OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

Hi! This is Faiza Waziha. One of the Gurus of the Open Mapping Guru Fellowship. This journey started when I was selected to be a part of this incredible journey in 2023.

First of all, I want to mention the vibes this community gives. It is very welcoming, energetic and inspiring. I love the enthusiasm so much!! This is one of the reasons I get to learn so much from them and to communicate with them without worries.

There were 3 tracks in the fellowship (Training, Mapping, and Validation). I was part of the Mapping track. After getting the briefing about what we will be doing for the next 5 months, I was pumped up for the challenges. We got to map various countries; India, Bangladesh and also some Island countries like Tonga, Vanuatu, and Micronesia. Which were very interesting and got learned many geological characteristics of those areas.

From this fellowship, I have learned to use Josm (It is the most efficient thing a mapper can have to map anything and I love it!!), Mappilary and Everydoor. Also the use of Josm in validation, how to use the open data source for data analysis in QGIS. These skills will help me in building my career as a GIS analyst.

This fellowship allowed me to connect and communicate with many talented individuals like Brazil Singh Rittik Vai, Khan Mohammed Ibtehal Vai, Can Unen and many more. It was also a great experience to be a part of Slum area mapping in Mirpur in collaboration with World Vision Bangladesh. I get to lead an amazing team- Sozin’s Comet in the Climate Change Challenge 2024. Though we didn’t win any prizes it has helped me a lot in how to manage a team, how to stay motivated and keep others motivated. I learned that communication is the key to leadership. I have grown as a mapper and also a better human being.

Lastly, I want to thank Mikko Tamura, and Honey Fombuena for their immense support and for pushing us to reach our goals. Thank you so much!!

Sometimes I think I’m a bottom feeder going through the map and cleaning up the obvious errors and this comes from my observations over time and cleaning up thousands of duplicate buildings.

Because many countries do not have good census data you can do a rough calculation by multiplying the number of houses by an average number of people who live in them. It isn’t perfect but if you have nothing better then it works.

So duplicate buildings are a problem. When you’re looking to see how many schools you need duplicate buildings mess the numbers up. Buildings incorrectly tagged or not tagged at all also mess the numbers up.

Then we get to the imagery used. These days I’m seeing more and more microsoft BuildingFootprints tags on buildings. They are normally very accurate and align well with Bing imagery. The largest most accurate satellites are only accurate to 60 meters so the imagery has to be aligned. My recommendation would be to use Bing imagery and find a building that aligns with it. Then switch to your preferred imagery and align it with the Bing aligned one.

This helps ensure that buildings are only mapped once and when you add buildings you don’t add an existing building and if someone imports using microsoft BuildingFootprints then your building won’t be remapped 10 meters away in the future.

Disposable mappers are often used meaning many will only may a few times. So we don’t really have time to train them.

We want to get the most accurate mapping we can from them and as many buildings as we can. With JOSM buildings_tool plugin I can highlight one building then add more by clicking and holding down the button, moving to the opposite corner of the building and releasing the mouse button. If they aren’t in line it takes another mouse button click. You get a rectangular building correctly labelled. This is far less than using iD. Plus you don’t need a validator to inspect each one to see if it is correct.

You need to install JOSM and Microsoft openJDK but you’ll get a lot more buildings out of them. It is possible to set it all up on a USB stick and run it from there.

With iD mapped buildings there is room for error in tagging. Some aren’t tagged at all, I’ve seen some tagged barrier=fence amongst others. Also many buildings are rectangular in shape but you won’t think it from the mapping.

The buildings tagged microsoft BuildingFootprints implies an import. Officially there is a formal process for an import. If you are importing please follow it. Part of the requirement is to visually check to see if the building has already been mapped. I strongly suspect this is not being followed in all cases.

Thanks for reading

John

Well, the fellowship was the first of its kind for me. The whole time, the commitment led me to learn and know the vast features and tools of OpenStreetMap. The fact that overwhelmed me most that how the organization has managed and engaged numerous volunteers and improved its tools over time. Training and resources were efficient and convenient in a structure that proved instrumental for me in completing the tasks. The biggest delight is seeing my edits come into visualization within moments which truly instills a feeling that I am making an impact by mapping. Throughout the whole time, I have been able to discover a little of it and may also have made slight and/or big mistakes during edits or validation, ahead of this, I want to explore this platform more and be an instrumental mapper.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

Me, MySelf and OM Guru Fellowship

Hello Fellas! Greetings from Indonesian Mapper.

