Thank you for your work and detailed writeup!

While the disruption effect on downstream projects like one that NeruMarcus described is likely to be the goal of the vandals, amount of collateral damage for the project is quite sad to see (and for sure data loss and object history messing up pale in comparison to the comment abuse). I would like to thank those who are working hard on detecting and reverting this - on that scale it really begs to question if problem is solveable without changing the process how accounts and edits are made. It clearly cannot be happening on that scale without automation, so there must be a way to rate-limit that.

Beautiful work! Landuse and natural features indeed take a lot of time, clicks, and squinting - but seeing maps with no greenery somehow makes me sad, so I get your urge to map all that stuff. Still, take care not to burnout or strain yourself! I would also advise trying alternative setups for mapping - i.e. not using a mouse or touchpad but a touchscreen, trackball, or stylus. It can be a nice change of pace and helps guard against RSI when regularly mapping something large-scale.

Great job! This is a pleasure to look at.