AlonealastalovedalongtheOpenstreetmap is reaching the point that it is just more information rich and beautiful than google maps and that is awesome
yin yang yoink@Alonealastalovedalongthe map shouldn't be information-rich, it should be readable. For example, cars don't need pedestrian pathways. OSM default render style is way behind than commercial apps on that.
Good point, but there in lies the problem. There isn't necessarily money in making and maintaining an information rich, beautiful map for purposes other than navigation.
One of the reasons I see so much potential in openstreetmaps is there is so much more potential in maps than just navigation and search. Yes those are the main commercial opportunities in mapping (that we know of now) but I think we are just scratching the surface of what digital maps can be.
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The act of a community crafting a map that represents it reaches down into the roots of the creation of that community itself.
I see a little kernel of this in how parks, the most literal of community spaces, are often very precisely mapped on openstreetmap whereas on google maps they are more of a background feature.
From google's perspective parks are the spaces between businesses but to openstreetmap mappers they are an obvious valuable thing to map.
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