[OSM-talk] correcting/helping inexperienced mappers

[Chris Hill]

Robin Paulson wrote:
> there's a mapper near me, who's very active adding data.
>
> the problem is, he's making a lot of mistakes, such as roads not
> joining correctly at junctions, bridges drawn as a separate parallel
> line to the highway they should relate to, and other fairly
> unambiguous errors.
>
> up till now, i've corrected mistakes as i've seen them, but he does so
> much it's become a hell of a job, and feels like pointless duplication
> of effort
>
>   
Firstly, contact him. I contact people in my area who have made three or 
four edits - that way I know they are not just correcting a single 
error. I say 'Hi, if you need any help let me know', and nothing more at 
first.
> i would like to point out what he's doing, but am concerned i'll piss
> him off and/or discourage him from mapping at all. the area we're in
> doesn't have a huge number of mappers, so osm really needs his
> enthusiasm and knowledge
>   
Be encouraging, say how great it is that he is adding some stuff, which 
the area really needs. Then point out that the routing software needs 
roads to join up and explain how it's easier to join them up when they 
are first added than doing it later. Introducing the routing software 
hints that there are other uses than just a pretty map which he might 
not be aware of.

Sadly you might scare him off, but if he has already added lots of stuff 
then probably not.
> any suggestions on how to approach this?
>
> i guess this is more of a training/diplomacy issue than mapping per
> se, but i was never great at either of those
>
> cheers
-- 
Cheers, Chris
user: chillly