[OSM-dev] Thoughts on an enhanced GPX api

[Elizabeth Dodd]

On Wed, 29 Jul 2009, Sebastian Spaeth wrote:
> Richard Fairhurst wrote:
> > Frederik Ramm wrote:
> >> To be honest, I think that GPS traces are horribly overrated and
> >> will only further diminish in importance for OSM. I wouldn't spend
> >> a lot of time reinventing anything to do with GPS traces.
> >
> > Why's that?
>
> I too agree that GPS tracks should be much more important than imports
> (it's also much more fun this way :-)), but I agree with Frederik that
> the GPS traces as they are now and not overly useful to me, I stopped
> downloading existing traces and rely on my local ones instead.
> Downloading a point cloud without being able to connect the dots isn't
> that much of a help to me, most of the time.
>
> spaetz

I'd like you to consider this particular piece of the earth. One OSM mapper 
has been there, and I could send someone out with a data logger to this place
http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=-33.153&lon=144.106&zoom=9
Now most of the roads were traced from Landsat. It's not terrific, and the GPS 
data shows that the road is not quite that straight.
The railway is all traced from Landsat.
There is no "point cloud". I can certainly use the traces uploaded by VK1RE to 
realign the road on the map, but please don't remove my access to these traces 
to remote places.
It's Ivanhoe, NSW, Australia, pop 350 for those who are not likely to check 
the map.