[Tagging] Drain vs ditch

[Peter Elderson]

If there is a drain worth mapping, I will map it as a drain. 

If the drain has the form of a ditch and I can see its only function is to be a drain, I will map a drain. Size and lining may be indicators, not definers.

If a ditch has unclear function or multiple functions, I will map a ditch. If I think it’s worth mapping.

I will not systematically retag drains to ditches unless the national community decides to do so. Automated edits: no way. 

Mvg Peter Elderson

> Op 2 feb. 2019 om 14:22 heeft Hufkratzer <hufkratzer at gmail.com> het volgende geschreven:
> 
> If we were discussing a proposal I would agree, but replacing waterway=drain by waterway=ditch + usage=drainage or sth. like that is not such an easy task.  We already have 800k drains. I assume it requires a proposal with volting to deprecate drain, adaption of the presets, perhaps a mass edit. Who will do all this? Is the advantage of using waterway=ditch + usage=drainage instead of waterway=drain so immense that it is worth the effort?
> 
> Am 02.02.2019 13:58, schrieb nwastra:
>> +1
>> 
>> N
>> 
>>>> On 2 Feb 2019, at 10:39 pm, Markus <selfishseahorse at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> On Sat, 2 Feb 2019 at 11:21, Sergio Manzi <smz at smz.it> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Thank-you for confirming that, Mark.
>>>> 
>>>> Personally I think we, in OSM, should stop with this folly of overloading English words with meanings they do not have in any dictionary (be it AmE, BrE, CaE, or whatever).
>>>> 
>>>> Both the "ditch" and "drain" words can be used to describe certain features in English. The difference is essentially an etymological one, with one related to the process of excavation (dig -> ditch) and the other to the function of carrying liquids away (dry -> drain).
>>>> 
>>>> If we want to precisely map certain characteristics of a feature we should do it explicitly through a correct data model that takes into consideration the particular aspect we are trying to communicate. We want to communicate the information that a (small) waterway is lined with concrete? Just say that with an appropriate tag, like e.g. lined=*, or lining=*. We want to communicate the information that a (small) waterway is used to carry waste water away? Once again, let's say that with an appropriate tag, like e.g. usage=* (please ignore if the specific tags I put in the examples are not of your liking: not the point here, let's discuss that later...).
>>>> 
>>>> Arbitrarily overloading words with meanings they do not have in the common language is just a perfect way to Babel, that is a reduction in information.
>>> + 1
>>> 
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