[OSM-talk] Why PD is not better for business

[Anthony]

On Wed, Dec 9, 2009 at 2:51 PM, Frederik Ramm <frederik at remote.org> wrote:

> If Steve were to say "let's go PD", everone would howl: "You're only doing
> this so that CloudMade can rip us off!"
>
> If Steve says "let's go ODbL", he is accused of only doing this because it
> keeps CloudMade in business by making things more difficult for Google.
>
> If Steve were to say "license change? are you stupid? let's remain where we
> are!" then people will say that he isn't interested in putting OSM on a safe
> legal footing because CloudMade has arranged themselves with the imperfect
> situation and he'd rather sacrifice the project's data than change a system
> that works for CloudMade.
>
> So, whichever way he does it it's wrong, isn't it?
>

Not at all.  I assume whatever way he's doing things is in the best interest
of CloudMade, but I never said there was anything wrong with that.  I think
it would be ridiculous to expect Steve to actively work against his own
business interests.  The very most I would expect from him is to recuse
himself from any official board vote.  What he says on the mailing lists is
completely up to him.

Having said that, the ability to create non-free rendered maps is certainly
> something that will appeal to some businesses.


Have you read the ridiculous terms of the CloudMade terms of service
recently?  I'd quote them to you, but after reading through them yesterday
I've put the site on my block list.
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