A more "exciting" https://openstreetmap.org would have made me sign up months earlier.

This page summarizes the projects mentioned and recommended in the original post on /r/openstreetmap

Our great sponsors
  • SurveyJS - Open-Source JSON Form Builder to Create Dynamic Forms Right in Your App
  • InfluxDB - Power Real-Time Data Analytics at Scale
  • WorkOS - The modern identity platform for B2B SaaS
  • show-me-the-way

    See OSM edits happen in real time.

  • #1: About the "About" page. When a new user visits OSM's website, they are presented with a popup sporting two big buttons: "learn more", and "start mapping". I clicked "start mapping", but, presented with a login screen, I went back to "learn more" and was linked to OSM's About page. This page features no images, videos, or animations apart from the header, giving the impression that it could have been written by one person or a very small group. I didn't care about most of the links. User diaries sounded pretty off topic and was already in the top sitewide navigation bar. There were also uninspiring links to copyright licensing, the privacy policy, and a list of OSM's partners which I didn't recognize. Perhaps the most enticing link is the official OSM blog. So here's what I'd do: Instead of telling me that maps are created "by the community", https://osmlab.github.io/show-me-the-way/ could be used for a live demonstration. Instead of doubling down on "Open Data" and "Legal" segments, some information could move to the copyright page. Links to tools like OsmAnd, and data users like MapBox (and by extension Facebook and Snapchat) might be impossible for legal reasons, but they'd be a strong selling point. The page does proudly proclaim that "OpenStreetMap provides map data for thousands of web sites, mobile apps, and hardware devices" but I've learned to always take those broad statements with a grain of salt. For example, "hardware devices" could mean that 2,000 people worldwide have downloaded an OSM app on their phones, which doesn't seem all too impressive. After years of hearing about the 3 billion devices that run Java, all those user numbers feel pretty meaningless. The "about" page fails to show the true scope of this project, and alongside the other points I mention, it made OSM feel small.

  • qwantmaps

    Central repository for Qwant Maps resources

  • BTW https://www.qwant.com/maps is fully OSM based and -does- position itself as a gmaps alternative. Note that even though it is quite well funded, it is obviously missing a couple of bits and pieces that are these days considered essential.

  • SurveyJS

    Open-Source JSON Form Builder to Create Dynamic Forms Right in Your App. With SurveyJS form UI libraries, you can build and style forms in a fully-integrated drag & drop form builder, render them in your JS app, and store form submission data in any backend, inc. PHP, ASP.NET Core, and Node.js.

    SurveyJS logo
NOTE: The number of mentions on this list indicates mentions on common posts plus user suggested alternatives. Hence, a higher number means a more popular project.

Suggest a related project

Related posts