OpenStreetMap
While mapping stores, shopes and other amenities in the city I came up with some question I would like to ask all of you:
What's your opinion on making personal information public by including them in poi data agains the will (or at least without knowlege of) their owners?
An example would be the full name of a dentist or doctor. Full name and address are without a doubt personal informations I wouldn't want to be made public without my knowledge.
But doctors are points of very much interest to a user auf the map. And they can't be (other than most shops) referenced without the name of the person itself.
This of course is a problem for any kind of amenity which name happens to include the full name of the owner.
Again the question: Whats your opinion? Map it cause they operate a business which they choose to do under their own name and which is adverticed on the building anyway. Or protect the personal information and map as nameless amenity?
Discussion
Comment from Joao Carreiro on 1 March 2010 at 16:31
If it's splashed all over the building, how private is it anyway?
Comment from ALE! on 1 March 2010 at 19:53
If the doctor has his/her full name (and address) in the local phone book, then this information is public anyway. Also, IMHO it should be in the interest of the doctor to have this information available for the general public. Otherwise, how does he/she get his/her clients?
Comment from Fabi2 on 1 March 2010 at 20:48
It's OK to put all the Info in OSM which puts the doctor on his house or cards or the shop on it's bons or front, as the should be public by dooing so.
Comment from Gnonthgol on 1 March 2010 at 22:53
A doctor witch have to be public to get clients is ok. But there are personal businesses witch do not get their clients by advertising, like an engineer or some lawers office. Here we should not import the name to osm.
Comment from drlizau on 2 March 2010 at 01:42
I work in a group of 6 doctors. One does not have her name publically displayed because she comes from a country which until very recently had civil war. If the names are displayed on a sign outside, that is OK to put in OSM. If the sign outside does not have the name, then it is better not to put in names.
Comment from SamatJain on 2 March 2010 at 06:18
If a business has a publicly-viewable sign, then it's an item that should be mapped—the owners obviously want people to find it, otherwise they'd not place the sign in the first place.
Whether the owner's name is part of the businesses' name is irrelevant
Comment from Chaos99 on 2 March 2010 at 07:11
Hey, I'm glad that so many of you responded to my question.
Even if the sample size is small, I would say the average opinion is: tag those names, if they are on a sign.
I don't think the phone book point is valid, as (at least here in Germany) phone books are 'opt-in' by legislation. OSM is not.
I want to especially thank drlizau for his inside view. I won't tag names that are not on a public sign anyway.
As for the lawyers and engineers: I only would map businesses that have an 'open door' policy. That's where you don't generally need an appointment but simply walk in. Like shops, doctors, pharmacys etc., but not lawyers, engineers or offices of companys. even if they have a sign.
Or what is your opinion on that? Wait, I think I'll do another diary entry for that one.
Comment from ALE! on 2 March 2010 at 10:21
"I don't think the phone book point is valid, as (at least here in Germany) phone books are 'opt-in' by legislation."
That is exactly why I think it is valid. If somebody agreed to have his/her name in a phone book, then this information is public and can be added to OSM.
Comment from Chaos99 on 2 March 2010 at 10:53
@ALE!
Well I smell legal trouble with this kind of reasoning.
They opted in to be in the phone book, not to be on OSM.
To conclude a certain mindset from this is, well, brave.
Of course the data in the phone book is PRACTICALLY public, but so is Google Maps, Flickr, Myspace, Facebook, even TV. And you wouldn't dare to believe a movie is 'public' because it showed on TV last night.
I think I'm going with the 'has sign towards the street' thing. It's more in line with the 'as the street name reads on the sign' thing osm does with the maps.