[OSM-talk] Fwd: Moderating / Quality checking OSM contributions -- was: Re: OSmosa.net run now.., contribution model

[Martijn van Exel]

Forgot to share with list as well.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Martijn van Exel <m at rtijn.org>
Date: Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 10:11 PM
Subject: Re: [OSM-talk] Moderating / Quality checking OSM
contributions -- was: Re: OSmosa.net run now.., contribution model
To: mick <bareman at tpg.com.au>


On Tue, Dec 6, 2011 at 9:23 PM, mick <bareman at tpg.com.au> wrote:
[..]
>> If OSM is taught in the classroom and this results in lots of errors,
>> then either OSM was not the right subject to teach, or was not taught
>> well ;)
>
> Letting utter novices loose on live data strikes me as crazy, they will make dumb mistakes that even a GOOD instructor could easily miss, what would it take to provide a 'dummy' server that could be readily be downloaded and installed at the training site, perhaps along the lines of a 'LiveCD'.

That's an interesting thought, but part of the excitement of
contributing to OSM is the instant gratification of seeing your own
improvements on the map and being able to share your knowledge with
the world right away. Having new contributors make their first
contributions in a sandbox environment takes away a lot of that
excitement. Moreover, I think it's important for novices to feel the
responsibility and power of
editing a live database, something they will only be able to
appreciate if they actually do it.

Sure, they will make mistakes at first. Everyone does. It's no big
deal, as long as people are willing to improve and learn. I for one am
glad that not many of my early 2007 edits are still around.
--
martijn van exel
geospatial omnivore
1109 1st ave #2
salt lake city, ut 84103
801-550-5815
http://oegeo.wordpress.com