OpenStreetMap
Turned off to make you aware of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market protests … wtf?
Posted by scruss on 21 March 2019 in English.Dear OSMers —
The Proposal for a DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on copyright in the Digital Single Market COM/2016/0593 final - 2016/0280 (COD) is a European thing.
I’m Canadian, in Canada.
There’s nothing I can do about your laws.
Please don’t act as gatekeepers of the world’s map by taking away features as a “protest” against something that users can’t change. I’m sure the EU is quaking in its boots over the inability to query OSM today.
Update: apparently there’s a banner with a link to https://savetheinternet.info/demos on the map today. TIL there are folks who don’t adblock everything.
Discussion
Comment from Andy Allan on 21 March 2019 at 15:59
You might not like it, but EU laws do affect OpenStreetMap. It would be nice to think that you are unaffected since you aren’t from the EU, but the servers are in the EU, the OSMF is based in the EU, the license is based on EU laws and so on. So if you like OpenStreetMap, then you have an interest in these EU laws, whether you’d like to or not.
Of course, no users of OSM, whether in the EU or not, can directly change these proposed laws. But they can contact their representatives, and this is what this action is designed to encourage. As a Canadian you also have a representative to the EU - you could contact them to explain the problem too.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ambassadors_of_Canada_to_the_European_Union
Comment from scruss on 21 March 2019 at 17:12
A simple message like “Query is provided by an external service, Overpass Turbo” would make the map look more useful today. The fact that Query is returning random way links in infuriating.
Ambassadors exist for trade and diplomatic purposes. One concern from a private individual won’t get passed along. If this action were meant to be useful, there would be links to position papers, people to contact, canned letters to use — not bloody random links to likely deleted ways.
Comment from SomeoneElse on 21 March 2019 at 18:17
Whilst I appreciate that this is frustrating, perhaps the unavailability of a service (free in both senses) should give cause to reflect and thank the people (almost entirely volunteers) providing OSM services in their own time and with their own money 364 days out of 365. Without that this complaint does look a little churlish (“I had a free cake yesterday and the day before, why can’t I have one today too?”).
Comment from scruss on 21 March 2019 at 19:46
Nope, not even remotely going there. This is not about free cake.
So maybe the proposed copyright directive is crappy: I wouldn’t know from this action. There are no links on the map. No way to find out more. It must’ve taken some of that donated time and money to come up with this protest scheme. With no background, this just seems like randomness on OSM’s* part rather than an effective protest. Don’t alienate the people you’re trying to reach.
*: understanding that this wasn’t the OSMF or any of the volunteer admins.