OpenStreetMap
If you're a member of the OpenStreetMap foundation, have a dig around in your emails (check in spam) for one with a subject "OSMF Membership Vote". At the bottom is a link for voting. I suggest you use it to vote 'yes' to the ODbL.
We're creating a massive open licensed database. Nobody has ever done anything like this before (wikipedia is similar, but it's not a database). For the past year a team of people have been carefully crafting a new license which fits what we are doing. Have a quick look at the ODbL Plain Language Summary. It's very similar in principle to the cc-by-sa license (the one which isn't really designed for a database). So the decision is simple... right?
Sadly the OpenStreetMap community doesn't really do simple decisions. Every time it tries, things descend into insane debates. But we're going to have to do a decision now, and the decision should be 'yes' to ODbL
Discussion
Comment from Lipperlandexpress on 6 December 2009 at 21:47
Please vote with "no"
It's not that I don't like the new license but i'm sure that 5%+ users will not answer the request for the new Lincense (dead Accounts) and 5%+ will vote with no.
I don't like it to loose for example 7% of the data. The new licence isn't worth it.
Comment from Richard on 6 December 2009 at 22:25
I'd rather have 93% of data under a usable licence, than 100% of it under an unusable one. I'm voting 'yes' too.
Comment from HannesHH on 7 December 2009 at 14:22
After sleeping a night over it, I am pretty sure that I would even like Public Domain for my contributions. After all I am doing it as a hobby, I am learning a lot, I have fun and spent time doing something good for all people.
Comment from HannesHH on 7 December 2009 at 14:23
I mean, I will vote "yes" and I would even do so if it was public domain. And I am with Richard on the "losing data" issue.
Comment from wer-ist-roger on 7 December 2009 at 23:21
Is it even possible to switch to another license if only one says no?
I consider the whole map a derived work from everything. So if only one likes to stay on cc-by-sa the whole rest has to stay this way.
Comment from Skippern on 7 December 2009 at 23:30
not ecactly wer-ist, it is possible to exclude the data that is not compatible (i.e. from users who doesn't accept) the new license. If all the active mappers donates its contributions to PD as I have done, than it shouldn't be any problems except for some imports that have been done from cc-by-sa, in those cases, contact with the data sources can be made and request it to be liberated for PD, either in complete, or only for OSM. I guess if such is done, we will only lose marginal data. All the major bulk imports I know of is already PD.
Comment from wieland on 11 December 2009 at 07:29
Only members of OSMF or any authors of OSM?
Or first you need 50% to start asking the authors?
Comment from wieland on 12 December 2009 at 10:05
What about
osm.wiki/Category:Users_whose_contributions_are_in_the_public_domain ?