[OSM-newbies] Information about deleted items

[SomeoneElse]

doug brown wrote:
> 1) How can I find out who delete these features so that I can inquire 
> as to why they took this action?  and,

The easist way is to start with either the area from which they've 
disappeared or the changeset from which they were added or deleted.

I'll use some data that I added that has since been (legitimately) 
deleted as an example.  The way that was deleted was this one:
http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/way/32395636/history

The list of my changesets is
http://www.openstreetmap.org/user/SomeoneElse/edits

I can scroll back through those until I get back to the one cotaining 
the edits that I'm looking for.  In your case that would be one with a 
comment of "Digitize Shrimp Ponds" or similar.

I'll use this changeset of mine as an example:
http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/changeset/4198254

Against the changeet you have an option to "View area on larger map", 
and you can then zoom in to where the data has disappeared from.

in my example that would be:
http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=52.918954&lon=-1.035148&zoom=21

Then, click the little arrow to the right of "edit" and select "Potlatch 
1".  Then click "Edit with save".

There's a button at the bottom of the screen labelled "advanced". Click 
and hold down the mouse button on it, go up to "undelete", and release 
the button.

Some new dark red ways should reappear, corresponding to the ways that 
you added and someone else deleted.  Click on one of the ways. At the 
bottom left Potlatch 1 will show "Way" and a number below it.  Click on 
the number, then click on "More" on the prompt that appears.

In my example I clicked on way 32395636, so I know see:
http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/way/32395636

Click on "view history".  I can now see that I last edited it on Mon, 22 
Mar 2010 and someone deleted it (entirely legitimately!) on Tue, 08 May 
2012, and I can see the changeset comment (in my case "Cotgrave Country 
Park changes") and who actually deleted it.

Make a note of these and make sure that you close the browser tabs that 
you've just opened (you don't want to just flip-flop the other user's 
edits - you want to discuss why they were deleted)!

In your case you'll see from the changeset comment that someone deleted 
some features that you'd added as roads because he didn't think that 
they were roads.

I'm guessing that he didn't message you about the deletions though the 
site (because otherwise you wouldn't be asking here) - and therefore the 
deletions were, even if valid, a bit rude.

If the things that he deleted really are roads then message him through 
the site saying so.

If not (despite the unannounced deletion being a bit rude) they really 
shouldn't have been added as roads in OSM in the first place.

Unfortunately, looking at the area concerned I can't really say what 
they should have been added as (I'm totally unfamiliar with it). Perhaps 
ask a question over at help.osm.org and give a bit of description about 
what the features are like?

 > 2) How can I retrieve these data which I need for purposes of my own, 
even if it is determined that they are
 > not appropriate for OSM?

That rather depends; what format do you want it in?  As a map, or as an 
OSM XML file, or something else?

Cheers,
Andy

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/newbies/attachments/20120803/94d5d1c9/attachment.html>