[OSM-newbies] Data Source

[SomeoneElse]

On 15/06/2011 11:57, Dave F. wrote:
> On 13/06/2011 19:13, Renaud MICHEL wrote:
>> Of course it could be used to do so.
>> Without it, if there is strong suspicion that a user copied unauthorized
>> data, then all that user contributions will be deleted.
>
> What a great way to discourage new mappers:
>
> "We need you to admit the origin of your data so we can delete it if 
> it becomes incompatible with the new licence we're concocting. We 
> don't know whether it will be because we haven't bothered asking"

Sigh.  Presumably this is a "Zawinski's Law" for OSM - "every question 
however innocently asked leads to a discussion about relicensing".

The original request was from a user of OSM data - as I understand it 
they're trying to see how the map involves and what sources are used to 
do that (GPS traces, aerial imagery such as Bing, out-of-copyright maps, 
etc.).

Personally, I'd encourage all mappers (newbies or otherwise) to use 
"source" fields (e.g. "source=Bing", "source:name=survey") more than 
they are currently used at the moment, because it helps future mappers 
understand where previous data came from and how best to merge their new 
data with it.

I wouldn't assume that, simply because something has been added without 
a source tag it's necessarily due to a user uploading data that they 
don't have a right to.  As Bernard Ingham said, it's more likely to be 
cock-up than conspiracy.

Cheers,
Andy