OpenStreetMap
I have a track of an animal trail through the forest. Should I do anything with it? Does that go on the map?
How stable are those? This one must have been made by boars or deers; there were several patches no animal above 1.5m had gone through in a long time before today. I would guess they are pretty stable in absolute, and less stable if one human starts publishing the track, and other humans start using the information in any way. And if the information is not to be used, it may as well not be published.
Dyskusja
Komentarz od z-dude z 18 marca 2011 o 02:07
Is it navigable by walking?
You could map it, and see if it's there next year.
Komentarz od Khm z 18 marca 2011 o 10:11
IMHO animal tracks should remain animal tracks and shouldn't change to hiking trails. Nature protection is the reason to do so (or better: NOT).
Regards
Komentarz od Vincent de Phily z 18 marca 2011 o 12:04
While purists would say "it's just data - wether it should be provided and if/how it should be used are two entirely deifferent things", I feel uneasy about mapping that kind of data. For one it's a case where "observing is disturbing", and for two it requires a highly skilled mapper (most people would not recognize an animal trail even if they followed it for 1km) that is unlikely to be/stay relevant for long (would *you* commit to making that data exhaustive and to keep it up-to-date ?).
Lastly (but I'm veering a bit off-topic here), I often wonder at people doing "micro-mapping". Unless you're in an area that has already been mapped-to-death and really-really couldn't bother about other places, there's still plenty of important-feature mapping to do nearby, at worst using bing imagery, mapdust, or suchlike.
Komentarz od marscot z 18 marca 2011 o 15:51
I have been in the hills and have seen sheep trails ect, I would not add those to the map, as they change from month to month, and are mostly only there if there are sheep on the hills at that time of the year.
The rule I use is if its used by Humans and is a stable path then its added as a path, I tend not to added shortcut paths on hills.
Komentarz od netman55 z 18 marca 2011 o 16:49
I have to agree with Vincent's comment re micromapping, in the areas where Pascal has edited, it would be nice and more beneficial to people if those buildings in the area had numbers/names
Komentarz od Pascal Cuoq z 18 marca 2011 o 20:46
For various good reasons given in this thread, I will not map the track I was talking about.
I guess I am to blame for asking a simple question and not expecting a lot of unsolicited advice on previous contributions, but the information I added so far to OpenStreetMap is part of good maps. Check one out when you get the chance.
Netman55, I have no idea what building numbers you are talking about. I draw tracks and paths; if I ever come near a building, it is not numbered. But if adding that or drawing highways from aerial photographs is your idea of fun or usefulness, feel free to help yourself to my share.
PS: maps drawn from aerial photographs suck, I could point to several errors on both TeleAtlas and IGN maps in the area I have covered that clearly originate from photograph misinterpretation.
Komentarz od marscot z 19 marca 2011 o 10:50
yeah Pascal on the ground mapping wins all the time :)
Komentarz od z-dude z 20 marca 2011 o 04:14
The above 'technology' link has no relevence to this thread. (I think it's spam)