Talk:Key:ref:shop:num

Is this tag needed?

I'm just wondering if we need the tag because ref=* can do the same function. We could have ref:bus:num=* (for bus stops) or ref:exit:num=* (for exit numbers) if people continue to use this scheme. Roadgeek99 (talk) 19:51, 21 August 2015 (UTC)

• My understanding is that ref=* is a very broad tag which you can put almost anything into. This tag is supposed to clarify that the reference is referring to a shop's internal reference rather than something more prominent (e.g. a highway name). The ref=* wiki page lists several sub tags that are used to give greater clarity than simply using ref=*; I think this is an appropriate tag. --MRPockets 06:32, 25 September 2015 (UTC)
• No, I don't think this tag is needed. The ref=* tag is meant to be used in conjunction with other tags. The fact that the reference refers to a shop is evident by the combination with the shop=* tag and "num" seems to be generally unnecessary as the ref=* tag generally refers to a number or code. Generally, you would need to create alternate versions of the ref=* tag if you expect to need to tag multiple references on the same object. An example would be if you have a bridge. The road would have name=* and also possible a bridge:name=*. Similarly, ref=* would be the highway reference number and bridge:ref=* would be a reference number specific to that bridge.--Dobratzp (talk) 22:18, 29 January 2016 (UTC)