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I'm editing info from CanVec datasets. Should I remove/modify source=* when data is modified?

asked 28 Nov '15, 03:24

teetos's gravatar image

teetos
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A source tag belongs either just to the changeset or should be used with a namespace, like source:name, source:addr, source:maxspeed and so on.

If a single source tag is used then it needs in fact to be updated/extended/trimmed on every change, requiring to take a look at the full history in order to determine which tag comes from which source. This is not feasible and will lead to inconsistencies.

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answered 28 Nov '15, 08:35

scai's gravatar image

scai ♦
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If you're editing an element with a "source" tag already on it, I'd edit the source tag on the element so that it best reflects the current source of the data. To take a specific example, if you walk past where this building is and find that it is a different shape now, I'd change the "source" key on the object to "survey".

However, on that there's also an "attribution" key and several "canvec:*" keys. I'd probably leave those but other people may remove them - it doesn't matter too much since they were just created by the original bulk import many years ago. They'll still be in OSM's object history of course.

Also, what scai says above is true - if all of the edits in one changeset are from one source then putting the new source tag on the changeset (rather than repeating it on every object) makes sense. Likewise using namespaced source tags can make sense in some cases too (perhaps "source=Bing;survey"; "source:name=survey").

I wouldn't overthink it though - "not mapping" is a far more heinous crime than "forgetting to update the source tag" :)

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answered 28 Nov '15, 11:35

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SomeoneElse ♦
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question asked: 28 Nov '15, 03:24

question was seen: 2,610 times

last updated: 28 Nov '15, 11:35

NOTICE: help.openstreetmap.org is no longer in use from 1st March 2024. Please use the OpenStreetMap Community Forum