[OSM-talk] Improving ref=* documentation

[stevea]

I agree with Colin, as what he says below is well-stated and shows how nuanced things are.  I have no trouble at all with Colin's words (succinct as they are) going directly into the ref=* key wiki, as that's what we're sharpening up here.

My "quick and easy, most-of-the-time" answer to what goes into ref=* is "what is on the sign on the ground."  Can a case be made for "what a government database SAYS it is?"  Yes, of course.  Maybe even "somewhat frequently."  Especially when there are no or only very few signs, and "that's how we should/do know it, we simply haven't put up a whole bunch of (or even ANY in some cases) signs."

We do mean at least a couple (here they are), maybe a few things with the ref=* tag.  Let's state them as explicitly as we can.  We tease apart a lot by being explicit with what we (have been, are) meaning with a single tag.  So, it's good we do this.

(Most excellent:  "Neither are demonstrably wrong.")

> On Aug 4, 2021, at 3:40 PM, Colin Smale <colin.smale at xs4all.nl> wrote:
> 
>> On 08/04/2021 11:43 PM stevea <steveaosm at softworkers.com> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> +1 here:  I say "on-the-ground truth" overrides a database (whether government, private or otherwise), every time.
>> 
>> Is it possible I'm mistaken in some particular corner case?  Sure, but I (we) have yet to be presented that (here).
>> 
>> 
>> On Aug 4, 2021, at 2:34 PM, Brian M. Sperlongano <zelonewolf at gmail.com> wrote:
>>> If the sign on the ground doesn't match the government's database, then the obvious answer is that the government database is wrong.  I don't see why we would replicate demonstrably wrong data into OSM.
> 
> I would say they are both right, but in different frames of reference. Neither are demonstrably wrong.
> 
> The government database gives an authoritative answer to the question of what the road number *IS* - this is their prerogative, they issue the IDs. Nobody can argue otherwise.
> 
> The on-the-ground signage gives an authoritative answer to the question of what the road *IS SIGNED AS*, and the question of what is written on the sign present at a certain location. Asking a sample of local residents or regular users might provide an answer to the question of what the road is *KNOWN AS* which is yet another different semantic.