[josm-dev] The Golden Rules

[Bryce Nesbitt]

On Sat, Aug 24, 2013 at 1:58 AM, SomeoneElse <lists at mail.atownsend.org.uk>wrote:

> On Sat, Aug 24, 2013 at 1:58 AM, SomeoneElse <lists at mail.atownsend.org.uk>
>  wrote:
>
What http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/**wiki/Mechanical_Edit_Policy<http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Mechanical_Edit_Policy>
actually
> says is "Generally, this policy covers all edits where an individual change
> to an object is not performed by a human being. This includes ...
> search-and-replace operations using an editor... unless your changes are
> backed up by knowledge or survey rather than just reckoning".
>

This quickly becomes a fuzzy question of what constitutes knowledge.

We're encouraged by project consensus to map areas based on Bing maps
alone, for example.  Is that knowledge?
Are map notes left by visitors to OpenStreetMap knowledge?
How about incorrect or misspelled attributes left by other mappers: is that
sort of like looking at Bing?
Is combining all the clues above (including clues left presumably by local
mappers), plus Google searches,  Knowledge?

----
If I edit a powerline that spans four counties:
Have I harmed or helped the map?
Have I harmed or helped the community of mappers?
Have I harmed or helped the* community of people who map power lines*?


So the question really becomes what *community or communities* apply to a
particular edit?