Error, Deliberate or Accidental?
We are all familiar with spam - on the net, by SMS and
by phone through that persistent bug called the
telemarketeer. It was but a matter of time before
these people, operating on the edge of the law,
discovered the world of geospatial location based
services. How many times have we zeroed in on a local
address only to find that behind the address is
nothing but a telephone and a person who directs you
to another location far away? Is it lawful to put your
location in a public park or a P O Box just to capture
potential customers who would prefer a local supplier?
On the other hand we have situations where lack of
sensitivity towards political issues leads otherwise
reasonable and conscientious persons to make serious
mistakes. We have had Google getting into trouble with
several countries on a range of issues from erroneous
borders, security lap ses and privacy issues. We now
see Open Street Maps, a fantastic volunteer effort,
stubbing its toes on a border issue with India. Is
this a deliberate error or is it the use of a free map
which was meant for domestic use in another country?
Volunteer efforts which become global have to become
sensitive to global issues. The issue is the law, if
any, that governs the authenticity and legality of
volunteer information - commercial or altruistic -
that is made available on the net.
http://www.geospatialworld.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=18406:map-spamming-the-latest-way-to-cheat&catid=67:business-general&Itemid=1