Online maps suck

[renard_ruse]

Growing up a was a map fanatic, you know those old paper things with all the lines and symbols on them. Maps were one of my first loves. Atlases and globes were a close second and third. I had, and still have a collection of hundreds of maps and dozens of atlases. Yet I've tried to be open minded about the replacement of real maps with online maps. I will even say that the Google satellite maps are interesting in a voyeuristic sort of way. Spying into your neighbors backyards is kind of cool. But, let's be perfectly honest, they are simply NOT a real replacement for old school maps, especially road and highway maps (for city street maps its more debatable but I still don't think they're as good as the old paper ones).

These digital maps simply do not convey the same types of information. They generally don't show what type of road it is and they don't have as many symbols for things. In short they lack a lot of information, or they make you zoom in a dozen times to find it and then its often confusing to figure out.

Most people seem to love them, or at least prefer to use them. One study showed that people today use online maps and map apps far more than they ever used paper maps "back in the day." However, we have lost something as a culture when we try to replace the artistry of traditional map making with satellite based images that try to represent everything. What made a map a map was the art of selecting what to include and how to represent it. The cartographer was an artist and the paper map a work of art. That's been lost, and sadly nobody seems to care.

 

[neci]

not too long ago, i stopped at a gas station to pick up a map. the only map they had was on the wall and had a bunch of holes poked through it. the next time i saw maps, i picked up three. there's a detailed road map book, but it wasn't in the car. somehow road maps are eaten alive in the car.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Good riddance to a dead, outdated "art" that was never up to date and needed to be replaced annualy at great expense.

 

[renard_ruse]

not too long ago, i stopped at a gas station to pick up a map. the only map they had was on the wall and had a bunch of holes poked through it. the next time i saw maps, i picked up three. there's a detailed road map book, but it wasn't in the car. somehow road maps are eaten alive in the car.

Its very hard to find traditional highway maps anymore. AAA still makes them, but I've never thought theirs were particularly good. I always thought Goshua was the best, but they are out of business now. Rand McNally still puts out a road atlas, but I think that's about it.

 

[renard_ruse]

This message is hidden because Sean_Retard is on your ignore list

 

[BotanyBoy]

"I want my lines and paper back!!"

RR you're a fucking dino, it's never going back to "The good ol' days" which weren't all that great....go eat some more paint chips you fucking moron.

 

[renard_ruse]

"I want my lines and paper back!!"

RR you're a fucking dino, it's never going back to "The good ol' days" which weren't all that great....go eat some more paint chips you fucking moron.

There is room for both, and clearly a need. The point of the thread is that the online maps aren't even real maps and don't convey the same types of information as traditional maps. The average person doesn't even seem to realize this.

 

[renard_ruse]

If they had traditional maps in digitized form that would be ok, but that's not what online maps are. For example, from Google maps you can't tell whether a highway is a two lane road or a divided dual carriageway with semi-limited access, nor is it clear if its a dirt or gravel road. They don't even seem to have a key (or its not readily found).

Don't even get me started on the directions they give. What dumbass needs a computer to tell them which route to take. You've got to be a complete moron not to be able to look at a map and figure it out for yourself. Half the routes they give aren't even the best and never the most scenic.

 

[renard_ruse]

Modern people are a bunch of dopes who need GPS to tell them to "turn right in 500 feet, turn right in 400 feet, turn right in 300 feet, turn right 200 feet...," the average person is a complete moron. They don't deserve to live in a society with real maps. They deserve to rot in this pseudo-map hell.

 

[Sean Renaud]

Actually the online maps not only can tell you that, but they can tell you if there is traffic or construction on the road at the time. They are always up to date so if you're friend lives on a new street you don't need to go by a new map to find out about it.

 

[SkAoUt]

What I like about digital maps are the updates. Especially the ease of figuring out backcountry dirt roads/logging roads/single track trails and shit like that. Also its easier to have a route preprogrammed into a gps than to carry a bunch of paper maps especially when on a motorcycle.

 

[ms_ann_thrope]

The gps in my car is circa 2004. You'd be surprised how many roads have changed since then.

 

[Sean Renaud]

The gps in my car is circa 2004. You'd be surprised how many roads have changed since then.

Yours doesn't automatically link into a satelite and update? Mine's an 05 model and it does that. Gives me traffic updates, alternate routes and construction if there is any.

 

[phrodeau]

There's a map company in my neighborhood I'm sure you'd appreciate. Here's a link to their map of the world as it relates to Santa Claus.

http://www.hedbergmaps.com/store/catalog/10051

 

[ms_ann_thrope]

Yours doesn't automatically link into a satelite and update? Mine's an 05 model and it does that. Gives me traffic updates, alternate routes and construction if there is any.

No. The dvd is like 200 bucks. If it came with the voice of the Star Trek computer I might consider it.

 

[BotanyBoy]

There is room for both, and clearly a need. The point of the thread is that the online maps aren't even real maps and don't convey the same types of information as traditional maps. The average person doesn't even seem to realize this.

Such as? I can get you topographical, road, trail even military maps online that are accurate enough to put a 2000lb bomb up someones ass without ever seeing them.

WTF....are you talking aobut?

 

[renard_ruse]

Such as? I can get you topographical, road, trail even military maps online that are accurate enough to put a 2000lb bomb up someones ass without ever seeing them.

WTF....are you talking aobut?

Google maps, MapQuest, that crap.

And anyway, maps just aren't about functionality, that's part of the point of the thread. They are an art form.

 

[ms_ann_thrope]

Like the drawings of sea monsters at the end of the earth disc.

 

[BotanyBoy]

Google maps, MapQuest, that crap.

Oh so SOME online maps suck...well duh...some paper maps suck.

And anyway, maps just aren't about functionality, that's part of the point of the thread. They are an art form.

For some...I suppose.

The other 99.999999% of the time it's all about functionality.

 

[Jani715]

I like all the monsters that old maps had on them. My iphone should have those included

 

[Sean Renaud]

Google maps, MapQuest, that crap.

And anyway, maps just aren't about functionality, that's part of the point of the thread. They are an art form.

Do you still want Calligraphy taught in school?

 

[Joeybagadonuts]

Holly shit!...I agree with renard. I prefer that map to the GPS. I feel more in control of the drive when I've looked at the map and I know what signs I'm looking for. The GPS is great if all else fails.

 

[Weird Harold]

Holly shit!...I agree with renard.

I don't totally agree with him, but I've never had the battery go dead with a paper map.

 

[Joeybagadonuts]

I don't totally agree with him, but I've never had the battery go dead with a paper map.

Hey Harold, it's good to see your smiling face.

 

[thirty]

Not only maps, we have less and less paper books too.