[OSM-newbies] Importing data into JOSM / OpenstreetMap

[Craig Wallace]

On 24/08/2011 14:13, poppele at hm.edu wrote:
> Hello, I have a question regarding the import of external data:
>
> I would like to import navigation aids that i got from
> www.ourairports.com. They offer a file with worldwide navigational aids
> for pilots. Writing a tool to convert the csv-format to osm is quite
> simple. To load it into JOSM is simple, too. Before I import a lot of
> information, I have some questions:
>
> 1. Do we have a website where I get some basic info about importing
> external data ?
>
> 2. How can I maintain imported data ? (delete or modify data ...). Once
> the data is in the database it is may be not very easy to edit / or
> delete the stuff ? Or is it enough to reverse the changeset ? Or is it
> necessary to use the api  to alter the data ?
>
> 3. What kind of things must be considered before doing any import of
> external data ?
>
> Many thanks for your help

Yes, you should follow the import guidelines, as linked by Matt Williams.
Note there has been previous discussion of importing data from 
ourairports.com, and whether it is a good idea. See for example this 
thread: 
http://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/talk/2010-December/055395.html

Firstly, its not clear whether the data from OurAirports is under a 
suitable licence. They say it is "public domain", but it seems some of 
it may be derived from Google Maps, or other copyright sources.

Also, I don't know how accurate the data is. Some people in the previous 
thread were saying some of the airports are just fields.

Also, I'm not sure what you mean by "navigation aids". Things which do 
not physically exist on the ground are not usually mapped in OSM. See 
http://help.openstreetmap.org/questions/3684/mapping-for-aviation and 
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Aviation


Craig