[Talk-GB] Problematical rural edits across England

[Philip Barnes]

On Fri, 2012-04-27 at 12:25 +0100, Andy Street wrote:
> On Fri, 2012-04-27 at 02:12 +0100, SomeoneElse wrote:
> > I've been in contact with the mapper concerned about these problems 
> > several times over the past month, trying to be friendly and helpful,
> > as 
> > would only be fair to a new mapper.  Answers I received about the 
> > "designation" tagging included things like "included on Notts CC's 
> > definitive map as a byway" and "from a Definitive map modification
> > order 
> > from 2006" (in both cases I asked about verifiability and licence 
> > suitability but received no further reply).  I've not received a
> > reply 
> > about the bridleway-to-track changes, and problematical edits are
> > still 
> > being made.
> > 
> > My concern about the designation changes is obviously that they've
> > been 
> > copied from another source that might not be licence-compatible.  The 
> > removal of existing tags is a different problem, that of deleting 
> > people's previous hard work (where ways have been merged and 
> > subsequently re-edited it's not straightforward just to add back 
> > previous tags).
> > 
> > What would people recommend as the next step?
> 
> I'd write to him again explaining that what he is doing is damaging
> (deleting tags, merging ways, etc) and in breach of copyright (Nots CC's
> definitive map is Crown Copyright and he appears unable to produce a
> valid licence). Ask him to voluntarily cease making changes and
> reiterate your offer or help and guidance should he wish to continue to
> contribute.
> 
> If you can demonstrate that you've made him aware of the problem but he
> is unwilling to engage in discussion or modify his behaviour then in my
> view it is vandalism and you have reasonable grounds for asking the Data
> Working Group to take action.
> 
Have there been any similar edits over the border in Leicestershire?

It does seem strange to me that any new map modification orders have
been made since 2006 that change a bridleway into a BOAT (byway), it
really would be going against the trend of creating 'restricted
bridleways'.

Until I moved to Shropshire last summer, I was a ramblers group footpath
secretary and in that period never saw any such orders. I feel sure we
would have heard of such things happening in an adjoining county.

If any such edits have occurred in Leicestershire, I still have friends
there to check their validity. That of course doesn't alter the fact
that the definitive map is crown copyright and if there is nothing on
the ground, we should not map it. I would however strongly lean towards
the opinion that if the bridleway signs, and blue waymarks, still exist
then there has been no map modification order.

Phil (trig222 on osm)