[Tagging] RFC: remove alphanumeric code visible in infoboxes at OSM Wiki linking to Wikidata

[kaartjesman at mykolab.com]

On 7 april 2022 09:11:49 CEST Minh Nguyen wrote:
> Not every real problem demands an immediate fix. I don't see
> anyone insisting that mappers put down what they're doing and
> fix Wikipedia and Wikidata, just as Wikipedians and Wikidatans
> aren't being told to put down what they're doing and clean up
> crufty, duplicative GNIS POIs in OSM. That said, I'm bullish
> about Wikidata being able to clean up its overconflation
> problem faster than OSM because of its acceptance of
> common-sense batch editing (not to be confused with bot
> editing).

Well said.
And this made me realize something.

The two projects have, ultimately, a very different approach and a 
very different goal.

Wikidata is, by their own words, a "knowledge base". It is meant 
to document the world but not be a part of it.

At first glance this may seem the same to OSM, but it isn't. That 
would be like saying a dictionary is the same as language. They 
are distinctly different.

The fact is that OSM is a living "document". It is meant to 
evolve. It is meant to reflect the local knowledge first. If a new 
building is added, the map is updated. It lives, its local and it 
follows people.

Yes, we know that the best way for your local map to be useful to 
me is if we share tags and concepts. And this list is the prime 
example of that need and of the differences between people.
The tagset we care about (covid19 tags, anyone?) is a living 
thing that evolves.

So wikidata is more like a dictionary and OSM is more like daily-
speech.
Now imagine what happens when people are forced to only use 
dictionary words in their daily speech?
The language dies. That is what happens.

OSM is meant to be a living thing and marrying it to wikidata is 
always going to give friction because the goals are different.

Personally I don't think the effort has any merit and I support 
the proposal to remove the wiki tags.