[Openstreetmap] The bigger picture

[Richard Fairhurst]

Quoting Tom Carden <tom at tom-carden.co.uk>:

> This is exactly what I was talking about.  Useful tools to allow
> potential map consumers to customise what they get out of OSM for a
> fee.  Nothing about locking up the data.

I'm really, really disappointed by that last comment, assuming it's 
aimed at me.
:(

I don't think pejorative language like "locking up", "sleight of hand" or
"parasitically" gets the argument very far. You've doubtless got your 
own views
on which licences will lead to a better world, I've got mine, clearly Imi and
Lars have theirs, and probably everyone else on the list has, too. Half of
Usenet is taken up by GPL vs. BSD flames, and recreating this on the OSM list
doesn't get us very far.

I've contributed data (GPS tracks and, underway atm, the New Popular 
Edition map
scans) to OSM because I believe in the wider good of free geodata. CC-BY-SA
wouldn't be my first licence of choice; likewise, I'm an amateur Perlmonger,
not a Rubyite; but I'm happy to overlook both of these and countless others,
because if none of us compromised, there wouldn't be a project.

What I've been trying to suggest this afternoon is simply a pragmatic way in
which OSM could earn some funding without (as I see it) any danger to the
ideals of the project. You don't like it, that's cool. But cruelly (and
subjectively) characterising others' opinions with little jibes like "locking
up the data" does no good whatsoever and frankly just serves to put off
thin-skinned people like me.

(Writing this has coincided with your latest reply coming in. I don't see that
continuing the fisking will get anyone anywhere so, if you're all right with
that, I'll leave it to rest here.)

Richard