I want to be able to search for what I'm looking for in OSM, in plain language, without needing to navigate OSM categories and subcategories.
If I'm in a place, I want to search for "Mexican food" or "bike shop" or "movie theatre", and I want the tool I'm using to parse what I'm looking for based on my input. It can then do the extra steps to select the OSM categories and subcategories and build the query. If it incorrectly parses my input, there is some simple error handling. Perhaps this can include suggestions in the input bar while I am inputting -- giving me a chance to clarify and correct. (For example, if you input "pool bar", the input bar could show suggestions below giving me a chance to clarify what I'm looking for -- in the "swimming pool" category, or in the "billiards" category, or in the "bar/pub" category.)
This is compatible with the existing search functions, which could perhaps be presented as an "Advanced Search" in the menu. Here are some screenshots showing what this could look like.
A UI change like this could also free up a lot of space in the UI to show more of the map, which is especially useful when on mobile -- and as a user, one of the main ways I want to use OpenStreetBrowser to access OSM data is on my mobile phone, when out and about.
Finally, perhaps these UI changes could go in a different application (or a separate domain like beta.openstreetbrowser.org), if there are legacy or ongoing community reasons to keep the OpenStreetBrowser UI as is -- including the "News" category, which is not as relevant for end users who are mainly interested in using OpenStreetBrowser to find points of interest from OSM near them.
I want to be able to search for what I'm looking for in OSM, in plain language, without needing to navigate OSM categories and subcategories.
If I'm in a place, I want to search for "Mexican food" or "bike shop" or "movie theatre", and I want the tool I'm using to parse what I'm looking for based on my input. It can then do the extra steps to select the OSM categories and subcategories and build the query. If it incorrectly parses my input, there is some simple error handling. Perhaps this can include suggestions in the input bar while I am inputting -- giving me a chance to clarify and correct. (For example, if you input "pool bar", the input bar could show suggestions below giving me a chance to clarify what I'm looking for -- in the "swimming pool" category, or in the "billiards" category, or in the "bar/pub" category.)
This is compatible with the existing search functions, which could perhaps be presented as an "Advanced Search" in the menu. Here are some screenshots showing what this could look like.
A UI change like this could also free up a lot of space in the UI to show more of the map, which is especially useful when on mobile -- and as a user, one of the main ways I want to use OpenStreetBrowser to access OSM data is on my mobile phone, when out and about.
Finally, perhaps these UI changes could go in a different application (or a separate domain like beta.openstreetbrowser.org), if there are legacy or ongoing community reasons to keep the OpenStreetBrowser UI as is -- including the "News" category, which is not as relevant for end users who are mainly interested in using OpenStreetBrowser to find points of interest from OSM near them.