[Talk-us] Import of EPA data

[jamesmikedupont at googlemail.com]

On Mon, Dec 14, 2009 at 8:27 PM, David Fawcett <david.fawcett at gmail.com> wrote:
> My preference is that you roll the data import back.  The spatial
> accuracy is poor, and I know that there is more current data for at
> least my state.  I am new to OSM, but importing 100k points with known
> accuracy issues does not make sense.  Many of these points are
> difficult to crowd-improve because acquiring the info needed to
> improve the data is not as simple as overlaying it on an air photo and
> moving the line.
>
> I also don't think that man_made=envionmental_hazard is an appropriate
> tag.

That is easy to fix.

 I think if environmental data like this is imported into OSM,
> that some standard tags should be developed to classify it.  (maybe
> this has already been done, I haven't found it yet)For this data,
> perhaps using an EPA namespace.  Right now, these points show up on
> the default Mapnik render with no symbols and because they have long
> names, they cover up significant map space.  It would be useful to use
> tags that would allow the renderer stylesheet to include or exclude
> the environmental POIs.

We can make the invisible as well.

>
> If I were to want to use the default render for a project basemap in
> the past, I would now want do to a custom render, so these features
> that are prominent, but irrelevant to many mapping projects would not
> appear.
>
> I would like to have us come up with a more standard language on how
> to tag and attribute these things.  I think that since these types of
> features change fairly frequently, there should be a way to update
> these in an automated way.
>
> In reality, aside from the POIs, maybe data like this isn't really a
> good fit for OSM.  It is difficult to manage a copy of rapidly
> changing data that other people maintain.  Maybe it is better to have
> resources describing how people can mash up this kind of data with OSM
> base data instead of importing it.  An extreme example would be
> traffic speed data.  It would be crazy to submit this data to OSM and
> keep it up to date (minute).  This data changes more slowly than that,
> but where is the line?
>
> I hope that you haven't seen my comments as 'abuse'.
> I haven't
> intended any of my critique and suggestions to be an attack on you or
> what you are doing.  My intention is to see that data like this is
> imported using the most recent and accurate sources, that it is
> tagged/classified in the best way possible, and that there is a scheme
> to keep it up-to-date.

yes of course. I dont take it personally.  this is the normal "abuse"
that takes part in all projects.

What I wanted to say is  : lets make a decision on what to do. I write
a script to update the data, I have some ready, but lets do it right.
It will be easier to just delete the data.
>
> I think that for the same reason that data related to potential
> environmental impacts is important, we need to be careful with the
> accuracy.  If a Superfund site shows up in your front yard and it
> really belongs 10 miles away, it is a little different than having a
> coffee shop POI placed there.


Well, it is not a problem to track all the user edited changes and to
feed this back to the EPA.  In fact, if you see this in your front
yard then you are the best to be able to say if it is really there. In
one way, the crowd will be able to deal with this.


So, my suggestion for a quick fix is :

1. rename to mixed case (using the perl module)
2. remove the industrial tag
3. I like the fact that you can just click on the link to find out
more, maybe rename that.
4. make the nodes as not visible, then they will show up only in josm
and for serious editors, normal users will not be bothered.

What do you think?

mike