Hi, > My personal opinion: > Let them. I respect your opinion but I don't think that it is a good idea. But see below for details.
> It is a good thing they are figuring out how to enjoy OpenStreetMap without putting themselves at risk *and* in the mean time try to prevent a total blockade of OpenStreetMap in Russia. It is definitly good that they try to figure out how to map and use OSM in Russia without putting themselves at risk. BUT that shouldn't mean that they get to descide unilaterally in a language most people in OSM don't understand what can be mapped in Russia. If they think it is too risky to map a military area fine. But they have no f*cking right to decide if I want to risk to map that area. If that area exists and the "truth on the ground" shows that it is a military area then it must be ok to add it to OSM. Why? Otherwise we'll loose all our data in China, North Korea and probably several other countries within month. Do you really want Americans to delete the map of Gunantanamo Bay? Do you want Chinese to delete the border around Taiwan? Really really? > People who cannot imagine how it is to have a government that has "issues" in interpreting freedom of speech > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech>, freedom of conscience <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_conscience>, freedom from fear <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_from_fear> and freedom from want <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_from_want> should not interfere in this particular topic. It makes me sad that having the luxury of all freedoms, seems to make some people incapable of understanding that this is NOT (yet) a common privilige in other parts of the world.. I totally understand that mapping in Russia (or any other "substandard" country) can be a huge risk. I totally understand if they don't want to risk their live, freedom or happiness for five nodes in OSM. But that doesn't give them the right to make rules about what can be mapped and what not. Patrick "Petschge" Kilian _______________________________________________ talk mailing list [email protected] http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
