[Osmf-talk] "The Future of Free and Open-Source Maps" Slashdot.org , Saturday February 17, 2018

[Rob Nickerson]

The topic of how many features should osm.org/OSMF deliver versus leaving
it to third parties comes up regularly.

The way I see it is that our aim is to have lots of people contributing
data. People are motivated to contribute for many reasons.

A small group (of the world's 7 billion population) will do so because they
love open data.

For others they will contribute if it benefits them. To benefit most we
need good end user products/services/apps.

Our technical community can just build their own end use product - we have
some amazingly skilled people who can do this. Everyone else however
(including me) is reliant on the osm.org defaults or third party products.

Too often I see colleagues, friends, family, heck even myself using Google
maps because it is easy, all in one place and generally "just works". When
asked "oh you know maps, what app should I use" I increasing answer without
even mentioning OSM as doing so would confuse the person. (My friends are
not technically minded people) (Obviously I recommend an app that uses OSM
data).

So what should osm.org/OSMF do? I see two options with a middle ground.
First, add more end user features to osm.org. second, make osm.org a shop
front for third party products. Currently you have no idea that things like
mapbox or maps.me/osmand exist from a quick look at osm.org. The middle
ground is to do a bit of both and it's this area that I'd like to focus on.
Some questions:

- what is the minimum level of end user products/friendliness we'd like to
include as an osm.org/OSMF default?
- how does your answer tackle the aim above (i.e. increase number of map
editors) whilst maintaining a prosperous market of third party products?

Thank you,
Rob





On 17 Feb 2018 10:03 a.m., "Oleksiy Muzalyev" <oleksiy.muzalyev at bluewin.ch>
wrote:

> This article is on the front page of the Slashdot today:
>
> Fri 16 February 2018 "Why OpenStreetMap is in Serious Trouble"
>
> https://blog.emacsen.net/blog/2018/02/16/osm-is-in-trouble/
>
>
> "The Future of Free and Open-Source Maps"
>
> https://news.slashdot.org/story/18/02/16/2216228/the-future-
> of-free-and-open-source-maps
>
>
> I actually read the article, and though it has got insightful information
> and interesting ideas, I have doubts about some suggestions.
>
> For instance, reviews. I hope it will not come to what there is at some
> commercial maps, when one adds say a building and then has to wait for a
> month that an almighty moderator approves it, so that it appears on the map.
>
> I also skeptical of massive imports from governments' databases. These
> databases were created in the last century, with outdated tools, sometimes
> by disinterested underpaid clerks, probably in a climate of secrecy of that
> era. And such an import may replace the quality data from modern satellite
> imagery, GPS traces, surveys, etc.
>
> Best regards,
>
> O.
>
>
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>
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