OpenStreetMap Data Update

[+DougPeterson]

This might be directed to someone at GC.com. I was wondering when a regular schedule of data updates would start for the Geocaching OSM map. When it first came on line I checked to see how current the data was. It looked to be about four months old. This was based on checking to see if updates I had made were there.

 

I checked today going back about four months and it does not look like updates have occurred yet. User contributions are really the point of OSM. A substantial portion of the updates I make to OSM are geocaching related so I would like to see broader benefit for them.

[+Viajero Perdido]

Ditto that.

 

OSM improvements are happening at a fast and furious pace, so a lack of updates is getting noticeable. Remember the biggest problem with the old MapQuest maps (besides suddenly charging)? Same thing.

[Frau Potter]

Thanks for the question.

 

We will update the map regularly (about once a month), but will not begin these regular updates until early 2017.

 

Cindy / Frau Potter

[+Viajero Perdido]

That's good to know. Thanks!

 

Of course, the mappers amongst us probably already know we can choose from the OSM options on the big map if we want to see the updates sooner. Like OpenCycleMap (~1 week), or OSM Default (a few minutes). But for general consumption on the cache page and/or app, once a month sounds reasonable.

 

(I have to wait 2-3 months between updates of the offline maps I use - OpenAndroMaps - and because it's my own changes I'm waiting to see and use in the field, the wait can be excruuuuuuciating at times. But we mappers are an edge case...)

[+The A-Team]

We will update the map regularly (about once a month), but will not begin these regular updates until early 2017.

 

Cindy / Frau Potter

Great news! I look forward to seeing the map get some updates. I've made lots of changes in my area since the map was released.

 

Is there any word on the possibility of adding/changing features in the style based on the feedback in the Release Notes discussion here? The style isn't all that useful in its current state and I've avoided using it for now, but I'd start using it if some of those critical features were added/updated.

Edited December 13, 2016 by The A-Team

[+DougPeterson]

(I have to wait 2-3 months between updates of the offline maps I use - OpenAndroMaps - and because it's my own changes I'm waiting to see and use in the field, the wait can be excruuuuuuciating at times. But we mappers are an edge case...)

 

I make my own maps using PBF files downloaded from Geofabrik then processed by Osmosis and MapWriter.

[+Viajero Perdido]

We will update the map regularly (about once a month), but will not begin these regular updates until early 2017.

I'd settle for "first half of...".

 

I just realized there are over 13 months of OSM updates behind the dam, waiting to be released to eager cachers.

 

If your update algorithm is based on diffs, I wish you luck. (How sturdy is the spillway?)

Edited May 14, 2017 by Viajero Perdido

[+Viajero Perdido]

I'd settle for "sometime this year".

 

Mostly just curious because I use fresher maps of another style... Anything at all happening with this?

[Ben H]

I'd settle for "sometime this year".

 

Mostly just curious because I use fresher maps of another style... Anything at all happening with this?

 

Updating the OSM data is not a forgotten issue. We still intend to do so as soon as possible, but it has proven to be more squirrelly than anticipated as we work with a third party map server solution.

[+Viajero Perdido]

I appreciate the update and await with eager anticipation. (I suffer from cartophilia.)

 

If it's anything like the Mapbox style we had for a few days, or like OpenCycleMap (though the cycling emphasis of the latter is off-topic here), it should be pretty sweet.

 

Thanks and good luck.

[+hzoi]

(I suffer from cartophilia.)

I hear they've got a pill for that now.

[+The A-Team]

On ‎7‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 1:40 PM, Ben H said:

 

Updating the OSM data is not a forgotten issue. We still intend to do so as soon as possible, but it has proven to be more squirrelly than anticipated as we work with a third party map server solution.

Has there been any movement on this? I would have expected that "how to update the data" would be a core component of the documentation for a map rendering tool. Or, if you're paying for the product, you should be able to get some support from the provider? There have been significant changes in my area since the data was last updated in the spring of 2016, and there are still a number of rendering style changes that would greatly improve the usability of the map, so it would be nice to see the Trails map project be resurrected.

[Rock Chalk]

Sorry for the continued delay. We are still working on building out new maps. Once they are complete, we expect to be able to update maps once a month. So we don't expect this type of delay in the future.

[+The A-Team]

23 hours ago, Rock Chalk said:

Sorry for the continued delay. We are still working on building out new maps. Once they are complete, we expect to be able to update maps once a month. So we don't expect this type of delay in the future.

Thanks for the update. I find it interesting that you're working on new maps rather than reconfiguring the "Trails" map. I have many questions about that, but I expect the company probably doesn't want to go into detail about business decisions in a public forum, so I'll keep them to myself.

[+Viajero Perdido]

Bumping this old thread with an update...

 

I'm glad to see that the map does seem to be getting regular updates now.  Updates I made after my November trip to Seoul are now live on the cache pages*.  Yay! 

 

And while I have your attention...  A minor bug report.  I've noticed that in some areas, topo contours are missing.  For example, half of this screen:

https://www.geocaching.com/map/default.aspx?lat=22.27355&lng=114.149833#?ll=22.38698,113.99984&z=16

No big deal for me, as I generally use other maps.

 

Another example, other side of the planet, much closer to home for me:

https://www.geocaching.com/map/#?ll=53.34032,-113.90746&z=16

 

(* Well, if you scroll in one notch with that little "+" thingy, so trails show up.)

 

Edited March 27, 2019 by Viajero Perdido

[+DougPeterson]

So will there be a time that regular updates are made, even once or twice a year? Updates I have made from at least a year ago have yet to show up. I didn't go back further to figure out when the last update was made.

[+The A-Team]

On ‎5‎/‎26‎/‎2020 at 4:20 AM, DougPeterson said:

So will there be a time that regular updates are made, even once or twice a year? Updates I have made from at least a year ago have yet to show up. I didn't go back further to figure out when the last update was made.

 

There were fairly regular updates for a little while, but it looks like those have stopped. I just went back to compare against my edits, and the last update was sometime between June 7 and July 6, 2019.

 

@Geocaching HQ: Is there a technical issue that stopped these updates from occurring?

[+Viajero Perdido]

I've had an update from July 12, 2019 sneak through.

One from Sept 9, 2019 update didn't.