Following on from my previous question, I have searched through various Help and Wiki pages and I think that I understand that there are two common options to ask somebody else to edit a map on my behalf. I can add a Note to a location, and explain what the issue is (in my opinion). I can add a "fixme" tag with a similar explanation (but I am not yet clear if there is an easy way to add such a tag when using Android, which appears to severely limit the editing capabilities). I think that I have read that "fixme" tags are likely to be picked up quickly by the developer tools, but I can't find any reference/explanation on how often Notes are reviewed and how long it usually takes from posting a Note to a map edit happening. I am holding off on posting Notes until I understand how effective a method this is to get a change applied to the map. asked 12 Aug '19, 13:43  LittleGreyCatUK retagged 10 Aug '22, 05:39  AngocA |
One Answer:
There is no fixed time period. As for most things OSM notes are generally handled by volunteers, when they get around to them. For a major, easily fixed problem in an area with many mappers it could be fixed in minutes. For a vague or fiddly problem elsewhere, it may be there for years. The fixme tags are more for mapper to mapper communication, they may also be around for years, but can be useful. Actual edits are incorporated as soon as they are uploaded. answered 12 Aug '19, 22:32  InsertUser 4 IMHO, it also depends on the trustworthiness. A note posted under a name (not anonymous), with a link to a photo (Mapillary/OSC,etc.) or article helps. When such information is missing, a mapper should verify the note in the field before trusting the (anonymous) notes. This takes longer. (13 Aug '19, 04:13) escada |
The best & quickest way to improve the quality of OSM is to edit it oneself. iD editor has some useful 'getting started' tutorials.
If you do need to add a note, please position it as accurately as possible & type a clear message of what the problem is. These are things which are lacking in so many apps.
Just coming back to this several years later. I have added two notes to the map (one at each end of a diversion) but I see that I need to add photos as well.
I have briefly looked at Mapillary and it is another process to learn!
I think the main mental leap will be associating a photo (either directly from the phone or via Mapillary) with my Notes.
You don't need to add photos (in fact OpenStreetMap has no storage for photos). You just need to edit the map yourself!
My reading so far suggests that the easiest way to dip a toe into updating the map is to leave a Note, which effectively asks someone who knows how to edit to make the changes.
Further reading suggests that a mapper won't update from a Note without pictures to verify the information or without going to the location themselves to confirm the accuracy of the Note.
This seems reasonable to avoid false information being added by malicious (or incompetent) contributors.