[OSM-talk] New dimension of vandalism

[David Earl]

On 27/08/2009 17:21, Martin Koppenhoefer wrote:
> OK, I set up a page (not that I wouldn't have prefered to do sth. more
> useful like mapping in this time, but this issue is really important
> to me, that's why I started the discussion and why I now set up the
> page. I'm really hoping that this time there will be more contribution
> on voting than in general.

I think this whole discussion is like trying to change things by 
bludgeoning by email. I've had to largely stop reading it because I 
cannot possibly read and contribute to the hundreds of messages there 
have been on the subject.

I think it is a complete nonsense proposal and doesn't just change the 
highway tag but potentially the basis on which we tag all objects in 
OSM. This is tagging by subjective not objective criteria.

Tagging something as a motorway when it isn't signed that way or 
vice-versa just because in someone's opinion it looks a more "important" 
road is a rubbish way of doing it IMO.

There are subjective judgements to be made when the evidence is thin on 
the ground, I grant you; but to fly in the face of the physical evidence 
is perverse.

If you want a "I think this looks like a motorway" tag, 
("quacks_like_a_duck=motorway"?), fine, but please don't change the 
meaning of almost everything everyone has done.

To do this on the basis of a few votes on the wiki when there's 
thousands of mappers using these tags every day is a pretence of 
democracy. This one is more on the scale of the vote on a license change.

David