[Qgis-user] WMS "Add Default Servers"

[Jonathan Moules]

Hi Paulo,

(Heading offtopic here)

I think a QGIS plugin for GeoSeer would be extremely useful and is 
definitely something I've considered. If done properly it would /greatly 
/improve the process of adding OGC services to QGIS and immeasurably 
improve the process of finding and adding them ...

...but it's an issue of funding. GeoSeer has no adverts because 
web-adverts are Bad(tm) - I morally disagree with them - so GeoSeer 
currently costs me money to run, and that's ignoring my considerable 
time cost to develop and maintain it! Remember, this is an ongoing 
service, not a one-time-develop thing. The business model behind making 
it self-sustaining is the (new!) API to search the database ( 
https://www.geoseer.net/api.php ), and this is paid-for. A QGIS plugin 
could easily use this API - that's what it's designed for - but as 
noted, the API is meant to be paid-for.

So if a plugin were used, it would either need some sort of ongoing 
funding to use the API, or users would have to buy their own API keys to 
use with the plugin, or I'd have to provide it free like I do with the 
web-search. While I'd like to do the free option, you can't pay rent 
with good-will.

Until I figure out a solution to this conundrum, and/or someone offers 
me funding for it, and/or the PSC wants to discuss it, I figure the free 
yes-really-not-even-selling-your-personal-information-like-google-does 
web search is a good starting point for users. I'm very open to 
suggestions for how to make it possible.

Cheers,

Jonathan


On 2019-05-13 08:31, Paolo Cavallini wrote:
> Agreed, thanks.
> Perhaps a QGIS plugin to search Geoseer db directly would be useful?
> Cheers.
>
> On 13/05/19 09:22, Jonathan Moules wrote:
>> Hi Paulo,
>>
>> The problem with default links is:
>>
>> * They go out of date quickly
>>
>> * They're probably not what the user wants.
>>
>> * There are a lot of them: I have over 180,000 services in my database
>>
>> * There are too many even just global - of the 1.2 million layers in my
>> database, 68,922 claim via their bbox to have fully global coverage.
>>
>> * A list of titles doesn't really tell you what's in the service.
>>
>> Shameless plug: This is why I developed GeoSeer - https:www.geoseer.net
>> - to make these services discoverable.
>>
>>
>> As requested I've create a ticket for its removal:
>> https://issues.qgis.org/issues/22059
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Jonathan
>>
>>
>> On 2019-05-13 06:52, Paolo Cavallini wrote:
>>> Good point Jonathan. Do you have any useful server, possibly of global
>>> coverage, to suggest? Could you please open a ticket about this?
>>> Thanks.
>>>
>>> On 13/05/19 01:36, Jonathan Moules wrote:
>>>> Hi list,
>>>>
>>>> Question - What is the purpose of the "Add Default Servers" for WMS? I
>>>> ask because the servers are all demo servers and have no meaningful data
>>>> - they're good for development purposes but useless to the end users.
>>>>
>>>> Also (ironically) - the QGIS Demo Server doesn't work I get "Service
>>>> Unavailable".
>>>>
>>>> Cheers,
>>>>
>>>> Jonathan
>>>>
>>>>
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