● Covered by 1 source · 1 reportLow impact1 neutral
Book Corners will not sync contributions back to OpenStreetMap due to policy complexity
Key points
- Book Corners initially used OpenStreetMap data for public bookcases.
- The project considered allowing users to contribute new locations back to OSM.
- OSM's import and automated edit guidelines are extensive.
- Implementing the sync would require significant community and administrative overhead.
Initial Concept for Data Synchronization
Book Corners, a project that maps public bookcases, began by using existing data from OpenStreetMap (OSM). The project also allows users to submit new library locations directly, which are then moderated and made public. The developer initially planned to enable these user-submitted locations to be contributed back to OSM if they were missing from the map.
Proposed Workflow for Contributions
The envisioned workflow for contributing data back to OSM was cautious and involved multiple steps. It included explicit user consent, administrator review, duplicate detection, a preview of the data to be sent, and final administrator confirmation before any data was written to OSM. From a software development perspective, this seemed like a manageable integration involving API calls and state tracking.
Complexity of OSM Contribution Guidelines
Upon researching the implementation, it became clear that contributing data to OSM involves more than just making an API call. Because the data would originate from the Book Corners database and be prepared by software, it would fall under OSM's Import Guidelines and Automated Edits code of conduct. These guidelines are extensive and require significant preparatory work beyond simple technical integration.
Required Steps for OSM Integration
To comply with OSM's policies, the project would need to create and maintain a dedicated import account, publish a detailed import plan on the OSM Wiki, document various aspects like data source, licensing, and quality checks, and open a proposal on the OSM Community Forum. Additionally, contacting affected local communities, undergoing a review period, and maintaining permanent links between all documentation and changesets would be necessary. These requirements made the planned synchronization impractical to implement.
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Reporting from
The Book Corners project will not implement a feature to sync user-submitted public bookcase locations back to OpenStreetMap (OSM). This decision was made because the process of contributing data to OSM, even with human moderation, is subject to strict import and automated edit guidelines that require extensive planning and community engagement, making the integration impractical.