[talk-au] Fwd: : Re: "Removing closed or illegal trails."

[stevea]

I've said this in other contexts and places and times:

> Displaying a closed trail on a map (like OSM) does NOT cause people to navigate that trail.  Such behavior is completely up to the individual who "concludes" from reading said map "hey, I'm going to hike that closed trail anyway."  (Bzzzt; fail, human logic).
> 
> OSM is not responsible for human foolishness, scofflaws or illegal (stupid, dangerous...) behavior.  You simply can't say "the map made me do it."
> 
> On the other hand, I do hear loud and clear the "natural preserve" areas which ARE open to human recreation, DO have "closed trails" (often with fragile and easily-human-damaged natural resources) and people, stupidly and ignorantly I might say by way of being candid, decide to hike (or bike, or motorbike...) there anyway.  This is not the fault of a map, any map, including OSM.
> 
> OSM does its best to map "what is."  Period.  It doesn't "make people" engage in activities people shouldn't engage in.  Anybody who says so hasn't got it right, but MIGHT be worth listening to at how the map can be improved.  This includes better instructions to end-users ("downstream apps...") when warranted.