Okay, I believe this is my first diary entry as I start contributing to OpenStreetMap. I’m not sure how many people will be interested in reading my diary, but I’ll share my story here.

“Above the sky, there is still sky” - it’s a quote we’ve probably heard before. OpenStreetMap is made up of many contributors from around the world, all of whom are great mappers and work diligently for the world. I realize that the knowledge I have now must have been possessed by several people before me. Because of this, I feel that with OpenStreetMap, I can learn and collaborate with other mappers.

Just a quick flashback to 2019 when I made my first contribution to OpenStreetMap. At that time, I was still unsure of what OpenStreetMap was. I thought it was just a mapping tool and had no idea about the many surprises it held.

As a geography student, mapping is my passion, and I enjoy contributing to OpenStreetMap. To my surprise, I became the best mapper in a competition held by OpenStreetMap Indonesia. In 2021, I was the only Indonesian participant in the HOTOSM internship. The following year, I was hired at OpenStreetMap Indonesia (POI), and now I am part of the OM Guru Fellowship program. The Om Guru gives us tasks to work on each month, I am responsible as a validator, where the tasks given to me are things related to validation. I carry out validation using quite a lot of media such as OSMCha or OSM Inspector, of course, this adds to my knowledge and skills.

“For me, by consistently practicing and loving what we do, we will invite miracles into our lives”.

This fellowship is fascinating because it allows teachers to contribute and learn about the different landscapes in each country. So, what impact does this fellowship have? Well, for me, this fellowship has improved my mapping skills. More importantly, it has taught me to broaden my perspective, showing me that knowledge is not restricted by who, where, or how you study.

Thank you to the OM Guru Fellowship; I am very proud to be a part of this activity!

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

Just getting started with OSM tonight. Ive been a lover of maps and geography since as far back as I can remember. My interest in globes and maps lead me to travel to many places and put experiences with long standing “points on paper”. What has brought me to learn about openstreetmaps is an interest (an obsession rather) in helping to connect a growing global community of freedom fighters who believe money should not be controlled by an oligarchy, but remain open source.

For all the merchants who see the infrastructure of money as public domain and recognize how imperative it is to ensure everyone has access to permissionless, uncensorable transactions, I solute you and will be working on helping the growing but still niche community know where they can shop with other like minded people.

There are several mapping organizations on this same beat, and I believe the decentralization and variety of options to map these merchant datapoints, highlighting and emphasizing certain relevant offerings within the broader community will be net beneficial to all, as well as keep standards competitive and delivery of info evolving.

Looking forward to to using this platform!

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

Today, I want to look back on my time with OpenStreetMap (OSM) and how the OSM Guru Fellowship has helped me grow.

I started contributing to OSM in 2019. Since then, I’ve made over 2000 changesets. Each one has helped make the map a bit better and more accurate.

Working with Jungle Bus and GeoMinds has been great. These projects showed me how important good maps are, especially in places that need them most. I’m proud to have been a part of their work.

One of my biggest projects was mapping public transportation in Kochi. We added 24,000 kilometers of routes to OSM. It was a huge task, but knowing it helps people get around the city makes it all worth it.

The OSM Guru Fellowship has been amazing. It taught me a lot about OSM and its concepts, giving me the skills I needed to be a better mapper. I learned that knowledge is power, but community is even more powerful.

The OSM community is something I love being part of. It’s inspiring to see people from all over the world work together to map the world. The fellowship connected me with others who are just as passionate about mapping as I am.

Looking back, I’m thankful for everything I’ve learned and the people I’ve met. The OSM Guru Fellowship has been a big part of my journey, and I’m excited for what comes next. Here’s to more mapping and a stronger community!

Kinnakorai is a beautiful village about 50 km from Ooty town. The beauty lies in the journey to the village itself. Kinnakorai is similar to any other remote mountain village in India, but the villagers looked at us like we came from Krypton on a UFO. I can’t blame them at all because we were in full gear with 25 people on different motorcycles.

