[OSM-talk] The OSM Applet - let's ditch it for JOSM (was: Mapping Reading, some impressions)

[Tom Chance]

Ahoy,

[I wish I could get to sleep :( ]

On Wednesday 06 September 2006 02:33, Collinson Mike wrote:
> At 02:34 AM 6/09/2006, Tom Chance wrote:
> >But then people like my friend would be likely to load the web page
> >and add odd things like pubs, post boxes, etc. For example I'd love
> >to have an interactive map of "green Reading" a bit like the Green
> >Brighton site, based on OSM data, and allowing people to enter new venues.
> >A web-based interface that helped people add small-scale data like
> >missing road names, amenities, etc. and all in a very intuitive
> >manner might be something to aim for?
>
> All the current edit functionality is somewhat focused on adding
> linear features.  Would there be any demand for a "non-technical"
> HTML form-based interface where one could enter a single latitude and
> longitude, select "Pub" from a drop-down list, then be prompted to
> fill in any values appropriate to a a pub, like 'name' ? I'd be happy
> to contribute that in Perl.
>
> Tom, how would your friend know/record where the pub is
> located?  Using a GPS device with a display and noting down the position?

Going by this conversation with one friend (so fetch your large pinch of salt) 
I'd suggest that a lot of people would just guess. For example, there's a pub 
on the corner of these two roads, or this already-entered road is 
called 'Sleepy Street'. With Reading we have increasingly good coverage of 
the basic data (i.e. roads), but people might like to enter additional data 
that can be done relatively easily without a GPS device, such as:
* bus lanes, bus routes, bus stops and the routes they serve
* cycle lanes & footpaths inc. those little access paths in residential areas
* all kinds of amenities, leisure facilities, etc. that are just nodes

I would have thought that, given the scope for general errors in the system, 
the errors introduced by educated guesswork would be negligible, at least in 
areas with dense road patterns? I suppose countryside featres might be a bit 
wayward if they were the product of guesswork! There would also, no doubt, be 
a worry about less 'dedicated' people entering data who might be less 
careful.

For my part I'm inviting friends to tell me of features and if I have the time 
(perhaps including a necessary cycle ride) I add it for them :o)

Regards,
Tom

-- 
The task of critique is not to denounce the ideals, but to show their 
transformation into ideologies, and to challenge the ideology in the 
name of the betrayed ideal (Fromm – Beyond The Chains Of Illusion)