[HOT] How to become a validator (a suggestion)

Tue Apr 5 13:49:01 UTC 2016

I think the point was that that there are different standards of mapping
and to some extent validation as well.  In Nepal we had time and resource
constraints and I must confess I took some short cuts and didn't do a
through a job as could have been done.  Sometimes it's a judgement call and
I think as you and I have discussed sometimes some validators do an
excellent job but check rather more than either of us would when validating.

I've even heard a whisper of a validator taking one look at someone's work
and zapping it and just remapping as it was quicker but of course that
never happens in OSM and would never be documented.

Cheerio John

On 5 April 2016 at 09:36, Blake Girardot <bgirardot at gmail.com> wrote:

>
>
> On 4/5/2016 3:15 PM, john whelan wrote:
>
> Blake thought my methods of validation in Nepal left much to be
>> desired.
>>
>
> That sounds a little strong :) I forget the question I had or the comment,
> but after talking with you I was good with it and agreed is all I remember.
>
> >I agreed but given that 70% of the mappers were new even the
>
>> basic validation I did improved the data quality quickly.
>>
>
> This I 100% agree with.
>
> Cheers,
> Blake
>
>
> I also had a
>
>> couple of mappers who were visually checking tiles and finding 30% more
>> buildings sometimes.  Which comes back to the quality of the video
>> system and screen you’re using.  “Why does your laptop show the image in
>> JOSM better than mine in iD?”  The lap top I was using was an old Dell
>> professional grade one and my desktop screen at home shows an even
>> clearer image.  So the equipment the validator has available might be an
>> important factor on the quality of the validation.
>>
>> To me validation is a form of coaching being good at something doesn’t
>> mean you make a good coach.  To me Maperthons are a source of a dozen
>> new mappers and really questionable data.  The faster we can get in and
>> give feedback the better.  When you need to add 50 settlements to a tile
>> it takes resources and to do this I’ve used sensible mappers with a
>> month’s experience and delegated.  If its just highway=unclassified and
>> landuse=residential that’s fine.  I’ve also seen mappers with a thousand
>> edits to their name who don’t make good validators, the project asks for
>> settlements and connecting highways, they like to map all the tracks as
>> well.  I’ve seen tiles invalidated for missing things that were not
>> requested in the project instructions.
>>
>> It also needs tact, a European mapper who has been mapping locally will
>> almost certainly use the wrong tags in Africa for highways.  They’re
>> high quality mappers of the type Africa needs but invalidating the tile
>> because the tags are wrong may not help with the retention rates.
>>
>> http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_Tasking_Manager/Validating_data
>> is a start, I’m not certain I agree with every statement but it’s a good
>> start.
>>
>> There is a problem with iD mappers they tend to have more crossing ways
>> and highways that almost meet than others.  Probably because there is no
>> easy way to check for these in iD. So whilst I would comment JOSM
>> validation detected six crossing ways normally, if I know they’re an iD
>> editor I just correct and don’t comment.
>>
>> If it’s a more complex project, map and tag everything in sight I don’t
>> even bother validating these days.  I’ll let someone else with more
>> experience than I go and do it.  I only have 8,000+ edits to my name.
>> These projects certainly could do with a certified validator and to be
>> honest I have no interest in getting a badge.
>>
>> Cheerio John
>>
>> On 5 April 2016 at 05:37, graham <graham at klunky.co.uk
>> <mailto:graham at klunky.co.uk>> wrote:
>>
>>     Dear Hi,____
>>
>>     __ __
>>
>>     With the subject of validators in that last few emails, and past
>> emails thread discussing how to know when some one can start validating or
>> not. How much experience does one need? One may think that they are good,
>> but other may not etc..
>>     ____
>>
>>     __ __
>>
>>     So, I thought to just suggest an idea. I am not sure what people
>> might think about it, maybe it has already been discussed before.
>>     Maybe the issue has been solved already.____
>>
>>     __ __
>>
>>     The idea:____
>>
>>     I think that maybe if there was a process to become officially
>> recognised as an"Validator", then it would be a "position" worth achieving,
>> it would make it a challenge. For now, I do not think that there is any
>> solid pre-requisite to be a validator?____
>>
>>     __ __
>>
>>     Below I am suggesting a potential avenue to become an official
>> validator:____
>>
>>     __ __
>>
>>     1) To complete a minimum number of tiles, as proof of commitment to
>> HOT and direct experience with HOT mapping (regardless of one's
>> professional career), then 2) to take a short test of proficiency.____
>>
>>     __ __
>>
>>     Details:____
>>
>>     1) Can members the HOT team determine the number of tiles each user
>> has completed? I know that more that one user can complete one tile, but
>> perhaps if one user completes a high percentage of a tile (of all the
>> points, line, and polygons), that would be considered a "complete tile" for
>> this purpose. As for another users then reworking the tile, this is another
>> discussion point.____
>>
>>     __ __
>>
>>     2)The test might be to review a number of tiles from previous
>> projects and they need to comment on the quality of the digitalisation and
>> complete any reworking that is needed. A minimum number of tiles need to be
>> correct, (to a certain standard), in order to pass the test. In each test,
>> a random subset of tiles for a complete selection of tiles could be used,
>> so that not cheating could occur.____
>>
>>     __ __
>>
>>     __ __
>>
>>     Additionally, these official validators could have a symbol next to
>> their users names. This way, when a mapper asks for advise regarding their
>> mapping, the mapper would know if a "validator" is responding or not.____
>>
>>     __ __
>>
>>     Just an idea...____
>>
>>     __ __
>>
>>     Regards,____
>>
>>     __ __
>>
>>     Graham____
>>
>>
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>>
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