Calling All Experienced Contributors: New mappers need your help!
Posted by Xvtn on 31 January 2024 in English. Last updated on 5 February 2024.TL;DR
New users are requesting a review on their changesets, requests which go unanswered most of the time. We can use OSMCha to easily find them and review them.
“Review Requested”
When just starting out, I’m sure most of us have wondered whether we should tick the box stating “I would like someone to review my edits.” Ever wondered who is reviewing those when requested? Turns out, usually, it’s nobody. (See note below)
In my experience, brand new OSM contributors make mistakes frequently. Also, most new mappers don’t stick with it. Both of these points are OK, but we can correct the mistakes to improve data quality, and hopefully let new mappers feel welcome and like they’re part of the community.
The Solution
Fortunately, there is an excellent tool that makes it easy for experienced mappers to find newbie, review-requested, or suspicious changesets - OSMCha. You can also monitor your local area. It’s really fun!
- Go to OSMCha.org
- Log in with your OSM account.
- (Optional) Click on your OSM username dropdown, choose Account Settings. Remove text in “Review Comments Template”. If you don’t, when you verify a changeset as good or bad in OSMCha, it will make an aggressive-sounding comment on your behalf. I prefer to write my own comment on each changeset I review for new mappers.
- Click the Filters button and choose filters, see note 1 below.
- Click Save in the upper left so you can come back later without having to enter filters again.
- Pick a changeset on the left bar, review the changes, and optionally leave a comment. See note 2 below.
- In the upper right, verify the changeset as good or bad, and maybe add tags. (You can always change things later.)
Notes
Changeset Filters
For reviewing new mappers’ changesets, here are the filters I use:
- Location - Draw a border around my local area. (I review all in Utah and some in USA west)
- Reasons for Flagging - “New Mapper”, “Review Requested” (Set to
AND
!) - Review Status - “Not Reviewed”