Iván
It was my understanding that OSM may not have been originally designed
with this in mind. (And my wording and typing may be awkward after the
little sleep I have had in the past week.) Yet it makes it possible,
easy and quick. And with all the maps/apps build on it, someone will
quickly make this look good.
Of course, people who develop special apps will know better whether this
idea can be useful for them.
But, for example, the message about the Milot hospital being waiting for
patients had already been forwarded to the CrisisMappers list several
days ago. And it was last sent again this morning...
If someone had thought about this possibility the first time, the info
could have been on OSM map 5 minutes later. And with the growing uses
that OSM is experiencing, someone in a relevant logistic place would
have been bound to pick it up. Especially if they had been warned of
this possibility.
Every time I listen to a news flash, I hear that logistics in Haiti is a
nightmare.
So please do not reject a usage that could turn out to be useful just
because you consider that OSM was "not designed for it".
From a technical point of view, this kind of info weighs nothing
compared with the imagery and cartographic data that OSM is handling.
But from a relief point of view, it may be vital.
So I'd say : if everybody is needing a central billboard where they can
pin their localized notes themselves, why not let it be known that OSM
can do it ? Especially if they already have it with them on their GPS or
iPhones...
And let people decide whether it is useful for them or not.
Regards,
Jean-Guilhem
"OSM, the Wikipedia of Maps"
Iván Sánchez Ortega a écrit :
El Viernes, 22 de Enero de 2010, Jean-Guilhem Cailton escribió:
What do you think of this suggestion folks ?
I haven't taken the time to see whether this use of the database to
forward help requests is mentioned anywhere on OSM wiki.
Well, OSM was never designed as a note-passing platform. OSM is meant to
represent the physical features of a base map, i.e. "what's on the ground
right now".
If you want to add requests for whatever, I'd say "go to ushaidi".
(Anyway, there is going to be a laaaarge amount of OSM training to be done
when this crisis is over)
Cheers,
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