By the way, the day I realized that the road to the village was incorrect, I had the complete GPX trace along the route. So, I planned to fix the roads, and here we are. I edited the roads with my GPX traces and pushed the updates to OSM. Now anyone can rely on those maps. :)

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

I started my journey as an OSM contributor in August 2018. My knowledge was initially limited to the iD editor and HOT tasking manager platform, with minimal community mapathon contributions within Nigeria. Consequently, my contributions to OSM were very low and inconsistent.

In November 2023, while seeking more opportunities to volunteer and contribute to the growing OpenStreetMap community, I discovered the OM Guru fellowship organized by the Open Mapping Hub Asia-Pacific. I applied as a Mapper, which complemented my background as a Remote Sensing and GIS student.

During my six-month tenure in the fellowship, I was exposed to various aspects of mapping, from building data capturing using JOSM, to Amenities/POI mapping with Every Door, and street-level imagery capturing using Mapillary, focusing on Disaster, Humanitarian, and Climate action. Additionally, I learned and developed my skills in JOSM validation and field mapping. The weekly training sessions and webinars exposed me to more applications of GIS and Remote Sensing in open spatial data science, thus enhancing my geospatial expertise.

One significant highlight of the fellowship was the Climate Change Challenge, where OM Guru-led groups competed in 8 climate challenges. I led a team of OSM contributors, which provided me with valuable leadership and teamwork experience. I was exposed to more applications and tools within the OSM ecosystem, such as Mapswipe, Maproullete, and mapping with RapidID. I contributed to mapping high priority, disaster prone and impacted areas in Asia-pacific countries.

The OM Guru fellowship came to me at the right time, and I was fortunate to utilize this opportunity. It transformed my OSM experience and provided me with the skills and expertise needed henceforth within the OSM community and beyond. The last 6 months have been incredibly enriching, filled with knowledge and skill development. It was the best period of my OSM contributions. Moving forward, I am confident in my ability to lead mapping activities and motivated to continue contributing to OSM in general. Thank you, Open Mapping Hub Asia-Pacific, for the opportunity!

I can’t save the changes. It shows error instead

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

At the moment I’m only doing small edits, or edits using StreetComplete. I got frustrated by some people making bad edits which persuaded me there were other things that I could do rather than editing OSM.

Particularly annoying behaviours for me:- * Dunning-Kruger edits by people who have been here for a while but don’t edit that often - people who are absolutely sure they are right even when queried, especially people whose changeset edits read like they are selling houses * people deliberately setting data they know is wrong but to make some route planner or map do what they want, even though they have been challenged on this repeatedly in the past * people adding data like access, surface, or tracktype in bulk to tracks that lack them just to fill in missing data without any evidence (so all tracks in a particular area get set to tracktype=grade2 whether they are actually asphalt or mud) * people copying from developers plans, rights of way descriptions, or other maps at the expense of reality (I map what’s there on the ground, they “correct” it because they’ve seen it on a plan, my journey planner tries to send me on unbuilt paths, through fences where I don’t have access, or my road bike on a dirt track suitable for a 4x4 off-road vehicle, and repeat over several years)

My main goal with editing OSM is to improve route planning on foot, bicycle, or public transport, hence why I’m keen to get surface, tracktype, smoothness, access, and construction tags correct.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

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OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

Walked into town and along seafront down to Lancaster Gardens.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.

The Creative Commons Zero (CC0) waiver is, in my opinion, the most free way to release open-source software. Unlike licenses that impose conditions on the use, modification, or distribution of software, CC0 allows me to waive all my rights to limit what users can do with the software. It effectively places the work in the public domain. This absolute waiver ensures that the software can be freely used by anyone, for any purpose, in any way. Here’s why I choose CC0 when releasing open source software and why I cannot – and will not – grant permission to use my CC0 software.

Software freedom

Other licenses impose various requirements on using software, such as:

• Copyleft/viral licensing: Mandates that derivative works also be open-source and follow the same licensing conditions.
• Attribution requirements: Requires giving credit to the original authors in all copies or substantial portions of the software.
• Redistribution conditions: Imposes specific terms on how the software can be redistributed, including the requirement to state changes made to the code.
• Source code disclosure: Requires making the source code available to anyone who receives a copy of the software.
• License compatibility issues: Restrictions that affect the ability to combine the licensed software with other code under different licenses.

