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I'm trying to start mapping, but it's hard to find out were to start and what kind of edits are good enough to be a real contribution. I could find enough information about editors, but there isn't a good starter-guide on what kind of edits are welcome and how to make quality data. Some people asked the same question here, but didn't get any useful answers. So I'll try to ask some more specific questions.

  • I don't have access to gps-data, but I know that in between two buildings is a road, is it OK to draw it? / Can I make a edit if I'm really sure of my data, but don't have any source to support it?
  • In The Netherlands is a lot of data on buildings from the 3Dshapes source. A lot of building are not drawn accurately. I know about offset, but I'm talking about corners that should be 90degrees. Is it OK to correct this from the Bing imagery? (edit: 3Dshapes buildings are now replaced by BAG data that is much more accurate)

Somewhere on this site I read this:

"The most common mistake users make, is to register for OpenStreetMap, but then fail to do any map editing at all. Strange but true! Please all you people. Have a go at mapping! Make mistakes. We don't mind."

So I just started adding meta data to objects. I added a local bike shop and some address information, I changed the surface of a road and made some more of these minor edits.

  • What kind of this meta data is most useful to spend my time on?
  • Any tips on how a non-experienced mapper can find things that need editing.

asked 08 Aug '13, 20:15

de%20vries's gravatar image

de vries
2213712
accept rate: 0%

edited 24 Jun '14, 20:33

1

You know that there is a forum for the Dutch community at http://forum.openstreetmap.org/ ? You can get in touch with them for projects to work on.

(14 Aug '13, 16:20) escada

"Can I make a edit if I'm really sure of my data, but don't have any source to support it?"

Yes, absolutely. That's one of the things that distinguishes OpenStreetMap from other maps - any person in the world with appropriate knowledge can share their knowledge with everyone.

"I know about offset, but I'm talking about corners that should be 90degrees. Is it OK to correct this from the Bing imagery?"

Definitely. Keep in mind that some editors have keyboard shortcuts to make all corners exactly 90 degrees, that's quicker and more accurate than adjusting corners manually.

"What kind of this meta data is most useful to spend my time on?"

Some ideas:

  • Drinking fountains
  • Building street addresses
  • Paths between buildings or through forests that people use but are not on any map
  • Parking lots, especially if you can indicate whether they are publicly available, for pay, etc.
permanent link

answered 08 Aug '13, 20:48

eric22's gravatar image

eric22
401111322
accept rate: 50%

edited 08 Aug '13, 21:28

aseerel4c26's gravatar image

aseerel4c26 ♦
32.6k18248554

2

For most of my edits in my home city, I basically never use my GPS. Note Bing aerial imagery is very good, which helps.

The road network is practically complete, although there's always a few paths, tracks and service roads around that may not be mapped.

Mostly just by adding some shops, amenities, postboxes, roundabout names, speed limits etc... normally from 'memory' / local knowledge of passing by it earlier in the day.

Just a little every day will eventually build up a comprehensive map.

These sorts of things are all positioned relative to the surrounding existing objects.

(09 Aug '13, 02:21) robbieonsea

I don't have access to gps-data

You have! You can download the gps data (Potlatch2, JOSM) which other mappers have uploaded to the osm.org server. You can use that data to align the bing imagery (a single gps trace recorded by yourself would not help here anyway as gps has a bunch of errors, too).

Can I make a edit if I'm really sure of my data, but don't have any source to support it?

Yes, sure. To indicate for other mappers where your data is from, you can simply use the

  • changeset comments (some examples for words to use in a sentence/shortened sentence: mention "bing" for the bing aerial imagery in our editors or "other OSM data" for positioning based on the surrounding objects and "local knowledge" or "survey" (if you were at the location recently)
  • and/or the source tag on the objects (or the changesets).
permanent link

answered 10 Aug '13, 18:39

aseerel4c26's gravatar image

aseerel4c26 ♦
32.6k18248554
accept rate: 18%

edited 10 Aug '13, 18:41

I started mapping a week ago and here are some sources that povided me with useful information:

permanent link

answered 13 Aug '13, 23:43

de%20vries's gravatar image

de vries
2213712
accept rate: 0%

2

Another thing helpful to find local mappers is this site by Pascal Neis:

http://resultmaps.neis-one.org/oooc?zoom=12&lat=53.02128&lon=5.67841&layers=B00TFFFFFT

(14 Aug '13, 09:09) SomeoneElse ♦
1

@SomeoneElse: I would recommend the tools listed on Nearby_users instead (can be updated if needed).

(14 Aug '13, 14:11) aseerel4c26 ♦

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question asked: 08 Aug '13, 20:15

question was seen: 4,065 times

last updated: 24 Jun '14, 20:33

NOTICE: help.openstreetmap.org is no longer in use from 1st March 2024. Please use the OpenStreetMap Community Forum