[OSM-talk] generic websites for brands and website tags

[Stephan Knauss]

Hello,

a while ago it was discouraged to add a website= tag to all features of 
brands like Starbucks or McDonald's which is pointing to the brand 
webpage. Instead it was encouraged to link to the specific website of 
the outlet mapped.

What is the current status on the community on this?

The wiki (english) of McDonald's states still the above.
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Tag:name%3DMcDonald%27s

On Starbucks a mapper recently reverted that statement and actively 
encourages to link to the brand website.
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/POI:Starbucks

The page for website key is a bit unclear, just mentioning "official 
website for the related features", which could be interpreted in both ways.

https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Key:website

So what is the common practice, and expectation so see in the website tag?

Stephan