Discussion J: regionalisation of editor presets
I am now putting the question at the top and bottom of the text.
## QUESTION
How can the presets for the editor (ID and JOSM) be changed to the ATG default
for the ACT when editing paths in this territory?
# The Issue (background)
What is the cause of the overwhelming inconsistencies between the path tags in
OSM and the ATG? This was the question from Discussion I (6/10/2019). There may
be multiple causes. The error seems to be systematic.
## Human factors and preset design
One possible systematic cause is that mappers are trusting the preset to get it
right.
If it looks like a pedestrian path, then the click on the “walking man” button
in the ID editor. The presumption here is the preset is correct for the ACT.
This turns out to be a mistake.
If the path looks like it is for bikes then the mapper clicks the blue bike.
Again, the mapper is trusting the preset to be correct for the ACT but it is
not.
The preset with the closed approximation to the ATG tags are the “bike and
pedestrian” button (noted in Discussion D), which is the least favoured of the
three in the ACT (try it for yourself in overpass turbo).
## ID editor preset values
The ID editor has the following tag values for presets. None are correct
according to the ATG for the ACT. Pushing any of these buttons will fill the
OSM database with the wrong data for the ACT.
Foot Path preset (symbol "walking man“)
tags:
- highway=footway
Cycle Path preset (symbol blue bike)
tags:
- highway=cycleway
Cycle & Foot Path preset (symbol blue bike)
tags:
- cycleway=highway
- foot=designated
- bicycle=designated
## accumulating tags assumption
One mapper has suggested in this forum that the tags accumulated when you click
multiple buttons, one after another. This assumption may be widely held but is
also incorrect.
The actual behaviour of the ID editor is quite different. Push the buttons in
any sequence and the tags of the new preset overwrite the tags that the
previous button had put on the "way". Tags are overwritten and not accumulated.
(Lifecycle tags accumulate a history.)
## The default is king - proven again and again
Studies have shown that people will stick with the default option 85% of the
time. In the studies, an alternative option is offered but nobody ever clicks
on it. This is human nature (psychology). People prefer to go with the default.
For the ID editor, this is problematic. The three preset buttons discussed have
default tags and the editor does not offer to the mapper to change them. I
doubt most people would think to do so.
The presets in the editor have become the defacto STANDARD, replacing anything
that might be found in the ATG. The ATG is ignored in preference for a default
chosen by the editor developer. The outcome is a systematic skew of the data in
OSM to preset values (verify it yourself in overpass turbo).
## changing the preset to be ATG conform for each state/territory
One option is to change these three presets to conform with the ATG and ACT
standard values for “type A” and “type B” paths (see Discussion D). Both these
types are a Cycle & Foot Path but may have a different appearance. Cycle Path
and Foot Path would take on the ATG default for cycle ONLY path and pedestrian
ONLY path respectively. The mapper may need to be reminded that the Cycle &
Foot Path is the default for the ACT.
Another option would be to set the Cycle Path and Foot Path with the ATG and
ACT standard values for “type A” and “type B” paths (see Discussion D). The
advantage of this is that we don’t require the mapper to change their
behaviour. For the mapper, it is business as usual. Over time the OSM data will
be corrected through the mappers' habit of toggling each other's work. The
whole OSM data set for paths in the ACT will be overwritten and it will become
largely correct. We would go from 95% incorrect to mostly correct. A big
improvement.
## QUESTION
How can the presets for the editor (ID and JOSM) be changed to the ATG default
for the ACT when editing paths in this territory?
I welcome your comments.
Keywords: Australia, ACT, ATG, ID editor, presets, paths, root cause analysis
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