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Has anyone used or contributed to OpenStreetMap?

I’ve tried using it over the years but I never liked it because there was no information. So last night I looked at my local city and there is almost no information at all. I spent a few hours last night adding buildings and restaurants and removing incorrect items. It was actually kind of fun and therapeutic and I plan to do more of it tonight. My girlfriend thinks it’s dumb and I’m wasting my time because Google maps and Apple maps and Bing maps exists but she just doesn’t understand open source.

Edit: Apologies, I just realized this question is not Linux specific.

sixfold ,
@sixfold@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

I decided to give it a try over the weekend on a road trip, through the apps Organic Maps and Go Map!! I really liked Go Map!! except that it crashes occasionally, and won’t restart until your reinstall it :( loosing all the GPS tracks and unsubmitted data :(( If it was more stable, I’d recommend it to everyone.

AmyCupcake ,

Thank you very much for your efforts, there’s a lot of inertia about mapping places with low amounts of detail. Remember to reach out to your local OSM communities for advice, and the OSM wiki.

noodlejetski ,

Organic Maps is the only map app on my device, and I’ve got over 1300 edits, most of which have been made with StreetComplete.

booklovero ,

Yes, not only do I map, I show it to friends and how useful it is to me in specific situations. Bing and apple use osm data just like tomtom or many governments and many apps.

To me, spreading the word is more important than mapping. But I have to map in order to show how good it is. Moreover, it forces me to go out and hike and bike. That’s awesome!

I had to make a full overhaul of my area but now it’s awesome. I couldn’t have done it without others, thank you guys as well!

bino ,

Back in the old days I used an external GPS mouse connected to my phone via Bluetooth to track streets, writing down notes on every way point to later publish everything. Today still have of this area is there to look it up and I enjoy it everytime I

Lettuceeatlettuce ,
@Lettuceeatlettuce@lemmy.ml avatar

Yes, all the time. Great job helping out the project! Contributing is super valuable, even if it’s just a bit.

Check out if you haven’t, the app “Street Complete”. It allows you to really quickly add information to OSM in a fun gamified way.

It automatically finds your location and gives you little pop-up questions like, “what kind of crosswalk is here?” And, “where is this fire hydrant located?”

I go on walks in my area and will contribute that way too.

booklovero ,

Once you want to bulk edit on the go, use “every door”. “SC” or “SCEE” (feature richer SC) aren’t designed to update a large area quickly. (Check out each app when you become a serious mapper or want to make a real difference. Knowing the osm tools (and josm ofc) is highly important for efficiency.

rmuk ,

Yeah. Story time:

In the England we have ancient rights-of-way laws but a lot of private landowners try to block footpaths that cross their land. If a landowner can argue a footpath hasn’t been used in (I think) two years they can have it removed, but in 2025 all the existing footpaths will be made permanent and indelible except with explicit local government permission so between now and then a lot of landowners will be rushing to get paths removed.

I’ve made a point of walking every footpath in my area and making sure they’re all documented on OSM. If any of the landowners try to get a path removed I have my GPS tracks as proof of use.

Edit: FWIW, I find OSM to be the best map for rambling. Google and Apple don’t come close and OSM even gives Ordinance Survey a run for it’s money.

trouser_mouse ,
@trouser_mouse@lemmy.world avatar

Great job!

booklovero ,

That’s really nice! Thank you for your service!

Goodtoknow ,
@Goodtoknow@lemmy.ca avatar

Was that plan scrapped from what I can tell? www.bbc.com/news/uk-60418555Is there still risk of the right of way paths being fenced up/privatized fully?

PhilBro ,

Anecdote time: I was just in Yorkshire (first time in England) heard about the idea of public footpaths so we found one, walked it and had a picnic. Loved every second, ended up going through a sheep field then a cow field. Can’t wait to go back

Rin ,

I’ve contributed but not a lot. Mapped out my local area, counted the number of stair steps, mapped out trails… Very good thing imo. OsmAnd~ is a very good tool.

Cosmocrat ,

I did a little bit in my area, haven’t had the motivation to start up again.

float ,

I use it a lot, mostly through OsmAnd on Android. Occasionally I also contribute missing trails and remove obsolete places.

I think many people use their data without even knowing it which is a shame. Maps.me is a very common app but everyone I talk to that’s using this app never heard of OSM.

Anonymouse ,

I use it mostly because of the offline capabilities. I use it in state and national parks, but also navigation. I’d really like to learn to give back as I’m driving around town. Is there some guide for his to contribute on the go?

float ,

The OsmAnd app supports editing (when the OSM edit plugin is enabled). There are some “getting started” guides in the OSM wiki. Give it a try, it’s quite simple!

original2 ,

I’m in the UK and open street map has mapped out my local area more accurately than google. It is marginal, but I stopped using google maps after a few issues: I was hiking and it directed me into a privately owned farm (claiming it is a permissive footpath).The farmer was very racist.

Another time I was directed through the middle of a primary school.

iopq ,

Lol at the racist farmer

OddFed ,
@OddFed@feddit.de avatar

I’m honestly very confused by OSM. I always wanted to use it as an alternative to Google Maps, but it’s so hard to use.

Anyone got some tips or good ressources to share?

teolan ,
@teolan@lemmy.world avatar

The OpenStreetMap website isn’t really menant for general consumption. It’s more menant as a databse that other services can build upon.

For Android I recommend the excellent OrganicMaps, but you can also use Magic Earth (proprietary). Both are built on top of OSM data.

OddFed ,
@OddFed@feddit.de avatar

Nice, Organic Map is awesome. Do you also know a webapp similar to Google Maps?

teolan ,
@teolan@lemmy.world avatar

There’s qwant maps which is proprietary

Showroom7561 ,

What is your main objective for using OSM?

Is it for navigation? Bike routes? Route planning? There are so many services/apps/websites that use OSM data that you can really get as specific as your use-case needs!

If you just need a basic navigation solution for your smartphone, Organic Maps (uses OSM data) or (OSMand+) on Android are good options.

OddFed ,
@OddFed@feddit.de avatar

Nice, Organic Map is awesome. Do you also know a webapp similar to Google Maps?

Showroom7561 ,

My go-to website for route creation (bike, car, or otherwise) is brouter.de/brouter-web/ It’s got a lot of options, but it’s far more powerful than Gmaps.

booklovero ,

For which purpose? As feature rich as gmaps? Nope.

Flaky ,
@Flaky@iusearchlinux.fyi avatar

I rarely use any maps, but OpenStreetMap is used by Rate Your Music to show where artists you’ve rated at least once came from.

Kiloee ,

I live in an area that was next to perfect when I first learned about OSM, so I had no real reason to contribute. I have seen their maps used by our public transport to show the way to/from stops (or even inside them on the particularly large ones).

This just reminded me that I can in fact contribute and I will check out the iOS options for doing so.

Fickle_Ferret ,
@Fickle_Ferret@lemmy.ml avatar

Yes. It is the most up to date map in my area, in point of fact, other maps copy their data from osm for my area.

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