1,000 edits on OpenStreetMap


Today was quite the accidental milestone! I've edited OpenStreetMap over a thousand times!

My OSM profile showing 1,000 edits.

For those who don't know, OSM (OpenStreetMap) is like the Wikipedia of maps. Anyone can go in and edit the map. This isn't a corporate-controlled space where your local knowledge is irrelevant compared to the desire for profit. You can literally go and correct any mistakes that you find, add recently built roads, remove abandoned buildings, and provide useful local information.

Editing the full map is... complicated. For simple edits like changing the times of a postal collection, there are simple forms you can fill in. There's also an aerial view so you can drag and drop misplaced locations. But for anything more complicated than that, you'll need to spend some time understanding the interface. There's a friendly community who are happy to check or correct your submissions.

Screenshot of the OSM interface.

I'll be honest, I don't use the web editor much. Instead, I use the Android app StreetComplete. It's like an endless stream of sidequests. As you travel through the world, it will ask if a shop is still open, or if the highway is lit, or how many steps there are on a bridge, or whether a playground is suitable for all children, or if restaurants serve vegetarian food, or if a bus-stop has a bench, or... the list is almost endless!

Map showing lots of quest markers.

I use it when I'm walking around somewhere new, or on holiday, or waiting for a bus. I used it so much that, for a short while, I became the #1 mapper in New Zealand!

So get stuck in! Make mapping more equitable and more accurate.


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12 thoughts on “1,000 edits on OpenStreetMap”

  1. said on digitalcourage.social:

    @Edent
    1st)Thank You!
    probably did mention it before: We created a huge huge ActivityPub Atlas from OSM mapped to wikidata and others.
    But what is the goal?
    Even more #OpenStreetMap #ReDeCentralize !
    For redaktor and taxiteam we do federated geocoding cause you can imagine that the local bike/delivery/cab cooperative got the best local insights.
    [DE: just btw Deutsche Post switches to OSM but anyway] :

    You can also edit the data right from the fediverse cause the instance got some service actors for the map part and to infer from LD what change goes to OSM, wd etc. openstreetmap redecentralize

    Reply | Reply to original comment on digitalcourage.social
  2. said on mamot.fr:

    @Edent I use the web editor mostly; anything terrain-related (mountain bike double and singletracks, access tracks, etc.) is way more accurate using aerial photos, the French IGN path database, the river database, etc.

    Then I use StreetComplete when in a city.

    Reply | Reply to original comment on mamot.fr
  3. matkoniecz says:

    Glad to see StreetComplete being used!

    (I contributed to it - and it is always nice to see it appreciated!)

    Reply

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