Outdated Locations
As Satoshi Nakamoto clearly stated, Bitcoin is an electronic cash system, and the best way to accelerate Bitcoin adoption is to create a circular enomomy.
Having a map of all participating merchants is how we can bootstrap new regions. All bitcoiners should be able to find each other and trade goods and services without touching the fiat infrastructure. That's what we're working on, and we need your help.
Nothing lasts forever, and our merchants are no exception. Some shops may go out of business or just move across the street. That's why we need to check them from time to time. We're attempting to check every merchant at least once per year, and we can't do it without the help of local bitcoiners.
If you want to help us accelerate Bitcoin adoption, please read this simple step-by-step guide:
1. Find a Merchant on BTC Map
Let's say you're living in (or visiting) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and you want to check the merchants nearby:
It looks like this cafe accepts Bitcoins, and the last verification date is 2024-01-28. In order to re-verify this place, you need to open it on OpenStreetMap. Click on the "Edit" button, you will need to create a OSM account if you don't already have one.
2. Update Merchant Details on OpenStreetMap
In the location editor:
Check that all fields are valid and accurate. If some fields are outdated or false, please update them.
3. Bump Check Date
Set the "Last Checked Date" field value to today's date and then press "Save":
Every OSM change requires a short description. If you only changed the check date, you can type "Bump check date". If you updated additional fields, you can mention that as well. After entering the changeset comment, hit the "Upload" button.
Note: There are other tags that can be used to verify a location including survey:date. The location you are editing may have one of those tags instead of the "Last Checked Date" tag. You can read more about the different verified tags here.
4. You're Awesome!
As you can see, verifying locations usually takes a couple of minutes, and everyone can do it.
Note: If you visited the location and found that the merchant no longer accepts bitcoin, you would simply remove the bitcoin-related tags from the merchant.