Just reached 1000 edits, so thought it would be good to dump what I have learnt so far.

I started using OSM during the COVID 19 lockdown living in Hampshire, there were many walks available but the routes were not always clear on google maps. OSM was far better and I used it for information about walks before proceding. The level of detail was great and really useful.

Fast forward to 2023 and I decide to start contributing using StreetComplete and MapComplete. I drive an Electric vehicle and the information on charge points is so obscure I wanted to contribute. This led me down a rabbit hole of StreetComplete, filling in addresses, road surfaces, bus stop shelter. Anything and everything. I learnt the importance of information that would be useful to users.

Only in the last year, have I picked up mapping, this time using ID editor, chnaging tags was a little daunting but I slowly got there. I noticed some areas around me were missing house numbers. I learnt the importance of doing a survey on foot. There’s so much to learn from looking around IRL.

The last few weeks, I have been mapping out areas that had no buildings, only Residential Areas. A few thousand terraced houses later (feels like it) and quite a few places are on the map around Yarmouth (yeah I moved from Hampshire in this time!). Most imporatntly, check the alignment of background layers before starting a new edit! It is also useful to turn off layers not used, really makes things easier to see.

Latest update, I own a drone and can produce aerial images, very useful for areas not on Bing maps. This also gives me access to a 3D view of the area, very useful for double checking my survey notes!

Maybe I’ll do another one of these at 2000 edits?