Please don't forget to use the source=* tag (Case study!)

[Minh_Nguyen]

@Minh_Nguyen

@jeffmeyer

The sourcing should travel with the object. So, each object needs its own source information. This may seem onerous, but a commitment to this principle helps ensure that all downloaded data, regardless of filtering, is either properly attributed or could be attributed.

How does this principle square with OHM’s convention of elaborating on the sources on community project pages on the wiki? To the extent that mappers follow this convention, the project pages stand a better chance of staying up-to-date with URL changes and the like. But we’d need a consistent convention for referring to sources that are detailed elsewhere. I suppose some licenses also impose restrictions on how directly or indirectly we may incorporate a citation.

The recent completion of the Atlas of Historic County Boundaries import prompted me to check on the source tags included in this import. Unfortunately, all the source tags refer to this URL, which is now a 404. The page has moved to a different subdomain. Some of the ideas floated earlier, like citing a common bibliography on the wiki or a Wikidata item, would insulate the OHM database from bitrot. In this case, it was fairly easy to track down the new URL. But in the future, years after a page moves or after the domain goes dark, it will be much more difficult to follow up on this citation.