[Talk-GB] Subjective value of adding FIXMEs by a bot?

Robert Norris rw_norris at hotmail.com
Sat Mar 3 16:45:40 GMT 2012



I can't say I'm convinced about the value of adding FIXMEs to 7000+ postboxes in the UK in changeset:

http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/changeset/10834378

1. Collection Times when missing can be cross referenced with the open data request with the Royal Mail when the postbox has a reference. See:

http://www.dracos.co.uk/play/locating-postboxes/
+
http://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/location_of_every_post_box_that

2. If the postbox doesn't have a ref tag, then the absence of itself is an obvious thing that doesn't require a FIXME to tell me that it's missing.

There exists tools such as http://robert.mathmos.net/osm/postboxes/ helps one determine the absence of ref tags and other UK postbox issues.

Consider other data, is it useful to put a FIXME on highways that have no name?
What about those without speed limits?

Generally tools like http://keepright.ipax.at/ and http://tools.geofabrik.de/osmi/ can tell us about these issues. And if not then presumably they can be improved to do so, rather than adding FIXMEs into the database.

In general this simply adds extra noise into the changeset history of objects and areas where no useful (IMHO) change as occurred.

Such large changes (probably performed by a bot) should (and almost be a must) be discussed in an appropriate forum before the change - in this case OSM Talk GB mailing list.


As such I'm thinking the changeset should probably be reverted/removed.


Message sent to user osmmaker & http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-gb


Be Seeing You - Rob.
If at first you don't succeed,
then skydiving isn't for you.
 		 	   		  


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