[Tagging] Permanent IDs RFC (was part_of:wikidata)

[Yuri Astrakhan]

>
> I think permanent IDs should be done with our own Wikidata. Wikibase is a
> Wikimedia extension, that means our own Wiki can install OSMData right now.
> Then if you want to open a permanent ID for a shop, create a new OSMData
> item, and tag the shop with OSMData=M38267 (M instead of Q, for Map).
>

Janko, I'm all for using a better storage tech if warranted, but I don't
think introducing Wikibase will solve the problem mentioned by others --
**what is an entity?**. Wikidata community is all about defining those
conceptual entities, and OSM community is mostly concerned with reflecting
the current state of the world.  In other words, OSM community does not
concentrate with the historical continuity -- preserving the history of a
"concept", or even specifying the definition of the "concept".

The two basic continuity questions need to be solved for permanent IDs to
become a reality:
* keeping an ID when feature's geometry change - e.g. a single road way
becomes multiple segments, merging duplicates with redirects, etc.
* deciding when to break the continuity when the feature is "no longer the
same concept" - e.g. a restaurant closed, and a new one opened in its place
needs a new ID, instead of reusing the same node.

Implementing the permanent ID is conceptually (relatively) simple, but
would require a lot of work.  "When to break continuity" seems to be the
philosophical sticking point, as pointed out by others in this discussion.
We could agree on some general continuity guidelines and let it be solved
by each editor on a case-by-case basis.  It will never be perfect, but
neither is not doing anything.
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