[okfn-labs] opening up what3words

Sat May 16 22:57:20 UTC 2015

On Fri, May 15, 2015 at 7:02 PM, willi uebelherr
<willi.uebelherr at gmail.com> wrote:
> Am 15-May-15 um 07:55 schrieb stef:
>>
>> On Fri, May 15, 2015 at 12:26:27PM +0200, Ingmar Schlecht wrote:
>>>
>>> I have to say I find the basic idea of what3words rather pointless. Why
>>> would you want an address scheme from which you can't draw any conclusion
>>> at
>>> all regarding its location by just looking at it.

   According to http://what3words.com/about/ :
-=-=-
Why is it important?

Around 75% of the world (135 countries) suffers from inconsistent,
complicated or inadequate addressing systems.

This means that around 4 billion people are invisible; unable to
report crime; unable to get deliveries or receive aid; and unable to
exercise many of their rights as citizens because they simply have no
way to communicate where they live.

For example, it means that in remote locations water facilities can’t
be found, monitored and fixed; and schools, refugee camps and informal
settlements remain unaddressed.

Even in countries with advanced address systems, people get lost,
packages aren’t delivered, and businesses and tourist attractions
don’t get found.

Poor addressing might seem no more than annoying in some countries,
but around the world it hampers the growth and development of nations,
ultimately costing lives.

We want to give everyone in the world the ability to talk about a
precise location as easily as possible.

Everyone and everywhere now has an address.
-=-=-

   Perhaps i've just been attracted to their propaganda that makes it
sound like they could "save lives"? I first thought it made sense, but
your arguments against it are persuading me to the opposite
conclusion.

   If one lives in a place where they don't have a serious address,
are they going to have enough infrastructure to say "please send my
solar panel to up.creek.paddle" instead of "... to the cabin up the
hill from the place where the river turns northward, after the big
waterfall"? Do i need a precise location under those circumstances?
Will an ambulance come to ran.off.road more easily than GPS
coordinates where someone found a broken down automobile?

   I think i first was tempted by the project because it seems so
easily copied by an Open system. But, if it's not worth doing... thank
you for saving us the trouble of building it. :)

-- 
universero trio
Esperanto, The International Language! What's that? See http://Esperanto.Org