If this project was really all about data and not about maps then it should have been titled "Open Geodata". But, it's called Open Street Map and, aside from the nerds, most people think of geodata as, quite simply, maps. If the maps created from the data are unusable, then we have a problem.

This project will never appeal to the masses unless we manage to present the data in a way that ordinary people can use. The original diary entry, above, simply points out that the data is not yet in a form usable by jerks like me.

People are going to contribute to the platform that works for them. As things stand now, it is relatively easy to create a clickable map with custom POI's on Google Maps that you can embed in your web site. Google's GUI makes it simple. You can even include pictures and links in the popups all with simple pointing and clicking.

Accomplishing the same thing with OSM data and open layers is much, much harder. (But getting easier, thanks to sites like Easymap: )

To succeed, OSM needs tools for the masses.

Nice going. Keep it up. There's a big world out there.

Do you know how often the database of errors is updated? It would be nice to know how often to check back.

WMS and webkit are working, just not with Yahoo maps. I can get Landsat and a few other background layers, but not Yahoo. The JOSM WMS plugin wiki page says:

"Exception occurred red tiles
This can mean the WMS server is temporarily not available."

But I know that's not true because Merkaartor can download the Yahoo images.

There's something else going on, but darned if I can figure it out.

(harfner - I've got the exact URL for Yahoo as in your comment.)

Thank you very much for this. I see many errors in my own mapping. But, I'm not sure how to fix some of them. Maybe a little tutorial on how to fix common errors would be in order?