The following post is best viewed at http://osmly.com (http://osmly.com/) full
text is posted below for posterity.
OSMLY is a simple browser based importer for OpenStreetMap. It makes importing
easy by presenting each feature one at a time, allowing users to manually
review the item, make any needed adjustments to positions or tags, and upload
directly to OSM. It also allows for reporting problems that other users can
look over and a quality assurance mode where administrative users can confirm
everything that has been uploaded. The aim is to make simple imports easier,
more cooperative, and less error prone.
http://osmly.com/screenshots/example.jpg
Try the demo: http://osmly.com/la-parks.html
OSMLY was born out of a frustration with the way imports are organized. I was
preparing some imports for Los Angeles County, reading up on past imports and
organized things according to how I see they are being done today (wiki,
spreadsheets, many .osm files, JOSM). I wasn't into it. The organization and
tools involved seems too complicated and clunky for getting more than a small
number of people involved.
Even with very simple data we would have to deal with many .osm files each
containing many features themselves, a central spreadsheet for tracking who is
doing what and the status of each group of items, and everyone would have to
use JOSM. Then editing involves managing multiple layers in JOSM, downloading
the area around each feature, looking around and resolving any conflicts,
uploading in a small batch, and making sure to tag changesets correctly.
Ideally, someone would then go back, search for the changesets and confirm
everything was done correctly.
http://osmly.com/screenshots/overview.jpg
That's too complicated for my liking and the pool of users who know how to do
all this without making mistakes is too small. On the other hand, most of that
complexity is necessary for organizing the people involved and maintaining some
quality to the data going into OSM. I want a simpler and more automated way of
handling the most manual and repetitive parts for really basic imports. I just
want a simple way for someone with OSM experience and knowledge but not
necessarily a GIS data or programming background to help out with basic tasks
and share their knowledge to get more data on the map.
http://osmly.com/screenshots/QA.jpg
I built OSMLY to reduce the complexity of doing simple imports with many people
and many features. It's just the essentials: editing geometry, fixing tags,
displaying relevant nearby features from OSM, flagging problems and uploading
to OSM. Features are served from a simple database to keep track of
everything/everyone and different actions are allowed based on an feature's
status. Once an item is submitted it's available for Quality Assurance where
other users can confirm everything was done correctly and flagged results can
get attention from more experienced users in JOSM.
http://osmly.com/screenshots/geojson.png
Technically, OSMLY takes in GeoJSON data and makes sure geometry is valid,
simplifies, flags obviously difficult items, adds bounds for each item, and
converts everything to a sqlite database ready to be served up to the world. A
simple server takes care of routing requests from the browser to database
queries and returning results. Once the user has received a new feature the
surrounding area is download from an OSM server and those results are filtered
for relevant geometry. Then it's all displayed on the map. From there it gets a
bit more complex depending on the user's actions.
http://osmly.com/screenshots/basic.jpg
Some key features:
* Context - nearby relevant features that may conflict are shown alongside
the item being edited along with complete tags. Context filtering can be set
using regular OSM tags. http://osmly.com/screenshots/context.png
* Quality Assurance - administrative users, specified in the settings, can
review everything that has been submitted and confirm each item has been done
correctly
* Edit in JSOM - every item can be remotely opened and completed in JOSM if
you prefer. http://osmly.com/screenshots/inJOSM.png
* Tag Manipulation - depending on your data source, you might not have to
do any tag manipulation before OSMLY. Tag keys can be renamed, added, and
removed.
* User Whitelist - specify exactly which users are allowed on an import or
allow everyone (default)
Limitations:
Currently OSMLY only works with polygons. Eventually, time allowing, I'd like
to expand to other GeoJSON feature types (points and linestrings). OSMLY is
only ment for simple imports so there aren't plans for implementing
multipolygons or anything else too complex. Some of this is technical but
mostly it comes down to ease of use. Right now if a complex item is found OSMLY
pushes the user to edit in JOSM.
===
