[OSM-talk] Is edit adding private dataset created specially for OSM considered an import or not?

[Christoph Hormann]

On Wednesday 03 February 2021, Andy Townsend wrote:
>   * The imagery is allegedly OK from a licence standpoint (based on
> one mapper's changeset comments)

Because of exactly this kind of issue my early draft for regulation of 
organized editing[1] contained a provision for that:

"If you use any data in organized mapping activities that has not been 
directly observed on the ground by the mapper and that is not routinely 
used by normal mapping in OSM (like those listed in Potential 
Datasources or Aerial imagery or the OSM Editor Layer Index) you need 
to follow Import/Guidelines in addition."

What this rule was meant to address in particular was the potential 
formation of gated mapping communities with exclusive access to 
specific data sources which would work massively against OSMs core idea 
of egalitarian cooperation between mappers.

Unfortunately only a mallable documentation requirement remained from 
that idea in actual OSMF policy.

To answer the question from Mateusz - mapping that is being made:

* specifically for OSM use,
* based exclusively on on-the-ground knowledge and primary data like 
imagery,
* by human mappers who have full control over every part of the data 
generation process and
* that does not use any kind of automated conflation with existing data

does in my opinion not fall under the import or automated edits 
guidelines, even if it is made in large volume.  Note however that 
especially the last condition is very hard to meet in most parts of the 
world these days when you make extensive edits in bulk.

[1] 
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Directed_Editing_Policy/Imagico_Draft

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