[Talk-GB] building shapes from OS Street View

[Ed Avis]

Gregory <nomoregrapes at ...> writes:

[trace buildings from OS]

>>Once this gets going we can produce a 'buildings noname' map for people to go
>>out and verify the position and street address of buildings.
> 
>I didn't think anyone was suggesting this be done on any kind of expansive
>area. It shouldn't be done beyond a mappers 'territory' or 'reach'.

When I first started mapping in OSM the London streets had been traced from Yahoo
aerial photos but there were large unnamed areas, including the area where I
lived.  Immediately I could go out and start finding names without needing to
know too much about tagging, how to draw shapes, or owning a GPS device.  If the
existing mappers had limited themselves to their own local areas, then faced with
a blank canvas it would be more difficult for beginners to start mapping.

Fundamentally, though, our goal is surely to get the best possible free map.
Even in a town where no OSM contributor lives, the OS data makes a valuable
contribution.  The building shapes are simplified, to be sure, but generally
superior in quality to those that have been traced from the fairly low-res Yahoo
imagery.  So by all means take care of your local area first, but we shouldn't
lose sight of the broad goal of nationwide coverage.  If we need to get more OSM
contributors in unmapped parts of the country, one of the best ways to do that is
to give them the best head start possible by 'armchair mapping'.

-- 
Ed Avis <eda at waniasset.com>