I prefer to map sidewalks separately, so I can add more info about width, surface and smoothness of the sidewalk, without clogging the way.
I prefer separate sideways too. It makes much more sense when connecting them to other footways
I prefer to map them separately. For paths going along the road I use highway=footway + footway=sidewalk, for separate paths just highway=footway. You can also add sidewalk=separate to the road, so that routing software knows to prefer the separately mapped sidewalk to just using the road.
You can also specify if the sidewalk is on the left or on the right using sidewalk:left/right.
Everything #OpenStreetMap related is welcome: software releases, showing of your work, questions about how to tag something, as long as it has to do with OpenStreetMap or OpenStreetMap-related software.
OpenStreetMap is a map of the world, created by people like you and free to use under an open license.
Join OpenStreetMap and start mapping: https://www.openstreetmap.org.
There are many communication channels about OSM, many organized around a certain country or region. Discover them on https://openstreetmap.community
https://mapcomplete.org is an easy-to-use website to view, edit and add points (such as shops, restaurants and others)
https://learnosm.org/en/ has a lot of information for beginners too.
