[OSM-dev] OSM front page design concept

[Stephan Plepelits]

On Sun, Feb 28, 2010 at 11:24:54AM +0100, Frederik Ramm wrote:
> What you are describing is the "web map to end all web maps". It is a 
> natural tendency for many in the IT industry to always try and 
> generalise ("if I add this and make that configurable, then the same 
> backend could be used to do all these things...").
Yeah, it happens to me too all the time, that people say "But on Google
Maps I can do that and that, why not integrate it to the OSM main page".
I think people are used to that right now, that they use just one portal
for a lot of things.

> In contrast, I think that a lean main site has a better chance of 
> encouraging individuals to create their own specialist maps just as we 
> have it now.
I always compare Free Software to an evolutionary process. As it's so easy
to get the data and the source, people just start experimenting. It's
bottom up. Mankind did not evolve because there was one super human who was
that much greater ... no, the generations always learned from each other and
evolved.

I think that all these applications around OpenStreetMap should learn to
interact with each other (more than they do now). We already have APIs from
Cloudmade for Routing, you can choose between different kind of Tiles, etc.

I still think that the main OpenStreetMap homepage should be more about
community than it is right now. Links to all those great webpages, people
build from OpenStreetMap. How do you find them now?
Try it, it's not easy.

Even on the Wiki-Main-Page there's no link. There's a pretty good page
called http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Applications, but (according to
'What links here') there are no links to that page.

People hear of the OpenStreetMap, look at the page, and for sure they are
disappointed. Because there is no routing. There are no points of
interest. There's a map which doesn't look too good (at least to
continental Europeans who are not used to blue and green motorways). And
the new frontpage design is not an improvement in my opinion.

At least there should be a BIG link to that Applications page from above.

An example for a better OSM homepage could be http://www.openstreetmap.de -
This is about community. There are links to other applications. (If you
don't speak german go to http://tinyurl.com/ylfhf8w (the same page
translated by Google).

> The more of OSM is centrally run and maintained, the less diversity and 
> creativity the project will offer.
Exactly. That's why the main page should show this diversity and creativity
by linking to those applications.

greetings,
        Stephan

PS: As I write to the list anyway, I can make a little announcement about
my child, the OpenStreetBrowser. In future it will be possible to create
own categories and there will be a HTTP-API to query those categories.
Take a look at
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OpenStreetBrowser/API_Proposal and tell
me what you think (e.g. on the discussion page).
-- 
Seid unbequem, seid Sand, nicht Öl im Getriebe der Welt! - Günther Eich
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| Stephan Plepelits,                                                  |
| Technische Universität Wien   -    Studien Informatik & Raumplanung |
| Projects:                                                           |
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| Contact:                                                            |
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