is an awesome tool, let me tell you there are some weird notes coming from this app users trying to add notes to OSM which are not useful. For example, notes like “they don’t show their opening hours” when asked about opening hours of some POI. As you can see, these answers as notes do not add information to the POI at all. On the other hand, the app is mighty useful for beginners wanting to contribute.

    • balsoft ( balsoft@lemmy.ml ) 
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      1 year ago

      For example, notes like “they don’t show their opening hours” when asked about opening hours of some POI. As you can see, these answers as notes do not add information to the POI at all.

      No, this is actually somewhat useful. At least you should add opening_hours:signed=no for cases like this. If the hours are not specified at all (as they are for some places), use opening_hours=unknown.

      The reason this is useful is so to specify that someone tried to figure out the opening hours, but there aren’t any, so at least for a while there’s no reason to check again.

      • Vroomfondel ( Vroomfondel@lemmy.ml ) OP
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        1 year ago

        Right, there lies the problem. Within StreetComplete you cannot set the POI-stats like that. You only answer questions or enter numbers (stairs, specific hours). So, the App should set this, if you select the drop-down answer “There are no opening hours.” - Does anyone has connections to the developers to claim this “bug”?

      • selokichtli ( selokichtli@lemmy.ml ) 
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        1 year ago

        Why not implementing this as a tag instead? Why the extra step of creating a note if the tag exists? I’ve been in OSM for way more than a decade and these tags are news for me, probably the developers of the app themselves don’t know them.

    • HiddenLayer555 ( HiddenLayer555@lemmy.ml ) 
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      1 year ago

      For example, notes like “they don’t show their opening hours” when asked about opening hours

      Guessing this is probably someone less tech savvy who were asked this and they felt they had to answer even if they can’t give anything meaningful. I see this on reviews a lot where the website will ask buyers about a product and get a lot of I don’t knows.

    • Vroomfondel ( Vroomfondel@lemmy.ml ) OP
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      1 year ago

      Well, that sounds like an app issue. Because this is one of the standard answers when you don’t find opening hours. Sure, it’s no “new” information, but at least you now know from the note that somebody has tried checking this, without success. - Is there a better way, in your opinion?

      • selokichtli ( selokichtli@lemmy.ml ) 
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        1 year ago

        The other partner that answered my comment replied, accurately, what could be done instead. They propose that the notes solver uses a specific tagging. I think this could be implemented in the app, instead of the note option.

  • four ( four@lemmy.zip ) 
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    1 year ago

    What’s the best way to start contributing? Is there like a written tutorial or a video outlining the process? Or should I just download one of the mentioned apps and it will tell me everything I need to know?

  • NightFantom ( NightFantom@slrpnk.net ) 
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    1 year ago

    Thanks, already answered a few questions around my neighbourhood!

    There’s one where there’s a parking lot, with the question “do you have to pay to park here?” And the answer is technically yes, as you need to pay for public parking everywhere in the neighborhood, and that lot is no different, but I’m afraid it’s going to mark only the lot as paid parking, how do I fix that or verify?

    • balsoft ( balsoft@lemmy.ml ) 
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      1 year ago

      If you can pay “on the spot” (e.g. via a parking meter or an app or something like that), then you should answer yes (it will set fee=yes on that parking). Otherwise (e.g. if you must purchase a parking permit before you park), answer no and set membership=yes via some other editor.

    • Vroomfondel ( Vroomfondel@lemmy.ml ) OP
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      1 year ago

      Usually, in the StreetComplete App, you only add what is missing to one specific object. (As far as I have understood.) If you want to make sure that all parking spots in the neighbourhood are equally set, you have to double-check in the OSM web-editor. (That’s how I do it.)

    • Niquarl ( Niquarl@lemmy.ml ) 
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      1 year ago

      OSM is like Wikipedia, there is no point self hosting it. If you want to download the data you can, OrganicMaps/CoMaps for android does this automatically so you can use it offline

      • What do you mean no point in self-hosting it.
        I do plan to host a private wikipedia instance, resiliency is it’s own point.
        I understand it’s not necessarily economical to run private instance when I could use “someone else’s computer”
        but I’m in a very burned out mood about “other people’s computers” and how often they stop doing what I want
        I do want to run my own things, my own fully offline, pull out the internet and it still works things
        If anything as prevention against capability regression

        • Vroomfondel ( Vroomfondel@lemmy.ml ) OP
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          1 year ago

          Well, I might have read the license wrong. If I read again now, I understand it is partially open, quote from their website:

          There are 2 important things: OsmAnd uses third-party code only with permissive licenses like (LGPL, MIT, Apache) and OsmAnd code itself copyrighted by OsmAnd BV is distributed under GPLv2 license with the exception of distributing it on Google Play markets without permission. That provides a possibility to build any application for personal usage or build an opensource application under GPLv2 license (cause OsmAnd is not a platform and all the code built on top of the core must also be licensed as GPL).