[OSM-dev] The wiki defines the database (was: relations)

[Sebastian Spaeth]

Erik Johansson wrote:
>>> Real mappers don't document; their tags are enough.  Wannabe mappers
>>> read documentation and follow templates. So how should you become a
>>> mapper if there is no documentation. There is a lack of people who are
>>> willing to write something on the wiki, not too many.
>> there have been occasions when "real" mappers have documented their
>> tags on the wiki, only to have the wiki pages overwritten by someone
>> else's "better ideas". maybe this puts some people off?
> 
> Yes that is very cumbersome but how often does this happen, and does
> it really warrant that flippant attitude? Having a better way to
> handle multiple meanings of tags might help.

Often enough that I have stopped caring about what the wiki says.

The wiki were a great help if it listed commonly used tags together with
a list of applications that are using/understanding those tags. (or
probably describing that a certain app actively refuses to 'understand'
a certain tag). That would allow people to help making their decision on
whether they want to tag something as highway=culdesac or add a
noexit=yes (a completely unneeded tag :-)).

But this is not how the wiki is used. I have been tagging stuff since
quite some time now and I refuse to have people telling me now that
highway=cycleway;foot=yes is not valid anymore because its deprecated.

If the wiki listed the formats of speed measurements that apps
understand together with the frequency of actual format used, that would
help much more than an eternal discussion on whether speed:mph is better
than speed=30mph or whether everyone is/should be using metric
measurement anyway.

spaetz