Re: [IATI Tech] GeoNames Web Application

[Sarah.Louise.johns]

Hi just to add to Reiner's point - I understand that in IATI you can add in multiple references, so that you can identify a location using both Geonames and OSM. I'd be happy to encourage this as good practice with the NGOs I work with. I agree with Reiner. Adding data to OSM on for example medical centres or health projects would make both OSM and IATI data more useful when a crisis hits.

Cheers, Sarah

Sent from my mobile, so apologies for the dodgy spelling!

-------- Original message --------
From: Reinier Battenberg
Date:2015/03/27 15:46 (GMT+00:00)
To: iati-te...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [IATI Tech] GeoNames Web Application


Blame it on Bill for encouraging me to write this email.

There are 2 issues I would like to touch upon.

- Though it seems very cool to use the Google API to georefence your data,
please familiarise yourself with item 2 in the Terms of Service (yes, nobody
reads these normally). It very clearly states:

"Unless you have received prior written authorization from Google (or, as
applicable, from the provider of particular Content), you must not: (a) copy,
translate, modify, or make derivative works of the Content or any part
thereof;"

Now, I am not a lawyer, but I think it reads: if you use our sofware to
georeference your IATI dataset (which is a derivative work) you breach our
Terms of Service. Which I think, this being a doing good business we are in,
is not what we should be doing.
Unless each of us get written approval that is.

- I am still a  bit confused by people's focus on Geonames only. Now that you
can also write to Geonames (which is great), there are still  very big
advantages for the use of OpenStreetMap as well:

- OpenStreetMap is a map. That just saves the not-so-techie people a LOT of
work when they want to use georeferenced data. With (also) using the OSM
gazeteer you are quite certain that what you geoference also shows up on a
map, when you link to it.

- OpenStreetMap has many many tools that allow people who work on projects to
map the infrastructure they are supporting. Something that all organisations
should very much support their people in the field doing. You visit a hospital,
you put it in OSM. Want to know why? Ask the people who were looking for
clinics in the Ebola affected countries last year. They had absolutely no clue
where they were when they needed the information. And I am quite sure all of
these clinics at some point in their existence had an NGO worker with a
smartphone visiting.

- The community. There are 2 massive initiatives that are updating OSM in
areas where most aid is spent. The Humanitarian OpenStreetMap team and the
MapGive http://mapgive.state.gov/ iniative, led by the US government. These
initiatives are committed to making OSM useful for all IATI publishers active
in the Global South. That looks like this:
Juba:
http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=16/4.8471/31.5976

Kita, Guinea and surrounding.
http://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=12/13.0388/-9.4635

Sure, there is room for improvement, but there is also a lot of people who
would like to help with that.


Just my 2 cents before the weekend starts.

Rgds

Reinier



On Wednesday 25 March 2015 03:50:31 Alberto Amaro wrote:
> Hello!
>
> I've been working in a web solution to query and discover the main GeoNames
> information required to the IATI 2.01 location element.
> I think, of the options proposed to report locations, that GeoNames is
> probably the more accessible.
>
> This web can be very useful to assist in the identification of a place
> using the GeoNames Database and, besides, to see where are these GeoNames
> coordinates located in a Google Map.
> Even, to compare and verify the precision of these two geolocation
> services.
> (As you know in the GeoNames Database it is possible to update or modify a
> place information if you see that it is erroneous).
>
> To work with this Web Application first you must register in the GeoNames
> web (it is very fast and free) and save your GeoNames username in the
> "Config" tab of the Web.
> This username is used to query the GeoNames web services.
>
> In any case, all the instructions and explanations are in the "About" and
> "Config" tabs.
>
> This is the link:
> http://www.iablog.info/geonamesQW
>
> Any comments will be welcome.
> Best regards
>
> Alberto Amaro

--
rgds,

Reinier Battenberg
Director
Mountbatten Ltd.
www.mountbatten.net
tel: +256 758 801749
twitter: @batje

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