[OSM-newbies] Conversational gambit: New to OSM?

[Mike N.]

> 1. What first brought your attention to OSM?

  I was at your talk at Clemson.  I had just gotten an assignment at work 
that required GPS data collection.   I tried to use Microsoft Streets & Maps 
and was amazed by what you weren't allowed to do with it.   Garmin sells a 
GPS, for which you can buy 'maps' - the 'maps' store at Garmin does a 
terrible job at explaining why you might want to buy 'maps' when your new 
Nuvi comes with maps.

> 2. What made you decide to get involved and join this list?

  I had to leave right after your talk, so I didn't get to visit, but later 
I looked a bit closer and realized that it would be useful for micro mapping 
to generate reference detail for hiking trails, etc.    There is the added 
benefit of free routable maps, which could eventually rival commercial 
routable maps in the US if it ever goes fully viral.  It's either that or 
the German DNA <g>.

> 3. What is the trickiest part about starting with OSM, for you?  Can
> you suggest how to make this tricky thing less-tricky?

   There's so much to learn and remember to begin.   The Potlatch POI 
palette was a stroke of genius that makes things much simpler.   Other than 
that, most people don't get beyond correcting the street names in their 
neighborhood.     The videos were very helpful for me because they show the 
entire work flow in a digestible chunk.   It would be good to extend those 
or keep them up to date as the editors evolve.