[Osmf-talk] Results of OSMF Member Vote

[Frederik Ramm]

Hi,

Matija Nalis wrote:
> However, if we do get the same (or similar) turnout on the actual
> relicensing question sent to OSM contributors (due to happen soon?), that
> would AFAICT mean that contributions of all those ~45% people who didn't
> bother or didn't want to answer the question, as well as those ~11% who were
> against will have their data REMOVED from the map

I don't view the matter with quite the same urgency as you do.

If a significant amount of data is not relicensed, and if OSMF should go 
ahead nonetheless (which I doubt it will), then people will simply run 
the old data set on some server of their own[1]. There will, at worst, 
be some ripples and ruptures in the community. If certain countries or 
areas are hard hit by people not relicensing, we might see regional 
splits/forks, where the local community continues to use the CC-BY-SA 
licensed data set and the little excerpts that have been relicensed go 
to rot on the main OSM data base. But my guess is that there will be a 
strong gravitational pull from OSM proper, and after a while everything 
will be back to normal.

It might be worse in some areas, and better in others; it is too early 
to tell. It may be rough seas, but I don't think the ship's going to sink.

Ironically, those places where we have imported public domain data 
(remember, that evil non-license which would only cause us trouble if we 
  ever were to adopt it) will survive with the least scars.

Bye
Frederik


[1] given how inevitable this is, an enlightened OSMF would even offer 
to run that on OSMF infrastructure.