[Talk-ca] Deleting non-visible Administrative Boundaries (or "The Great Wall of China")

[Bruno Remy]

Hi,

In this post of Talk-US, Frederik suggests NOT mapping administrative
boundaries that are not visible on ground (fences, toll, etc...)

http://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/talk-us/2012-December/010026.html

Don't you think that the notion of "virtual" or not is absolutly not
applicable on administrative boundaries?! Since humanity  exists,
administrative boundaries determines the link beetween   (population)
Gouvernements and Geography. Look at our history: except The Great Wall of
China, most of old and big Empires settled their boundaries without marks
(fences....).
Look at most administrative boundaries in Sahel (Mali, Mauritanie) or in
the the United States (Nevada, Arizona): Long strait virtual lines into
Desert Land, without fences neither natural limits (rivers...).
And what about limits beetween USA and Canada in the Oceans and See?
Do we delete those boundaries because they're not "visible"?

So ... deleting (or nor drawing) administrative boundaries makes no sence
in this way!
Dont'you mind?

A Map has to be a citizen information of administrative and geographical
data (and this includes administrative boundaries) and not "2D version of
what OpenStreetMap offers in 3D version"

With political, historical and administrative point-of-view a map should
not apply the principe of "What You See Is What You Get".
If this were the case, only satelites will remain the "only single base
material of GIS", and map will die! Isn't it?

I don't think so but i wonder the absurdity of such arguments in favor of
"WYSIWYG" in mapping.

What do you think of that?

Bruno Remy
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