[Tagging] Bitcoin and Online shops

[Bryce Nesbitt]

When I wrote *'Perhaps all online businesses can all be put on a island in
the Antarctic.' *I inadvertently left off the :-).  I apologize.

With no irony intended: OpenStreetMap can expect an increasing load of
commercial listings by people looking for visibility. These could be broken
down:

* Major chains, looking to dump (or better synchronize) their commerce
locations (stores, ATM locations, post boxes, etc)..
* Individual brick & mortar locations with a retail or service presence,
looking to be listed geographically.
* Brand representatives looking to raise awareness.  Virtual Burma Shave
road signs in OSM anyone?  "Coca-Cola Mountain and Pepsi Peak"?
* Online-only businesses, looking to spamvertize.
* Online-only businesses, looking to spamvertize, but willing to list a
physical manifestation of their business geographically.

The last is the tricky case.  If it's a warehouse that nobody may visit, is
it acceptable in OSM?  If it's an unverifiable office (no sign on the door,
no name on the mailbox), is it acceptable in OSM?  Can you really define
the difference between a geographic entity and a online-only entity?  Is
rack 3 row 8 in a server room really a physical place?

I think the very base principle for an OSM listing has to be that's is
verifiable.  The office with no name on the mailbox clearly violates the
verifiable test.  The office of an online business that has a sign... or
the data center with a name listed out front... that's a type of listing I
don't want to see happen... but can't find a clear policy answer to exclude
them by.

Though I have promoted the *website=* key through Keepright, I recognize it
is also incredibly dangerous, if latched onto by the nasty and deceptive
elements of the search engine optimization world.  What's valuable is the
link, no matter how it is attained, and no matter the collateral damage.

Kicking Bird: *How many?*
John Dunbar: *Like the stars.*
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