On Wed, Sep 18, 2013 at 7:49 AM, Martin Koppenhoefer <dieterdre...@gmail.com > wrote:
> ... IMHO if there is a definition in the wiki and someone then tags > something with this tag you have to believe that he followed that > definition, at least until you can find a consensus to change this > definition. The most you should do is add a hint to the wiki that there is > a similar tag in use and link to it, but you shouldn't imply that the > similar tag has the exact same meaning as long as you don't know it for > sure. > > After some experience with OSM maps, my first assumption on seeing a tag used is that the tagger used the meaning most in line with their personal experience. When tagging something, if a term comes up in the presets that has a meaning to the tagger, they use it - skipping terms that may be more accurate that are unfamiliar to them - and no consulting of the wiki. The tagger may look at another already tagged feature of the same type and reuse the tag. As a secondary measure, they scan the features page of the wiki, until they find an agreeable term and use it. As a last effort, they may read the wiki page and the "OSM definition". The number of taggers that have read the wiki page for every tag before use they've ever used is likely minuscule. Unfortunately, personal experience is often incorrect or very localized. For all the words in a person's vocabulary, very few definitions were formally checked with a dictionary; most are (sometimes incorrect) interpretations for observed usage. . I have seen meanings for tags defended on the mailing list they were quite different from any dictionary, wikipedia, or other formal or common reference. "I grew up with these and this is what it means." Relying o personal experience is dicey as members of the same immediate family can have different definitions for the same word. The use of localized meanings and terms results in a map not useful to those outside the locale when visiting - surely a poor state of affairs when one trusts OSM for local use, but switches to Google or other maps when outside your own locale because those maps have consistent meaning across locales. Some uniformity makes OSM that much more useful. Please do not sneeze at some need for consensus on tagging. Imagine an OSM that had 200 terms in use for similar entities and this existing for every tag in OSM; where traveling 50 miles meant looking up a new set of tags and definitions to use the map. Having 2 terms for the same entity is simply a smaller version of the problem. This points to the importance of attempting to pick terms that have a primary meaning on first glance that go with what it being tagged as opposed to a term where the intended meaning for the tag is deep in the multiple meanings of the word. "Plot" is a good example of a word that will mean different things to different taggers, so should be avoided. Given the convention of using British English, consulting the Oxford English dictionary (or Collins or other suitable British sourced dictionary) would be the conscientious methodology. Look at synonyms for less ambiguous terms. I would also look at American dictionaries to see if another term avoids British/American ambiguities (not always possible). Translation dictionaries are poor sources of definitions as they often loose the more common meanings of words or pick a little used meaning in trying to provide a concise definition. Some of the wiki pages give an "OSM definition" that varies form the more common and/or formal definition. In my view a weakness of OSM (but sometimes necessary). The comment was made of the problem of definitions that refer to outside sources that may change. I suspect when meaning changes outside OSM, the new meaning is more likely to be used by new taggers than the OSM definition. Users of OSM are unlikely to consult the wiki, many will be unaware of the wiki, so will use current common meaning for the tag. Language evolves, words come and go in popularity. Assuming OSM should not also adapt will result in OSM maps that read for future users like Chaucerian-English does now for current English readers (for those unfamiliar with Chaucer'ian English, it can only be read currently by experts or those with a dictionary). We do not want an OSM where as a casual user you not only need a legend of tags, but a definition for each. There is a bit of intransigence by some that limits changes that improve OSM. I think management of change and consensus building will be important to prevent (further) balkanization of OSM or it becoming irrelevant. OSM also trains the repeat user, so the OSM conventions can not be ignored. My expectation in searching OSM for a place that primarily sells ready-to-eat food is it will be found under amenity=restaurant,cafe,fast_food and I'll overlook businesses tagged another way. If I'm visiting and you want me to patronize your ready-to-eat seafood business, it should use one of the above amenity tags. Murry
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