[OSM-dev] Fwd: Name suggestions for iD

[Serge Wroclawski]

 Aaron,

I think you're conflating two separate issues, which is why things
seem more intimidating than they are.

I'm going to leave out any discussion about changing existing data-
since that's where things would get controversial quickly.

Instead, I'm going to focus on tagging issues in the editor.

In iD, when you create an object, you can use the search bar to create
an object with tags from a set of templates.

Name expansion is good, it's really good.

But while name=McDonald's is good.

name (or brand)=McDonalds
amenity=fast_food
cuisine=burgers

is great. And it's great for a few reasons

1. It makes it easy to add new information about a feature without too
much thinking about it. Right now, iD's search functionality makes
adding a new feature easily, but you have to know the category first.

If we have features fully searchable by name, we eliminate a step (category).

2. It reduces the chances for making a tagging mistake

Right now, I see people choosing the wrong category for features.
restaurant=yes, name=McDonalds.

Why do people make this error? Because they aren't looking at all the
categories and thinking about them, they just pick one quickly.  And
for some people, this may be their first edit, so we can certainly
understand how they might want to just pick *something*.

3. It provides built in examples.

Everyone learns differently, but I learn by example. If I knew that
McDonalds is a fast-food, then I might ask "What's a Ruth Chris?" and
play with that.

4. It helps emphasize tags we want filled in

Some McDonalds have free wifi, others don't. If that's something we
care about (just as an example) then we can add it to the preset, thus
encouraging users to collect that information.

- Serge