[Osmf-talk] [OSM-talk] "The Future of Free and Open-Source Maps" Slashdot.org , Saturday February 17, 2018

[Simon Poole]

BTW while we are discussing software development, there is something
useful the OSMF and the EWG could do for actual mappers.

While from a pure count pov iOs devices are not so popular, they do have
a significant market share in regions that are not without importance to
OSM. We currently don't have many ways to contribute with such devices,
and currently the only app providing proper editing support(Go Map!) has
been unmaintained for a good two years, this is already an issue if we
just consider the changes and additions that have happened in object
tagging in the period, and not the general bitrot that happens to all
software.

Unluckily the project is not open source, so not only is it not possible
to address the issue of staleness, we are have the danger that it might
go away completely. At least the grapevine claims that there is a
proprietary component that is the reason for the closed source model. 
It would seem to be a good idea for the EWG to contact the author and
arrange some resolution of the licensing issue (given the nature of the
beast they tend to be solvable with money), so that either it can be
migrated to an OSS project or worst case to a closed source project
under the control of the OSMF.

Simon

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