[Wikimedia-l] The failure of Google, looking for open source alternatives

[Strainu]

2013/8/25 Romaine Wiki <romaine_wiki at yahoo.com>:
> Google is throwing the Wikipedia layer out of Google Maps under the guise of "improvement", while it actually sets several steps back in time. It is like going to the Middle Ages instead of the future.

I wouldn't go *that* far. Opportunities come and go, and so are
reusers of our content. This is not such a big deal for Wikipedia, I
believe.

> It shows that commercial companies do not make decisions by looking what people like, need and want, but let the end users down. In the past such changes in software always was a moment for me to consider if there are alternatives and if possible to switch over to them.

>
> Considering this for finding a Wikipedia layer on maps, I do not know any. But I do know there is an open source alternative, just like Wikipedia, but then for maps, OpenStreetMap.
>
> We already work together in some way, we use the maps of OpenStreetMap in our Toolserver maps when we click on the coordinates on articles.
>
> Unfortunately I couldn't find any layer for Wikipedia on http://openstreetmap.org

Perhaps the WMF should provide that? Kolossos has done a tremendous
job with his work on the subject. Moving from the toolserver to the
labs could be a good moment to increase the resource allocated to that
project.

I think OSM would be happy with the idea. One of their layers (the
transport map) is already provided by a third party AFAIK.

>
> I think it would be good if we as Wikimedia would broaden our use of and connections with OpenStreetMap and let both communities work together more.
>
> (It is unlikely to happen I think, but OpenStreetMap would be perfectly under the wing of WMF, just as Wikivoyage.)

No it wouldn't. The OSM Foundation has proven in many ways superior to
the WMF (consider only the way licence change was approached on their
and and on the WMF wikis...). Perhaps some of this image is due to
cultural differences between Europe and the US (me being biased
towards the European model), but I don't think so.

Also, compared to Wikivoyage, OSM has far superior visibility.

>
> We should strive on working together with OpenStreetMap, we supplement each other.

Have a nice weekend,
   Strainu