[Talk-GB] Hello world and automated change proposal: Add missing URL scheme on UK's Pubs websites

[Dave F]

On 28/09/2020 10:00, Frederik Ramm wrote:
> Rodrigo,
>
> On 27.09.20 17:28, Rodrigo Díez Villamuera wrote:
>> After some time using OSM as a user, I decided to make my first step as
>> a contributor, hence this email and the proposal inside.
> If your first idea of "how to contribute to OSM" is "how to write a
> script that runs an automated edit on the body of OSM data", then
> something is amiss!

Anyone can contribute to OSM in ways that best suits them.
He's here asking for advice & guidance & appears to be following the 
rules..

> The change you plan to execute is of limited use. Yes, it ensures more
> conformity in the data, but it will be a temporary fix (since new
> "wrong" URLs can be added at any time).

Moot. Your claim applies to all tags, all the time. By your logic we 
might as well not amend anything.

> Anyone consuming OSM data must
> be able to work with URLs that miss a schema, and indeed today any
> browser can do that.

I noted links without http or www. ie zonzorestaurant.com isn't 
recognized by OSM website, but is interpreted by web browsers.

> So what your edit does is, it "touches" lots of objects and adds no
> meaningful information whatsoever.

Conformity, accuracy.

>   It creates load on the database;

Seriously? For how long?

> it creates a new version of every object you touch which, informationally
> speaking, is identical to the old version. It produces larger diff
> files, larger history files, and on top of that runs the risk of making
> data look more current than it is ("oh, this pub has last been changed
> by someone two months ago, so surely it will still be in business" when
> in fact the last OSMer who saw that pub with their own eyes did so five
> years ago).

These are nit-picking excuses, that occur with all edits.

Unsure why some are against improving the quality of the database, 
especially by automated/mass edit*. Having one user amend hundreds of 
tags is the same as have hundreds of contributors amending individual 
tags, except there're all  checkable within one changeset & can *easily* 
be reverted if required.

* Please remember those who conceived this anti mass edit ruling were 
the ones who messed up the US TIGER import & couldn't be bothered to fix it.

>
> There are many, many better ways to contribute to OSM than runnning a
> useless automated conformity edit. Take a notebook or mobile editor, go
> outside, check if the phone booths on OSM are still there on the ground,
> add a few opening times, or even trees for that matter - a single hour
> of such original work is more useful to OSM that what you are proposing
> here.

This is my retort to the requests to join OSMF & sit through long, 
tedious committee meetings.
Again, we contribute to OSM in the way which best suits us.

> Remember: OSM is not an IT project.

Tell that to the organisers/speakers at State of the Maps


DaveF