It's a way we need to go. We may not like it, and it may take months to go, but it is the only way to save the database against a number of mistakes, hacks, osm-terrorism or whatever bot, script or other mass modification might happen. We had this affair with the Russian guy with JOSM using simplifier, that by accident deleted many valuable details in the database in a huge area, just using JOSM. A strong argument to limit JOSM uploads to a limited number of modifications at a time. Large changes go best by script, and NEED to go documented. OSM community is getting larger and larger, and we cannot expect that every bot-writer reads (or want to read) the "code of conduct" you suggested, AND follow it.
"Edits of mass destruction": I have been experimenting with a text editor and regular expressions on raw downloaded osm-data (JOSM, save as .osm) Great tool for changing all street names into "guess what" !! Set the changed flag, reload in JOSM and upload it will do the job. The system I proposed will delay the execution of script by a moderate amount of effort, namely that to document it on a central place, available to everyone. It also allows the system to create an unique identifier per mass modification allowing them to easily be reverted. (If done fast enough). Not all I suggested needs to be done at once, however: - Let's start with limiting JOSM and Merkaartor to a reasonable number of uploads per manual upload action. This would prevent the errors of the type "select all" plus "shift 1 km" or the "edits of mass destruction" type to get uploaded. It also would get rid of those just fake editing to get their name on top of the lists. - Then allow the API to refuse uploads bigger then say 500 edits at a time, unless a assigned username is delivered by the webform script accepting the documentation. These two measures would assure that no faulty mass edit will go hidden behind a common username such as AND (read: yours), who contributes valuable data normally. Gert -----Oorspronkelijk bericht----- Van: Frederik Ramm [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Verzonden: maandag 29 september 2008 20:24 Aan: Gert Gremmen CC: Hendrik T. Voelker; Talk Openstreetmap Onderwerp: Re: [OSM-talk] Code of conduct for automated (mass-) edits Hi, Gert Gremmen wrote: > I want to insist however, on the > website form approach, to oblige > fast-thinking fast-acting "bot writers" to > express at least what they intend to do somewhere. > The automated undo system allows for a quick undo, > before thousands of volunteers added data that will got > lost when undone. Nothing of what you say is going to be either fast or quick. It's going to take months to implement. Not what I had in mind. Bye Frederik -- Frederik Ramm ## eMail [EMAIL PROTECTED] ## N49°00'09" E008°23'33" _______________________________________________ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
