Hi All,

Lets just step back and reflect on this for a minute. I have reviewed the
replies on this mailing list and there are a mixture of supportive
comments, a few negatives and the remainder may suggest something but are
neither negative or positive.

Lets look at the issues raised:

1. Licence compatibility
Resolved in [1]

2. Accuracy of what's in Wikidata
Remember it has to also match something in OSM. The tag enables people to
use wikidata to enhance their maps but this remains optional.

3. Keeping it up to date
An API rather than an import was suggested but this would not work with
existing tools (e.g Overpass) and we are adding wikidata tags to OSM
anyway. When ways are split in OSM mappers already have to deal with
existing tags - I don't see how this would be any different. Very few
imports have a good strategy to keep them up to date (this doesn't mean
that we should continue to turn a blind eye - just that we need to be fair
to Edward's hard work)

4. Bridges identified as a problem case
Suggest not automating bridges.

5. OSM vs Wikidata/Wikimedia Commons
"It will surely not call people to contribute in OSM but rather directly in
wikidata !"

On this last point we need to focus on what is best for OSM now and not
cloud our vision with any historic matters between OSM and Wikimedia
Commons. Our strategy is to:

"create and distribute free geographic data ... because most maps you think
of as free actually have legal or technical restrictions on their use,
holding back people from using them in creative, productive, or unexpected
ways"

To me there are a few things that stand out:

* Create and distribute - We aim to build our contibutor base and grow our
user base. Working with the wikidata team will show that we are an open
community.
* Geographic data - there are some parts that just don't suit OSM's model
(we even have a maximum character limit on tags), linking to wikidata would
help in this regard.
* Restrictions - We have our own restrictions (verifiable on the ground,
not changing to frequently) in OSM. A link to wikidata allows us to
continue with these restrictions but still allow people to get at
interesting non-geographic data.
* Unexpected ways - Links to wikidata open up a wealth of rich data
allowing new innovative ideas.

In my mind this is a good move and should be supported. Point 3 above could
be resolved by running the script regularly to see if there are any new
matches. There have also been some good suggestions on this list such as a
KeepRight style (i.e. QA) map where problematic objects (e.g. script finds
more than one match) can be manually reviewed, confirming whether the
script conflicts with any existing wikidata tags in OSM, checking whether
the script would add a wikidata tag to an object when there is already a
different object in OSM with that wikidata tag, and a check on the 400m
distance rule [2].

Are these things possible Edward?

Regards,
Rob

[1] https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/talk/2014-August/070634.html
[2] https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/talk/2014-August/070667.html
_______________________________________________
talk mailing list
talk@openstreetmap.org
https://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk

Reply via email to