On 16/05/12 04:35, AJ Ashton wrote:
Hi Richard& everyone,
This started off simply as an effort to improve our display London
Underground stations using existing OSM data, but was scope-creeped
into much more and apparently we messed up.
We've found that the lack of familiar London Underground and National
Rail icons is a particularly strong sticking point with people who
would otherwise happily switch to OSM, which is partly why we chose to
focus on it. The tagging for stations is not so consistent, and my
blog post goes into details about how we attempt to account for this
as much as possible at the import& rendering stages. However certain
inconsistencies seemed simple enough to just fix in OSM.
We saw network=National Rail tags already in use at various stations
and didn't think continuing to use them would be an issue. The
imports/mechanical edits policies didn't come to my mind because we
started with just a handful of edits. Even though this obviously ended
up turning into many more, I thought that things were being done quite
manually and carefully. There were no scripts or bots used, but the
error the Craig points out looks like the result of a very bulk and
incorrect copy/paste (or something) so clearly there were problems
here.
... something that might seem simple
from afar actually turns out to be a bit more nuanced, but by giving careful
consideration to the nuances, we're making what is hands-down the best map
of the world. I hope we can have a similarly useful conversation about the
stations too.
I guess our excitement to make awesome maps tripped us up here.
Richard pointed out specifically that 'the "network=National Rail" tag
is of debatable value and relevance'. I'm curious about the details of
why.
We just went with what seemed to be an established tagging system (but
I guess is actually not). I am interested to hear tagging ideas that
would be both correct and useful for rendering a map with appropriate
icon styles.
I think talking to local mappers before making remote changes over a
whole country is not just a good idea, but should be mandatory and
failure to do so should routinely be met with a revert.
I accept that your motives were good.
The railways in the UK are a mix of nationalised and private companies
who operate train services on tracks they don't own, using stations they
might operate or might not, who sometimes get represented publicly by a
company who doesn't run trains, operate stations or own any track. Some
bigger stations are operated by the national track operator but most are
operated by train operators, even though other train operators will
often share the station too. In some cites there are added complications
of underground, light rail and trams. In addition there are privately
owned and run heritage lines, some of which provide local commuter
services as well as tourist services.
You could use the well-established operator tag to help to distinguish
the stations. It would take research to find them all and there will be
a longish list to wade through for rendering. Maybe some UK mappers
could help you with their local stations.
--
Cheers, Chris
user: chillly
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