In contrast, CC0:

• Imposes no obligations for attribution.
• Requires no disclosure of source code.
• Does not mandate any specific licensing for derivative works.
• Places no restrictions on combining CC0-waivered software with other code.

This complete freedom fosters innovation, as developers can build upon CC0-waiver software without worrying about legal ramifications or compatibility issues with other licenses.

That means:

• Hobbyists can use it.
• Companies that make money can use it.
• People I don’t like can use it.

This last point (and sometimes these last two points) often gives open-source developers heartburn. However, I feel that I cannot prevent people I don’t like from using my open-source contributions without also harming the good that comes from my contributions being widely available for use. Broad adoption leads to a more vibrant and diverse ecosystem of software, where software can be reused and repurposed in innovative ways, driving technological advancement, and resulting in services and applications that make people’s lives better.

The closest thing to worldwide public domain

In some countries, you either cannot legally put software in the public domain, or “it’s complicated,” due to legal concepts that, as an American, I cannot even begin to comprehend. This can complicate or even prevent the dedication of software to the public domain. To address these legal complexities, CC0 attempts to waive as many rights as possible, providing the most free fallback license for jurisdictions where a public domain waiver is not recognized.

Credit

It is reasonable that open-source contributors want credit or attribution for their contributions, either for their résumés and career advancement, or simply out of pride. However, the desire for credit should not overshadow the potential benefits of contributing to the common good. For CC0-waivered software, credit is not a mandatory requirement, which can sometimes be perceived as a drawback. But this very aspect also eliminates any barriers for the adoption and use of the software, ensuring that the work can be freely incorporated into other projects without the need for complicated legal considerations.

By waiving all rights, authors of CC0-waivered software make a clear statement: they are contributing their work for the common good, with no expectation of control or credit. This selfless act can set and example to others to contribute similarly, fostering a culture of sharing and collaboration that benefits everyone.

CC0-waivered software prioritizes influence over notability. By allowing unrestricted use and distribution, the software has the potential to reach a wider audience and be utilized in more diverse and creative ways. This broad adoption can lead to greater impact and technological progress, ultimately benefiting the community as a whole. While individual authors might forgo personal recognition, the influence of their work can be far-reaching.

Why I cannot grant permission to use my CC0 software

While CC0 grants complete freedom to anyone to use my software without seeking permission, my choice to not explicitly grant permission is to emphasize the point of choosing CC0 in the first place:

By releasing my software under the CC0 waiver, I have released all my rights to the work, including the right to grant or withhold permission for its use. This is not a matter of choice or preference; it is a fundamental aspect of the CC0 waiver. The CC0 waiver is irrevocable, meaning that the freedom it provides to users cannot be undone or restricted by the original author. Therefore, I cannot grant permission because I no longer possess the legal authority to do so.

True software freedom means giving up control, and CC0 allows me to do just that.

I started my journey in OSM Mapping contribution in September 2020. I have worked in multiple OSM HOT Tasking projects in ID editor and JOSM. The community has been a blessing for me as it was more engaging and conscious of OSM mapping and having a journey making the world a better place through OSM Mapping.

At the end of December 2023 Open Mapping Hub- Asia Pacific hosted a program call to all active contributors to embark on a journey with AP-Hub of fellowship of active mapping and community engagement with AP-Hub network and OSM community. I passed the exam with joyous remarks. I was selected for Mapping track out of 15 been selected for the Mapping Track of OM Guru Fellowship. There was 3 different track set by AP-Hub, one Mapping track (tasked for mapping), 2nd Validation Track (tasked for validation of OSM Mapping), and 3rd Training track (Tasked for training participants). On first month, we had 100 task mapping in HOT Tasking Manager. It was a rigorous mapping in Philippines, Vanuatu and Micronesia. On 2nd month, we have worked on Everydoor App POI collection. I have roamed around my neighborhood to taking detailed data of the POIs. On the 3rd month March 2024, we worked on Mapillary of 500 images. Then on 4th month April, we worked on QGIS mapping, before and after image of OSM Mapping and 100 mapping tasks in HOT Tasking Manager. On 5th month May 2024, we validated 200 tasks in HOT Tasking Manager.

The entire journey had made me a consistent mapper and having learnt many new applications to contribute to OSM Mapping, I am grateful to AP-hub for the amazing opportunity.