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.
I’ve been editing OSM for years. (896,339 edits in 3,427 changesets, apparently!) For me, it’s all about the free data. I once got a thank you note from someone who worked for a city with a particularly large municipal park. I’d added almost all the trails to the park and other information, and they’d used it to produce a printed map for the general public. Exactly the kind of thing I’d hoped for!
Personally, I do a lot of dualsport motorcycling and most backcountry maps around here are subpar. I map tons of trails and 2track and put them on the Garmin so I know where I’m going.
OSM is also great in lots of Europe–tons of detail.
JOSM is great.
Someone just recommended Organic Maps for the phone–it’s way snappier than Google Maps, but still not great with finding addresses.
What an awesome story to hear. I’ve been playing around with Organic Maps on my phone. I’ll have to look into JOSM.
Yeah josm is a lifechanger when you get used to it.
I’ve tried putting osm maps on my Garmin with limited success, how can I go about doing that?
There’s a list of ready-made providers of
gmapsupp.imgfiles.I’ve had the best luck with BBBike and OpenMapChest for getting pre-built map files.
Basically you have to get one of these files with all the data you want in it and then stick it on your SD card on the GPS. (The GPS should mount like a thumb drive. If you already have a
gmapsupp.imgfile on there, you might want to back it up in case things go sideways.) Some GPSes support multiplegmapsupp.imgfiles, but a lot don’t. Here’s a thread on merging.imgfiles.When I needed super fresh data, I’d download raw OSM data from Overpass and use mkgmap to build the
gmapsupp.img.Thanks a lot!
That’s really cool to hear about the parks. Most of the parks around here are pretty well mapped out. Presumably the local community is pretty strong.
I really want to produce something for my city’s NET and BEECN emergency response programs. They already have a few different maps, but not one unified map. My ideal is a map that could be taken offline or printed to spec.
https://streetcomplete.app/ is a fun way to contribute to OSM and do something else instead of just “walking” if you want to get outside a bit.
This is what I use! It’s like RPG quests in real life but about really boring subjects. Eg. What surface is the pavement on a nearby street. Or is there a bin next to this bus stop
😵💫 can’t 😵💫 not 😵💫 upvote 😵💫
😵💫 can’t 😵💫 not 😵💫 upvote 😵💫
This is actually amazing. I’ve done a bit of editing as I play Pokémon Go which uses OSM for the background map. I got fed up of just looking at roads so I mapped in all the buildings, shops, parks etc near me.
This gamifies walking and exploring which I love!
Do you know of a similar app for iOS?
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/StreetComplete recommends GoMap!! and some others. Maybe one of those is also great.
Thanks!
I’ve heard good things about this app: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1621945342
This is seriously awesome! Thank you for suggesting this.
I have added a small amount of area around my city but this will make it much easier to fill in the gaps.
Just to piggy back on here Every Door (https://every-door.app/) is so awesome if you wanna add/update shops and other small points of interest on the go. Highly recommend it.
OSM is an awesome project I agree it is fun contributing to it but it is not as useful yet due to what you describe, details.
Finding addresses and other specific information is very hit or miss in some areas. Especially in the US where no one really cares about it other than tech corporations using it for quick info like street layouts.
My entire city has address numbers missing and for a long time I used an app on my phone (StreetComplete) to fix address numbers and other various details. But it can be overwhelming very quickly depending on how outdated or not updated your place is. Time you enjoyed wasting is not wasted time by the way.
Try Everydoor as well. Another StreetComplete like App that’s great for adding simple items
OSM is huge for backcountry. Hiking trails, skiing, etc. There is nothing better.
Gaia?
Are the communities for skiing and especially backcountry yet?
Not any good ones that I’ve found for backpacking
There is also OpenSkiMap
I use it quite often, but only recently began contributing. And as they (very) wisely say at the bottom of the wiki (https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Editing_Standards_and_Conventions ):
WARNING: OpenStreetMap is highly addictive Take frequent breaks, there is a lot to be done.
