Tagging name=* for retail stores

I would like to get feedback from the Norwegian community regarding our current tagging practices for retail store names. It would be helpful to have this thread in English to document the discussion.

As a background: The Norwegian community discussed how to tag retail stores in 2012 in this thread: Forslag til tagging av dagligvarebutikkar. The proposal stated that the name tag should consist of the brand name + the branch name, for example name=“Bunnpris Hjellestad”, rather than just name=“Bunnpris”. Also, the chain brand should be put in the brand tag, for example “brand=Bunnpris”.

This practice was continued when more effort was put into getting a complete set of grocery stores, fuel stations, pharmacies etc a few years later. The newer branch tag was added for the branch name, e.g. branch=“Hjellestad” in the example above. A complete tagging example of the store name is currently:

Recently, the iD editor has implemented a new feature in which brand names are recognized based on the Name Suggestion Index. The user is being encouraged to let iD change some of the name/brand related tags. Also, brand:wikidata and brand:wikipedia tags are added.

(Swedish example from iD)

The resulting tagging then becomes:

Because the change is actively being encouraged by iD, there are now many edits in Norway which removes the full name from the name tag, as shown above.

Given that this is not the tagging practice we have had in Norway for the name tag, at least as a general rule (there are exceptions, of course), some of us are discussing with the maintainers of iD to get an exemption for Norway, or a similar solution to that effect, so that this particular edit of the name=* tag is not encouraged by iD (the other edits are ok).

Here are the reasons why I think it would make sense to continue having the full name in the name tag:

  • The full name is being actively used by stores in Norway. The full name is not internal, hidden or similar, but it is being used by the store for example in its marketing material (local flyers), on facebook, on its website, in job listings, in the newspaper etc.

  • In urban areas, the full name, or a variant of it, is used in everyday speech to distinguish one branch from the other one a few blocks away.

  • There is in general no conflict between the full name and how the store name is presented on the ground on the large, illuminated sign – they are just the long/short form.

  • Some stores in Norway even have the full name on its large outdoor signs, for example here, so a general recommendation to only tag the brand name is too strict.

  • Some stores are not even using the brand name, for example several stores in the Ditt Apotek chain. Also in those cases, a strict recommendation to only tag the brand name is too strict.

  • The branch name is being ignored by most search engines and apps, so it is not possible to search for example for “Meny Colosseum” when the tagging is name=”Meny” + branch=“Colosseum”.

  • Apps also generally list search results by the name tag, so a search for “Bunnpris” in Oslo would result in a long list of just the word “Bunnpris” unless the full name is in the name tag.

Please comment regarding whether we should continue to (in general), have the full name (brand + branch) in the name=* tag, or if we should (in general) let the name=* tag be equal to the brand=* tag.

I support keeping the “long name”.

Why?

  • This is the official name of the store
  • This is how people reference the stores
  • It reflects what is on the ground (sign + location)
  • There is no benefit in making the name shorter and less descriptive.

I support keeping the long name too, for the same reasons Johan mentions.

Ditto.

And of course “casual mappers” can still map a shop using just the brand name for the name-tag, for instance if they are unaware of the right place name to use fort the long form.

Leaving out the full name in the name= field is a bad idea. Most shops operate with a full name in publications online or otherwise.
By having both brand and branch tags it would be compatible with any international naming as well.
Developers can index what they want and we still get a proper name.

I don’t even think branch is really a thing for shops here in Norway?
Its more for the bigger corporations with international branch offices and stuff like that.

I completely agree, mostly due to the last point where apps generally list search results by the name tag.

Using complete name makes it much easier for all app developers to index the searches
And it makes it much easier for me as an user to find my desired store.