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<p>Are we writing our own dictionary? What's wrong with the OED? If everybody just says what they understand to be the definition, what are we going to do, have a vote on it? Then the US English speakers will probably win because there are more of them. Why not just save time by killing the discussion and using a published, acknowledged dictionary definition. OSM tradition is to use English (i.e. not American English) so let's start here:</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/hardware">http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/hardware</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/diy">http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/diy</a></p>
<p>The fact that there are two lemmas shows that there is a difference, however subtle. What I have discerned is that DIY is by definition aimed at amateurs, whereas a hardware shop sells stuff that may be used by professional tradesmen as well as DIYers. YMMV.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if there is no clear distinction, they can be considered synonymous and therefore can share a tag.</p>
<p>//colin</p>
<p>On 2016-02-10 14:33, John Willis wrote:</p>
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<div class="pre" style="margin: 0; padding: 0; font-family: monospace"><br /><br /> Javbw<br /><br />
<blockquote type="cite" style="padding: 0 0.4em; border-left: #1010ff 2px solid; margin: 0">On Feb 9, 2016, at 12:33 PM, Dave Swarthout <<a href="mailto:daveswarthout@gmail.com">daveswarthout@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br /><br /> AFAIK, Ace Hardware stores do not carry a wide enough assortment of items to qualify. Lowes and Home Depot do.</blockquote>
<br /> +1<br /><br /> A hardware store sells tools and consumables (screws, glue, paint, etc) as the main focus of the store. <br /><br /> A DIY store sells you the thing - or the materials to make the thing, and the consumables and the tools. <br /><br /> A hardware store sells a power saw, the blades, screws and sandpaper. <br /><br /> A DIY store sells you the 200 pieces of lumber, concrete, and buckets of sealant to make a deck. <br /><br /> In Japan, the big chain "Home Depots" - Joyful Honda - have DIY put on the side of the buildings. Smaller shops dedicated to tools - the proverbial hardware shops - sell hand and power tools, specialty consumables (tapes, screws, bolts, etc) and other small, pricey supplies a person needs. They sell the tools to install a toilet - washers and gaskets to fix a toilet - but not the actual toilets, Sheetrock, lumber, tile, and piping to actually make a bathroom. <br /><br /> I visit both, both in the US and Japan. <br /><br /> The supermarket vs convenience store comparison is not comparable - it is about tools and consumables to make the food, not the food itself. <br /><br /> A convenience store sells finished food. A super market sells finished food and ingredients. <br /><br /> To compare hardware vs DIY stores: <br /><br /> A "hardware" store sells stoves, pans and knives and spices, and some wax paper and whatnot. <br /><br /> A "DIY store" sells the stoves, the pans, the spices - and 10 lb bags of sugar, and 30kg of rice, and 5 gallon buckets of tomato paste. <br /><br /><br /> As long as we can map the *focus* of the store, this should be an easy distinction to make. But it might entail mapping a bunch of "home stores" as DIY. <br /><br /> This will also limit hardware stores, but his is correct - as "hardware" and "tools" are usually just sections in a DIY store and all the hardware chain shops closed. <br /><br /> Javbw. <br /> _______________________________________________<br /> Tagging mailing list<br /><a href="mailto:Tagging@openstreetmap.org">Tagging@openstreetmap.org</a><br /><a href="https://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/tagging">https://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/tagging</a></div>
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