[Talk-us] Timezones in USA?

[L. David Baron]

On Thursday 2016-05-26 22:17 +0200, Frederik Ramm wrote:
> On 05/26/2016 09:22 PM, L. David Baron wrote:
> > Perhaps it would make more sense for the timezones to be their own
> > areas on the map, rather than being represented by tags added to
> > existing areas?  (Most or all of the nodes for such areas should
> > already exist.)
> 
> I have deleted a couple of such time zone polygons account of not being
> verifiable on the ground.
> 
> I don't know how time zones are defined "at the source" but it is very
> unlikely that someone puts up signs. I guess there'll be some kind of
> definition that can be kept *outside* of OSM, and can be translated to
> polygons with the help of OSM if desired.

The same argument could be used to say that administrative
boundaries (national, state, local) should not be in OSM, since
they are, in general, also not verifiable on the ground.

However, they are useful to have in maps, and OSM has them.

Timezones are also useful to have in maps.

I would think the decision on whether time zone boundaries should be
in OSM should center on what the costs and benefits of having them
in OSM are.  The costs seem likely related to how they will be
maintained and whether they will be kept up-to-date, and the
benefits are tied to those who would find the data useful.

(I should also note that the boundaries of tz database regions
change substantially less often than the actual time rules for the
regions.)

-David

-- 
𝄞   L. David Baron                         http://dbaron.org/   𝄂
𝄢   Mozilla                          https://www.mozilla.org/   𝄂
             Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
             What I was walling in or walling out,
             And to whom I was like to give offense.
               - Robert Frost, Mending Wall (1914)
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