[OSM-talk] Anonymous edits

[Richard Fairhurst]

80n wrote:

> On Nov 20, 2007 1:10 PM, Richard Fairhurst <richard at systemed.net> wrote:
>> I often find myself adding new points to existing roads so they follow
>> the curves of the existing GPS tracks...
>
> I do also.  This shouldn't be seen as a criticism of the original
> contributor.  I often find that they are using a very sparse track log (one
> point every 10 seconds or so) so they don't have that detail available.

IMX most people are using one of two types of tracklog:

a) Every one/two seconds
b) eTrex/Geko-style "auto" mode

I mostly use the latter (in rural areas, anyway) and it needn't lead  
to rough tracks. The eTrex smooths out the bend, so I put the detail  
back in - i.e. when tracing, add a few nodes either side to achieve a  
smoother curve. Think of it as a reverse Douglas-Peucker!

> Anyway IMHO its much better that the road is marked crudely than not at
> all.  That said, of course we should encourage people to be as diligent as
> possible but not everyone is as obsessed as us ;)

Agree in principle. In practice our tools make it quicker to draw a  
new way than to add many new points to an existing way... so I often  
end up deleting the original and redrawing to a better quality. I've  
wondered about adding an "automatically create nodes along nearest GPS  
track" option to Potlatch but that's not going to happen before 2027.

Anyway, the most important issue is that people are aware, and I guess  
this thread has helped to highlight the issue.

cheers
Richard