[OSM-talk] Suggestion to add SA clause to CT section 3, describing "free and open license"

andrzej zaborowski balrogg at gmail.com
Mon Jul 19 15:54:42 BST 2010


On 19 July 2010 15:58, Stephen Hope <slhope at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 19 July 2010 23:19, Frederik Ramm <frederik at remote.org> wrote:
>> And honestly, if at any future time two thirds of active OSM contributors
>> want to change to a non-SA license, why should we keep them from it? In one
>> or two years, "two thirds of active contributors" will be a greater number
>> of people than all of us today. Who are we to tell them what to do? We're
>> the minority ;)
>
> We're the minority with the data at present.  Future users can do what
> they like with stuff they add.  But if they want to change what I've
> added, I feel like I should have a say.
>
> Personally, anything I add can be PD for all I care.  But if I've
> based it on a BY_SA source, that source has a legitimate right to be
> concerned what happens to it in the future. From what I can tell, what
> we are saying to them in rough terms is:
>
> 1) We're currently BY-SA
> 2) We're planning to change to ODBL, which is BY-SA compatible.  If
> you don't like the change, you can yank your data out now.
> 3) Oh, and any time in the future, we can change the licence again,
> and you can't take your data out that time if you don't like the new
> terms.

Additionally those of use who have used other people's CC-BY-SA data
now have to tell them: will you please release your data to OSMF under
the Contributor Terms, then at some point in the future we will switch
the license and from then you won't be able to use our data anymore
the way you have been using it until now under CC-By-SA, even though
it will be derived from your own data.  The reason other people have
been allowing their mapping to be used in OSM is because they could
use the improvements we made and re-import, building an even better
common resource, now we're saying we're taking away that possibility.

Cheers




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