Dan's work on automating this process is so cool to see. If anyone is interested in learning more about Sanborns, I can't recommend OldInsuranceMaps.net enough. Hooray for mapping history :)
Yes! There are many similar projects[0] that we drew inspiration from. I hope to set Yesterdays apart in terms of our crowdsourcing toolset, tight integration with OSM and Wikidata, and the relationships we are building with libraries and museums that hold these collections.
I'll have to check out your Substack, it sounds right up my alley!
Yeah, there's a lot more I want to do in terms of date filtering. There is a timeline filter available on the map page, but I'm thinking it needs to be more intuitive. Thanks for checking out the site!
That is the goal! I've been amazed at what we have uncovered on my block. Lots of unlabeled photos that end up filling in historical details of how the city has changed.
Hey OroPla, thanks for your comment. I agree I have work to do in terms of making the site more approachable to new users. I'd really value any ideas you have to that end.
Yesterdays is fully open-source, and while the production site runs in Kubernetes, the development setup in Docker Compose might meet your needs. If you ever wanted to talk through the process of running Yesterdays for your dad's collection, I'd be glad to help you with that.
Years ago I ended up on a page dedicated to explaining Laws of UX which has changed my outlook on design. Rather than trying to convey what I learned back then through text, I'll point you to the source directly:
Upon visiting the site, my initial state is one of being lost, followed by being overwhelmed where to explore first.
Going to "Browse" in the top left brings me to a page I can't make sense of, but that seem to be sources. I'd have expected sources somewhere in the footer.
Then I tried "Map", picked a random place to look at and found one picture context. That's when I originally gave up due to
I was hoping to find myself to a place with a timeline of what a certain building looked like ten, thirty and seventy years ago, but could not find such a thing.
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And as something actionable:
- "Browse" shouldn't lead to sources, but be down in the footer
- homepage could have an example of something with lots of pictures and show you the change over time without even clicking anything. The map is cool, but having it below the fold (you have to scroll) is unfortunate
It would be cool to have the map at the top taking about 20% of the height above the fold and have the other 80% show per default a place with many pictures and then adapt to what you click on the map. The recent activity tab doesn't have to be there and could be after "Search" and before "Docs" in the header navigation.
If you are in the U.S. please each out to OSMUS, they are amazing and can connect you with trail mapping resources. There is a vibrant community of folks keeping our trails mapped!
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