Your link is broken, unfortunately the last ‘):’ was appended to the link
Thanks! Fixed
Where I live it’s much more complete than google maps, especially in the countryside.
Im currently using streetcomplete, which is an app that gamifies the experience of fulfilling OSM gaps. It’s like playing pokemon go but you are hunting a street with isle. I found this recommendation here in lemmy so im passing forward, I loved it
That looxs really fun, thanks for passing the recommendation on!
I just saw that and downloaded it. My struggle is telling the difference between asphalt and concrete.
Wait until you have to decide between gravel and compacted gravel.
But seriously, asphalt and concrete should be pretty obvious. Alphalt is darker and porous, gravel embedded into an almost gooey (when hot) substance. Concrete is flat, often in slabs next to each other, prone to cracking.
Wiki has descriptions for the surface types, https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:surface gravel seems to be general term that includes compacted gravel, I had to look up difference between dirt, ground and unpaved without text descriptions from the wiki that would have been impossible.
My local Public works committee has a habit of digging up asphalt roads to do water supply pipe repairs, and then filling them up with the rubble when they’re done. What category would such a road some under?
Possibly something like
surface=asphalt smoothness=intermediateBut I’m really not sure. You might find information at https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:surface and/or https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:smoothness
I regularly use OSM data through Organic Maps (mostly for larger European cities). The app is really polished and is a joy to use. So far I’m not missing any features from Google Maps.
I’ve also updated some faulty business hours for some restaurants so I guess I’ve contributed back.
E: With the recent developments in the world of free online services (YouTube blocking ad-blockers, Google lying to their customers about its TrueView ads, Twitter rate limiting free access, the Reddit API fiasco), I wonder how much longer we can take free services like Google Maps for granted. Having an open alternative may become even more important in the future.
I use it all the time with OSMand. and i have contributed to OSM for years. I just had a look - i start in Sep 2010 (13 years!) and all of my edits (except for a humanitarian tracing excersice for mozambique) i have been to. it is a niice spread:
Ooohh!! Please, post a bit in the lemmy community as well.
Hi there! Looks like you linked to a Lemmy community using a URL instead of its name, which doesn’t work well for people on different instances. Try fixing it like this: !openstreetmap@lemmy.ml
done 😀
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.
Same here. I actually use OSM editing as others would use drawing. I even edit on OSM while engaging with people, just as others would sketch in their drawing book.
My girlfriend thinks it’s dumb and I’m wasting my time because Google maps and Apple maps and Bing maps exists
In case you or she is into hiking: Komoot is literally using OSM data. Paths for hiking and cycling outside the city are almost nonexistent on the big commercial services. When I’m going for a walk and I find a trashcan, I add it to OSM while I’m walking. My thinking is that people might be less likely to throw trash in the woods when they know that a trashcan is just around the corner.
Apologies, I just realized this question is not Linux specific.
“Has anyone used or contributed to OpenStreetMap, the data source of popular Linux apps Gnome Maps and KDE Marble?”
FTFY
BTW there’s now an OSM community !openstreetmap@lemmy.ml
Subbed!
Every time I move to a new area this is one of things I do. Outside of Google, a lot of the other maps start with open street maps as their data set as it’s an excellent jumping off point. So you’re not just helping open street maps You’re helping most map applications.
We use OSM quite a bit for various things at my job (transport logistics software). We’re generally concerned with UK cities, where the coverage is quite good, however we often find little things which aren’t quiiiite right and make a fix or two.
It’s a really cool project, overall
I did a few small corrections in the area I live. I removed a public road that wasn’t a road but a private paved path. I got heavily criticized in a PM by another member for doing so. Haven’t bothered doing anything since
Editing since people are correction me. Perhaps path is the wrong word to have used. Driveway would probably be more suitable.
Huh. I’m sorry that was your reception. They should have been helpful towards a new member of the community. It looks like they should have redirected you to the access=private article.
I have updated a dirt road to asphalt.
