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  1. What is/are the source(s) of red bugs on the map? MapDust? Skobbler? Are there more?

  2. Am I, as an active layperson who watches OSM Inspector for my area and tries to generally keep things clean, pretty and complete, supposed do anything about these bugs or is there a specific team and purpose for whom they are intended?

  3. Can a bug without any useful information be deleted indiscriminately?

asked 01 Mar '11, 19:29

ponzu's gravatar image

ponzu
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2

he means the red bug icons that show up on the www.osm.org instance of potlatch2.

(02 Mar '11, 10:04) Andy Allan

I should have asked where do they appear I've never seen any such thing. But your answer below does answer the question better.

(02 Mar '11, 12:46) emj

I have to say I'm having a lot of fun watching (through the RSS feed from MapDust.com) and squashing the bugs in my area.

(04 Mar '11, 19:18) ponzu

I would ask questions separately in the future for clarity and ease of search.

(04 Mar '11, 21:52) Baloo Uriza

The ultimate source of the red bug icons are people who are using the OSM map data and are finding problems with it. Currently potlatch2 shows bugs from MapDust although additional bug trackers can be added. Of all the bugs currently in MapDust the vast majority come from people using Skobbler navigation apps on iPhones and Android devices, but there are bugs also from other sources such as the MapQuest "Open" sites like open.mapquest.co.uk.

There is no specific team who deals with them - they are intended as an additional aid to OSM mappers to help improve the map quality. Feel free to investigate and resolve the ones in your area. Think of them as similar to some of the "debug" background layers that we have available in OSM already, and use them to improve the quality of our maps.

Bugs can be closed (or marked as not reproducible) as you see fit. Sometimes I find that a cluster of bugs-without-information draws attention to a particular problem - for example I found a roundabout that needed direction reversing just by finding 5 or 6 bugs beside it, even though each one said nothing helpful. However, due to the large numbers of "useless" bugs, those with only default text will be hidden in the next release of potlatch2, until we find a better way to deal with them.

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answered 02 Mar '11, 10:13

Andy%20Allan's gravatar image

Andy Allan
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accept rate: 28%

Re (3) I'd suggest yes, if you want to. A large number of mapdust "bugs" simply don't describe any problem at all. In places that I know well I've "marked as unreproduceable" the ones that don't, where there definitely isn't a problem. Ones that don't describe a problem but where there IS a problem that I know about (e.g. missing roads) I've added a comment to say "mapdust reporter probably mean to say 'X'". Ones that DO describe a problem I've left, even if I don't think that the bug description is correct (in case I'm wrong), unless I've actually checked it.

Re (2) it's entirely up to you. No-one's compelling you to - if you don't find the mapdust information useful (and may people don't) then just ignore it. Whether it is useful or not where you are will depending on the quality of bugs submitted - where I am there's at least one frequent OSM mapper using it and so at least some of the information from Mapdust is useful. For street names etc. I'd only use the description though (what the mapper said) not what Mapdust lists as the "Address".

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answered 01 Mar '11, 23:37

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SomeoneElse ♦
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Re 3, I would say yes, for the sanity of folks who are actively and vigorously QAing the map.

(04 Mar '11, 21:53) Baloo Uriza
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question asked: 01 Mar '11, 19:29

question was seen: 5,231 times

last updated: 04 Mar '11, 21:53

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