[Tagging] How to tag an utilitarian fountain?

[Paul Allen]

On Thu, 6 Feb 2020 at 17:38, António Madeira <antoniomadeira at gmx.com> wrote:

> It's not arbitrary and you're missing the point by circling around a non
> issue.
>

We seem to be talking past each other.

I'm not saying to change the meaning of fountain, which can have some
> subtle differences between countries,
>

Would we be having this discussion if the British English word for an
ornamental
fountain were "mxyzptlk" and your language's word for a drinking fountain
were
"kltpzyxm"?  No.  Not even if EVERY fountain in the UK were ornamental and
didn't provide drinking water and EVERY fountain in your country was ugly
but
provided drinking water.


> I'm saying to let it open to retain its British meaning and add the
> possibility to have different uses depending on the country.
>

That way madness lies. It means that tourists in foreign countries have no
idea
what they're going to get if they see a fountain on a map.  It means
mappers in
foreign countries may tag fountains according to their idea of what a
fountain is,
not what that country thinks a fountain is.


> A person outside Europe will still find what she/he wants by searching the
> tag fountain, either with OR without drinking_water.
>

How?  I go to your country looking for drinking water and all I see on the
map
are ornamental fountains because that's what "fountain" means to me.  You
come
to the UK looking for drinking water and drink from an ornamental fountain
that
doesn't doesn't supply drinkable water because that's what "fountain" means
to
you.  This way madness lies.

BTW,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Contrasting_messages_on_Harford_Fountain,_Harford_Square,_Lampeter_-_geograph.org.uk_-_6178011.jpg

-- 
Paul
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