[OSM-talk] Adding image to map features

Ulf Lamping ulf.lamping at googlemail.com
Sat Jan 29 14:37:03 GMT 2011


Am 29.01.2011 14:34, schrieb Tobias Knerr:
> M∡rtin Koppenhoefer:
>> 2011/1/29 Ulf Lamping<ulf.lamping at googlemail.com>:
>>> image=URL
>>
>> I see this as a case for an external database.
>
> So do I. Choosing the "right" image for an object is very much a matter
> of personal taste. Furthermore, a lot of controversial policy issues are
> associated with that task: Does that image need to be under a free
> license? What file formats are acceptable? Is it necessary that the
> image can be displayed within the context of some other site/software,
> rather than just viewed on a new browser tab? Do we deep-link to the
> image (even if the publisher doesn't want deep-links)?

Do you really think that people won't come up with solutions to all 
those "problems"?

Yes, there will be problems but none that can't be solved. If someone 
comes up with a copyrighted photo in an esoteric file format that can 
only be displayed with a strange browser plugin - someone else sooner or 
later will replace the link with a free and open picture from Commons 
(or alike).

Sorry, the whole reasoning sounds a bit strange to me - especially in 
OSM. If OSM had started with the attitude to think about what possibly 
may not work, we wouldn't have OSM at all :-)

> Overall, image selection is an editorial task, and therefore not suited
> for OSM.

In OSM, selecting the right tag for a (designated?) cycleway is an 
editorial task and therefore not suited for OSM. Let's remove all 
cycleways ... ;-)

Regards, ULFL



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