[Tagging] surface=ground/dirt/earth

[David Bannon]

On Sun, 2014-03-23 at 20:55 +0100, vali wrote:
> I agree we should find a tag to note "practicability". 

In an ideal world Vali, I'd agree. But we do need to think about all the
roads already in the database. I'd prefer to extend and encourage
greater use of an existing, well used tag if possible. 

>....
> 
> Since tracktype is widely used the actual definitions shouldn't be
> changed, but new grades can be added and they don't need to imply the
> higher the number, the worst the track.

We absolutely must not change existing definitions, agree. But we can
supplement those definitions so people can more easily apply them to a
road they are describing. I am also keenly in favour of adding new
grades but do think they need to be a linear extension of the existing
set. The value of the grades rests in a (eg) routing engine knowing that
a grade3 will be easier to drive than a grade4. Or allowing an end user
to tell their routing engine "I don't do anything worse that grade4".

Please have a read of this 
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Talk:Key:tracktype#Increasing_flexibility
section of the Discussion on tracktype=

David
> 
> 
> 
> 2014-03-21 11:10 GMT+01:00 Pieren <pieren3 at gmail.com>:
>         On Fri, Mar 21, 2014 at 1:09 AM, Fernando Trebien
>         <fernando.trebien at gmail.com> wrote:
>         
>         > If so many people agree that the current values are
>         inappropriate
>         
>         
>         "smoothness" was very controversial from its beginning. It is
>         not used
>         by any data consumer and probably will never be in the future
>         (for the
>         reasons already reported here). But people use it.
>         
>         > let's write a proposal for the new
>         > values, get it approved (should be easy) and recommend
>         against using
>         > the old (current) values.
>         
>         
>         Your new values remembers me an older proposal:
>         http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Humanitarian_OSM_Tags/practicability
>         
>         There might be some others since this discussion is not really
>         new.
>         
>         > http://oi59.tinypic.com/33fala8.jpg
>         > highway=path + smoothness=off_road_wheels + tracktype=grade2
>         +
>         > mtb:scale=3 + sac_scale=mountain_hiking + surface=rocky
>         
>         
>         I think in general, we should clearly distinguish
>         "practicability"
>         tags for tracks and paths because it's not the same type of
>         transportation (4 wheels vehicles  for "track" and mtb, (atv),
>         off-road motocycles, pedestrians for "path"). Please keep
>         "mtb:scale"
>         and "sac_scale" for paths/footways and "tracktype" for tracks.
>         Otherwise it will be very confusing for everyone.
>         
>         > http://oi59.tinypic.com/4htmag.jpg
>         > highway=path + smoothness=robust_wheels + tracktype=grade4 +
>         > mtb:scale=0 + sac_scale=hiking + surface=earth
>         
>         
>         This example is a track for me.
>         
>         Pieren
>         
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