Lots of people are feeling hopeless and upset right now, and for good reason. It’s normal to feel like no matter what you do, things are going to get much worse for a lot of people. Blame, despair and anger are natural reactions, but as the shock of the situation dulls, what’s your plan going forward?
Call me naive, but seeing hate have a resurgence makes me want to do more to help the people that are going to suffer the most. I’m going to make a plan to volunteer more of my time and resources to help organizations that need it. I’m going to see if my friends can organize with me to sponsor a migrant family. I may not be able to do much, but my personal way of coping with shitty situations is to try to make the world a little less shitty.
I’m going to try to be kinder and more forgiving with people, and be a better role model for my kids. And I’m going to resist and fight back against hate when I see it.
Lastly, I’m going to be a more supportive friend to the people in my life. And to anyone reading this that feels like this world’s gone insane, and you’re all alone: you’re not. We’re still in this together, and I appreciate everything you’re doing.
Can you please ELI5 how I could contribute?
I want to atleast give inputs about my own apartment building and various office/friends place where I frequently travel.
I think the easiest way to get started is StreetComplete: https://streetcomplete.app/
It will show you places in your vicinity where information is missing, like opening hours of shops, or the existence of ramps at stairs, and you can provide them in a really simple interface. You can filter out questions you don’t like to answer as well.
Is it okay to search information on Google maps and bring it over to OSM?
To verify, yes.
It’s against Google Maps’ ToS (Terms of Service) however to use its exact coordinates for anything outside of Google Maps. This is mostly to prevent others from using exact information (map or otherwise,) and then compete against them.
Sure thing.
On OpenStreetMap (OSM) there are four main things you can do.
Mapping: Trace features like roads, buildings, waterways, and land use from satellite imagery
Editing: Update existing map data to reflect changes, such as new roads or buildings.
Validation: Check and correct errors in the map data to ensure accuracy and completeness.
Tagging: Add detailed information to map features, such as names, types, and other attributes.
All of these can be achieved via OSM’s web app.
Here is the Beginners’ guide if you want more info.
I’d be willing to answer your questions if you had any. And I’m sure others that map edit for OSM would be willing to do the same.