[Tagging] automated edits seem to remove crossing=zebra drastically

[Matthew Woehlke]

On 16/09/2020 05.57, Martin Koppenhoefer wrote:
> I noticed that crossing=zebra tag usage is drastically shrinking while the
> very generic crossing=marked, which was quite unpopular before (2013-2018
> below 6000 uses) now went through the roof and is leading the tagstats with
> more than 1 million uses. What do you think about it, shouldn't we be
> encouraging people to use more specific tags like crossing=zebra or
> crossing=traffic_signals instead?

My understanding is that crossing=zebra is deprecated in favor of 
crossing=uncontrolled / crossing=traffic_signals. In particular, my 
understanding is that they are synonymous for (almost¹) all practical 
purposes. (Also, that crossing=marked is not desired either...)

Please explain how crossing=marked is "very generic" and what value 
crossing=zebra adds.

Additionally, crossing=zebra is not an approved tag (according to the 
wiki), and "It is not always clear what the intended meaning is when 
used outside of the UK". This doesn't seem like a tag we should be 
encouraging.

(Feel free to disagree with the above, but in that case, the correct 
solution is to a) seek approval for the tag and b) clarify the 
documentation.)

(¹ Pedantically, I suppose you could argue that crossing=zebra refers to 
a specific *form* of marking, i.e. repeated white stripes, while the 
approved crossing=uncontrolled could include crossings marked only by 
two parallel white lines. However, I would question the value added by 
mapping that distinction.)

-- 
Matthew