On 08/08/18 12:59, Dave F wrote:
How often do you believe people will actually want historic data? Organizations archive for a reason. Consider your house, how things you don't use will get shoved to the back of the cupboard/shed. I live in a Roman city, the editors struggle to display current data. Imagine what it would be like if *everything* was shown back to the days of Emperor Nero.
We have the same problem all over the place in keeping historic data accessible. The argument is always 'How many people will use it' or 'Does it matter if we ignore that' :(
Even providing verifiable timestamps for historic events is a gamble since the timezone database hides verified data prior to 1970 'because it's outside the remit'! In which case one needs a reliable source for time offsets even as recently as the 2nd world war because those provided by TZ are known to be wrong ... but nobody provides it :(
The fact that there was Roman settlement in an area is very useful data for a planning department to know if a full archaeological report is needed. My own genealogical research would be helped if CURRENT data had a start_date and then one could see if a street being referenced actually existed at the time ... that is one for OSM rather than OHM except the street may have been 'moved' or renamed, at which time the historic element may become important. And knowing if the street on the current map was in a different county is also important data. But where do you go to find out.
There is no clear distinction as to what is current and what is historic data. They intertwine and a single documented view of all the data including that which is becoming history on a daily basis should be the target, rather than saying 'It's too difficult so lets ignore it'. It's not difficult for a computer to manage and if people have the desire to start filling in all the gaps then they should be supported, not told to go away?
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