On Sat, Mar 27, 2010 at 10:06 AM, Pieren <[email protected]> wrote: > On Sat, Mar 27, 2010 at 2:45 PM, John F. Eldredge <[email protected]> > wrote: >> >> No, but neither do most of the purely-residential streets in this part of >> the city. >> >> > > You talk about a grey zone where both, residential or unclassified, are > correct. Just think that some routers for bikes might give a preference to > residential streets as they are supposed to have a low car traffic : > > http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Bicycle#On-Road_Cycling_.28Cycle_Friendly_Streets.29
Since this is the newbies list, let's talk about a guideline a newbie can follow. In general, I resist re-classifying things that are already on the map. I presume that the mapper before me had a good reason for their choice. I will happily reclassify things if I have evidence that the object has changed (new construction, road realignment), or if the previous source was less-reliable (low-res aerial, TIGER). This is one reason that I really appreciate good comments and good source tags. Changing just because I disagree with the interpretation of another mapper is seldom the right thing to do. Evidence, sure; interpretation, seldom. I'm less restricted when I add something new to the map. I'll tag as well as my observational skills, judgment and available time allow. And I try to leave good notes when I know things can be improved. For example: This building outline was sketched based on my gps track and a rough guess. http://www.openstreetmap.org/browse/way/51243936 You should feel free to fix it if good aerial imagery becomes available, or if you have a suitably licensed engineering plan of the building. Nobody else involved with OSM is likely to have the same knowledge that John has of his street. So John's judgment and information at hand is likely to be excellent. As long as John's personal interest is not a conflict of interest ("I think I'll downgrade my road so I get less traffic while I'm trying to sleep.") it would be hard to argue against John's decision to reclassify his road. That said, John might consider taking a broader view of his town and adjust the classifications of the other similar roads. This should help give John context for his edit, and my improve the overall map of his town. _______________________________________________ newbies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/newbies
