Hello Timothy Smith,

Your changeset comment on osm.org/changeset/77391852 is “Use iD presets where available”. This suggests that you have no local knowledge of the changes that you are making and are just guessing based on the name suggestion index. This is not OK. OpenStreetMap is a map created by local knowledge; if you just add guesses then you are devaluing the hard work of all the other mappers who have contributed to OSM.

As can be seen at http://resultmaps.neis-one.org/osm-discussion-comments?uid=115918 , lots of other mappers have needed to comment on your changesets explaining things that have gone wrong. This isn’t normal; if you look at the list of comments on changesets for other users who’ve made a similar number of edits you’ll see far fewer problems. Although you’ve replied to most of those comments (thank you for that) you haven’t taken on board the root-level criticism that you’re filling OSM with guesswork.

Let’s take an example to illustrate the point. In changeset osm.org/changeset/77391852 (chosen entirely at random) the first item you changed was osm.org/node/5657476047 . “Chicken Express” is, in the UK, a generic name for a chicken shop. It is extremely unlikely to belong to a large chain (most fast food shops here do not). especially as the website linked to the wikidata item has a map of locations which shows the southern US rather than a row of shops in Finsbury Park, London, and searching for London finds no stores.

An appropriate source in this case would have been a survey as a result of you visiting the area or other local knowledge, or perhaps appropriately licensed imagery (such as from Mapillary) that allows you to tell that a show is part of a certain chain. It is not appropriate to just guess.

We (OSM’s Data Working Group) will therefore need to go through your changes and undo those that appear to be based on guesswork like this (checking not just brand tags but other edits too). Going forward, it is important that you map based on knowledge, not simply based on external suggestions. If you’ve got any questions you can write to the Data Working Group by email at data@osmfoundation.org .

Best Regards,

Andy Townsend, on behalf of OSM’s Data Working Group.