[OSM-talk] Unsetting CT flag

[David Groom]

> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Serge Wroclawski" <emacsen at gmail.com>
> To: "Steve Bennett" <stevagewp at gmail.com>
> Cc: "Open Street Map mailing list" <talk at openstreetmap.org>
> Sent: Monday, December 06, 2010 1:55 PM
> Subject: Re: [OSM-talk] Unsetting CT flag
>
>
>
> This should really be taking place on the legal list but nonetheless:
>
> On Mon, Dec 6, 2010 at 7:09 AM, Steve Bennett <stevagewp at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hi,
>> So, this is awkward. According to my profile, I've "agreed to the
>> new Contributor Terms". I have no recollection of having done so, and
>> obviously I don't want to agree to them while they're incompatible
>> with Nearmap.
>
> If Nearmap is CC-BY-SA, they're compatible now.

Serge, are you sure about the advice you gave above?

Last I heard, use of NearMap imagery was incompatible with the CT's, and 
that position is also stated on the wiki at:
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Nearmap


David


>
>> Sadly, the GUI doesn't tell me when this flag was set,
>> nor does it provide a way to unset it. (I could also complain about
>> the fact that there are no indications anywhere else that you're
>> operating in a totally different licensing mode, but I'll leave it.)
>
> You're not "operating in a totally difference licensing mode", the
> work is licensed under CC-BY-SA until the switchover.
>
>> So:
>> 1) Could someone please unset this flag for me: (User: stevage)
>
> Unsetting the flag has repercussions to the organization which I think
> you should be aware of.
>
> The CT isn't a license, it's a terms of agreement. That means you've
> given OSMF a license to the data, and now you're asking them to revoke
> that license.
>
> This would be (moral if not legal) equivalent of someone offering up a
> program under the GPL and then saying "Nope, I want it proprietary".
>
> Going forward, of course, you can choose your own terms, but you can't
> retroactively revoke the license, because that's spelled out
> explicitly in the license itself.
>
> My suggestion to you personally, if you don't like the project's
> terms, then you should stop submitting data to it immediately.
>
>> 2) Could someone please tell me when it got set?
>>
>> And for bonus points:
>> 3) Could someone provide evidence that I did indeed set it? I think
>> the most likely explanation is that I did (I do recall visiting the
>> page on several occasions to read the terms, maybe I had a brainfart),
>> but I'm curious whether there is any kind of signature equivalent that
>> would hold up in court. A single bit in a database is not very
>> compelling.
>
> Assuming this question was asked in good faith, then I can tell you
> for sure that agreement to a license via a click is indeed valid. If
> it weren't, then every time you agree to any web site or software's
> terms of service via a single checkbox, then that would be invalid. I
> notice you're using a Google email address- I'm sure you had to click
> some terms at some point- same thing.
>
> In this case, OSM knows you were authenticated, where you were
> authenticated from, and when you clicked the button and submitted the
> form.
>
>> Failing all that, I guess I create a new user account?
>
> Sure, you could, but all new accounts require accepting the CT before
> you can begin.
>
>> From a pragmatic legal perspective, it seems to me that any
>> nearmap-sourced edits that I made while under the effects of the CT
>> are totally invalid anyway, so should be moved to a non-CT account.
>
> I don't know anything about Nearmap, buf the data in OSM as of today
> is available under the CC-BY-SA license, and your usage is bound to
> that.
>
>> Or, to save a lot of bother: just unset the flag.
>
> I'm not on the OSMF board, but if I were, I'd say that the dangers of
> revoking a license are so high that I'd be extremely hesitant to do
> so. On the other hand, someone who might have a beef with OSM  and
> doesn't want to accept the CT might set up such a situation to put
> them in an impossible situation.
>
> In other words, Steve, I think it was your talk I went to at SoTM,
> regarding rendering. If it was, you seem like a nice guy. Please don't
> make more trouble for OSM- if you don't like the CT, then just stop
> contributing.
>
> - Serge
>