Yep - we've just started getting some traction. I would expect that we'll have Europe from 1800-2021 done within a few months. Perhaps you would like to join in?
Separately, missing data is different from inaccurate data, no? I'm sure we have many inaccuracies, as well, but we're working to fix those.
Tell us more - is having to sign in to edit a barrier? Should we rethink that? (also, I've made a note to fix that... I believe that was from an old ThinkQuest dataset. TY!)
There's a lot of great work in Wikimedia commons, but I think there are 2 primary / very common issues:
* Format - many of these maps are .svg or illustrator-created images with no projection information, which makes data extraction very difficult. This is why we're trying to share with GIS-formatted data, so people can do with it what they'd like.
* Sourcing - very often, a map is depicted with a source of "own work". That, unfortunately, really isn't good enough & we're trying to source all objects in OHM. What's scary is that putting something in Wikimedia almost ensures wide propagation as "fact", even if it lacks a source. Here's an example... the base map is sourced, but where did this red line come from? It appears to be hand-drawn on a map... who drew it? How'd they get that outline? https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Comancheria.jpg
Well... coastlines are handled in a deep, dark, arcane part of OSM planet and data processing, but you're right. Rivers, on the other hand should be straightforward to change. We'll have some cleaned up examples in the near future.
You're right on. I've asked many for shapefiles of the world's historical boundaries & some do exist, but are often encumbered by copyrights / licensing that add friction to sharing. Our goal is to have as much CC0 data as possible, although we have added some CC-BY-SA-NC data. All data is copyright / license marked at the object level, with no label defaulting to CC0.
Thanks, @tda!! That's a very kind and optimistic post. I think everyone in the OHM community is working with good intents to create a rich resource available for easy reuse and download.
You hit the nail on the head about trying to combine various different geo/temporal efforts to provide greater context of world history.
Our tagging system is like OSM's - very flexible - with all the strengths and weaknesses that offers. And, the tagging system has limitations that we're currently working through & around.
One strength is that any object (node, way, relation in OSM-speak) can have multiple sources. e.g. source:1=url1, source:2=url2, etc.
And, tagging areas as disupted=yes is pretty straightforward.
bit.ly/disputedUSA
We have yet to hit any sensitive areas of debate, but I imagine that will happen in the not too distant future. OHM's system is inherently vulnerable to vandalism, but the goal is to allow conflicting perspectives to coexist, as long as they are sourced.
I think this is a pretty key question that also applies to any effort by any other commercial provider. The detail in the historical models in EU4, any of Ubisoft's games, etc., is fantastic. I'd love to see any of them make stripped-down versions of their geodata available through open data licensing. Maybe there's something we've missed in the EU4 modding that could be of use? We'll take another look!
