[OSM-talk] clean gpx tracks

[Andy Robinson (blackadder-lists)]

Lambert Carsten wrote:
>Sent: 25 September 2008 5:36 PM
>To: talk at openstreetmap.org
>Subject: Re: [OSM-talk] clean gpx tracks
>
>On Thursday 25 September 2008 18:01:36 Karl wrote:
>
>> The GPX tracks are intended to show the basis for the ways and other data
>> that is in the database, so I think one motivation for timestamps
>hearkens
>> back to a desire to "show your work" to defend the source of OSM data
>> against potential future claims of copyright infringement. In other
>words,
>> with timestamps, it's more plausible that it was collected with an actual
>> GPS receiver, instead of mocked up into GPX from some "tainted" source
>> (with a license not compatible with OSM). Obviously timestamps could be
>> synthesized (and I think there are even scripts that will do it for you
>if
>> you want to upload your timestamp-less GPX tracks to OSM), but anyway,
>> that's one reason I seem to recall why timestamps are required.
>
>I understand that reasoning but it is not enough to impose the timestamps
>requirement in my view. Anybody who is going to go through the trouble to
>create fake gps tracks most likely has enough motivation to create fake
>time
>stamps, enter copyrighted material directly. The rule doesn't protect
>opentstreetmap in any way. 

It is not intended to "protect" OSM against infringement at all. It's there
as a statement about the ethos of the project that you don't upload data
from copyright sources. Of course we all know it's possible to circumvent,
but that goes against the ethos of the project and hence the community
wouldn't stand for abuse if it was spotted.

As far as I am aware the requirement for a timestamp was established by the
project founder SteveC when he first set up the system all those years ago,
it's engrained within the very basis of the project and thus unlikely to
ever change. As has been pointed out, if you don't want to expose the
timestamp simply don't make your trace public. Anyone wanting to know about
the map data will be looking at the history of the data item for the
contributor details rather than who made perhaps one of the many GPX tracks
that lie underneath.

Cheers

Andy