[Tagging] The current problem with tagging

[David Earl]

On 18/10/2009 12:01, John Smith wrote:
> 2009/10/18 Mike N. <niceman at att.net>:
>>> From there if an API could be created for editors we could do things
>>> like mousing over a tag in JOSM/potlatch then throws up a page of text
>>> describing the tag.
>>>
>>> Any tags the are entered that aren't in the database could generate a
>>> prompt asking people to document it on the spot, alternatively we
>>> could have a suggestion engine by searching both tag names and in the
>>> descriptions and seeing if something similar already exists and they
>>> could choose to use that instead.
>>  I agree with this - someone else described a system of meta-tags for tags,
>> integrated into the editors to make it easy to locate the tag you're
>> thinking of by subject, possibly even in the local language.   The editors
>> could even hide the 'official English tag' used internally by OSM.   Less
>> common local items could be in a language other than English.
> 
> That's a good point, having some kind of API for tags would make it
> possible to have translations with very little extra effort from a
> programming point of view.

Indeed. See my message from earlier this month:
http://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/talk/2009-October/043340.html

David