Grants:IdeaLab/OSMdata: a Wikidata-like editor for OpenStreetMap
Project idea
Create a Wikidata-like new editor for OpenStreetMap (OSM) using a MediaWiki + Wikibase install
What is the problem you're trying to solve?
Increase content on OpenStreetMap (we can reuse that), test Wikidata to 100x scale, spread Wikibase to other projects.
What is your solution?
Currently Wikidata hosts more than 43M statements[1]. On the other hand OpenStreetMap has 2.7 billion objects (nodes, ways and relations) in it[2]. Every object in OpenStreetMap has some features which are expressed using key-value pairs, for example to say that this relation is named "Colosseum" you have to add to it the following data: name=Colosseo. Analogously Wikidata uses properties and values to enrich its items.
The idea is to use a MediaWiki + Wikibase install to build a tag editor for OpenStreetMap. Every object in OSM could be reference in OSMdata using OSM id and object type as identifier such that, for example:
- openstreetmap.org/node/428339558 becomes item N428339558
- openstreetmap.org/way/5013364 becomes item W5013364
- openstreetmap.org/relation/1834818 becomes R1834818
The benefits of such an endeavour are:
- Providing a tool to the community of OSM, a free/libre/open project whose data are going to be used in Wikimedia projects. (This is aligned with the Wikimedia Foundation annual plan[3] and to the subsequent job opening for two map/geo engineers[4].);
- OSM will benefit from the improvements made to Wikibase (e.g. RDF export), using a MediaWiki install a new pool of developers (which is today familiar with wikis) can start collaborating with OpenStreetMap;
- Increase collaboration among the two project using the well-known interface of MediaWiki+Wikibase;
- Increasing reuse of MediaWiki and Wikibase, and developing another big project where they are in use thus strengthening their ecosystem;
- Testing Wikibase to a scale of 60x its current size;
References
- ↑ Wikidata stats on WMFlabs by Magnus
- ↑ 2.5 billion of which are points, see OSM data stats
- ↑ Wikimedia_Foundation Proposal form to the FDC round 2 2013/2014
- ↑ [1]
Goals
The main goal is to develop a Wikidata-like editor for OpenStreetMap.
To do so we need a system that:
- can synchronize with OSM databases (both in read and write)
- allows to login using OSM Oauth
OpenStreetMap already offer the minutely diffs that can be used to keep up to the a copy of the OSM databases.
To get to this point we need to:
- extend the functionality of Wikibase such that it is possible to say item with different label other than Qxxx (to get Nxxx, Wxxx, Rxxx)
- develop a MediaWiki extension to use OpenStreetMap login on a MediaWiki install (see for reference Extension:TwitterLogin)