[OSM-talk] "Limitations on mapping private information" - wiki page

[Christoph Hormann]

On Wednesday 16 September 2020, Mateusz Konieczny via talk wrote:
> https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Limitations_on_mapping_private_in
>formation

I think while that page does not contain gross factual errors as far as 
i see it could be fairly misleading for people unfamiliar with OSM 
otherwise:

* it start with "The freedom to map the world..." which implies the aim 
of OSM is "to map the world" - which it is not.  OSM aims to collect 
verifiable local knowledge of the geography of the world.  That is 
something different.

* The list of things to "do not" kind of implies this is a distinct set 
of rules separate from and above the general goals and values of the 
project (i.e. verifiable local knowledge of the geography).  I don't 
think that is the case.

My own take on privacy related limitations to mapping would be much more 
simple:  Individual humans as well as their activities and social 
interactions between individual humans - including permanent physical 
manifestations of those - are not as such part of the verifiable 
geography we intend to record.

The private swimming pool and the private driveway become part of the 
verifiable geography because members of society on a larger scale (i.e. 
not just the personal social environment of the owner) interact with 
them on a routine basis.  In those cases mostly visually - but that can 
be sufficient.

I think with this clarification everything on your list of things not to 
map due to privacy concerns is covered by being not mappable due to not 
being part of the verifiable geography.

-- 
Christoph Hormann
http://www.imagico.de/