Wiki: updating images of maps, is there a policy?

General talk
1

When images of OpenStreetMap are included on the OSM Wiki, is there a policy on how we should update them?

My city, Dundee, hasn’t had a very active OSM community so I noticed the map image was extremely old (17 years). I uploaded a new screenshot as a revision to the original image file. I thought this was a good idea, because then you can see how the map of that specific area has changed over the years. It also updates it on 2 pages using the image, which both expect to show the latest/recent map.

Then someone reverted my file upload and commented to upload a separate file. See file log.

I don’t see this as a policy anywhere. Did I do something terribly wrong that had to be fixed?

2

For images I think that new upload is better - it allows for example to show before/after comparison.

Especially if it is used just few times.

OSM Wiki does not have a lot of policies. I guess if someone feel there should be one thet can propose it on Talk:Wiki - OpenStreetMap Wiki

3 Likes
3

I would overwrite files only for small corrections of the same file. For example, if someone somewhere linked to the image and wrote “Dundee 17 years ago,” and you replace it with a new photo, it no longer matches what they meant.

1 Like
4

I thought the history of the file could be used to see the older image if someone really wanted.

It was upsetting that someone with loads of time to fiddle and “tidy” the wiki would revert my change. Not having any care about the area they’ve fiddled with. The image was used by 2 pages, both of which would have benefited from newer images - they did not spend the time to put a newer image on those pages.

Anyway, I found that you can easily include a slippy map on a wiki page.

{{slippymap | lat = 56.4740 | lon = -2.9869 | zoom = 11 | width = 520 | height = 300 | marker = no}}

I’ve used that for the Dundee page, and removed the static image.

1 Like
5

Yes, the older revision is preserved in history, but you can’t embed it in any wiki page. The norm on Wikimedia Commons is to upload a file under a different name if there’s any chance that someone would consider the old revision valuable for historical reasons (and not just, say, a typo made by the mapmaker). But this is heavily influenced by the needs of a site like Wikipedia, whereas your reason for uploading the map to the OSM Wiki may be less encyclopedic in nature.

Regardless, if someone insists that a file should retain historical continuity, then they should reupload the newer version as a separate file for you as a courtesy.

2 Likes