[OSM-talk] [Talk-GB] Not-properly-Open-but-called-Open

[Frederik Ramm]

Hi,

Andy Allan wrote:
> And most of all, I don't want someone
> to make something that looks just like opencyclemap but with one or
> two changes and call it their own

But isn't that what is bound to happen? (At least if a fraction of the 
unhappiness about OCM translates in coding traction...)

> When people making other projects have asked how the
> transparency works, or how to do contours, or whatnot, I've explained
> how, and given them code if it helps them. So it's not like I'm
> figuring all this out and not giving back to the community - but I do
> it in a way that I'm happy with.

That's about how I deal with my own proprietary things as well.

> And it's pretty easy to make another style
> that's better than OCM, or that takes a different approach, rather
> than simply deciding to copy my ideas.

Well Richard F. tends to express things differently - at least he makes 
it sound as if creating a map (quote) "as cartographically impressive, 
as technologically capable, and as downright _useful_ as OpenCycleMap" 
is quite a feat. Small wonder that people think you must be hiding great 
secrets from them when you have such a wonderful product, and start 
talking about reverse engineering the stuff ;-)

I have the lurking impression that some who call for OCM "openness" 
indeed are not so much after your methods and styles, but rather they 
want to have a say in how things get rendered (maybe force you to adhere 
to some Wiki vote!). That is, of course, out of the question and 
something we don't have on any OSM map - but somehow people seem to be 
able to work with it; I've never seen much scorn poured on the makers of 
the main Mapnik map even though they wouldn't accept any random patch 
either.

(It would be interesting to set up a mechanism that allows a group of 
people to modify a Mapnik stylesheet, automatically, by votes, but not 
for the purpose of creating a good map.)

> explain what would be the advantages from my side? 

I think you probably have release more than enough open stuff to know 
about the motivations of doing so ;-) But I agree that once people start 
to *demand* you release something, that motivation tends to shrivel.

Bye
Frederik

-- 
Frederik Ramm  ##  eMail frederik at remote.org  ##  N49°00'09" E008°23'33"