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I would like to ask you all to help disect this article :

http://blog.copyrightalliance.org/2010/02/can-a-crowd-get-me-from-a-to-b/

""So what does this leave us? Open-source mapmaking can’t exist without professional maps to build on. We can’t assume accuracy will emerge from the collective, an important point given the fact that accuracy is a bit more important in a map then in, say, a Wikipedia entry on the latest “Family Guy” episode""

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Discussion

په 3 February 2010 په 01:25 باندې د imroy تبصره

Were the comments always closed on that post? I wonder what sort of responses this idiot got.

It's just a scare piece from a Washington lobbying group.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Alliance

په 3 February 2010 په 02:12 باندې د JohnSmith تبصره

@imroy I doubt comments were ever opened.

@h4ck3rm1k3 I wouldn't worry about it too much, it's a fluff piece to down play the importance and ability to create map data, similar arguments have been used to downplay the ability to create crowd sourced encycolpedia articles.

"First They Ignore You, Then They Ridicule You, Then They Fight You"

OpenStreetMap seems to have TomTom scared into releasing data more often, which is a claim most often made as to why OSM is better, so not much needs to be said in response.

په 3 February 2010 په 07:36 باندې د !i! تبصره

I agree with JohnSmith, Gandhi was right :)

'the world belongs to us' by Informatik

په 3 February 2010 په 09:11 باندې د h4ck3rm1k3 تبصره

I have registered here and posted a comment that he should open up his article to comments :
http://www.copyrightalliance.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=50

په 3 February 2010 په 12:16 باندې د h4ck3rm1k3 تبصره

Here is some details about the author, If he does not want comments,
we can send him a letter.

The author :
Patrick A Ross :
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/patrick-ross/3/a3/732

Is a lobbist also for the microsoft spin off expedia :
http://www.sec.state.ma.us/LobbyistPublicSearch/CompleteDisclosure.aspx?PeriodId=20081&RefId=1558

Here is his blog :
http://patrickross.typepad.com/

We should send him some comments.

mike

په 3 February 2010 په 13:37 باندې د davespod تبصره

Hidden in the depth of this there are one or two salient points, but they are drowned out by the rest of the drivel. Missed the point in so many ways, so many false assumptions, so many spurious comparisons, just so many "facts" that are plain wrong, it really would be hard to respond to! Really would not know where to start.

The fact that comments are closed says it all, really. Quite good for a laugh, though (at him, not with him).

په 3 February 2010 په 14:28 باندې د marscot تبصره

Its goes on a bit. lots of facts are wrong,

په 3 February 2010 په 20:34 باندې د Former OSM contributor تبصره

Mmmm! Methinks, he thinks we take a sketchpad and a pencil to best estimate the routes we map!

What came across most strongly was a feeling he'd taken a cursory look at openstreetmaps and failed to understand what it is about. He talks as if the whole thing once committed to the web is set in stone.

Perhaps as mike above points out has relevance? "Is a lobbist also for the microsoft spin off expedia" The only point he is slightly correct on is a vague reference to the great open spaces which I deem he was referring to gaps in the maps that are being gradually filled. Or, did I mistakenly read far too much into his monologue?

په 4 February 2010 په 02:21 باندې د jsmart09 تبصره

Noone needs to blast anyone. Don't worry about it. Use your energy for editing.

په 4 February 2010 په 04:10 باندې د Canley تبصره

There will always be people who think crowd-sourcing or open-source projects are completely incapable of producing accurate, up-to-date or "complete" datasets/software because they have no understanding of the motivation, methodology or altruism behind such projects. Mr Ross seems to think all we do is plot lampposts, benches and bins on existing maps (and that Wikipedia is just "Family Guy" or "Pokemon" trivia). That's OK, let them pay thousands of dollars for their "professional" map updates, or have licences pulled out from under them a la Nav4All - blasting rebuttals at these people won't convince them, but making the OSM dataset the most cost-effective and comprehensive one available will make it unavoidable as a viable option from both a business and consumer standpoint.

په 4 February 2010 په 15:56 باندې د Pieren تبصره

Currently "Executive Director at Copyright Alliance". Everything is said. Probably a former lobbyist of MS Encarta.

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