“How do I tag this” Is the most asked question of OSM users, isn’t it? Newbees may easily learn how to draw points and lines in a OSM-Tutorial-Game. But how do editors help with tagging? You have to memorize it or search in the OSM-Wiki. Potlarch, Josm and also a lot of Apps have some menus and dialogs to guild tagging. I assume, they are separably hard coded and maintained by each developer, more or less influenced by user feedback.

My suggestion: #### Let’s create a database for Guided Tagging rules The knowledge about tagging, written down in a well defined format, interpretable by software.

The format may be XML and defined by a XML-scheme. The content will, define all the ways, tags may be selected and checked by an interpreter code. Step by step, the scheme and the interpreter may handle more features:

• Select-Menus and -Trees
• Dialogs with Switches, Selections, Radio-Buttons and so on
• Rules to consider between Tags (excludes, includes, context, …)
• Sub-Dialog-Trees (i.e. Tagging scheme for wheel chair access)
• A default-list “Often used” (“Recently used” done by the interpreter code)
• An alphanumeric Index for text search!
• Tag names in English and multilingual
• Tooltips and small help texts (i.e. What means Path Grade 1 to 5?)
• Links to Tag-Symbols
• Links to the tag description in the OSM-Wiki
• menus for often used task (i.e. mapping buildings) The editor may allow to add user-defined menus

The XML-database may be edited online like wiki pages by registered members. It can be checked by the XML-scheme automatically (There could be an WYSIWYG-Editor later) The changes should be approved by a team of experienced members.

The XML-scheme and the interpreter code have to be maintained synchronously by a team of developers. The developer of the important editors should be part of this team.

Any OSM-Editor or App may use the Guided Tagging. The XML-File may be kept updated and used offline in the editing device. The code changes only with extensions of the XML-scheme, while the tagging rules may evolve day by day. Of course, next to the Guided Tagging should always be a basic tagging by name and value.

Who does it? Anyone? Me? Well, I do write code at work every day. And I know who to ask about handling XML. The first step may be a small prototype with limited functionality. The first use may be as part of the upcoming editor “iD”, so the first code may be written in Javascript and use of the “3D” framework. The Javascript, or the algorithms there in, may be transcoded to other languages (Java, Action-Script, Apple-C, …) And I need help. My time is limited (and my English is dangerous)

• Do you like the Idea?
• Would you like to take part of the realization?
• Quite important: Do the developer of existing Editors like it? And How can I ask them? I don’t have any contact to the OSM developers.