Who am I ?

I have been retired since 2020 after a long career in networking and IT security.

Since then, I’ve spent my time walking (nothing too ambitious: no mountains, but still around 2,000 km per year) and doing math (a lifelong hobby, mainly algebra focused on functional equations).

I discovered OSM very recently (spring 2025) when switching from Windows to Linux MINT and trying out my first smartphone with LineageOS (a de-Googled Android).

what follows is of course only my personal opinion

At first, I thought it was just a freely editable map application, before realizing that it is in fact:

• a global geospatial database with open contributions, listing and exposing only data that is free of rights, under the most permissive licenses possible.

• a vast open-source application ecosystem leveraging this geospatial database for a wide variety of uses:

  • to contribute or make smart, efficient, even fun use of it.

    • Tools I’ve looked at and used: Id, JOSM, OsmTracker, Osmose, StreetComplete, taginfo, overpass, panoramax, NSI
    • Tools I’ve only skimmed so far: MapRoulette, Mon Commerce OSM, Libre Charge Map, H.O.T.

  • to use the database for various purposes aimed at diverse audiences:

    • The one that led me to OSM: OsmAnd, then leaflet and uMap
    • Also cartes.app, and a bunch of hiking and cycling apps that I’ve only briefly glimpsed.
• and of course, a set of proprietary applications built on the OSM database (not always with proper attribution, by the way)

So I created an account, joined OpenStreetMapFrance (not mandatory), and tried to understand enough of the principles, limitations, and recommendations to contribute effectively.

I’m now a regular reader of the WIKI and the forum (even though I sometimes struggle to follow whole conversations – such as those about hiking route relations, linear or networked…).

I quickly switched from Id to JOSM and realized that there are (at least) two worlds in contributing:

• personal/local contributions where everyone can improve the map of their surroundings (StreetComplete is a great example for tag improvements, but there’s also adding facilities not yet in OSM, recent road changes, etc.). These contributions are rewarding and motivating but are limited by the number of contributors in the field. These limitations can be addressed through challenges (I haven’t participated or created any, but the concept seems exciting).

• bulk contributions which involve starting from an available data source and injecting processed results into OSM. Naturally, there are several constraints here:

  • the source must be acceptable, in particular:

    • it must be licensed compatibly with OSM (open and allowing redistribution under OSM’s license). I learned this (a fundamental concept) thanks to forum answers to my questions about extracting usable data from mainstream apps.
    • it should be “reasonably” reliable
    • ideally, it should have sustainable updates (getting a one-time licensed file has limited long-term value)
  • the data processing must be secure and reliable enough (duplicate detection, tag conflict detection between the open data source and local contributor tags – which can be more reliable unless the contributor tags imprecisely)
  • the processing must be “doable”. Anyone is technically free to do bulk edits if they have the CPU and bandwidth. But there are recommended practices (e.g., declare the project on the WIKI, check if major contributors are already working on it, abandoned it, or would hand it off for known reasons…)

Scaling up personal contributions is obviously possible:

• by engaging many contributors (e.g., in a challenge), each ensuring the reliability of their data (field verification)

• by “putting to work” a large number of remote contributors (for instance, mapping road networks in Sub-Saharan Africa by having contributors each analyze small chunks of aerial or satellite imagery. In such cases, I wonder if good AI pre-processing could significantly accelerate the work)

to be continued

I’ve greatly appreciated the forum’s support in helping me understand and move forward, though I sometimes found the gap between forum/Wiki info frustrating.

I’ve discovered some things on my own from these various sources (which is to be expected), and I think I’ll try to write a few small texts about what I’ve learned. I don’t think the forum is the right place for that (it would feel a bit like clutter), and even less the WIKI (which seems more exhaustive and precise than pedagogical – aside from the many tutorials, of course).

I’ll try to see if my user diary could be used for that:

• pros: it’s a personal space, reflecting only my views, and doesn’t interfere with the roles of the forum or the WIKI

• cons: I get the impression user diaries are almost completely hidden:

  • it took me three months to discover they even exist
  • I haven’t found any search engine for user diaries, which severely limits their usefulness for this purpose
  • I didn’t immediately understand that there’s a separate user profile for the OSM France forum and for OSM itself, and the user diary is accessed through the latter

… But maybe I’ll never write those diary entries!

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Souhaite-tu aussi une version simplifiée ou plus “native” du texte en anglais, par exemple pour un usage public ou collaboratif ?