[Imports] MapQuest translation of Beijing - requesting feedback

Wed Oct 27 00:05:13 UTC 2010

JOSM and Merkaartor are both wonderfull editors.

How I started on OpenStreetMap was when a volunteer sat down in person
over coffee and explained how OSM works.

MapQuest is a nice editor and map renderer.  Working with the
community means working outside of MapQuest.

We host mapping parties and learn from others for free.

Google owns theirdata and their editor and has a community of
volunteers who (willingly) work for free.  Google Owns the API

MapQuest does not own the API, nor controll the way the map is done.

I agree, using a spreadsheet with columns and data is most efficient.
.... thats how geonames.org works, and it's wonderfull.

Using a spreadsheet to keep track of edits excludes you from the
community, as it becomes a Job 'lets import canvec'

Your edits need to be part of the OSM community edits.... and not separate.

In Haiti, this was a big problem ....

There osm-alternates that DO fit you request. But these are not yet
available unfortunatly..

On 10/26/10, Hardgrave, Roman <rhardgrave at mapquest.com> wrote:
> Hello,
> Thanks for the feedback.  I should clarify a couple points from my original
> email.
>
> The purpose of our project is to add translated road and place names to the
> OSM dataset.  All the work we are planning to do will be shared with the OSM
> community.  We don't want to retain control of any of it.  We just want to
> use the resources we have on-hand to enhance the OSM data for everyone.
>
> One restriction we have is that our translators cannot work directly with
> the OSM tools like Potlatch.  They simply don't have the technical skills to
> manage that.  For that reason, we are looking at extracting data from the
> OSM dataset, giving it to them in a form they can handle (ie a spreadsheet),
> and then re-importing it into the master OSM database.
>
> As part of the process I've outlined below, I've built in controls so that
> we don't overwrite any data that might have been changed in-between our
> extract and import.
>
> Hopefully that clarifies things a bit.
>
> Roman
>
>
> On 10/26/10 7:17 PM, "Sam Vekemans" <acrosscanadatrails at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hopefully, by 'We' you mean you as a volunteer working along side
>> other volunteers to build the ccBYsa map.
>> BTW, the Natural Resoues Canada staff that help build the map, do so
>> on their spare weekend time.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On 10/26/10, Sam Vekemans <acrosscanadatrails at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>> Speaking from experience (1), OpenStreetMap is not designed to handle
>>> an extract, where the syste is closed.
>>>
>>>
>>> You need to work wth local mappes in the region (contact them
>>> directly) and find someone willing to help.
>>>
>>>
>>> Manually go through the map, and do the conversions one at a time.
>>>
>>>
>>> Have a Mapping party, and host it via tinychat/skype so you can attend
>>> remotly.
>>>
>>>
>>> If your interested in a 2-way map, try using geocommons.com where you
>>> can submit your data.
>>>
>>>
>>> Also, another option is to use geonames.org as this will be of use for
>>> you. (CCBY data, and totally independent of OSM
>>>
>>>
>>> Have a great mapping party. :)
>>>
>>>
>>> The moment data is in OSM, it is part of the community project, so you
>>> cannot take control of the data in the map.
>>>
>>>
>>> Many others, are manually making the changes.
>>>
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>> Sam
>>>
>>>
>>> (1) With the Canada Import, Natural Resources Canada provides data as
>>> .osm files, they cannot except osm changes back, as their dataset is
>>> mixed sources, and they need to own the data.
>>>
>>> On 10/26/10, Hardgrave, Roman <rhardgrave at mapquest.com> wrote:
>>>> Hello,
>>>> We are considering doing a translation project to add some westernized
>>>> names
>>>> to roads and places in several Asian cities.  We're planning to start
>>>> with
>>>> Beijing and see how it goes.  We wanted to get feedback on our plan from
>>>> the
>>>> community before we got started.
>>>>
>>>> The idea is to add name:en attributes to any Node or Way that has
>>>> existing
>>>> data in the name attribute.  Also, if the existing name attribute
>>>> contained
>>>> westernized names (rather than native), we'd move that data from the
>>>> name
>>>> attribute to the name:en attribute.
>>>>
>>>> We'll be providing our translators a spreadsheet where they can add/move
>>>> the
>>>> data.  Here's the step by step process on how we're planning to extract
>>>> and
>>>> then import the data back into OSM.
>>>>
>>>> 1) Export the osm files out of the master OSM data given a bounding box
>>>>     -Use JOSM, XAPI or the OSM web based export given a bounding box
>>>> 2) Run a script to chew through the osm file and look for any nodes and
>>>> ways
>>>> that have a name attribute but not a name:en attribute.  For those that
>>>> fit
>>>> the bill, capture the following data into a csv:
>>>>     a) Node or Way
>>>>     b) Node or Way Id
>>>>     c) Version
>>>>     d) Name Native
>>>> 2a) Possibly add functionality to the script to look for westernized
>>>> charactersets in the native field and either flag it or move it
>>>> automatically
>>>> 3) Give the csv to translator.  They translate (via Excel) and then
>>>> export
>>>> out a csv:
>>>>     a) Node or Way
>>>>     b) Node or Way Id
>>>>     c) Version
>>>>     d) Name Native
>>>>     e) Name English
>>>> 4) Download the osm data again to get latest set
>>>> 5) Reform the osm data file with the new translated fields by inserting
>>>> xml
>>>> tags for the native and english language attribute for nodes/ways,
>>>> matching
>>>> by ID
>>>>     a) Would check first that the Version is the same before updating
>>>>     b) Ones with different Versions would be retrieved for manual
>>>> inspection/resolution
>>>> 6) Upload via JOSM
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> We have the resources lined up to get started on this soon.  We want to
>>>> make
>>>> sure our plan and process look good.  Thank you for any feedback you can
>>>> provide.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Roman Hardgrave
>>>> Senior Sales Engineer
>>>> MapQuest
>>>> rhardgrave at mapquest.com
>>>>
>>>> Try out the new MapQuest  new.mapquest.com
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Imports mailing list
>>>> Imports at openstreetmap.org
>>>> http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/imports
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Twitter: @Acrosscanada
>>> Blogs: http://acrosscanadatrails.posterous.com/
>>> http://Acrosscanadatrails.blogspot.com
>>> Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sam.vekemans
>>> Skype: samvekemans
>>> IRC: irc://irc.oftc.net #osm-ca Canadian OSM channel (an open chat room)
>>> @Acrosscanadatrails
>>>
>>
>
>

-- 
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