It always takes a few minutes for the map to render the updates (and often requires you to clear the cache: on the browser at least). For the routing to take the new path into consideration, it usually takes about a day or something, so I wouldn't be waiting for that; just try again tomorrow and it should work. ;)

Because there's no routable path there, and if there's no indication of such a path being there, it should not be mapped. There's cases of informal paths @roux2scour@jlai.lu's picture describes, and may be tagged with "informal=yes". Other than that, I'm not aware of any routing services, which would behave like you'd want them to. The path of the starting point also seems raised (as being on a hill), compared to the endpoint; so I'm not sure how desirable this particular case would be, even if it were to be supported.

Generally the rule of thumb is: if a service (including one focused on privacy and/or security) actively advertises itself (which Proton does a lot: especially through content creator sponsor-deals), be extremely wary. I was once also considering migrating to Proton, but luckily tried integrating the account into Thunderbird first; which led me to second-guess Proton's intentions. It really didn't sit well with me, they're baiting users into (over-)committing to their service, encrypt their (primary) mailbox's contents, and as a result paywall the process of data-migration (including to third-party email clients).

I instead went with a humble Disroot mailbox (I make a yearly donation to), and use fully separate Proton addresses as effective aliases: as I'm not interested in them being associated to my personal email anyway. Other than that, I've simply integrated all email accounts (I care about) into Thunderbird. For the big-tech accounts, I've backed-up their contents in Thunderbird, re-imported them locally (to be able to search them), and deleted all contents from the servers. I've changed the email of more important services to the Disroot account, and listen for any others I might've forgotten, on the empty big-tech accounts (which rarely receive anything).

For password managers I've always used KeePassXC: synced across devices by having the (encrypted) database on Google Drive, and later synced locally using Syncthing. The KeePassXC-Browser extension does the filling on the browser, and I've always used Keepass2Android for mobile (through the keyboard). Nowadays I just use my laptop for anything requiring login, and rarely use secondary (mobile) devices to begin with: eliminating the need for cross-device syncing altogether. The KeePass database lives on my secondary hard drive, and make sure to create backups periodically (which also goes for Thunderbird contents).

Limiting the services you depend upon also helps tremendously, so that even if all passwords are lost, you rarely feel affected. I'm confident I could lose 99% of my passwords, and wouldn't care whatsoever. In fact, I've effectively been through that process already (when changing all recursive passwords to stronger, unique ones: through the "forgot your password?" fields), and could easily do it for important services once more. The most valuable piece of advice I could give, is to identify the important parts, and start from there. If you care enough for the emails effectively held ransom by Proton, perhaps configure the bridge once and extract the data; never to return.

Yeah, I'm really wondering how many, of these 'Business 2 Business/Government (B2B/B2G) "solutions", are hiding in plain sight. Researching 'smart cities' led me to tech100.pro, back then listing: videtics.com/en/integrations, showing Genetec as a partner. Ultimately, it's just a matter of knowing what to search for: it all right there, just not marketing itself to you and I, but to organizations instead.

I've sunken way too much time into writing this haha. But I figured it important enough

If that's the only way you're going to contribute to OSM, by all means, go for it. But as a desktop OSM editor, I really dislike some of the incentives pushed by mobile applications. Primarily not adding objects as polygons (as it would be difficult to draw on such devices), but adding them as POIs (parking, amenities, etc.) and paths (waterways for instance: where paths are often used for just naming, or as water"ways", like for marine traffic). This often leads me to correct these changes, as they really stand out compared to the rest of the map. So generally, I view these tools as complementary, rather than final changes; unless it's changes to POIs or something, which is where these applications shine, in my opinion.

I personally quite like OsmAnd's granular control, but understand how others might experience this as being overwhelming; which big-tech's restrictive... I mean "modern" user-experience (UX) might be to blame for. There are however quite some alternatives to pick from, if you wanted a more minimalist approach to UX; which OsmAnd could also provide by default (while allowing advanced users to toggle additional "expert" settings).

What makes Google "Maps" superior to OSM-based maps, is not its inferior "map", but rather the navigational aspect: businesses and other 'points of interests' (POIs) registering their location to Google, public transit data being supplied to it (allowing for planning), traffic statistics (through creepy location tracking, even in the background unless opted out), etc.; and bundles all into a single, undeniably convenient application.

I would argue OSM data is primarily mass imports, from other permissive or open (government) databases; which are strongly dependent on region. For The Netherlands: BAG (basic registration of addresses and buildings) and BGT (basic registration of large-scale topography), make up a large portion of the data presented (which are either directly imported or used as a reference). Although, relative to real-world changes they might temporarily lack behind, and users add details based on satellite imagery.

Regarding satellite imagery: editors don't always have up-to-date imagery, leading to some users undoing changes others have made. In The Netherlands, the government provides relatively recent satellite imagery: which can be imported into the alternative JOSM editor as an WMTS layer. And you may also want to check the comments of the last change: in OSM's own iD editor you can click the "last modified ..." link, all the way at the bottom of the "Edit object" tab, for the selected object.

Another thing I would really recommend, is checking how other mappers have added certain features. Which is sometimes easier to understand than OSM's documentation; which doesn't always correspond to practice (possibly dependent on region). A very useful tool for this is Overpass Turbo, which you can use to search for certain elements, to see how others have implemented these.

I know this might all feel a little overwhelming, but I wish I had known these things earlier in my mapping journey. I started doing it because I noticed things missing, that I knew existed as a mailman. Just starting with smaller changes to get my feet wet, and gradually working my way to larger changes. As long as you don't start taring up large roads (including their often many relationships), you'll be just fine; and might even become hooked (as it can be quite satisfying, having created another beautiful part).

Great, more hoops to jump thr... I mean... an "advanced flow", for gaining the privilege of installing apps of your choosing

With "deletion" you're simply advancing the moment, they're supposedly "deleting" your data; something I refuse to believe, they actually do. Instead, I suspect they "anonymize", or effectively "pseudonymize" the data (as cross-referencing is trivial, when showing equal patterns on a new account; would the need arise). Stagnation wouldn't require services to take such steps, and any personal data remains connected to you, personally.

For the Gmail account, I would recommend: not deleting the account, opening an account at a privacy-respecting service (using Disroot as an example), connect the Gmail account to an email-client (like Thunderbird), copy all its contents (including 'sent' or other specific folders) to a local folder (making sure to back these up periodically), delete all contents from the Gmail server, and simply wait for incoming messages, at the now empty Gmail account.

If a worthy email comes in: copy it over to the local folder, and delete it from the Gmail server. For used services, you could change the contact address to the Disroot account, and for others you could delete them, or simply mark them as spam (and periodically emptying the spam-folder). You may not want to wait for privacy-sensitive services, to finally make an appearance, and change these over to the Disroot address right away.

I've been doing this for years now, and my big-tech accounts remain empty most of the time. Do make sure to transfer every folder, and make regular backups!

Can't image what that must be like, that sound difficult...

Great article! "education" ... "risk assessments" ... "early intervention" ... Got to break their spirit while they're young

Why would governments, or any other organization, want to buy an entire pole assembly? If it was just an IoT device that could easily be implemented into existing infrastructure, I'd consider it a lot more compelling. Seems like just another "Smart City" startup, selling a dystopian sales-pitch; because that seems to sell these days... :)