[Geodata] GeoData Alliance?

[Jo Walsh]

On Fri, Aug 17, 2007 at 05:19:53PM -0400, Frank Warmerdam wrote:
> >>Their current projects include GeoDRM (not likely something we are
> >>interested in) 
> >I agree that OSGeo is probably not interested in limiting access to 
> >Data,  but GeoDRM has more uses that that.
> >It is also used for things like User Authentication and Update Access. 
> Perhaps it would have been more accurate to say that I doubt DRM is
> going to be of interest to the geodata working group 

I like the term "rights assurance" at the moment. 

Right, the GeoDRM WG members i have talked to, see this effort as, on
the flip side, a "privacy protection" measure. Here this is again from
the geoall FAQ: [[ protect the privacy and confidentiality of personal
information and sensitive geographic information. ]]

It seems to me that this is papering over the cracks of a problem that
Arnulf identified a while ago, that Internet-based distribution is
just unpalatable for a lot of organisations, while VPN and/or PKI
"solutions" already exist for sharing of data between agencies, that
could be extended to end-users on a regional or municipal basis.
But because we have the Internet, SDI problems become Internet problems.

To cut a rant short, it *does* make sense to me to listen carefully to
what the "GeoDRM" scene are doing, to help ensure that Real Security
Specialists run across their output and take time to critique it.
The only person i vaguely know who has a firm foot in both these
worlds is Jan-Oliver Wagner. Interestingly, he is talking recently 
about a gonzo "OWS-Accounting" project - which would essentially
enable either prepaid or postpaid *per-request billing for access to
an OGC Web Service* - and this intrigues me ...
http://www.intevation.de/pipermail/freegis-list/2007-July/003246.html

cheers,


jo
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