[Tagging] gym as an amenity value

[John F. Eldredge]

Clifford Snow <clifford at snowandsnow.us> wrote:

> >
> >
> >
> I understand the issue with the tag value of "gym".  I talked to the
> owner
> of a gym I use.  He said that they typically use gym in conversation
> with
> others in the business.  Fitness club/center is also used.  He
> differentiated gym/fitness center with health clubs in the range of
> services offered.  A health club will offer services such as massage,
> tanning, juice bars, etc while a gym has fewer services.   (Health
> clubs
> can charge more.)
> 
> I would be happy with the tag "Fitness Center" instead.  However, I'm
> concerned that there are hundreds of "gym" values for the amenity tag.
>   A
> quick search showed that some of the gyms are actually school
> gymnasiums.
> Wikipedia has gymnasium as a disambiguation reference.  Perhaps school
> gyms should be encouraged to use the full name to avoid confusion.
> 
> Use of the tag "leisure" instead of "amenity" to me is not accurate.
>  Leisure activities are golf, softball, tennis, etc.  Fitness isn't a
> leisure activity.  A lot of us go to a gym so we can be better at our
> leisure activities.  To me fitness centers are more related to health
> than
> leisure.  I'd prefer to use the tag "amenity" instead.
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> Clifford
>
The problem with using the spelled-out term "gymnasium" is that several countries, such as Germany, use "gymnasium" to mean "high school" (the entire school, not just the sports building).

-- 
John F. Eldredge --  john at jfeldredge.com
"Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all." -- Hypatia of Alexandria