StreetComplete makes contributing to OpenStreetMap easy and fun by turning contributions into “quests” on a map for you to complete. No personal information is required, just create an OpenStreetMap account, and start contributing directly in your area!

I tried this out myself, and it is truly fantastic! I had never heard of it, and I’m sure many of you haven’t either, so spread the word!

Tip: When entering buildings to ask questions (opening hours, etc.) be ready to explain what OpenStreetMap is :)

  • Fusty@lemmy.ml
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    2 days ago

    Why does StreetComplete have non-free dependancies but OpenStreetMap is completely free/libre? I’m not going to install StreetComplete because of that.

    • baatliwala@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      The only thing which F-Droid reports is that it uses jawg.io for visualising the map tiles and that is considered non-free is because it is… commercial?

      This is the quote from the Streetcomplete github:

      Since mid 2020, JawgMaps provides their vector map tiles service to StreetComplete for free, i.e. the background map displayed in the app.

      Personally I don’t care that much about FOSS/non-FOSS but IMO a reason like that is least of my concerns when looking at open source. If they’re providing a free (as in money) service to an open source app then that’s perfectly fine.

      • Fusty@lemmy.ml
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        2 days ago

        Over time I’ve grown very concerned about non-FOSs simply due to constant datamining. Including for products people buy, they still want customers to install a proprietary app and register the product with serial, name, etc, for extra functionality. So on a phone, I have hard restrictions on what I refuse to install so that no apps have access to anything on phone or how I use it.

        • leanleft@lemmy.ml
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          12 hours ago

          it could raise rent prices if you live in an attractive city. college educate people may use the available data to inform the confidence of their relocation decisions. also realestate speculators, but mostly there are better sources.

          • Fusty@lemmy.ml
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            1 day ago

            No, if I wasn’t clear enough already, due to dependancy issues, StreetComplete is not an option.

            • IHateReddit@lemmy.world
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              23 hours ago

              Taking a quick look at the source code, it seems like they use map libre for displaying the map which is open source. The only thing not open source are the JawgMaps servers, which serve the tiles for the map in the app. This means that there are no closed source libraries running in the app/on your phone, the only thing happening is the app sending HTTP requests to JawgMaps to load tiles.

              • Fusty@lemmy.ml
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                20 hours ago

                And that in itself can be enough to assign an ID each time the server reponds to a request and keep track of server generated ID’s to start creating a folder for each ID to have a record of user history on the servers.