The hobby? Contributing to OpenStreetMap. I found an app called Street Complete that makes it exceptionally easy, basically it just asks you questions about features along your walking route. Thanks to doing this, I’ve discovered several hidden features of the neighborhood like small public gardens full of herbs, public library boxes, and more.

Doing it also feels constructive, because I know I’m helping build up a resource to challenge Google’s near-monopoly. It’s very satisfying to clear all the dots from the map, and I find myself looking forward to my walks and planning out which streets I’ll walk next.

Happy helping!

  • bigmode
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    1 year ago

    I haven’t used it for a few years but a while back I had street complete and went in a road trip visiting family, and I was able to map a big portion of each of their neighborhoods.

    It also helped me discover a lot of hidden trails around my own neighborhood and eventually one of my gpx traces ended up marking out previously unmapped path through the woods, that even google does not yet have.

    • inasabaOPM
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      1 year ago

      OpenStreetMap is so much better for trails that it’s actually no contest. Plus, the maps can be downloaded offline, so even when you’re out of the cellular service area you can still have full access.

      • makingStuffForFun
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        1 year ago

        Just today it got me out of a pinch on a very remote trail. I was amazed it even had the trail. Big fan.

  • Kindymycin@lemmy.one
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    1 year ago

    This sounds awesome I’ll look into it! I bet the folks over at the Degoogle Yourself community would like to see this. Not sure how to crosslink though.

  • handygaber@lemmy.one
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    1 year ago

    This sounds fun! I already added some benches during my walks but never contributed in a major way. Certainly going to check it out

  • cazyius@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I love the idea! Do you know if there are any apps doing the same for iOS? Would love to contribute!

    • inasabaOPM
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      1 year ago

      iOS is not very good for free software, unfortunately.

    • RickyOShae
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      1 year ago

      Commenting to remember. I’d also love to do this

    • egrets@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Go! Map is a mobile OSM editor I use frequently. It’s not super user-friendly, so might take a little getting used to, but it is reliable and fast.

      • inasabaOPM
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        1 year ago

        Yeah, that’s a bit different than what this is. Street Complete is meant to be accessible to anyone, even if they’ve never used OSM. It specifically asks you for missing information. I’ve used OSM editors before and really didn’t know what I should be adding. This has way less skill required.

  • brrn
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    1 year ago

    This sounds so fun and the interface looks very clean. I’ll be looking for an iOS version but may have to dust off an old android in the mean time.

  • TeaHands@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    We’ve been doing one called CityStrides that similarly has us exploring places we’ve never set foot before in our town. There are some issues with the data it uses from Open Street Map on occasion so the community are pretty good about getting things fixed up on the OSM side so they can get their completions on the CS side.

    • inasabaOPM
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      1 year ago

      Given that it would require an entire rewrite of the app, and Apple is no friend to open source software, I very much doubt it will happen.

      • SpaceToast@mander.xyz
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        1 year ago

        There are plenty of open source apps on iOS. Apple has nothing to do with that.

        Either way, I know it takes time to develop apps and I don’t expect anything. But I’m also not going to switch to Android just to volunteer my own time.