[OSM-dev] Suggestion to replace created_by tags

[Frederik Ramm]

Hi,

> I'd suggest that we get rid of the created_by tag: and, instead,  
> introduce a new 'client id' into the XML message body spoken by the API.
[...]
> On the database, this would then be stored in a new column in the  
> nodes, segments and ways tables.

Actually, a thing that we had discussed in Essen and that was widely 
accepted would solve the same problem: Making a set of changes belong to 
a "change group", which may have a description (and could also carry a 
client id).

In terms of JOSM, something like:

User: clicks on "upload"
JOSM: shows configrmation dialog, with an extra text field "describe 
your changes"
User: fills field, hits OK
JOSM: sends "start new change group, client=JOSM, description=lalala" to API
API: assigns new change group id, stores client and description
JOSM: uploads all changes as it does now, amended by change id
API: stores all changes with change id

This would allow users to describe what they're doing, an important 
piece of local teamwork ("moved lake further north, previous lake 
circumference seems to have been taken from landsat but lake has changed 
in the meantime" - things like that), and solve your client id issue 
along the way. Much like your proposed solution, it would add column to 
way/node/segment tables; maybe yours would only need a one-byte column 
while this needs a four-byte or so, but I think it would be worth it.

Bye
Frederik

-- 
Frederik Ramm  ##  eMail frederik at remote.org  ##  N49°00.09' E008°23.33'