[Tagging] power=* tag: minor_line vs. line

[David Marchal]

Indeed, mappers aren't supposed to know everything, neither the recommended modelling nor the technical details of power lines, but the landscape criteria seems simple enough to allow them to understand it if they are informed about it; besides, even if they are not aware of it, experienced mappers can correct and detail it later, so the distinction won't be useless at all, even if it isn"t used at the first mapping. I mean, newbies may be unaccustomated to the difference between streams and drains, but that's not a reason to give up this discrimination between those waterways.

From: ralph.aytoun at ntlworld.com
To: tagging at openstreetmap.org
Date: Wed, 14 Oct 2015 10:14:48 +0100
Subject: Re: [Tagging] power=* tag: minor_line vs. line







Please remember that this is OpenStreetMap and most mappers are not experts 
on the features they are mapping. It is my personal appeal to all to allow a 
tagging system that allows general mappers to put a specific feature on the map 
using overall basic tags and then the experts can come in and “add” additional 
tags to break it into it’s specific grouping or usage and even take it to the 
nth degree of ridiculous if 
they so wish. Let us take the Electricity Grid as that example, if the general 
mapper can identify a power line on the aerial imagery then they map it as a 
power=line. They may even have the ability to identify the position of 
most pylons (if the imagery shows a good shadow to identify between pole and 
pylon) through open country, it becomes a lot more difficult and blurred in 
Towns and Cities. For those who have a bit more local knowledge of the grid they 
may then add the major detail such as National Grid which carries the highest 
voltage, this breaks down to a lower voltage at a sub station to enter the 
regional grid and then repeats this step to a lower voltage again for the local 
or distributer grid. 
Hopefully you will bear in mind the mapper and the process of getting 
detail on the map before you start deciding that the mappers should all be using 
the detailed knowledge tags that you are proposing. If the tags get too detailed 
for general mappers then you are going to stop them from adding basic detail to 
the map. I for one will stop adding power lines altogether if I do not know if 
it is high or low voltage, national or local grid. I WILL CONTINUE TO MAP THEM 
IF I AM ABLE TO JUST TAG IT AS A POWER LINE and be able to leave it up to 
someone with more knowledge to identify it further.
Please remember the majority of mappers are not experts in all fields. I 
may identify a structure on the aerial imagery and identify it as a building but 
I have no way of knowing if it is a family home, a corner shop or a local pub 
... so I tag it with the most general tag building=yes. I need to be 
able to do the same with power lines ... a very basic tag for general use.

_______________________________________________
Tagging mailing list
Tagging at openstreetmap.org
https://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/tagging 		 	   		  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/tagging/attachments/20151014/1b030046/attachment.html>