Today I found out that it’s actually a lot easier to contribute to Open Street Map than I thought. There are some serious gaps in house addresses in my area and I was painstakingly using the built in browser editor in the browser.

But, you can use a FOSS app (available on fdroid) called StreetComplete that makes it a lot easier to help out filling in the gaps in your local map data.

It’s really fun - kind of like Pokémon Go but you are actually making an impact 😁

  • Schlemmy@lemmy.ml
    10·
    1 year ago

    I’m addicted to Streetcomplete. I’m 20.000+ edits in. I make about 100 with ease on my commute to work.

  • suoko@feddit.it
    2·
    1 year ago

    Maps.me and organicsmaps apps are great too to edit osm. You can also replace google maps and its navigator which is great because if you don’t find something on maps.me, you can immediately add it.

  • Zacryon@feddit.de
    2·
    1 year ago

    I don’t really know or use Open Street Map, so I wonder:

    Can everyone just manipulate the map data? Is there some sort of control mechanism or is it easy to incorporate fake data?

    I’m asking because this seems to be a really fallible concept, where people with malicious intents would have an easy way to disturb Open Street Map.

    • Takios@feddit.de
      1·
      1 year ago

      I recently contributed a business change and got a message a few hours later that I had made a mistake and a small explanation on how to fix it.

      This probably depends on the area, but at least changes in my area seem to be monitored by good people.

    • schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de
      1·
      1 year ago

      It is a wiki. While anyone can add fake data, there are monitoring tools to make sure that if someone does that, others will notice and remove it again.

  • moitoi@feddit.de
    1·
    1 year ago

    I’m contributing at my level. But, when I see all the errors, issues and missing object around me, it’s a full time job for at least one months.

  • OnopordumAcanthium@lemmy.ml
    1·
    1 year ago

    Honestly, thanks for your post. It inspired me to actually download the app and i solved a bit of issues around my area today.

    It’s actually fun and it also helps other people and increase the quality of OSM overall. This could motivate me to also just go for a walk instead of hanging in front of my computer so again: thx for your post <3

  • 2xsaiko@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Personally I think a great combo is mapping stuff out with the phone where you can survey the place and have GPS, and then sending those changes to a computer to polish in JOSM if needed (e.g. when you’re building new ways and want to make their geometry nicer) which is a lot more powerful editor and more comfortable than doing it on a touchscreen.

    But whichever editor you prefer, I concur that mapping is very fun and also useful. :)

    (And a lot more straight forward than trying to make a change in Apple or especially Google Maps…)

  • Ovec 🐑@lemmy.wtf
    1·
    1 year ago

    Hmm. I dislike that it uploads every thing as a separate change. I much more prefer editing the whole area and saving it as one neat package, rather than posting hundreds of “this is road is made of asphalt” posts.

    So it’s not for me, but if that helps to make OSM better, I’m all for it!

    Maybe I could make a separate account without neat history and from time to time click some icons in the app though. That probably wouldn’t bother me as much.

    • Joël de Bruijn@lemmy.ml
      0·
      1 year ago

      it doesnt close a changeset after every single change, at least it shouldnt. mmv but if I close the app for some time it bundles my changes in one OSM set

      • MazonnaCara89@lemmy.ml
        1·
        1 year ago

        No it doesn’t close changeset on every change, 30 days ago I added 123 house numbers in my city with streetcomplete and all of them were in the same changeset.

  • agile_squirrel@lemmy.ml
    1·
    1 year ago

    I just started using it but I made a mistake on one of my submissions. Is there any way to undo or edit a submission made in the app?

    Edit: There is an undo button on the bottom left in the app.

    • brainlessnick@feddit.de
      1·
      1 year ago

      If push comes to shove, you can always create a note over the same place and mention “sorry I effed up here but don’t know how to revert :(”

  • UraniumBlazer@lemm.eeEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Oh heck yea! My neighborhood is better mapped on OSM than Google Maps even now! Very fulfilling to see.

    • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
      1·
      1 year ago

      My shed is mapped in OSM.

      Meanwhile Google maps has not got the shed and has the entirety of my property about 10 ft east of its actual location. Essentially terraced up to a neighbouring property even though it’s not connected to that property and there is an alleyway.

      But I suppose I could say that doesn’t really matter for street navigation, which is what Google maps is actually for.

    • whome@discuss.tchncs.de
      1·
      1 year ago

      It’s exceptionally will designed and programmed in my experience. UX and UI design is very professional.

  • JackGreenEarth@lemm.ee
    0·
    1 year ago

    Is there an open street map based map app that shows live traffic? I’m trying to get my grandfather to switch to open source, and he says it’s the one feature he needs.

      • navordar@lemmy.ml
        0·
        1 year ago

        If it is free as in beer, but not as in freedom, and is developed by a company, then what is their business model?

        • Schlemmy@lemmy.ml
          0·
          1 year ago

          This is what they’ve put on their FAQ

          Magic Earth is free for all our end-users but we also have a paid Magic Earth SDK for business partners. For instance Selectric.de (a supplier for navigation solutions for ambulances and fire trucks), Smarter AI (developing ADAS systems) or Absolute Cycling (using the platform on bicycles). For more info on the SDK, you can check magiclane.com.

    • thejevans@lemmy.ml
      0·
      1 year ago

      No, unfortunately not. Getting traffic data would mean users volunteering to share location data, would need a centralized system to process everything, and would need a critical mass of users sharing said data to be anywhere near useful. The other possibility would be to pay for data from a provider like Google under an enterprise license that doesn’t require sharing data back, but I don’t know if that is even an option.

      For now, I use both on my phone. I use OSM when biking or walking, I use Google Maps when driving, and I use my local transit web app when taking transit. I plan to switch my Pixel phone to GrapheneOS and to sandbox Google services that I still need. That being said, the ultimate way around needing traffic information is to try to live in places and in such a way that driving is not very necessary, but I know that is a huge ask for a lot of people.

      EDIT: To be clear, MagicEarth does have live traffic as @[email protected] pointed out and is based on OSM, but is not itself open source.

  • Sha'ul@lemmy.ca
    0·
    1 year ago

    It seems like a very helpful service. I don’t use cell data which means no GPS to contribute to it. I only use apps through wi-fi exclusively.

    • sixfold@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Pretty sure you can download the maps ahead of time, GPS doesn’t require data, then upload the fixes when you get home.