Wikipedia talk:WikiProject U.S. Roads/Shields task force/Archive 2

National Historic Trail shileds; Copyvios or not?
I've been wondering about the use of shields like these being added to the junction templates. -User:DanTD (talk) 05:39, 16 August 2017 (UTC)



Maine vs. Massachusetts
This may be too trivial to do anything about, but it seems that Maine's state shield is slightly different than Massachusetts', which is a stand-in for Maine's currently. Granted, most renderings would be too small to notice any significant difference, but the difference seems to be there in the field: Maine's looks more compact and rectangular than Massachusetts'. Compare:  It's just been bugging me on and off, and I think that this would be in the same vein as the particular care given to, for example, fonts. Probably not worth the time investment, though. Would there be any context where purists might object to the status quo? Mapsax (talk) 21:16, 18 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Your eyes have not deceived you. The border around the shields and the corner radii are different per each state's specs.  Allow me to demonstrate:


 * It's subtle, but there is a difference. But you've asked the right question, is it worth our time?  I don't have the answer to that. –Fredddie™ 00:04, 19 February 2018 (UTC)
 * I would be fine with replaced markers only at Numbered highways in the United States, Maine State Highway System, the "state highway system" infobox in List of state routes in Maine, and the "Maine state symbols" infobox at Maine; by my count, that's only five graphics to be made (SR 11 appears on all four). Mapsax (talk) 14:06, 23 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Making them all really is a non-issue. We can submit a request at commons:User:Highway Route Marker Bot and have them all made with little effort.  It will probably take longer to compile the list needed and to get the bot set up than it will for the bot to make them. –Fredddie™ 16:20, 23 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Thanks. You beat me to it and your request is more detailed than mine would have been anyway. Mapsax (talk) 15:25, 24 February 2018 (UTC)
 * More shields were made than I requested, so it's all good. I should have all the backend stuff switched over to the Maine files.  There may be some stragglers out there that need to be replaced manually. –Fredddie™ 19:33, 24 February 2018 (UTC)

Ohio marker again
I know that Ohio has had many variations of its marker posted in the field, see my earlier discussion here and this webpage, but, in looking through the Sign Designs and Markings Manual archive, I found that they changed the 1975 graphics for the first time at least going back to the earliest archives in July 2016 (page 149+). It's still a bit confusing because the graphic is dated 2004, but it's distinctly different, and has been showing up in the field (guide sign, independent). All that said, is it too subtle a difference to make an effort to revise the ? IMO even if revision is decided, the current design is so close to the previous version of the sign blank that a reversion could be enough without a third version needing to be created. Mapsax (talk) 00:35, 20 June 2020 (UTC)


 * @Mapsax: ODOT systematically redrew all the specifications in the SDMM in April 2004, coinciding with a general renumbering of OMUTCD-specific signs. (I really appreciate this effort. It's so much easier to draw OMUTCD signs based on these modern specifications than the grainy scans of sloppy 1970s drawings on Caltrans' website.) Unlike previous specifications, no grid was provided, so it's a bit unclear whether we should take the graphics literally. With other state MUTCDs, anything not explicitly given dimensions is probably not to scale, but these modern drawings may be different. Ideally, each official revision of the sign would be kept as a separate file, just like we don't typically override a logo on Commons when a new variation of the logo is introduced. Adding a whole new set of files for all the signs based on the blank would have some precedent from other states, but it would be a massive undertaking. Minh Nguyễn  &#x1f4ac; 05:24, 6 October 2021 (UTC)


 * So it appears that the new Opportunity Corridor is going to use the design that I proposed replacing. It looks like there are multiple templates in play. Therefore with it being roughly 50/50, it's probably best to do nothing. Mapsax (talk) 23:05, 2 November 2021 (UTC)

pre-1948 fonts?
I wanted to know where to find the pre-1948 fonts similar to and  considering the old "block" fonts wasn't mentioned on the Shields task force. Since the old fonts were not included in the Roadgeek 2005 package, I tried the shareware font, but it feels more like the font on this shield rather than the first two. Furthermore, Inkscape said that the fonts for the first two shields are called "FHWA 1926 Square [series letter]" but the shareware font wasn't called as such.--AlphaBeta135 (talk) 17:58, 11 December 2021 (UTC)


 * They're generally not available for download. The person who gave them to me 1) is no longer active on enwiki and 2) entrusted me to not distribute them freely because he was not the font creator.  So there are a couple options.  Enough files exist that you could extract the glyphs and store them in an SVG file for personal use (I did this before I received the font files) or you could make a request at WP:USRD/S/R. –Fredddie™ 18:46, 11 December 2021 (UTC)