Map Updates 22. July 2011

After last weeks State of the Map Europe in Vienna I have not found yet much time to work on the maps. That ain't bad in general however, as last week I arranged a cooperation with a Map Toolkit provider to work together on a new online map, plus Apps for Iphone/Android with maps made for mtbikers, cyclists, and hikers. Maybe also proper guides.

As for the maps I did include now POI symbols for mtb:scale=3-7. This means if you have pathes/tracks with some special difficulty short sections, instead of splitting up the way, you can simply put a Point with tag: mtb:scale and value =3-7 (6 and 7 are commonly used by vertriders, I'll try to find examples/definitions for the Wiki in the coming months) on the way or besides it (if it's a node of the way, then it's part of it, it it's besides, then it's an "attraction" which you can take but don't have to. I'll try to come up with a tag to say "it's part of the way, but there is an easy way around - so you don't have to put down a separate way which may be inconsidered rude by hikers, that don't see a need for separate ways on the way).

Regarding the license change in OSM, I have now accepted the odbl. That does not mean I do support the odbl in any way. For me it is at least as defect as the CCBYSA 2.0. However there seems to be too few support for the CCBYSA 2.0 continuation, therefore I accpeted the terms. I do spoke with Richard of the LWG at the SOTM (well and some more, as with Ulf Lamping not showing up I was more or less the most prominent odbl declining attendee) and do hope that at least the huge problem of vector maps being completly undecided on their database vs derrived works status gets resolved before the odbl goes live.

I'm now for 3 weeks in the Valais (based in Sierre/Siders) - I'll meet up with downhillers and vertriders from the region, but open to meet any openmtbmap users that want to attack difficulty trails here (I know nearly all of them). So drop me a message if you'ld like to meet me up for riding (until 7. August). Maybe I'll go to PDS for a few days too.