[Talk-GB] C roads again

Andy Allan gravitystorm at gmail.com
Wed Aug 13 17:14:03 UTC 2014


On 13 August 2014 12:38, Robert Whittaker (OSM lists)
<robert.whittaker+osm at gmail.com> wrote:
>  I would still maintain that
> the benefits of having reference numbers shown to users on
> highway=tertiary roads (in terms of allowing them to cross-reference
> the map to official documents) outweighs the drawbacks (extra
> cluttering is minimal, and the fact that they're not signed on the
> ground in the UK should be easy to get used to).

No, it really doesn't. The number times the average person needs to
cross-reference the map to official documents in their lifetime tends
to zero. On the other hand, the number of times people will look at an
OSM map and get confused by road references not shown anywhere else
that they will ever see - well, that's non-zero. Saying people will
'get used to' ignoring these official-use-only numbers is also doubly
wrong - they shouldn't need to 'get used to' ignoring administrivial
details, and in any case if OSM is full of unhelpful nonsense then
they will more likely just stop using it entirely.

Imagine an argument saying that we should show the Companies House
registration numbers for all shops. Or the VOA Business rates
reference numbers for shops. Or both. Now imagine yourself saying,
with a straight face, 'oh, these are useful when you need to
crossreference information with government sources. The fact that they
aren't signed on the ground - and aren't otherwise useful to the
general public - should be easy for you to get used to'.

Cheers,
Andy



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