I think this:
you must not apply this to first and last node of the line
is mostly relevant when the entire line is mapped, and the “end of the line” really means the end of the line, not end of the way in OSM.
I tried to get an idea how often ways don’t end in power=poles when it comes to power=minor_lines. So I picked a country where neither @Minh_Nguyen nor I have mapped in yet (Slovenia), run this overpass query, and tried to pick 10 ways randomly. Here are the results of how they end.
Way 1344503481:
power=transition, node without tags.
Way 641361461:
power=pole, power=pole (also line_management=termination)
Way 907354816:
power=pole, power=pole
Way 1331703336:
power=pole (also: line_management= transition), power=pole (which is part of another way)
Way 1331701116:
power=pole, power=tower (also line_management=termination)
Way 957866444:
power=pole, power=pole (which is part of another way)
Way 1037320277:
power=pole, power=pole
Way 919859993:
power=pole, power=pole (which is part of another way)
Way 720864509:
power=pole, power=pole (which is part of another way)
Way 1132076496:
power=pole, power=pole
So based on this, I think it’s clear that the actual tag usage on power=minor_lines does not follow your advice @ben10dynartio: many power=minor_line ways end in power=poles.
Zooming out from Slovenia: globally, roughly 58% of line_management=termination are on a power=pole, while 30% on power=tower (source: taginfo).
I shall read the Clarifying power=pole vs power=tower thread you posted @Minh_Nguyen, I know it’s often not at all clear-cut, I hope it’ll clear it up. Whether I should tag something as a minor_line or a line is also not always clear to me.