Proposal talk:Adopter

Boolean versus name

The proposal currently calls for adopter=* to be set to either a Boolean value (yes) or the name of the adopter. This dual use causes problems for editors and data consumers, which have to special-case certain magic words in otherwise freeform keys. (What if a street gets adopted by an organization called "Yes" or "YES"?) For situations where the sign indicates that the street is adopted without specifying the name, consider splitting out adopted=yes (which already sees some use). For situations where the sign indicates whether the street can be adopted but doesn't say whether it has been, consider adoptable=yes. – Minh Nguyễn ^💬 23:18, 10 July 2023 (UTC)

I like this idea. Changed the wiki page to reflect it. Couldn't figure out how to show 2 tags in the top box template though. partytax (talk) 3:54, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

@Partytax: Apparently {{Proposal page}} has an undocumented |tagging = parameter that accepts freeform wikitext. – Minh Nguyễn ^💬 16:37, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

Specific activities

Litter Removal

In California, Caltrans' Adopt-a-Highway program includes both an acknowledgment sign and a supplemental sign for each activity adopted or sponsored by the organization. I don't think they allow a given stretch of highway to be adopted by one organization for, say, litter removal but adopted by a second organization for wildflower planting. So the addition of adopted=litter_removal or adopted:litter_removal=yes would probably satisfy this need. However, if it is possible for two organizations to adopt the same road for different activities, then maybe adopter=* can be clarified by subkeys, for example: adopter=Friends of the Wildflowers;Enemies of Graffiti adopter:wildflower_planting=Friends of the Wildflowers adopter:graffiti_removal=Enemies of Graffiti. – Minh Nguyễn ^💬 16:47, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

Depending on verifiability, finding suitable *:adopter=* could be more useful. Currently, Attention to road servicing is mainly in winter_service:*=* and maintenance=* . There are 3 street_cleaning=* connected in India, which would be relevant to parking:*:reason=street_cleaning and other purposes. It could be street_cleaning:waste=* and street_cleaning:graffiti=* . Alternatively, maintenance:*:adopter=* shows this responsibility has been partially shared with another organization, including eg maintenance:landscaping=* ( *:wildflower_planting=* too specific?) . graffiti:*=* is already used in artwork_type=graffiti for graffiti:tag=* signature.
I was going to mention other potentially interfacing uses. There is an Adopt A Monument/Heritage movement in Europe and India. So care needs to be taken to avoid any incompatibilities. I also thought about whether adoptable=* and adopted=* could have conflict in animal and pet features, including animal cafes.
--- Kovposch (talk) 10:10, 12 July 2023 (UTC)

@Kovposch: The wildflower planting activity is distinct from landscaping. It's meant to be a more environmentally friendly alternative to typical landscaping practices – not just about beautifying the right of way but also reviving pollinator habitats. – Minh Nguyễn ^💬 20:07, 8 August 2023 (UTC)

I mean there are variations eg edible landscaping. If they are planting trees, it's still greening, regardless of which ecosystem service is intentionally improved. —— Kovposch (talk) 05:19, 9 August 2023 (UTC)

@Minh Nguyen:To update the example, how about a road with community_adopted=yes,community_adopter=Friends of the Wildflowers;Enemies of Graffiti, and community_adopter:wildflower_planting=Friends of the Wildflowers community_adopter:graffiti_removal=Enemies of Graffiti
@Kovposch: what's the advantage of using graffiti_removal:community_adopter=Enemies of Graffiti instead, aside from a slight precedent?
--- Partytax (talk) 16:09, 8 December 2023 (UTC)

@Partytax: Sure, that works. It’s more flexibility than my California example requires but still pretty intuitive. – Minh Nguyễn ^💬 17:43, 20 December 2023 (UTC)

@Minh Nguyen:Made the changes. Let me know what you think.
--- Partytax (talk) 16:09, 8 December 2023 (UTC)

Potential for Confusion in the UK

In the UK with the exception of major trunk roads and motorways, public roads are maintained by the local (county) council. The term "adopted road" is used for roads where the local council has assumed responsibility for the maintenance, rather than it being a private road. It is particularly applied to smaller residential roads and cul-de-sacs. When a new housing development is built, the roads are initially constructed and maintained by the developer, but will later be "adopted" by the council, turning them in to a public highway. Hence a tag adopted=yes, has the potential to cause confusion in the uk, both for mappers who might mistakenly apply it to all public roads, and by data consumers who may assume that it means the road is public. I don't know what you could do about this though. There may not be an alternative tag name to capture the concept you want to map. Perhaps the best we can do is to note clearly the different UK usage of the word in the tag description, and let people know that it's not describing the UK version of "adopted". -- Rjw62 (talk) 07:39, 21 August 2023 (UTC)

Agreed, Rjw62. I think the idea of the proposal is a good one though, and this would be a good idea for UK roads. I suspect Health & Safety would kill the idea off in the UK, before it started. Chris debian (talk) 12:44, 21 August 2023 (UTC)