For those, who don’t know: There is an app called StreetComplete.
StreetComplete is a mobile app that enhances OpenStreetMap (OSM) by allowing users to contribute to mapping efforts in their local areas. It gamifies the process of collecting and verifying geographic data through simple tasks.
Such simple tasks in StreetComplete could be providing information regarding:
-
Classifying streets (one-way or not)?
-
Is an object (e.g. a bench or a trash bin) still there, or was it removed by the city/state?
-
When does shop XY open and close?
-
Who is allowed to use the parking lot?
-
Does a bus station have lights?
-
Can people with disabilities use the crosswalk?
-
Is a way for bicycles?
It’s getting warmer outside. Why not going out and playing it bit? It might feel a little bit like Pokemon GO (but compared to it, your location data won’t be sold to Saudi Arabia).
If you usually don’t go outside often or walk around outside often, maybe this could be a motivation/reason…
Official website of StreetComplete with download links: https://streetcomplete.app/
FAQ: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/StreetComplete/FAQ
If you have already use/played it, what’s your rank?
Love StreetComplete! my current rank is 143, need to remember to use it more when i got out. I can also recommend Forest for even more motivation to walk around🌲
And for IOS users there’s Every Door: https://every-door.app/
On iOS, Go Map!! has a mode which shows quests like StreetComplete. https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Go_Map!!
An iOS version of StreetComplete is also in progress. If anyone is a developer, go help them out! https://github.com/streetcomplete/StreetComplete/issues/5530
Thank you for pointing me to Go Map!! I hadn’t found that one yet. Looks easy enough to use.
this looks like wonderful program to use, my only worry is that how well openstreetmap is safeguarded against any corporation wanting to buy it out? This kind of community effort could easily make it vastly superior to anything corporations even could create so obviously they will try to acquire it at some point. Is it safe from that?
But provided that it is safe, this is really nice. I like going to new places but not having any real reason for it makes it feel a bit trivial. With this there is real tangible benefit for doing it.
OpenStreetMap data is “open data”, licensed under a copyleft license. If a company were to acquire the project, it legally couldn’t add restrictions to its use, nor use it in a proprietary dataset.
Also, OpenStreetMap is governed by the non-profit OpenStreetMap Foundation, which any active mapper can become a voting member of. Corporate buyout of a democratic body like the Foundation seems unlikely.
Lastly, major companies like Meta, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, TomTom, Niantic etc already rely on this data. Most of them are corporate sponsors of the OSMF and help keep the servers running. 🙂 https://osmfoundation.org/wiki/Corporate_Members
I also recommend SC Expanded and Extended if you have experience with StreetComplete. It adds direct editing functionality and more quests.
It’s a shame there doesn’t seem to be an iOS app.
There is Go Map!! as an alternative on iOS. Have been using it, not as gamified but works well!
You can use Every Door
I’m ranked 3600 with 2200 contributions, really enjoying the experience
There’s also a more feature-rich version of the app called SCEE, as well as Every Door and Vespucci.
You can also follow all of them, as well as OpenStreetMap itself on Mastodon:
@openstreetmap@en.osm.town
@everydoor@en.osm.town
@streetcomplete@mastodon.socialI, personally, am below rank 5,000 with over 400 contributions.
Hadn’t heard of it before, thanks for sharing! Will definitely play to help support OSM.
I uninstalled Pikmin Bloom after the news that they’re being sold to the Saudi company (the damage is likely already done as I was a day 1 PoGo player), but when I get an Android phone in April, I would love to contribute.
It is an enjoyable way to contribute to the OSM project! I mostly use JOSM or the iD editor for mapping, but when I only have my phone I’ll pull out StreetComplete and do a few quests.
For beginners to mapping, it’s a very easy way to contribute without the worry of messing up something!
Make sure to also run NeoStumbler in the background, so you can scan for Wi-Fi networks, cell towers, as well as BLE beacons, and contribute this data to BeaconDB (!beacondb@lemmy.dbzer0.com) (no, I’m not affiliated with the project, I just support their mission)
You can also find NeoStumbler on Accrescent (Mastodon)
I love counting steps
