[OSM-newbies] Locking tags is it possible?

[Richard Weait]

On Thu, Apr 29, 2010 at 2:31 PM, john whelan <jwhelan0112 at gmail.com> wrote:
> So I think what we are saying is that I'd have to either have an
> OpenStreetMap map that others couldn't edit or find another format.  Ottawa
> happens to be bilingual, currently we have an OpenData group building shiny
> mini applications over Google. Google doesn't do French road names, but two
> OpenStreetMap servers one using English and the other French could.  That's
> a fairly big lever here.

Two servers may be overkill, but this can be done.  Why not render an
OSM base map with no text labels.  Render text label overlay layers
for each language.  Allow users to select their language of
preference.

> Technically we can import the entire road network from CANVEC and we can
> import a lot of other city data as well.

You might be thinking of different cities than I am thinking of.  Has
Ottawa selected and published their license yet

> If roads were tagged with speed limit then an application could compare a

You can add speed limit tags to OSM.
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Maxspeed

> GPS trace to the listed speed limits so you could get a feeling of
> confidence your teenager hadn't been tearing around at high speed when they
> borrowed the car.  This would be the killer app if it could be done.  It has
> the potential to lower the accident rate but not if a teenager can raise the
> speed limit tag.

What is stopping you from creating this killer app?  Er, this "keeping
kids from killing themselves app"?

You can add maxspeed tags to your area of interest.  You can collect
gps tracks from your spy logger implanted in the brain of your kid.
You can match gps track to maxspeed with, I don't know, clever postgis
queries?  And you can keep an eye on local maxspeed tags with your own
server watching changesets, periodic extracts and compares,
itoworld.com OSMMapper, or other services, or even this existing
rendering of maxspeed

http://maxspeed.osm.lab.rfc822.org/?zoom=18&lat=45.41872&lon=-75.69931&layers=B0T&input=maxspeed

Why do you have to declare, "maxspeed is so critical that nobody
should change it without passing a test first?"

> The current OpenStreetMap of Ottawa is unsuitable for the purpose, the tags
> are not consistent, the data is of uneven quality to say the least and there
> are issues with displaying POIs.

Did you know that you can fix that?  Have you spoken to the earlier
contributors in Ottawa to tell that how you feel about their
contributions?

> I'd like to have a reason to recommend the city put up a couple of
> OpenStreetMap servers to serve GIS applications but based on what I'm seeing
> its probably better to go Google Map applications because I can currently
> present no killer application for an OpenStreetMap format server.  Pity when
> you're at the pivot point, OpenStreetMap would seem to be a hobby map not
> one to run GIS type applications.

Re-read my multi-language suggestion above and see if you have your killer app.