[Tagging] Layers (was Eruvs etc.)

[Evan Carroll]

The best way to get this process started is to side step the very valid
questions people are raising about cross-layer synchronization. And to ask
the question: what kinds of layers do *NOT* need to be synchronized? The
answer to that question for me, is public *authoritative* data sets. These
are things that are controversial and NOT currently included in OSM, and
things that otherwise should certainly NOT be included in OSM. Key word:
*authority*.

For the purposes of determining a plot of land or an Eruv, you need the
government or clergy sanctioning it. That excludes me. And, at the point
that it excludes me, I say give them a layer in OSM, or allow them to
self-host their own remote layer with an installer. We can all have layers.
We're solving a problem there.

But does that layer need to be synchronized with the real world, as we know
and experience it? No. Absolutely not. In fact, it's not a feature that it
is. And the idea that an Eruv is an area designated by a fishing string on
electrical poles is nonsense, and an attempt to pull the wool over the
eyes. Again, you need only connect another pole into the barrier network
and drape it with string. It would have equal standing geographically, but
it doesn't have the _authority_ of an Eruv. IMHO, it would be vandalism to
ignore the authority and mark it as such. For me, all that stuff should be
purged.

That includes state boundaries too: 200 years ago a state may have been
defined by a river. But if that river changes course and we update, the
state boundary doesn't typically change. This an indicator it's an area by
fiat and nothing more, and we can easily use layers to fix that. In fact,
that the state can not share the boundary with an actual living river is a
feature.

Taking it another step further, we side step all the questions about
national naming too: kurdistan/turkey, palestine/israel, etc. Delegate it
to authoritative layers which can call them whatever you want.

My ideal OSM is simple. I go outside and observe something, I can edit it.
When you're not concerned with my observation or it's not enough, you need
authority and layers will solve that.


--
Evan Carroll - me at evancarroll.com
System Lord of the Internets
web: http://www.evancarroll.com
ph: 281.901.0011 <+1-281-901-0011>
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