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Then it should return both the center of Springfield and an accuracy measurement, like a city boundary. If the act of returning a location is inherently unreliable, then that must be made clear.



That's the current API. Devs ignore the accuracy number.


Return the three points that define the bounding circle.


And then a layer deep in the app that's trying to simplify the world calls a function that calculates the center of that circle. Or averages the points, or returns just the first one, depending on laziness. The mapping world doesn't work in bounding circles, so it gets converted, and it probably gets converted in a way that loses important information.


Or just a point and a radius (a.k.a. an accuracy number).


Three points on the edge is better because it forces the developer to actually think about what he's doing.




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