[Local-chapters] Actions concerning the license

[Serge Wroclawski]

2010/3/21 Henk Hoff <toffehoff at gmail.com>:

> Because the counterpart could argue "OpenStreetMap [whatever] told me it was
> ok to do so".
> It's not that a chapter may not say anything about the license, but it needs
> to check whether the info they are giving is correct.

Henk, your concern is understandable, but just because there's
potential for something bad, we should try to address it in the
chapter agreement.

There will always be potential for harm, just as there will always be
potential for good. At some level you or the OSMF or whoever needs to
trust that people will do the right thing. If not, you're going to
just write rules for everything that could possibly go wrong, and that
ultimately doesn't work for two reasons:

1) People will always find a way to find the one thing you forgot to
mention, to find the cracks and bend the rules.

2) Endless pages of rules designed to stop bad people just turn
everyone else off. At each instance that we've been presented a
chapter agreement with lots of rules, it's turned a lot of people off.

You said in a talk I saw that this is all about the map. Well, make it
be about the map. Less rules, more collaboration. If the Foundation
will need to take action, it can take action as things come up- but
right now let's just get things going.

For example, if you're concerned that the Chapters don't have
sufficient information about the license, why not have the OSMF create
material to help explain it, and then provide talking points for the
Chapters...

Ultimately though Henk, we're all here because we believe in the cause
of Free Geodata. The folks I know on the US board, Kate, myself, Thea,
Steven and Richard, are all committed to this. Help us do this as part
of OSM.

- Serge