OpenStreetMap
— Yay, new mapper! Welcome to OpenStreetMap!
— I see you are using wrong tags. Please read Map Features and don’t come back until you’re done. I don’t care if it’s too long. Go to Google Map Maker if you’re intimidated.
— I don’t know you. Please go to talk@ mailing list and introduce yourself and reasons for your mapping. Yes, I know you have to sign up using some obscure web page, and then receive unwanted mail for eternity. But rules are rules. Go do it, or leave.
— I see you work for a mapping company. I will be watching you, because you do not care for our map. None of you do. Yes, I am working at such company too, but I care.
— I caught you not tracing from Bing like the rest of us. Please explain your sources and acquire specific permissions for using these. Or better stop.
— I see that among 500 buildings you’ve traced, 20 have been recently demolished. I know that they are still on imagery and in the registry. But it looks like your quality of mapping will never reach mine. Please go away and never come back.
— Hey, I’ve seen more edits from you. I think we’ve discussed it. I don’t care if they are good, I have reverted them. Please do not come back.
…
— Hi new mapper, welcome to OpenStreetMap!
Discussion
Comment from Vincent de Phily on 20 April 2018 at 17:02
These are obviously exagerated quotes, so what are the real ones ? And how common is the problem ?
Comment from Zverik on 20 April 2018 at 19:01
I assumed it’s obvious this fictional text is not about individual mappers, but of something else :)
Comment from SomeoneElse on 20 April 2018 at 22:40
In a diary that’s shared between people of many different cultures and languages, I wouldn’t assume that anything was obvious, actually.
Comment from 4004 on 20 April 2018 at 22:47
Quite relevant now when we actually get some consumer uptake of osm and new mappers coming in (maps.me et al). That being said, pointing out errors and established rules is needed
Comment from Warin61 on 20 April 2018 at 22:49
After a number of changset comments to one mapper … and no response .. I tend to get very terse from there on!
Comment from Omnific on 21 April 2018 at 04:14
Zverik, I know you get a lot of disagreement for your views on this site, but I’m with you all the way. I think Pokémon Go is a good thing, I love Maps.me and use it as a regular editor for OSM and think it’s great to have another editor, think imports are stupidly restrictive, and believe more mapper are better, even if they mess up at the beginning. People want to make this a walled garden for experienced craft mappers and that’s not how we map the world.
Comment from ff5722 on 21 April 2018 at 08:20
Maybe this is mostly a problem in very active mapping communities. Most new mappers never get any feedback, even with review_requested=yes. That could also be demotivating, OSM is supposed to be a community project, but often it’s each to their own, just drawing on what was imported or drawn years ago.