Re: [talk-au] Petition to MP
--- On Mon, 15/6/09, Jeff Price jeff.pr...@rocketmail.com wrote: I definitely agree external data sources should be reviewed some how before being imported such that anything currently in place remains as the authoritative instance. I didn't mean to suggested that any govt provided data would be more or less accurate than what exists in the DB, but it wouldn't be any worst than landsat type quality. Unlike landsat I'd expect it would contain meta information such street/road names. I approached the Sunshine Coast Council (Qld) some months ago about accessing their data and my request is still under review. Currently they provide mapping data without charge to commercial vendors (eg UBD). Did you file the request in writing, and if so do you still have a copy? ___ Talk-au mailing list Talk-au@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-au
Re: [talk-au] Petition to MP
--- On Mon, 15/6/09, Jeff Price jeff.pr...@rocketmail.com wrote: Yep have the email history and a copy is on its way to you directly. Thanks for that, it's exactly what I was looking for, not planning to use it word for word, but it's given me a nice template to start from. ___ Talk-au mailing list Talk-au@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-au
Re: [talk-au] Petition to MP
--- On Sun, 14/6/09, Paul Zagoridis pa...@zagz.com wrote: Pick up the phone and talk to your local member AND the electoral staff. I know from previous correspondence on issues they always tell me to put it in a letter and send it to the member, luckily they also accept emails these days. Educate them on the issue either face to face or later by phone appointment. face to face would require a 3hr trip to Tamworth, or a 2 hr trip to Armidale, probably both if you want/need to see both. THEN follow up with a letter that they expect. Don't bother with email as it is hard to track. Lastly a petition should only be started if you are willing to drive it. Better to lobby with your vested interest. By petition, I'm pretty sure I meant to petition the member informally, rather than some formal campaign, although we pay, indirectly, for the mapping information to be produced, so in turn they can turn round and charge/license the data out. Is it just me sick of being doubled, trippled or quadrupled taxed to death? ___ Talk-au mailing list Talk-au@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-au
Re: [talk-au] Petition to MP
On Sun, 14 Jun 2009, Delta Foxtrot wrote: I'm just wondering, nothing came up on google when searching, if there is any example letters floating about petitioning MPs for access to federal data and making it public domain. The reason I ask is the electorate, both state and federal, I'm in is currently held by independents and they might be sympathetic to the cause, or at least give lip service about it :) I am involved in political lobbying at times. Lots of issues pass these men and women, and one thing mentioned is easily lost. But things which are happening in common across many electorates will get talked about in the lunch rooms and party rooms, and this gives an impression of a groundswell of public opinion. So we would all need to be doing this at about the same time - writing individual letters or emails - if we want to have an effect. I've been cautious lately in asking for information, waiting for the licence debate to be settled. ___ Talk-au mailing list Talk-au@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-au
Re: [talk-au] Petition to MP
Lets just think about the end goals of getting MPs involved: adding more data to the map. Now basically there seems to be 2 threads of argument about how best to do this: 1) Through mass import of external datasets and 2) through contributions by users. Method 1) is often required for things that can't be easily surveyed, such as administrative borders whereas method 2) tends to yield better results for things open to rapid (ie, static for 1-2 years) changes such as POIs and new housing developments. From that basis one would then ask what is a higher priority for our part of the world. In my opinion completion of street name surveys is probably the highest priority, as once that's done OSM begins to look like a useful tool for people who aren't interested in contributing, eg tourists, small businesses etc. This is not to say that administrative borders aren't useful, but if I was in a foreign country I'm much more interested in navigation, where to eat, where the closest toilet is etc than what suburb I'm in or exactly where the border of a national park is. So anyway, what I'm trying to get to is a consensus on what would be a more efficient use of our time: marketing to the masses or petitioning for government databases. Personally I think that marketing to the masses would yield better results. Ie: organise more mapping parties where newbies are encouraged to attend and are introduced to a friendly, supportive atmosphere. Or get a few small regions finished and get some printed maps into tourist information centers and youth hostels. I dare say that small regions such as the Sydney CBD and Canberra would be excellent pilot projects which could be started right away. By getting lots of free maps out to the people it broadens our readership. Eventually I think it would be really awesome to get an OSM street directory onto bookshop shelves, starting with capital cities (or regional centers, as they're smaller goals) and eventually (in 5-10 years) publishing an OSM touring guide, complete with a Wikipedia-like database of town descriptions, free camping sites etc, kind of like a compeditor to Explore Australia. Anyway, I've seriously rambled on here. I think that both general populace marketing and MP petitioning are needed, but if somebody has some spare time and a choice, what does Talk-Au think they should concentrate on? Brent - Original Message - From: Delta Foxtrot delta_foxt...@yahoo.com Date: Sunday, June 14, 2009 11:29 pm Subject: [talk-au] Petition to MP To: talk-au@openstreetmap.org I'm just wondering, nothing came up on google when searching, if there is any example letters floating about petitioning MPs for access to federal data and making it public domain. The reason I ask is the electorate, both state and federal, I'm in is currently held by independents and they might be sympathetic to the cause, or at least give lip service about it :) Just a thought, but previous letters that usually address non- local specific issues tended to get forwarded to the relevant ministers and form letters were replied. I believe the state member was formally the mayor of Armidale council so he may have access to other resources, for that area at least. Has anyone gone down this path before, if so what was the outcome? ___ Talk-au mailing list Talk-au@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-au ___ Talk-au mailing list Talk-au@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-au
Re: [talk-au] Petition to MP
And the problem with importing things like roads from government databases is that they are the gazetted road position not the actual on ground road position. That's why google maps etc are so often incorrect. Thats why some of the ABS data does not line up with the actual plotted road. Here's an example http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=-20.30721lon=148.54535zoom=16layers=B000FTF The roads are in their current place but when they were gazetted the ABS boundary is there. You can still see where the Bruce Highway used to be if you go to this intersection. Cheers Ross On Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:08:33 +1000 b.schulz...@scu.edu.au wrote: This is not to say that administrative borders aren't useful, but if I was in a foreign country I'm much more interested in navigation, where to eat, where the closest toilet is etc than what suburb I'm in or exactly where the border of a national park is. So anyway, what I'm trying to get to is a consensus on what would be a more efficient use of our time: marketing to the masses or petitioning for government databases. ___ Talk-au mailing list Talk-au@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-au
