cross-posted from: 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!
Definitely ticks the “something interesting to do out on a walk” box that pokémon go did
I was actually doing some mapping once and was asked if I was also there for the pokemon go event.
Prime opportunity for some evangelising!
Be careful though: Pokémon Go players are known to have vandalized OpenStreetMap. Since the game uses it for the background map and for spawning Pokémon in thematic locations, they would create fake miniature parks, lakes etc. near their homes.
Interesting, I’ve been wondering how OSM deals with malicious changes
It’s very similar to Wikipedia. Changesets can be filtered by multiple criteria such as geographical area, added/changed/deleted item count, software, declared sources, comment or account age. Moderation tools are mostly open source but by community members (not OSMF themselves), such as OSMCha.