[OSM-talk] Unrepentant Vandal

[Andrew Errington]

Hi all,

Here is a link to a random point on a light rail system:
http://osm.org/go/546Jvddtd--?m=

Soon after it opened I travelled on it from end to end, collecting gps
data and photos of all the station signs.  There are two railway
lines, one in each direction, and I mapped them both carefully.

Recently I discovered that someone had helpfully deleted one of the
lines and tagged the other with tracks=2.  I really don't think this
is acceptable.

I found the changeset and asked the user who did it why they destroyed
my work.  They replied:
"The OSM wiki implies that a single way with tracks=2 is the preferred
way of showing rail lines with two tracks. This was the method used
most in S. Korea, I was attempting to create consistency."

This is not actually true (and I double-checked the wiki, just in
case).  I pointed this out but the user did not acknowledge this was a
mistake, or offer an apology.

So, my question is, am I being unreasonable, or am I right to think
this is unacceptable?  How can I guard against this?  I have no
problem with people improving the map by improving the data, but I am
starting to see a lot of deletions, incorrect tagging, and generally
shoddy work appearing, especially in Korea where I have done a lot of
original work.  Do I have to set up some kind of watch on all of my
contributions and check them if someone edits them?

Andrew