Licence and Legal FAQ/Why would I want my contributions to be public domain: Difference between revisions

In the eyes of many people, this share-alike clause - which limits your freedom in certain ways - is necessary for a greater good, which is generally seen as spreading the freedom and openness of data. The plan is to force people (rather than just encourage them) to contribute improvements back so that anyone can benefit from them just like they benefited from OpenStreetMap.

 

 

If you declare your contributions to be in the Public Domain, '''you are thereby making a statement only. You will not actually be changing the license or what people can do with your data''', because database law still overrides the protection of individual items. People will have to adhere to ODbL when they want to use OSM, even if a majority of contributions should be declared PD. But nonetheless such statements can be powerful. How many people choose the PD option will influence the way we think about OSM licensing in the future. Nothing is ever black and white; even ODbL can be enforced strictly or handled leniently. By selecting the PD option, you basically say: Hey guys, do this ODbL thing if you must but don't go over board with it, I consider my contributions PD and would rather get mapping than think about what is allowed and what not.