Proposal:Top-level information tag
| Top-level information tag | |
|---|---|
| Proposal status: | Proposed (under way) |
| Proposed by: | Quincylvania |
| Tagging: | information=* |
| Applies to: | |
| Definition: | Any information-related feature. |
| Statistics: |
|
| Draft started: | 2024-10-07 |
| RFC start: | 2024-10-17 |
Proposal
information=* shall become a top-level tag defined as infrastructure intended to convey information. It shall no longer require tourism=information. The meaning of existing information=* tags shall remain the same except be broadened to include non-tourism uses. This tagging aligns with the manner the information=* key already tends to be used in practice.
Two tags that do not match other information=* values, information=office and information=visitor_centre, shall be reclassified as tourism=office and tourism=visitor_centre.
Rationale
tourism=information is by far the most-used value of tourism=*, a key which otherwise encompasses tourist attractions and lodging. Nearly all tourism=information features are tagged with the subtype information=*, which makes information=* alone a fully-defined tag. The vast majority of information=* values refer to a type of physical sign or marker. Just two common values go against this pattern: information=office and information=visitor_centre. If these two tags were reclassified under tourism=*, then information=* would be well-defined as a category for "physical infrastructure intended to convey information" while tourism=* would be well-defined as a category for "tourist attractions and amenities".
The desired benefit of a categorical key is to convey basic commonalities between all its values. One should be able to assume that all tourism=* features are of interest to tourists, including tourism=information. But while information features are often useful to tourists, it is wrong to assume they exist only in tourist areas, or that they are useless to non-tourists. Plenty of information features are present in places where a tourism=* tag would be nonsensical or inappropriate. Sprawling areas like prisons, shopping malls, office parks, college campuses, refugee camps, cemeteries, and factories are all likely to have signage. The information=* tag seems best-suited to these scenarios, but requiring tourism=information for non-tourist signage dilutes the meaning of the tourism=* key. A mapper may currently ask, "how do I tag a guidepost in a nuclear power plant?" and either use tourism=information + information=guidepost erroneously, make up some nonstandard tagging, or not map the data at all.
Tagging
- information=* is defined simply as a piece of infrastructure intended to convey information. It no longer requires tourism=information.
- tourism=office replaces tourism=information + information=office
- tourism=visitor_centre replaces tourism=information + information=visitor_centre
- Other information=* values remain the same. Mappers may choose to add tourism=yes if a feature is tourism-oriented.
- tourism=information may linger as a generic tag for any sort of tourist information facility that doesn't fit under more precise tags.
Rendering
Rendering remains unchanged, but renderers may need to be updated to expect the new tagging.
Features/Pages affected
- Key:tourism
- Tag:tourism=information
- All information=* value pages
External discussions
Comments
Please comment on the discussion page.