[OSM-talk] The Return of the Highway tags and other junk

[Kristian Thy]

On Mon, Dec 18, Ben Robbins wrote:
> The reason here for staying with nodes seems to be cause its easier,
> not cause its better.  That doesnt stand up to any scutany I'm
> affirad.

The reason for staying with nodes is, as Dirk (I think it was) pointed
out: these features are, *topologically speaking*, without extent. This
isn't OpenTopographicalMap or OpenLanduseMap, it's a streetmap - and
streets are about topology.
 
> >not making a scale drawing so that we can recreate it.
> 
> A map is a to scale drawing.

No. A to scale drawing is just that - a to scale drawing. It's like
this: http://tinyurl.com/tvltm [gif]. In order to create such a thing
you need surveying equipment, such as a DGPS and a total station.

A map, and especially a street map, is an abstract way of representing a
topological network with certain tradeoffs in accuracy being made in
order to increase usability and legibility. Some of these include
drawing roads wider than they are in scale, representing physically
linear but small features as points, etc.

>   These points don't seem to stand up to much scrutany. In short If there 
> isnt some rasional agreement, I will just ignore it.

Feel free to do so. Don't be surprised when the rest of us ignore your
idiosyncratic way of doing things.

> Pictorial accuracy in maps is as inportant as the datas posible use for auto 
> route finding.  Not everyone uses routefinders and maps togheter all the 
> time.

A consequence of what I said above is that a pictorially accurate map
would be atrocious for actually using it for manual navigation.

\\kristian
-- 
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