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Should you contribute open data to OpenStreetMap?

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Re: Should you contribute open data to OpenStreetMap?

#191

Post by maxerickson »

tverbeure wrote: post #117
IgorPartola wrote: post #22

About 10 years ago I helped build a piece of software that would use OSM data and that data needed to be precise. Turned out that a lot of the Tiger Maps scans were not super accurate so I urged our company to hire a data entry team to clean up a bunch of it. We had I think 5 or 6 people whose job it was to precisely clean up OSM data based on satellite imagery in a bunch of small-medium cities as well as Chicago. Ev…

The TIGER data was (is?) terrible in terms of exact coordinates, but the graph of the streets is usually accurate. Back in 2007 or so, I spent hundreds of hours aligning TIGER data to the satellite imagery in OSM, usually in cities I never had been before. If I remember correctly, I did most of Fresno. :-) I’m totally fine with my edits being used commercially too.

The status of the initial Tiger data varies by county. Many counties were poorly aligned, but many counties were also pretty good, depending on whether the county had been updated in a quality improvement project that Census was doing when the OSM import happened.

Re: Should you contribute open data to OpenStreetMap?

#192

Post by Brakenshire »

Doctor_Fegg wrote: post #153
Brakenshire wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find the distinction difficult to understand. The way I interpret the OSM license, the data is really not freely available to use in a commercial context except as a base layer. If you use the OSM data in combination with any other data sources you have to publish both the resulting dataset and any processing steps or algorithms used to produce the dataset. So that means you cannot combine OSM data with any dataset…

It’s more complex than that. OSM’s licence isn’t a direct parallel of one single software licence, but it has an LGPL-ish permissive aspect for making things from the data (“Produced Works”). OSM data is used a lot for routing (pretty much all bike navigation apart from Google’s uses OSM data) and increasingly for GIS-type analysis.

When I was looking at it, I got the impression a produced work was something like a t shirt with a map printed on it. Is that wrong? Or any idea where I could read about how the interpret that permission?

Re: Should you contribute open data to OpenStreetMap?

#194

Post by sovietmudkipz »

nz wrote: post #64
sovietmudkipz wrote: post #46

I struggle with contributing to open source but in a different context. In my opinion, the video games industry is information sparse on high quality software engineering practices, for whatever reason (NDAs, language/culture, etc). I am already authoring content that basically imports DevOps practices and experiences I have from my day job into a video games context. I believe practitioners have an edge over non-pra…

I have written some (obscure) open-source software and have contributed to open-source code-bases. I can say that if you are doing it for some kind of recognition, then you are doing it for the wrong reason. I _do_ think that you (and many others) would be worthy of recognition and appreciation, but most people are far too busy optimizing their careers and chasing the dollar to actually invest the time and effort nee…

I didn’t know about the Japanese poet thing. Hmm. I know I need to silence my ego and take the plunge. It will be better if I help the community even if it’s just a sliver of incremental progress.

Re: Should you contribute open data to OpenStreetMap?

#195

Post by sovietmudkipz »

npteljes wrote: post #102
sovietmudkipz wrote: post #46

I struggle with contributing to open source but in a different context. In my opinion, the video games industry is information sparse on high quality software engineering practices, for whatever reason (NDAs, language/culture, etc). I am already authoring content that basically imports DevOps practices and experiences I have from my day job into a video games context. I believe practitioners have an edge over non-pra…

I think it's important to realize this struggle. You can take a myriad of approaches to life, to what and how you contribute to other people's lives. I think that ultimately you'll be taken advantage of a million times, because you can't really affect how other people act, but that shouldn't keep you from acting, if that serves you expressing yourself. So what you should be concerned about is how much it's actually h…

I like this insight. It lets me put aside the external consequences and let’s me ask what I want. Expression. Realization.

Re: Should you contribute open data to OpenStreetMap?

#196

Post by KarlKemp »

mwattsun wrote: post #109
juanbyrge wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like I have derived so much value from Google Maps, especially turn by turn navigation, than I don't even consider the advertisement aspects. I would happily pay a monthly fee to use it. Before it you had to use paper maps or use those very expensive and crappy Garmin devices.

It used to be a joke that married couples travelling would fight over maps. The man was always driving and the wife was always reading the large unwieldy paper map. The man would get mad about a woman's trouble reading the map. The wife would retort "What happened to your vaunted sense of direction? Why are you such a cheap skate to wait until we are lost before buying a map at a service station?" Good times.

Good times for some, traumatic memories of childhood for others….

I used to have this daydream of a red line painted onto the road leading you to your destination. Never expected it to become real (in a slightly different form). Too late for me but another small way later generations will enjoy higher QoL. Few will realize the benefits beyond occasionally getting lost.

Re: Should you contribute open data to OpenStreetMap?

#197

Post by KarlKemp »

purple_turtle wrote: post #173
seaman1921 wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this is not true, you fix it for everyone using Google maps (which is basically everyone)

Where I can download Google map data dataset for my own processing? Yes, Google makes apps usable by general public but their database is proprietary - including what people contribute for free.

The argument that OP may or may not have intended is that any change in Google Maps benefits a fraction of “everybody” that equal to Google Maps’ share of the market. That’s maybe 80-90%. Telling users of Google Maps that their contribution is worthless if they don’t submit it to a free & open database may be net-negative if only a small fraction gets discouraged from contributing altogether.

I have a few million edits on wikidata to proof my sympathy for Open Data. But the openness is only useful if it leads to more people having access to the data. And a proprietary service being involved doesn’t diminish the value by itself.

Re: Should you contribute open data to OpenStreetMap?

#198

Post by WalterBright »

I spent time writing careful reviews for Netflix. A couple years ago, they deleted them all.

I spent time adding missing pictures for Amazon's book listings. A couple years ago, they deleted them all. Those books reverted to having no cover pictures.

I don't bother contributing anymore. I didn't mind doing it for free, but if they don't care, I don't either.

Re: Should you contribute open data to OpenStreetMap?

#200

Post by Dah00n »

seaman1921 wrote: post #83
sam_lowry_ wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've enjoyed Google Maps for many years and never paid for it. You did pay for Google Maps indirectly as you were and still are a product Google sells to advertisers.

there is nothing like 'paying indirectly'. did it overall cost them any money ? no did it overall cost them any physical effort ? no did google force them to use the service ? no Does it really sting so much to admit Google Maps is a free to use service?

It's not free. Maybe your privacy is worth nothing -that's up to you to decide- but mine is close to priceless. So to me using Google maps would be hugely expensive.
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