[OSM-talk] OpenStreetMap Isn't All That Open, Let's Change That and Drop Share-Alike

Russ Nelson nelson at crynwr.com
Fri Mar 14 07:11:13 UTC 2014


Paweł Paprota writes:
 > Unless you protect and license your work, you *will* be exploited
 > by a powerful corporation.

It is not possible for any powerful corporation to exploit
OpenStreetMap data.

That's because OpenStreetMap is not way #20101312, it is Paweł
Paprota. OpenStreetMap is not node #1511064846, it is Richard
Weait. OpenStreetMap is not relation #445288, it is Ian Dees. Etc.
Someone could take those ways, nodes, and relations and do something
with them. We would still have our own copy of them. We would still
have Paweł Paprota, Richard Weait, and Ian Dees. Nobody can take that
away from us. We cannot be exploited, because we are not the data, we
*create* the data.

It would not be difficult to change the license, because the choice of
license now lies with the OSM Foundation.

I would note that one of the potential customers of OSM data -- the
USGS -- would require that the data be in the public domain -- which
is the license[1] I have always advocated for, from the day I heard
about a potential license change. My understanding is that the license
is the only thing keeping the USGS from using, and thus contributing
to, OSM.

[1] Or distribution policy; whatever; not an interesting discussion.

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