[Talk-us] Categorizing Stores/Restaurants

[dion_dock at comcast.net]

Businesses don't make it easy when they go by multiple names.  Is it IBM or International Business Machines?  BMW or Bayerische Motoren Werke or Bavarian Motor Works?  This applies to people too.  Is it Bill Clinton or William Clinton?  One is technically correct but no one uses it.

I'm sure you'll find similar issues with punctuation.  IBM or I.B.M.?  Starbucks Coffee?

In your example of QFC, I'd tag it name=QFC and maybe throw in an alternate_name= or note=.

-Dion

> Date: Tue, 14 Jun 2011 16:58:40 -0700
> From: Clifford Snow <clifford at snowandsnow.us>
> To: Josh Kraayenbrink <josh at kraayenbrink.net>,
> 	talk-us at openstreetmap.org
> Subject: Re: [Talk-us] Categorizing Stores/Restaurants
> Message-ID: <BANLkTi=4JGfJ0KLBmXrqTiNCVB-EJf919Q at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> 
> I'm a newbie and I've come across similar problems.  However, maybe
> the
> solution isn't so much in tags, but a need to normalize *if that's the
> right
> word" the data.  Your example of Sears is good.  If I populate a store
> with
> Sears, why can't I get a potlatch pull down that gives me all the
> correct
> tags for Sears.  Locally we have a grocery chain, QFC.  OSM has it
> listed as
> QFC, QFC Supermarket, QFC (Quality Food Center). and oddly enought,
> QFC
> Parking.  Since QFC is wholly owned by Kroger, there doesn't seem to
> be a
> official name.  Kroger refers to them as QFC and Quality Food Centers
> (QFC).
>  My point is that there is lots of opportunity for interpretation
> when
> entering data.
> 
> Is it possible for potlatch to give suggestions to improve the data?