3 ms·

Since getting into geospatial modelling a few years ago, my appreciation for the OSM ecosystem has skyrocketted. I honestly think it should be up there with Wi

Since getting into geospatial modelling a few years ago, my appreciation for the OSM ecosystem has skyrocketted. I honestly think it should be up there with Wikipedia as one of the great crowd-sourced triumphs of our age. (but sad I can't afford to come chill at an in-person conference, as much as I keep meaning to go meet my local OSM chapter!)

matheusmoreira 3y ago
At least you have a local OSM chapter...
- OfSanguineFire 3y ago
  The OSM chapter in my own town was organized by a startup that provided map-related solutions. When that startup got acquired and its employees were all transferred to the parent corporation’s office several countries over, the chapter sadly disappeared overnight. I miss it.
  - eikenberry 3y ago
    Those employees really got the shaft in that acquisition.
    - OfSanguineFire 3y ago
      They moved from a small Eastern European city to a Western European one that was popular with hipsters, and they got a significant pay rise. None of them were displeased about it, and the ones I am still in contact with are happy there and do not intend to move back.
- mtmail 3y ago
  For others looking: https://openstreetmap.community/ https://openstreetmap.community/ lists local groups and chapters on a map. (Not to be confused with https://community.openstreetmap.org/ https://community.openstreetmap.org/)
nologic01 3y ago
> it should be up there with Wikipedia as one of the great crowd-sourced triumphs of our age Yes, its an incredible and inspiring duo. But OSM is in sense extra important: it shows wikipedia was not a fluke. In a better world far more resources would be dedicate for this type of digital commons. The second way in which OSM is special is that it is a very tangible, physical facts-focused database that avoids some of the frictions and conflicts of interpretation in Wikipedia. Given the downhill direction of public discourse these days I wonder if Wikipedia were to be launched today, would it have any chance?
- jacquesm 3y ago
  That works as long as commercial companies can not somehow acquire such a digital commons and abuse it for their own purposes. GitHub for instance.
  - nologic01 3y ago
    There is certainly a tight embrace of OSM by less than trustworthy entities. Just check the sponsors of this conference. Where that could lead is hard to assess for a casual observer. One hopes the good people who got this going have instituted adequate defenses.

matheusmoreira 3y ago

At least you have a local OSM chapter...

OfSanguineFire 3y ago
The OSM chapter in my own town was organized by a startup that provided map-related solutions. When that startup got acquired and its employees were all transferred to the parent corporation’s office several countries over, the chapter sadly disappeared overnight. I miss it.
- eikenberry 3y ago
  Those employees really got the shaft in that acquisition.
  - OfSanguineFire 3y ago
    They moved from a small Eastern European city to a Western European one that was popular with hipsters, and they got a significant pay rise. None of them were displeased about it, and the ones I am still in contact with are happy there and do not intend to move back.
mtmail 3y ago
For others looking: https://openstreetmap.community/ https://openstreetmap.community/ lists local groups and chapters on a map. (Not to be confused with https://community.openstreetmap.org/ https://community.openstreetmap.org/)

nologic01 3y ago

> it should be up there with Wikipedia as one of the great crowd-sourced triumphs of our age Yes, its an incredible and inspiring duo. But OSM is in sense extra important: it shows wikipedia was not a fluke. In a better world far more resources would be dedicate for this type of digital commons. The second way in which OSM is special is that it is a very tangible, physical facts-focused database that avoids some of the frictions and conflicts of interpretation in Wikipedia. Given the downhill direction of public discourse these days I wonder if Wikipedia were to be launched today, would it have any chance?

jacquesm 3y ago
That works as long as commercial companies can not somehow acquire such a digital commons and abuse it for their own purposes. GitHub for instance.
- nologic01 3y ago
  There is certainly a tight embrace of OSM by less than trustworthy entities. Just check the sponsors of this conference. Where that could lead is hard to assess for a casual observer. One hopes the good people who got this going have instituted adequate defenses.