Proposal talk:Yarn shops
Bringing discussion from tagging-list post
Sorry, I didn't see the admonishment from here asking us to bring this discussion to here.
So, I'll repeat what I said here as a "kickoff."
Yes, sewing and knitting aren't all that related. In California, we have what are often known as "Vac-and-Sew" shops which sell (not necessarily all of) vacuum cleaners and their supplies (hoses, attachments, nozzles, refill bags...), sewing supplies and maybe sewing machines, sometimes fabric, sometimes yarn and knitting supplies. Some of them offer classes in these endeavors, as well, in which case, they are more than a shop=*, they are a sort of school=*. (Or "artist-oriented classroom," like a pottery studio which teaches how to use pottery wheels and might offer clay, glazes, other related supplies and even kiln-space "rental").
My point is that these are all different. The long-standing OSM tenet of "tag, tag well" (or "tag your best") continues to apply. While I have all due respect for wiki-authors who do great work of categorizing these things, at best these can only be considered as guidelines, rather than hard-and-fast tagging "requirements." Yes, in OSM, (as "Street" is our middle name), in some cases, as with motorways, a highway=motorway is a highway=motorway pretty much the world over. (Because we say so, we define what we mean by that). With shops and art-related endeavors, there is much, much more variability, and I doubt we'll ever reach consensus what "best" or "perfect" strategies are. So, the best we can do is continue to offer "tag your best" and "tag well" as ongoing strategies. Sure, discuss further if more can be "wrung out" of such discussions, but realize that perfection may never be achieved.
As long as "tag your best" and "one feature, one tag" continue, I think we're in good shape. Stevea (talk) 23:31, 2 January 2023 (UTC)
shop=haberdashery ?
Martin K asks if this is different from a haberdashery. I would say "absolutely, yes." Especially because this word (haberdashery) differs in definition between British English and North American English, it may even make sense for OSM to not use shop=haberdashery, as it can be ambiguous / confusing. In North America, my (Apple macOS Ventura) dictionary (quite good, and I've used dozens of dictionaries in my life) lists as definitions "1 North American men's clothing and accessories; a shop in which men's clothing and accessories are sold." And "2 British small items used in sewing, such as buttons, zippers, and thread; notions; a shop or a department within a larger store that sells items used in sewing." As my native tongue is US English, I read/hear the word haberdashery as absolutely "men's clothing and furnishings" and find the British sense to be quite a surprise, even as it exists. I believe it is an easy conclusion that we should neither conflate "haberdashery" with a "yarn shop" nor (perhaps) even use shop=haberdashery in OSM going forward, because of this ambiguity: it is surprising and I wouldn't flinch to learn that others don't know of it as well (in both directions). This is a side-topic to "yarn shop," but it's clear that these sorts of things greatly differ from one another around the world. And, I certainly have seen "yarn shops" which are solely dedicated to "yarn and knitting supplies," so I can offer some respect for this being a "worthy" tag. Stevea (talk) 23:42, 2 January 2023 (UTC)