<div>Hi Brad & list,</div>
<div>Well, you mentioned working groups. Have you considered standing up a US-based Tagging working group? Perhaps the WG could take on highway tagging as a first project. </div>
<div>Here's where to go to get started:</div>
<div><a href="http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Foundation/Local_Chapters/United_States#US_Chapter_Activities">http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Foundation/Local_Chapters/United_States#US_Chapter_Activities</a><br clear="all">
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<div>Best regards,</div>
<div>SEJ<br>----<br>"Wretches, utter wretches, keep your hands from beans." -Empedocles<br><br><br><br></div>
<div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Oct 15, 2010 at 12:00, Brad Neuhauser <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:brad.neuhauser@gmail.com">brad.neuhauser@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote style="BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; PADDING-LEFT: 1ex" class="gmail_quote">OK, a metaphorical gauntlet has been thrown down, and Richard makes great points. That said, is there any chance the US community can find some agreement about highway tagging? And once we do, we can broker the Israel-Palestine peace talks. :)
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<div>But seriously, it seems like we need some sort of structured process for a group to look at the options, find compromises, make a decision, and then have a uniform scheme for US roads across the wiki (and hopefully the data will follow...). What has happened up to now with wiki proposals on different pages and email discussions hasn't resolved the issue for whatever reason. Maybe the OSMF-US (or a working group, or some organizationally smart person on this list) could come up with a process and timeline as a way to focus the conversation and move to a resolution?</div>
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<div>My $.02, Brad<br><br>
<div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Richard Fairhurst</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:richard@systemed.net" target="_blank">richard@systemed.net</a>></span><br>
Date: Thu, Oct 14, 2010 at 3:48 PM<br>Subject: Re: [OSM-talk] Response to A critique of OpenStreetMap<br>To: Kate Chapman <<a href="mailto:kate@maploser.com" target="_blank">kate@maploser.com</a>><br>Cc: <a href="mailto:talk@openstreetmap.org" target="_blank">talk@openstreetmap.org</a><br>
<br><br>
<div>Kate Chapman wrote:<br>
<blockquote style="BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; PADDING-LEFT: 1ex" class="gmail_quote">Point 1: I'm not denying that the data in the U.S. is messed up. On<br>the other hand I can't count the number of times people say things<br>
that I summarize to 'God, why are you Americans too stupid, lazy or<br>import crazy to map your own country?" It really makes people want to<br>continue mapping with the project.<br></blockquote><br></div>Understood absolutely.<br>
<br>But put that out of your mind. No matter how I or anyone else phrase it, no matter whether it's accompanied by a helpful smile or a superior sneer, you do genuinely need to sort this shit out anyway. You do need to make sure that your data is as consistently attributed as Google's (or OSM's UK data), because otherwise people, like Mr 41latitude, will compare the two to your detriment.<br>
<br>And you need to do that for yourselves. With the awareness of being part of an international project, sure, but it needs to come from US mappers. I mean, I personally dislike the overuse of relations to model absolutely everything, but you should take no bloody notice of me whatsoever and use route relations for your roads if you think it works well and will be reasonably in keeping with the rest of OSM.<br>
<br>So if, say, you think you need eight levels of importance within your highway network, yet OSM only has seven (motorway, trunk, primary, secondary, tertiary, unclassified, residential), screw it. Invent another one. Quaternary or minor or something. The Germans have done that (motorroad=yes) and no-one has died as a result.
<div><br><br><br>> Yes it appears when people compare OSM to Google/Bing/etc they seem to<br>> start in the U.S.<br><br></div>Funnily enough only US people do that. :) Personally I'm more used to UK cyclists comparing OSM and Google. Google has no cycle paths or routes. The cyclists love OSM!<br>
<br>I think, actually, you have an advantage in that the US community is quite small: it's easier to get agreement. Whereas over here, where the community is big and fractious, it takes forever to get anything done. You're still young. Use the advantage while you can.<br>
<br>cheers<br><font color="#888888">Richard</font>
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