[OSM-newbies] Private swimmingpool

[Alan Mintz]

At 2010-03-02 09:55, Jonas Stein wrote:
> >>> I map residential area in which there are many private swimmingpools
> >>> (access=people in building). Is there any way of mapping these?
> >> I think that should not be mapped its private and not part of a map.
> > But it's a good thing for people be guided by that. If we map the
> > (private) buildings, why not the (private) swimming pools?
>
>Its their private property.
>I dont know if its legal to map gardens, pools, and so on private
>ground. Finally mapper run with gps through gardens and poison the
>public relationship of the osm project.

This being the newbies list, it's important to point this out from time to 
time. Always be sure you understand the trespass statutes in your area, 
despite how mind-numbing they might seem[1].

That aside, before entering what appears to be a private street, even if 
not correctly posted according to law, I ask myself what value will be 
derived from it, and for whom I am mapping. In the present case, IMO, 
putting the pool of a single-family residence on the map is a waste of my 
time, OSM resources to store and render the feature, and map clutter for 
the ultimate consumer, for almost no benefit (other than maybe for  someone 
who wants to count pool density). When it's a feature shared by hundreds of 
people, and many potential residents, it seems more worthwhile (though not 
extremely).


>Googles Streetview shows, that enough people dont like to much data
>collection of their properties.

My experience in surveying from a car with a camera confirms this fact, 
having been stopped a number of times by sometimes irate people, concerned 
about what I was doing and why. This can be somewhat scary at first. Since 
then, I am even more careful to ensure that I move through quickly, and am 
extra careful to not capture people (or even point anywhere near them) - 
especially children - or anything else that someone might consider worthy 
of privacy protection. I'm even on the fence about capturing addresses 
(housenumbers) of residences, given the potential for more efficient 
importing from various sources now.

[1] Cal. P.C. 602 et. seq. 
(http://leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate?WAISdocID=56600725562+1+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve), 
for example, stretches for over 8 pages (34kB), 12 sections, and over 50 
subsections, proving, if nothing else, that Californians, at least, think a 
great deal about the subject.

--
Alan Mintz <Alan_Mintz+OSM at Earthlink.net>