On 31/08/2015, Christoph Hormann <chris_horm...@gmx.de> wrote: > I would be careful here - 'dirt' is essentially a very vague term which > probably originates from the concept of 'dirt roads' here. 'Soil' in > the other hand is fairly precise, see > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil > > Only parts of the earth surface are actually covered by soil so if a way > is correctly tagged with surface=soil (and i don't know if that is the > case for the 400 cases you mention) this is something specific and > potentially useful and should not be degraded by turning it into > something as vague as surface=dirt. > > In general i think surface=ground is the most sensible tag for tagging > ways that are just established somewhere without notible construction > work when you can't be more specific - it implies that the way surface > is essentially the ground there in its natural state. surface=dirt > OTOH can mean anything from the remaining tracks of a car driving > across a wayless area to a solidly built gravel road.
Agreed. Between soil, dirt, ground, earth, and mud, dirt is the worst defined of the lot, and I would hesitate to use it for anything. If you do want to consolidate tags, "earth" is a much better synonym of "soil" and you should probably use that instead. "Ground" is earth+rocks+sometimes_vegetation. "mud" is earth with a lot of water and clay. _______________________________________________ Tagging mailing list Tagging@openstreetmap.org https://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/tagging