As the title states. I really want to like and use open source maps, but it seems that whatever database they are pulling from is pretty bad and incomplete overall. You also have to put the exact name, as it is in the system, otherwise it will not come up.
Just to use a really simple and well known example, after downloading the appropriate maps for this search, if I search for “the liberty bell”, the first four results are either roads or businesses near me, then the liberty bell museum in Allentown (which btw is permanently closed), and then the liberty bell center, then the liberty bell center again for some reason, and then finally the actual liberty bell itself. There are also suggestions down the list that no longer exist, such as the liberty bell pavilion. So this is clearly outdated data that is being used.
The suggested searches are also nonsense, only taking the last word into account, i.e suggesting “belles ave”, “bellgrove rd”, etc, rather than “liberty bell center”, which would be the most logical suggestion for that search.
Why is this so bad, and what needs to happen to make it better?
I’m adding businesses to OSM all the time. In fact, whenever I encounter any business (clothes shop, cafe, etc) that is not yet on OSM, I usually add it right away. Including business hours, WiFi presence (I wish I could mark non-availability of WiFi by the way), phone number and web address.
Searching is another thing though. If I’ve already been to the place, then it’s already on OSM (see above), so finding it is relatively easy. Also, I bookmark frequent places as well. If I’m searching for a new place and the first few seconds on CoMaps aren’t helpful, I honestly just open Google Maps in a browser. My stubbornness aside, if you want the more results, and most relevant results, it’s better. After I find the place I navigate via CoMaps again because for bike/pedestrian navigation, it’s better.