No place to learn what to do? The wiki may be overwhelming, sometimes outdated and incorrect, or even a vehicle for personal opinions on tagging and whatnot, but there are definitely resources to help you get started. All OSM editors have useful presets for common features, you can't really go wrong with those. The Map Features page[1] describes widely used common tags. learnosm.org is there to guide you through first steps in OSM. And if you're looking for help or if you don't feel confident about your edits, there's these and other mailing lists, IRC, help.osm.org and forum.osm.org. OpenStreetMap US hosts regular Virtual Mappy Hours you can join from anywhere. There's Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+ pages where helpful members are always willing to answer questions. Some of these resources may require a little effort on your part, and they may not all be as well advertised or interconnected as they should be, but you have to realize that OpenStreetMap is eternally a work in progress, run entirely by volunteers who are working really hard to keep up with and channel that progress.
You are apparently willing to spend your time reading these mailing lists, so why not be constructive about it and either ask questions to help you along in your mapping efforts, or make some actionable suggestions about how we can do a better job explaining mapping and tagging to new contributors? Best, Martijn [1] https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Map_Features On Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 12:38 PM, Scott Rollins <organ...@gmail.com> wrote: > > I'll just say that, whether "bug" or "feature," this message perfectly > encapsulates why I am unwilling to spend my time working on OSM. I don't > want to waste my time, and by not having a good place to learn what to do, I > have to do a whole lot of work to figure out whether the additions I'm > making will be useful or simply clutter up the database. > > I love the concept of OSM, and I'm glad to have the ability to use maps > based on OSM's work...but the setup of the project leaves me feeling unable > to usefully contribute. > > Scott > > > On Wed, Dec 5, 2012 at 9:02 AM, Serge Wroclawski <emac...@gmail.com> > wrote: >> >> On Tue, Dec 4, 2012 at 8:44 PM, Jeff Meyer <j...@gwhat.org> wrote: >> > Hi - N00b question here: >> > >> > What's the role of the wiki as a source of information in the OSM >> > community? >> >> It's a mixed bag, some of the information is very good and of high >> quality and some is outdated, and some is of low quality. >> >> The problem is that the wiki is not a single entity, but rather a >> collection of the work of lots of people. >> >> And as others have said, those busy mapping often don't have >> time/interest to document, and those people who love documentation and >> process aren't always in the thick of the actual mapping- so they're >> giving proscriptive orders on high, with little thought to reality. >> >> > In my brief period here, I've been told things like this: >> > >> > - For tags: RTFW >> >> Most tags are well documented. Remember, OSM is a folksonomy. Tags are >> accepted by their use. If a tag is in heavy use, it will show up in >> taginfo. Some tags are very accepted (highway=residential), and others >> are controversial and others are just one person's opinion. >> >> In the end, "accepted" is a complex term in the OSM context. The >> tagging list has a process that they follow, but that doesn't mean a >> lot. I've had tags that I've used and propsed be argued against with >> vehemence on that list, only to see them later be used by others, >> appear as defaults in editors, etc. and still AFAIK not be on the >> wiki, where I've also seen tags by the taggling list be on the wiki >> but no one actually use. >> >> > - For relations: do NOT read the wiki & HELL YES read the wiki >> >> Relations are a complex topic. They're generally loved by those who >> like to talk in theory but not in practice. >> >> The problem is they're very hard to work with. >> >> > - Imports: the wiki's out of date >> >> > (Also - I've received information off IRC that conflicts with both >> > email & >> > wiki) >> >> As it's been said, everyone will give you their own opinions. No >> single member of our community is an authoritative source (not even >> SteveC). >> >> > In general, is there a method to when the wiki is or is not relevant? >> >> You eventually get a feel for it, but it's hard to know as a newbie, for >> sure. >> >> You can also find info at help.openstreetmap.org. >> >> - Serge >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Talk-us mailing list >> talk...@openstreetmap.org >> http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-us > > > > > -- > Scott Rollins, <organ...@gmail.com> > Portsmouth, VA > > _______________________________________________ > Talk-us mailing list > talk...@openstreetmap.org > http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-us > -- Martijn van Exel http://oegeo.wordpress.com/ http://openstreetmap.us/ _______________________________________________ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
