OpenStreetMap
There is one Search Engine Optimization (SEO) company that keeps adding incomplete data in the US. They never respond to inquires or fix their errors. They add duplicate nodes, use the wrong syntax for opening_hours, leave a lengthy description and never tag the type of business.
Looking at their history two things stand out. First their locale is either en:US or en:GB. Could be two different locations or more likely different users. The other is when they make their edits. Below is a breakdown of their edits since Jan. 1, 2016 :
UTC Hour Edits
Changeset timestamps show that edits start around 04:00 and end before 14:00. My guess is the location is 3 to 5 hours ahead of the UTC. Anyone want to venture a better guess?
Having the IP of the users to get a better location would be nice. Anyone with OSM system admin want to assist?
Discussion
Comment from TomH on 27 November 2018 at 08:21
No OSM sysadmin is going to assist a random user with access to potentially personal data like IP addresses.
If there is a problem then report it to DWG and they will be able to make whatever enquiries are necessary and to seek assistance of the admins where necessary.
Comment from Alan Bragg on 27 November 2018 at 13:36
All types of spam should be a capital offence, that would end the problem.
Comment from Mateusz Konieczny on 27 November 2018 at 18:06
Have you reported them to DWG?
Comment from Glassman on 27 November 2018 at 19:55
@TomH - Guess I need to change my user name to Random_User. Thanks for the kind suggestion.
@Mateusz Konieczny - I’ve talked to a couple of DWG members over in the past year, not a formal complaint but just to keep current. They appear to be well known to DWG even suspect which SEO firm is paying to have the changes made.
My exercise was more to see how wide spread the edits were. It looks to me like just one firm with a couple of people working on the edits. I do need to do some more analyzing to see if I can get a count of the number of people.
It would be interesting to see what DWG is doing about them.
Comment from Wynndale on 27 November 2018 at 20:48
One way we can crosscheck who is doing this would be to compare the days of edits with local holidays.
Comment from SomeoneElse on 27 November 2018 at 23:14
@Glassman Well I’m in the DWG - is my username random enough? :)
Seriously, just report spam when you see it and move on. We get lots of spam reports already, and yes, you can often figure out the likely culprits by the MO of the people adding them, including time zone. As TomH has said above, where we get a series of linked issues that need further investigation / action beyond “just revert it” we can and do pass details on to the admins.
Comment from Glassman on 28 November 2018 at 00:59
@SomeoneElse - I love your username. I used it all the time when I was a kid and my parents asked me who did it.
Most of the SEO edits from this group I just fix. They are mostly okay. But what I’d really like to see for these companies to just follow the guidelines. I’ve met with two different SEO firms. One of the largest and a local company located upstairs in a house in Seattle. Neither of the companies are adding to OSM, probably because we are way more difficult to add to our data. Other companies just want a spreadsheet and to follow their “tagging” guidelines.
I tried to contact the SEO companies that I know are behind some of the edits, but they just don’t respond. I’ve even tried shaming them on Twitter. Needless to say, I don’t have a lot of respect for them.
So now I’m thinking of approaching the actual firm making the edits to work with them. Is there anyone on DWG that has the time and would like to work on this? Let me know.