[OSM-dev] created_by considered harmfull

[Richard Fairhurst]

Hm, only 700 e-mails from the OSM lists to plough through...

Andy Robinson wrote:

> I would accept though that the created_by tag is of little use  
> since JOSM
> for instance does not amend the tag (as far as I recall) if a  
> created_by tag
> already exists, so that means later edits to the object do not  
> reflect the
> editor used. Is this still the case, does Potlatch do the same?

Potlatch always puts a created_by tag on edited ways. This is because  
we have history, so via the db you can see which revisions were done  
with Potlatch, which with JOSM, and which with any other.

It doesn't put a created_by tag on segments or nodes. However, you  
could work out which nodes and segments were created by Potlatch by  
finding those which were created at the same time, and by the same  
user id, as a way (because Potlatch uses a single timestamp for each  
'putway').

(It also hides created_by from the user, partly for simplicity,  
partly to avoid created_by=Bill...)

I would like to use tagging like "Potlatch r2785", where 2785 is the  
svn revision, if someone would show me how. Transactional edits would  
be cooler still. :)

cheers
Richard