Clifford, thank you.
It looks a really good tool. And for the Scots amongst us, ideal. Come
to think of it, the Basques as well. Sadly no one in my part of the UK.
I'm no programmer but if a Githubber out there could create one for
me...?
But yes, I use all the things they suggest in DMs already, so it's good
to know I'm on the right track. I always welcome, make it clear I'm just
an ordinary mapper, and I point them to the wiki etc. And indeed as you
say, very few respond. Of those that don't respond but carry on mapping,
they do tend to 'need support with their work' shall we say which takes
more time in the end. It's a shame that we can't make the entry point
more welcoming, more probationary, more....nice. I can say that 100
percent of people I've mentioned the wiki to online say they have never
heard of it and didn't know there was help out there.
John, off out now to meet a newbie mapper who did reply!
------ Original Message ------
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected];
[email protected]
Sent: Friday, March 20th 2026, 20:15
Subject: Re: [Talk-GB] Reaching out
Check out welcome.osm.be <http://welcome.osm.be> . It is a great tool,
created by the Belgium community, to welcome new users in your area.
There are a number of already written welcome messages, or your can
create your own. I find that reviewing their first edits and offering
suggestions, plus sending a welcoming message is helpful. Most tips I
provide are just common things like squaring buildings, not
shortening street names, dragging nodes, etc. I fix the disruptive
issues, like dragged nodes, but encourage them to fix other issues like
buildings not being squared.
The message includes strong suggestions to use the wiki and to respond
to changeset comments. It also includes where they can reach out to the
local community.
Please understand, only a small percentage responds. But I believe it
helps grow the community.
The tool is documented on github
at https://github.com/osmbe/osm-welcome-tool
<https://github.com/osmbe/osm-welcome-tool> .
Best,
Clifford
On Fri, Mar 20, 2026 at 9:41 AM John Rowbotham via Talk-GB
<[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > wrote:
Thanks Andy.
Would anyone have ideas about ways to reach out positively to new
mappers. Is there a way/system/etiquette to greet newbies, without
being too intrusive but to be sociable and supportive?
Recently, I've shared messages with a new mapper who just wants to get
the right postcode on his house, and Google/Bing/GPO themselves aren't
listening. As a result I am doing a full survey of houses on a few mile
rural stretch of road which is blank on the map (well, a bit at a time
as I can only get there every few days). Obviously errors and poor
mapping/vandalism that needs calling out should be escalated to you fine
folks in DWG (and I have). But I believe we should try to encourage and
support new starters, especially local to us, and not just use the
critical methods if they do something wrong.
------ Original Message ------
From: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
To: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, March 20th 2026, 15:34
Subject: Re: [Talk-GB] Reaching out
On 18/03/2026 13:27, John Rowbotham via Talk-GB wrote:
I've used the messaging service and I've used 'comment on changeset' of
course. I do wonder though if they are using mobile apps whether that
these messages ever reach them?
It depends on the mapper and on the app. Some people these days tend to
sign up to apps with "throwaway email addresses" (because of
the volume of spam and "offers" that you'll get from most
commercial sites). Without the specifics of a particular message it's
difficult to comment.
If someone is persistently ignoring all comments (and you can see that
by looking at a third-party site such as
https://resultmaps.neis-one.org/osm-discussion-comments?uid=61942
<https://resultmaps.neis-one.org/osm-discussion-comments?uid=61942> )
then you can ask the DWG to send them a "message that they have to
read before continuing to edit". That doesn't stop them editing,
although they do have to read the message first. To ask the DWG to do
this email [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> with
as many details as possible about what is happening.
Best Regards,
Andy (from the DWG)
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--
@glassman.bsky.social
www.snowandsnow.us <https://www.snowandsnow.us>
OpenStreetMap: Maps with a human touch
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