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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I have been following with interest the recent
posts regarding the creation of administrative and electoral boundaries in
OpenStreetMap. OS 1:25000 out of copyright maps now available
for my area plus other non-copyright information I have, allow me to
contribute. However, I do find relations confusing and there does not
appear to be much written on the subject to help. I use JOSM
and</FONT><FONT size=2 face=Arial> should appreciate comments on the
following:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial><STRONG>New civil parish boundary, for
example</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>1) Create a new relation.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>2) Select all ways that form part of a
given boundary, such as roads, paths and waterways, and add that
selection to the new relation.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>3) Any ways forming part of a boundary not
already in the OSM database must be created, selected and added to the
relation.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>4) What happens if a boundary crosses open
countryside not apparently following any feature, not even a wood edge or
fence? Must a way with a boundary key and value be
created? Then, surely, <EM>all</EM> existing ways forming part of a
boundary must have boundary keys and values added? Does it follow, then,
that the first step is to actually add a boundary key and value to all existing
ways forming the boundary?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>5) I assume the boundary should not be created as a
completely separate entity, but that it<EM> should </EM>make use of
existing ways where they form part of the boundary.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>6) How do hierarchies in administrative boundaries
work? I see a way in the River Thames tagged as a waterway and county
boundary only with key=admin_level/value=6,
key=left:county/value=Buckinghamshire,
key=right:county/value=Berkshire;Oxfordshire). Is this correct, or should
this boundary information be in the relation only? In other words, should
all administrative boundary ways simply have
key=boundary/value=administrative?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>7) Is there any meaning to the order of the ways in
a relation? For example, the selected relation editor offers two buttons:
"Add all primitives selected in the current dataset after the last member" and
"Add all primitives selected in the current dataset before the first
member".</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>8) What is a 'primitive'?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>9) Is a boundary relation seen to be complete
once the final way connects to the first way?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I am sure I could compile many more
questions. By no means do I demean the tremendous work done for OSM
contributors - I am full of admiration, but I do wonder why, when so much
preparatory work has gone into the construction of something, there is
sometimes so little associated explanation or help. I
should so appreciate any further information on the use of relations,
and with particular regard at the moment for administrative boundaries, which
seem to be concentrating so many minds.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>