[Talk-us] Timezones in USA?

[Greg Troxel]

Frederik Ramm <frederik at remote.org> writes:

> 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.

This strict on-the-ground notion is overblown.  The real issue in
verifiability is if an ordinary mapper can check the data.  Everyone
around me knows that timezone they are in.  I'm sure everyone near a
boundary knows where it is.  The rules are easily accessible in
libraries, and they refer to boundaries that are signed (in the US,
usually state lines).  You can look at clocks displayed in public.

The real issue is where to draw the line about specialized details that
don't belong on map.  In the case of time zones, they are something that
has traditionally been represented on maps for a long time, in a base
map kind of way, vs a thematic data shown on a base map kind of way.
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