OpenstreetMapPressNote

This note is issued in light of the news item that appeared in mathrubhumi today.

Link: http://www.mathrubhumi.com/php/newFrm.php?news_id=123843&n_type=HO&category_id=3&Farc=&previous=Y

There is a need for publicly available maps. especially ones that highlight areas of local interest. Mapping parties are community's way to generate such data. Previously such data generation was difficult and hence was not done. Since the dawn of internet and the consequent ease of use in collaboration and data sharing, it is possible now to collaborate online for the community to generate and maintain publicly accessible map data. Most maps you think of as free actually have legal or technical restrictions on their use, holding back people from using them in creative, productive, or unexpected ways. Openstreetmap effort was created to counter this and offer rights free publicly accessible data to everyone.

When a company like Google organizes such events and makes use of community resources to do so we should understand that their intentions may not be purely public service. Once the community hands over valuable mapping data to Google, it essentially becomes their property and more modifications/unrestricted public usage is not possible with that data. This goes against the intuitive attitude of shairng and empathy on which the human society is built. The Google Terms of Service says "Except where you have been specifically licensed to do so by Google, you may not use Google Maps with any products, systems, or applications installed or otherwise connected to or in communication with vehicles, capable of vehicle navigation, positioning, dispatch, real time route guidance, fleet management or similar applications. Also, you may not use Google Maps in a manner which gives you or any other person access to mass downloads or bulk feeds of numerical latitude and longitude coordinates." This expressly prohibits people from using the data in creative, productive, or unexpected ways. By willingly submitting to their terms of service we are robbing ourselves off the opportunities to use this data creatively.

This is a call to share the mapping data with the openstreetmap effort and hence make the data publicly available for anyone to use freely. By doing this we are assuring that the data can be read and modified by everyone and not locked away in Google's servers.