[OpenLayers-Dev] [OpenLayers-Users] Scoping Issue With Yahoo Geocoder

[Christopher Schmidt]

On Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 03:40:19PM -0500, Sebastian Benthall wrote:
> >
> >  You shall not:
> >
> >   (ix) use the stand-alone geocoder for any use other than displaying
> >   Yahoo! Maps or displaying points on Yahoo! Maps;
> >
> > http://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/maps/mapsapi/mapsapi-2141.html
> >
> 
> Bummer
> 
> Does the Yahoo Geocoder control ensure that the results are being
> > plotted on a Yahoo! Map in some way?
> 
> 
> Alas, it does not.
> 
> 
> > Barring that, I'm hesitant to do
> > something which seems to cleary violate the Yahoo! API terms of use,
> > unless I"m misunderstanding something...
> >
> 
> Yeah, that makes sense.  Although I'm not sure that including the code
> itself in an addin would violate the TOS, since is that "using" the Yahoo!
> API?  Maybe having an example there would though.

Correct, having the code exist is not in violation of the ToS. My
concern is just re: pushing people towards something that's not allowed
-- for example, although it is trivially simple to do so, we don't
document how to use Google Maps tiles without the Google Maps API. 

> Do you think it would be sufficient to include a warning in the class that
> the geocoder shouldn't be used except with a Yahoo! Map?  Then the example
> could be changed to use the Yahoo! Maps base layer.

That would be a reasonable approach, though it might be even nicer to
check whether there is a Yahoo! layer in the map when the control is
added, and raise an error messag eof some sort otherwise... I just worry
about doing things that skirt around ToSes too easily...

Regards,
-- 
Christopher Schmidt
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