[Strategic] Fwd: Subject: Forks and such

[Jim Brown]

TimSC wrote:
>>We have more map data than we have before. Of course, it is not in a 
>>single database or under a single license. Is this a bad thing?

Actually, the amount of USABLE data can be defined as the amount in a single database I think...  

Having data in multiple database with different licenses, does not increase the amount of usable data.  This is to say that the amount of useable data is not the sum of all the data in across the data sets (sum(data_count) across sets) it is the max size of any data set (max(data_count) across sets)...   Or to be more precise, it is the size of the data set that has most of the data you NEED for what you want to do. 

This is because the data in these forked data sets cannot be combined for use.  It is likely that they cannot even be rendered by OSM itself on a map tile.  They are truly islands of data, with the only common attributes being that OSMF hosts them and that the same editors and tools can be pointed to the data set for editing (probably as long as the editing apis and server logic stays the same over time).

Hence, I would still strongly argue that having multiple datasets with different licenses is very different from having multiple tools, and does not add value to the goal of creating the most complete map of the world.  And the reason for this is that having different licenses has a permanent and downstream impact on the data and how it can be used.  

Tools and other differences do not have the same impact.  They can come and go, be revised and experimented with and the impact that they have is limited to their users, not to their output.  The data they generate can be used in the same fashion as that generated by other tools.  Datasets with different licenses permanently affect the data contributed to them.


j

-----Original Message-----
From: strategic-bounces at openstreetmap.org [mailto:strategic-bounces at openstreetmap.org] On Behalf Of TimSC
Sent: 30 August 2010 08:55
To: strategic at openstreetmap.org
Subject: Re: [Strategic] Fwd: Subject: Forks and such

On 30/08/10 00:23, Henk Hoff wrote:
> Like Jim observed: if the data is forked, the data will diverge. Thats 
> a simple fact.
This is not in dispute. Jim raised it to try to say proliferation of 
licenses was not like the proliferation of tools. Conversely, I was 
arguing that they were similar and diversity is a good thing in this case.

>
> In the end you still have different databases with different licenses 
> that are not all interoperatible with eachother. So what have we gained?
We have more map data than we have before. Of course, it is not in a 
single database or under a single license. Is this a bad thing?

TimSC


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