[OSM-talk] A message to our friends at HOT, Peace Corps etc. about Changeset Comments

[Jóhannes Birgir Jensson]

Þann 19.11.2015 14:14, Christoph Hormann reit:

> And if on http://tasks.hotosm.org/project/1300 i read:
> 
> "Please draw one large area outline around groups of buildings and tag
> them landuse=residential"
> 
> that is in violation of one of the core principles of OSM, namely to 
> map
> reality, what's on the ground.  It instructs mappers to map something
> that does not exist in reality based on abstract geometric
> considerations and to give it a tag that is meant for something
> different.

What do you mean Cristoph? This is a long held convention to mark out 
residential areas. It also makes it easier to find areas which need more 
mapping at a later date. I've personally used this before in Botswana, 
unrelated to HOT.

HOT is a subset of contributors to OSM and are producing valueable data 
in areas which usually have nothing comparable. The antagonism visible 
here is astonishing.

The comments are still optional, they are not a rule as some have 
wrongfully declared. The most notable part in the antagonist comments 
were "I me myself and I" types, where YOU did not like to X and Y.

The contents of changesets can still be discerned, looking at one of the 
changesets whose comments Mr. Ramm was aghast over, the OSM website 
tells us what it contained:
https://www.openstreetmap.org/changeset/35429575

Here we see ways added included a water and lots of roads, plus two 
relations which were wood. Nothing complicated used here to ascertain 
what the changeset did.

This sort of pent up anger over nothing is self-defeating. I watch over 
changesets in 3 countries with daily activity (even if not thousands 
each day), if it is a new name mapping I will take a look at what was 
done. If it looks like a competent mapper I'll probably not bother more 
in overlooking their changesets. On occasions I do find mappers that are 
testing (a complete race track in the highlands of Iceland was a notable 
example), I fix the error introduced and friendly advice them on how to 
proceed.

Depending on changeset comments as a Vital Cog In Operation Of 
OpenStreetMap is futile when we have the actual data of what was done 
already visible and prominent. They are a nice feature, can be helpful 
but I will be checking a changeset from a new user regardless of the 
comment, that racetrack had a no comment or "added a road" on it if I 
recall.

Yes please use a good changeset comment if you can. No it is not a rule. 
Stop trying to make trouble because of a comment you don't like.

--Stalfur