[OSM-talk] New OSM Quick-Fix service

[ajt1047 at gmail.com]

On 09/11/2017 20:48, Yuri Astrakhan wrote:
> JB, the "layer=0 removal" is one of the JOSM validations - it 
> automatically gets suggested to anyone editing an area with that 
> object, with the "fix" button autofixing it. JOSM doesn't have a "mark 
> this autofix as invalid" button, which means that even if you don't 
> autofix it, the next person reviewing the same area may. This sounds 
> identical to the issue raised by Simon above:
> > ...you don't actually "confirm" that something is a good edit or 
> not. You only have the choice of making an edit or leaving it to 
> others to do. ... This makes the whole thing entirely equivalent to a 
> mechanical edit.
>
> So we should either A) remove it from JOSM, or B) define when it 
> should be kept vs deleted, because otherwise we are not being 
> consistent with requirements.
>

No, the two aren't equivalent.  In JOSM, validator suggestions are made 
after you've been editing in the area.  Typically where "default tags" 
such as "layer=0" (or "oneway=no" for that matter) are used are in 
places where something's an exception (maybe this is the only cross-town 
two-way street) , or there's more information to be mapped (maybe 
there's something yet to be mapped over or under the "layer=0" way 
that's obvious from the context of the data in the area).  All you're 
doing is blindly performing (or encouraging the performance of) 
mechanical edits, where the mapper has no knowledge of the local area.

Ask yourself "in what way does removing layer=0 from a bunch of ways 
improve the quality of OpenStreetMap?".  It certainly adds no valid 
data.  It could potentially remove information (if there's a problem 
with something else also tagged layer=0 nearby that will be obvious to a 
user of an interactive editor from context).

Best Regards,
Andy