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It really reads like you wish Google Maps were OSM. Why not contribute to an actually open database that benefits to everyone and takes your contributions seri
by jraph 3y ago
It really reads like you wish Google Maps were OSM.
Why not contribute to an actually open database that benefits to everyone and takes your contributions seriously?
(I personally don't think that Google, of all organizations, needs to be helped by unpaid volunteers - and they can import OSM themselves anyway if they choose to)
- solardev 3y agoI think OSM is a great project and I do contribute from time to time. At a previous job where I was doing some GIS and web mapping, I went out of my way to get permission to open source my work and publish it to OSM. We did. But in my day to day life, frankly, Maps is just a lot easier. It has traffic and Wyze real time reports built in, shows crashes and construction and parades and whatnot. It has the world's best POI database with contact information, reviews, pictures, menus, etc. It has good offline support with vector tiles. It integrates with my contacts so I can easily say "navigate to friend X's home". It's very useful... when it's accurate. I guess I'm just practical like that, being generally supportive of OSM and open source in general, but not a purist by any stretch. If there are any other map apps, proprietary or not, that nears feature parity to Google's (especially real time traffic and reports), I'd consider switching and contributing there instead. Is anything close yet?
- habi 3y agohttps://www.magicearth.com/ https://www.magicearth.com/ has OSM data for navigation and traffic information. In selected regions „official“ traffic data, otherwise crowd-sourced.
- fmobus 3y agoGoogle importing data from OSM would certainly raise some hairs in the legal department.
- solardev 3y agoHow so? Do you mean Google's or OSM's legal department?
- chrisfosterelli 3y agoOpen street map's license allows anyone to use their data, but if you "build upon" their data then you must release your version with the same license. Google maps would not be able to incorporate OSM's licensed data to their own data without releasing their own proprietary data freely as well, which they aren't willing to do.
- solardev 3y agoOh, like a copyleft/sharealike license? I didn't realize that. Thanks!
- bluGill 3y agoWhen I signed up for OSM about 8 years ago I checked the box "I consider my contribution public domain". I then saw what looks like my edits show up in google maps a few months later. (I have no idea if google maps imported OSM, or if they did an independent edit) I don't see such a box in my account settings now, so I'm guessing they removed it, but at one time at least it was legally possible.