Defaults: Ask building height/levels and roof type before number

[hamishmb]

Use case
I often add data to OSM while travelling as a passenger. For this use case, I can almost never match house number to what I see on the map quickly enough, but I often can do building heights and roof types.

For those on foot, being asked the questions in this order shouldn't make any meaningful difference, I think.

Proposed Solution
Ask for the height/levels and roof type first.

[Helium314]

Is there any reason why you don't just re-order the quests, or create a preset for use as passenger, where house number quest is disabled or at lower priority?

[hamishmb]

That's exactly what I did - I'm proposing changing the default

[westnordost]

Hmm, while building levels and especially roof type may often easily be seen from afar (e.g. in suburbs), in many cases it may actually be very difficult to answer or not answerable at all: For high buildings in a (narrow) street, you can't really see the roof.

So, if these quests are sorted in front of the housenumber, your inability to solve the quest right now (without walking away a good distance so that you can maybe see the roof) blocks your ability to solve the housenumber quest. The housenumber quest, unlike those mentioned above, should always be solvable.

[hamishmb]

That's a good point.

Perhaps we could add some default presets instead then?

[westnordost]

I fear adding more default presets would be a barrel without bottom. There have been many tickets about this before, without result, because everyone seems to have a different idea what default presets there should be and what should be in it. I'm sorry, I can't find the last ticket about this now, maybe it has been closed.

[Helium314]

I think that was the more or less same thing we already had before presets were implemented: what can the user solve (on foot / bicycle / car / train...) vs what does the user want to solve (focus on bicycle / car / accessibility...)

[mnalis]

• one of the relatively recent issues was Create predefined Quest Presets #3981
• but yeah, there are conflicting wishes. Some people (like me 😃) don't really care about mostly useless map information like roof types at all, but find address information extremely valuable. So GOOD default profile in my opinion would be to get rid of roof types by default at all, instead of making them the priority. Obviously, it is unlikely to reconcile the sides here.
• Luckily, with the inclusion of Config via URL / QR-Code #4537 in next major version, everyone can publish their own "best profile" and lobby people to use that one! (to paraphrase popular quote about standards: "the best thing about defaults is that there are so many of them to choose from!").

[mnalis]

I often add data to OSM while travelling as a passenger. For this use case, I can almost never match house number to what I see on the map quickly enough, but I often can do building heights and roof types.

So make a preset for traveling in a car/bus/train which has deselected/deprioritezed quests you're unlikely to be able to solve. I do. It solves exactly that problem. When #4537 goes live, I'll even be able to share it with you ❤️ !

For those on foot, being asked the questions in this order shouldn't make any meaningful difference, I think.

But it does, and hugely. I prefer to solve quests which contribute actually useful information to the openstreetmap. If worthlessless useful quest have priority, I won't have time (without stopping and wasting time, which I'd absolutely want to avoid) to solve important quests (as I would have used that precious time on previous non-important quests!)

Note that it seems that users on foot are first-class citizens in SC and considerations of mappers using all other types of transport come second.

[hamishmb]

I think that's all very reasonable. I think #4537 renders this question completely irrelevant. I'll be happy to share my configs once that is in a stable release.