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A great thing about OSM is that you can improve the data, specifically in your local area so that at the very least it will no longer have spotty coverage of th

A great thing about OSM is that you can improve the data, specifically in your local area so that at the very least it will no longer have spotty coverage of the places you frequent. I use https://github.com/westnordost/StreetComplete https://github.com/westnordost/StreetComplete for doing this so I don't have to make the investment to learn the technical details of tags.

drstewart 6y ago
"You have to create the map to use the map" isn't as compelling of a feature for a mapping service as you think it is
- nelgaard 6y ago
  OP talked about improving OSM using StreetComplete. So this is about adding missing speed limits, opening hours, roof shapes, recycling containers, tactile pavement at bus stops, etc. Hardly "creating the map". When I travel to a place where OSM could need improvement I make sure that at least the hotel I will be staying at, nearby restaurants, bars and museums, etc are correctly tagged with phone numbers, opening hours etc. It is not much work and it gives me an opportunity to decide what I want to do before I leave. When I get there I then have everything ready offline in OsmAnd. In a way I just update OSM instead of adding my own bookmarks/favorites.
- smichel17 6y ago
  nelgaard got the gist of it. I've never encountered an area where OSM didn't have the roads and buildings already mapped. I have encountered areas where it didn't have the speed limits and house numbers of those structures (and, once or twice, places lacking a road name, but that's pretty rare). But, my personal perspective was a little different. It's more like: I want to use OSM, and get others to use OSM instead of proprietary mapping solutions like Google's, for moral reasons. In that context, being able to make sure my friends can always get to my house using OSM is a great boon. I realize I didn't share that perspective in my original post, which is probably the source of the confusion here.

drstewart 6y ago

"You have to create the map to use the map" isn't as compelling of a feature for a mapping service as you think it is

nelgaard 6y ago
OP talked about improving OSM using StreetComplete. So this is about adding missing speed limits, opening hours, roof shapes, recycling containers, tactile pavement at bus stops, etc. Hardly "creating the map". When I travel to a place where OSM could need improvement I make sure that at least the hotel I will be staying at, nearby restaurants, bars and museums, etc are correctly tagged with phone numbers, opening hours etc. It is not much work and it gives me an opportunity to decide what I want to do before I leave. When I get there I then have everything ready offline in OsmAnd. In a way I just update OSM instead of adding my own bookmarks/favorites.
smichel17 6y ago
nelgaard got the gist of it. I've never encountered an area where OSM didn't have the roads and buildings already mapped. I have encountered areas where it didn't have the speed limits and house numbers of those structures (and, once or twice, places lacking a road name, but that's pretty rare). But, my personal perspective was a little different. It's more like: I want to use OSM, and get others to use OSM instead of proprietary mapping solutions like Google's, for moral reasons. In that context, being able to make sure my friends can always get to my house using OSM is a great boon. I realize I didn't share that perspective in my original post, which is probably the source of the confusion here.