**Summary**: Is there an agreed upon convention on tagging road links (such as freeway on-ramps)? The discussion of pros and cons of using ref=* on links follows. **Detailed problem description** I am not naturally inclined to tag road links (freeway on- and off-ramps specifically) with a ref=*, but some people in my area have done it copiously and meticulously. So an on-ramp from a road name El Toro Road to a freeway designated CA-73 would be tagged name=CA-73 South onramp<br> ref=from El Toro Road See it [here][1] It looks good in Mapnik and works well in Potlatch if you have a mess of links in the case where several freeways meet (the above example is not one). However, some tile makers and routing apps (notably skobbler) use the value of ref to put a shield on roads. It works fine when ref=I-405 or even ref=CR S18, but it gets a bit ugly with the example above, when the app places the entire "from El Toro Road" in a shield floating in the middle of a map. It takes a while (even with OSM knowledge) to figure out where it's coming from. I can imagine how confusing it is to drivers. I know we're not here to serve skobbler users, and I will be bringing this up with skobbler developers to see if they can be more discriminate in displaying shields derived from ref tags. But at the same time, I did see some of the more experienced OSM editors advise to not use ref=* on links. Why is that? Is that because most of the users of OSM data will tend to misinterpret this info as a highway designation/shield? Wiki does not state one way or the other. Should I start clearing up this data in my area? That does not feel right. I would much rather all tile generators and all routing apps would read the OSM editors' minds and knew know when and when not to show this info as a shield. [1]: http://osm.org/go/TPVwMxDU

**Summary**: Is there an agreed upon convention on tagging road links (such as freeway on-ramps)? The brief discussion of options and repercussions pros and cons of using ref=* on links follows. **Detailed problem description** I am not naturally inclined to tag road links (freeway on- and off-ramps specifically) with a ref=*, but some people in my area have done it copiously and meticulously. So an on-ramp from a road name El Toro Road to a freeway designated CA-73 would be tagged name=CA-73 South onramp<br> ref=from El Toro Road See it [here][1] It looks good in Mapnik and works well in Potlatch if you have a mess of links in the case where several freeways meet (the above example is not one). However, some tile makers and routing apps (notably skobbler) use the value of ref to put a shield on roads. It works fine when ref=I-405 or even ref=CR S18, but it gets a bit ugly with the example above, when the app places the entire "from El Toro Road" in a shield floating in the middle of a map. It takes a while (even with OSM knowledge) to figure out where it's coming from. I can imagine how confusing it is to drivers. I know we're not here to serve skobbler users, and I will be bringing this up with skobbler developers to see if they can be more discriminate in displaying shields derived from ref tags. But at the same time, I did see some of the more experienced OSM editors advise to not use ref=* on links. Why is that? Is that because most of the users of OSM data will tend to misinterpret this info as a highway designation/shield? Wiki does not state one way or the other. Should I start clearing up this data in my area? That does not feel right. I would much rather all tile generators and all routing apps would read the OSM editors' minds and knew when and when not to show this info as a shield. [1]: http://osm.org/go/TPVwMxDU

**Summary**: Is there an agreed upon convention on tagging road links (such as freeway on-ramps)? The brief discussion of options and repercussions follows. **Detailed problem description** I am not naturally inclined to tag road links (freeway on- and off-ramps specifically) with a ref=*, but some people in my area have done it copiously and meticulously. So an on-ramp from a road name El Toro Road to a freeway designated CA-73 would be tagged name=CA-73 South onramp<br> ref=from El Toro Road See it [here][1] It looks good in Mapnik and works well in Potlatch if you have a mess of links in the case where several freeways meet (the above example is not one). However, some tile makers and routing apps (notably skobbler) use the value of ref to put a shield on roads. It works fine when ref=I-405 or even ref=CR S18, but it gets a bit ugly with the example above, when the app places the entire "from El Toro Road" in a shield floating in the middle of a map. It takes a while (even with OSM knowledge) to figure out where it's coming from. I can imagine how confusing it is to drivers. I know we're not here to serve skobbler users, and I will be bringing this up with skobbler developers to see if they can be more discriminate in displaying shields derived from ref tags. But at the same time, I did see some of the more experienced OSM editors advise to not use ref=* on links. Why is that? Is that because most of the users of OSM data will tend to misinterpret this info as a highway designation/shield? Wiki does not state one way or the other. Should I start clearing up this data in my area? That does not feel right. I would much rather all tile generators and all routing apps would read the OSM editors' minds and knew when and when not to show this info as a shield. [1]: http://osm.org/go/TPVwMxDU

I am not naturally inclined to tag road links (freeway on- and off-ramps specifically) with a ref=*, but some people in my area have done it copiously and meticulously. So an on-ramp from a road name El Toro Road to a freeway designated CA-73 would be tagged name=CA-73 South onramp<br> ref=from El Toro Road See it [here][1] It looks good in Mapnik and works well in Potlatch if you have a mess of links in the case where several freeways meet (the above example is not one). However, some tile makers and routing apps (notably skobbler) use the value of ref to put a shield on roads. It works fine when ref=I-405 or even ref=CR S18, but it gets a bit ugly with the example above, when the app places the entire "from El Toro Road" in a shield floating in the middle of a map. It takes a while (even with OSM knowledge) to figure out where it's coming from. I can imagine how confusing it is to drivers. I know we're not here to serve skobbler users, and I will be bringing this up with skobbler developers to see if they can be more discriminate in displaying shields derived from ref tags. But at the same time, I did see some of the more experienced users OSM editors advise to not use ref=* on links. Why is that? Is that because most of the users of OSM data will tend to misinterpret this info as a highway designation/shield? Wiki does not state one way or the other. Should I start clearing up this data in my area? That does not feel right. I would much rather all tile generators and all routing apps would read the OSM editors' minds and knew when and when not to show this info as a shield. [1]: http://osm.org/go/TPVwMxDU

I am not naturally inclined to tag road links (freeway on- and off-ramps specifically) with a ref=*, but some people in my area have done it copiously and meticulously. So an on-ramp from a road name El Toro Road to a freeway designated CA-73 would be tagged name=CA-73 South onramp<br> ref=from El Toro Road See it [here][1] It looks good in Mapnik and works well in Potlatch if you have a mess of links in the case where several freeways meet (the above example is not one). However, some tile makers and routing apps (notably skobbler) use the value of ref to put a shield on roads. It works fine when ref=I-405 or even ref=CR S18, but it gets a bit ugly with the example above, when the app places the entire "from El Toro Road" in a shield floating in the middle of a map. It takes a while (even with OSM knowledge) to figure out where it's coming from. I can imagine how confusing it is to drivers. I know we're not here to serve skobbler users, and I will be bringing this up with skobbler developers to see if they can be more discriminate in displaying shields derived from ref tags. But at the same time, I did see some of the more experienced users advise to not use ref=* on links. Why is that? Is that because most of the users of OSM data will tend to misinterpret this info as a highway designation/shield? Wiki does not state one way or the other. Should I start clearing up this data in my area? That does not feel right. I would much rather all tile generators and all routing apps would read the OSM editors' minds and knew when and when not to show this info as a shield. [1]: http://osm.org/go/TPVwMxDU