Key:was:*
 Prefix was:*
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| Description |
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Namespace for features that no longer exist but have an high probability to be re-added by a non surveyed edit, as they were present there before. 
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| Group: lifecycle |
| Used on these elements |
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| See also |
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| Status: de facto |
| taginfo: was:* |
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The was:*=* lifecycle prefix can be added to tags that relate to features that no longer exist but have an high probability to be re-added by a non surveyed edit, as they were present there before (for example it may still be visible on commonly used imagery or still exist in import sources).
In most cases, in OSM, if you find a object in the database that doesn't exist on the ground, whether it existed or not, is an error or not, you should just delete it. But in some rare circumstances, when those features still appear in outdated sources still used to enter data in OSM (old imagery, import sources, etc.), you can use this tag to warn other mappers not to re-add those features.
How to tag
Add the namespace was:*=* to all keys which are no longer relevant to the current state of an object without changing the geometry (let it a node if it was a node, a way if it was a way). You should treat all the tags on an object as a set of facts about the object, and prefix the keys of those facts which are no longer true as a result of being non existent.
Adding a note=* to explain why you just didn't delete the geometry is highly recommended, else, someone might just delete everything again.
Tag usage
Current values for the most popular combinations (selection of most popular combinations per april 2025) :
Possible tagging mistakes
Tagging old_* other than old_name=*, old_ref=*, and old_addr:*=*.