[Osmf-talk] mapping Latin America

[Mario Frasca]

Hi DWG,

once again about Panamá.  this is a new case, 
https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/Brayan%20Ameth

Brayan is a comparatively inexperienced mapper, somehow he has decided 
to map "a better reality", in his words: "Y seguiré colocando cosas 
lógicas y que sirvan para el usuario y su comodidad" … "and I'll go on 
placing logical things, that serve user and his comfort".

the reason being "Yo me ingrese a OSM porque hay aplicaciones que 
utilizan el mapa de OSM, un software que recopila datos del usuario para 
crear mapas propios, que estaban malisimas en el tema de como llegar a 
un lugar" … "I joined OSM because there's apps using the OSM map, […] 
related to routing".

I do not know how to motivate Latin Americans to discuss things before 
doing them, nor to reach an agreement through confronting different 
opinions, following logic.  many of them just do things because they 
think so.  the verb "discutir" here amounts to fighting, which is 
obviously not done.  edit wars are fine, you just keep "correcting" your 
own way.

concretely, the case is around Santiago de Veraguas 
(https://www.openstreetmap.org/node/247027425), how the user is mapping 
road connections regarding the Panamericana, which is a trunk road, in 
many cases separating retail areas (North-East) from residential area 
(South-West).

the "panamericana" is correctly represented as two ways in opposite 
directions, but all links that let you reach a retail area, here 
(https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=19/8.10621/-80.97050) represented as 
separate roads, are in reality just lanes.  all turn restrictions added 
to nodes are needed in this "enhanced" reality, and do not correspond to 
physical traffic signs.  the physical traffic signs that do exist (each 
and every point where you can make a left-turn has a no-u-turn sign) 
don't make any sense any more, in this "enhanced" reality, and I would 
say that in this the user was quite consistent in not adding what's not 
needed.

I'm writing this as an issue to the DWG, but sharing it with the mailing 
list because there's a cultural issue, in my opinion, behind this (not 
at all isolated) case.

cheers everyone,

MF