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Created January 12, 2012 20:21
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draft license change email
Hi all,
The final phase of the license changeover to the Open Database License[1] from our current CC-BY-SA is drawing near. From April 1[2], current OpenStreetMap data will only be available under the new license. This means that all data that was contributed by those who did not agree to the new Contributor Terms (CT) will be removed by then. Although the vast majority of contributors have agreed to the CT, some 'tainted' data is jeopardy of being lost. Have a look at the CleanMap[3] and Acceptance Statistics[4] tools to get a sense of what we're talking about. There's even significant stretches of interstate among the jeopardized data.
There are several things we can do together to minimize the data loss and ensure a smooth changeover to the new license:
* Contact mappers who have declined or not agreed yet. Use the OSM Inspektor[5] to identify those users in your area and contact them using the messaging function on the OSM web site. I'd highly recommend to start doing that first. Mappers who are no longer active may have just overlooked the invitation email to accept the CT. Experience shows that a little effort contacting them can yield quick progress. Mappers who have already declined have made that conscious decision, but I'd try contacting them anyway.
* Remap data that remains at risk of being removed, following the guidelines on the wiki (see links below).
If your own area is clean, please consider helping out in more heavily affected areas.
The OSM wiki provides more background and excellent, up to date resources[6][7]. You'll find answers to most questions you may have there.
Best,
Martijn
[1] http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Open_Database_Licence
[2] http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Open_Data_License/Implementation_Plan
[3] http://cleanmap.poole.ch/?zoom=5&lat=38.94&lon=-97.04
[4] http://odbl.poole.ch/
[5] http://tools.geofabrik.de/osmi/?view=wtfe&lon=-99.80273&lat=39.46504&zoom=4
[6] http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Remapping
[7] http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Help_preparing_for_the_license_change
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