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
    1252·
    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.

  • JackGreenEarth@lemm.ee
    23·
    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
        6·
        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
          4·
          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.

        • Schlemmy@lemmy.ml
          21·
          1 year ago

          Indeed it isn’t. But is privacy focused and sort of the best next thing.

          • thehellrocc@beehaw.orgEnglish
            2·
            1 year ago

            Yeah, I was just pointing it out for transparency, as this is the OSS community. Still a noteworthy app, though.

    • thejevans@lemmy.ml
      13·
      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.

    • notExactlyI20@lemmy.world
      3·
      1 year ago

      OSMand has a feature where it can process other info as tiles on top of the base openstreetmap data it downloads, so what I did was pulling satellite and live traffic data from google and make them work as tiles and it works perfect (although it doesnt take traffic data into consideration when routing, it only shows it as a picture on top of the map, doesn’t bother me).

  • Rikudou_Sage@lemmings.world
    21·
    1 year ago

    kind of like Pokémon Go but you are actually making an impact

    I caught the whole first generation + my favorite Celebi. How’s that for an impact?

      • Rikudou_Sage@lemmings.worldEnglish
        3·
        1 year ago

        I bow before the king! I think I had some shitty <20 IV there as well, but my goal since the beginning was to catch the ones I’ve been watching in the anime as a kid, didn’t much care about other generations (well, I remember a little bit of gen 2 from my youth as well).

  • ExLisper@linux.communityEnglish
    18·
    1 year ago

    I didn´t realize editing OSM is so easy. I just logged in, did a short tutorial and fixed one intersection where a week ago the app told to do an illegal turn. Awesome!

  • redcalcium@lemmy.institute
    15·
    1 year ago

    There is a “road” near my house in OSM that does not exist and OSM is always trying to route me though it, which is very annoying. Is there any way to mark them for removal? StreetComplete doesn’t seem to have that capability.

    • Tiuku@sopuli.xyz
      24·
      1 year ago

      You can always long press on a problematic place and leave a freeform note. A more experienced mapper can then fix the issue.

    • gens@programming.dev
      2·
      1 year ago

      I have a similar problem. Two entrances to my building got their numbers reversed.

      If anybody knows if the app can fix it, i’l get it and make an account.

      • eeleech@lemm.ee
        10·
        1 year ago

        It should be possible using the address overlay in the app. Otherwise you could leave a note or use the web based editor on the OSM homepage.

    • StorageAware@lemmings.worldEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      You could use the editor on the website which although messy, would work fine for removing a road on mobile. Or you can use an app like Vespucci which is more advanced, but it also has a bit more of a learning curve. Or you can create a note like others have recommended but depending on the activity in the area might not be seen for a while.

      • redcalcium@lemmy.institute
        1·
        1 year ago

        Wow you’re right! I didn’t know they have an online editor. I thought the app is the only way to submit changes. I’m able to delete the section of the road that don’t actually exist in my area, let’s see if the changes will be accepted. Thanks!

        • StorageAware@lemmings.worldEnglish
          2·
          1 year ago

          Yep, StreetComplete is one of the many editors for OpenStreetMap! Just to name a few:

          Mobile (Android & iOS Mixed):

          • Vespucci.
          • EveryDoor
          • Go Map!!

          Desktop:

          • iD (the online editor on the website)
          • RapiD
          • JOSM
          • Level0

          And many more! There’s a list on the OpenStreetMap wiki.

  • Zacryon@feddit.de
    13·
    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.

    • brainlessnick@feddit.de
      191·
      1 year ago

      Yes, but similar to Wikipedia (where the same holds true) the forces fo good and honest seem to prevail.

      • schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de
        3·
        1 year ago

        Even more than on Wikipedia. The problem with Wikipedia is it tries to use a wiki to write about contentious issues like politics, culture war, religion, national conflicts etc. too and wikis just aren’t a very suitable mechanism for that. OSM tries to limit itself to completely objective facts about the world, wikis are very well suited for that.

    • schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de
      7·
      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.

    • Takios@feddit.de
      7·
      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.

    • Rhllor@feddit.de
      3·
      1 year ago

      Yes and no. If I remember correctly, it was pokemon go utilizing OSM for the kind of Pokemon you could find in a given area which led to some manipulation. You could probably also get away with changing or hiding something in Nowhere, Idaho.

      The bigger issue is probably outdated data. Shops or restaurants in urban areas change fairly quickly, it’s quite hard to keep up with those.

  • suoko@feddit.it
    13·
    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.

  • moitoi@feddit.de
    13·
    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.

  • twistypencil@lemmy.world
    12·
    1 year ago

    Street complete is amazing. I’ve been obsessed with it for a couple years. I never would have made hundreds of OSM submissions without it. Whenever I’m bored, sitting in some place waiting, instead of doom scrolling, I pull out up and see if there is anything I can contribute to the area

  • Taalen@lemmy.world
    12·
    1 year ago

    Very glad I saw this. I’ve been getting increasingly fed up with Google Maps. Their map in my area is full of annoying errors, such as routing you through roads that haven’t existed for a decade, or along private roads that are not open to the public. And no matter how many times I report them, nothing ever gets fixed. Going to give OSM a try and hopefully make the switch for good. Already saw that the map in my area is in much better shape than Google’s.

  • cloudy1999@sh.itjust.works
    11·
    1 year ago

    I’ve was doing the same until yesterday, then I found StreetComplete. Since then, it’s so much easier to enter addresses. So much easier to add addresses while out walking than to carry a notepad or memorize numbers.

  • eeeeyayyyy@lemm.ee
    11·
    1 year ago

    This is my pastime whenever I don’t have anything to do online. It’s fun to point something on OSM and remembering the establishments you’ve walkthrough.