StreetComplete asks questions, with answers used to improve OpenStreetMap data
github.com
github.com
Another thing that's super cool is that StreetComplete allows you to answer other OSM Notes (made also or rather mostly outside of StreetComplete) with photos. There are many countries with a deluge of unsolved Notes [2] and a photographic proof allows people to resolve them remotely. Just remember to turn on displaying all notes, not only questions, in the app settings.
[1] https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Notes
[2] (takes long to load) http://resultmaps.neis-one.org/osm-notes
It's pretty common for me to see a note from someone that's like a year old saying "this business isn't here any more". Indeed, it is not. I mean, I could add a picture (didn't realise that feature existed), but how would that help? It's a picture of a thing that's not there. Why not take the notes word for it when it was first posted a year ago?
If this is some multi-verification thing, there must be a better way to present that?
It's just asking the user to add information to a note that has not yet been resolved. It's likely enough that no one has looked at it (and it could be resolved just based on the initial note), but it won't hurt anything to add the information.
"This place has gone or never existed" is a note from MAPS.ME generated by clicking such button in that app. But people sometimes missclick it. Or use it wrongly e.g. place exists but has slightly inaccurate position or name. Or use it on POIs they added themselves as a mistake (MAPS.ME allows adding/editing POI, but not deleting them)
If you solved as many notes as I did you would understand ;) I think that photographing something that's not there is still a valid thing. I try never to trust notes blindly, and when possible corroborate it with outside sources (no copying of Google Maps allowed, though).
> If this is some multi-verification thing, there must be a better way to present that?
Notes, their usage, and resolving are pretty free-form.
I think this can get tricky. I've worked in several office suites where having a business listed on the directory at the entrance was an additional fee that many tenants opted not to pay (not just struggling startups; I've known this category to include large publicly-traded companies who'd existed for decades). Someone could see that a listed business is not on the directory, mark "no longer exists", even posting "photographic proof" of a directory without the business's name -- and they could still be wrong.
The only way to know for sure would be to a) verify the landlord's records; or b) regularly knock and confirm that employees of said company are routinely occupying the space.
Ultimately in a cooperative project like OSM you have to be able to somehow verify others' work - that's why there's "on the ground rule". https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Verifiability
That said it's only a guideline, which is deviated from in some cases (like administrative boundaries). I guess some other proof could pass, if it was plausible enough.
I guess there is still a bit of a barrier to entry, but once you get used to it it's a fun way to explore your neighbourhood and find things out.
I have been using it for a while, and I have filled out useful things like bus stop shelter and seating, road surfaces, opening hours on shops etc.
Near me right now, I have a few house numbers (adjacent to known house numbers), one probably unnamed pedestrian passage to name, and loads of default speed limits.
When asked to put in opening hours, if the sign in the window says 0800 daily, you don't write "well, I was there at 0830 last Wednesday and they weren't open yet, so maybe 0900?". Similarly, you don't write "I parked there for two hours yesterday and I didn't get a ticket"
If there are official-looking signs (not a scrap of plywood with NO PArkiNG written on it with a marker), I don't think it's the cartographer's job to investigate whether the clamping company is legitimately authorised to demand a release fee, how thoroughly the operator enforces restrictions, or how long the warden takes on their rounds.
I've seen a lot of quests on StreetComplete that seemed a lot less relevant, like the number of stories a house has, or the style of roofs. I guess that's useful for 3d maps, but personally I don't see much value in that relative to mapping addresses and street rules.
As best as I can tell, there are simply no boots on the ground on the east side of Indianapolis. Unfortunately I’m not in a position to do much about it myself, but the sheer volume of missing data is a pretty strong deterrent.
I'm just saying that as a newcomer, being able to fill out things with obvious personal usefulness like "does this bus stop have a shelter and seating" is really cool and engaging. As is having a diverse range of things to fill out.
When your area is already pretty thoroughly covered, it's not as fun to say "this stretch of road has the same speed limit as every other stretch of road nearby". However, once you are an engaged user, doing a few of those things every so often is fine.
What I was trying to say in my original comment was "if you can't find anything interesting to do in it try somewhere else (when you can)"
I was in a similar situation as you for a while. My perspective changed when I realised that it's a great thing to make going on walks -- another habit that I've wanted to get into (for physical+mental health) but never really did -- a little more interesting and fulfilling. Now I'm at ~2000 quests completed.
When Google Maps bothers me with inane questions about my village pub, I'm annoyed, I won't be their unpaid data entry worker. But I'm more than happy to do it for everyone on the internet, I'll even install an app, voluntarily!
Last time I got this feeling was when I first joined what.cd. I'll never forget that "Whoaaaa, so this is what an internet music service could be like if there was no profit involved"
Osmand is great but maybe you should consider that there is no one app to solve all of your problems, especially given that you've already accepted that OSM is data, not an app. There's Osmand for outdoors kind of stuff, maps.me for a simpler, slicker Google maps like experience, Graph Hopper for advanced routing and planning, cycle.travel and others for cycling, hike maps, transport maps, the list goes on.
It is a little funny to see that some of the quests are on map features that I have recently added. I suppose I will both fix those things and learn what I can do better when I am mapping in the future.
(like a way to fund your game through a byproduct generated by your users instead of annoying advertising)
One nicely done detail is how the road names stay in place as you move the map. At least I really liked it.