[open-bibliography] [pd-discuss] Free BMD and PD Calculators

[Tom Morris]

On Thu, Sep 23, 2010 at 1:46 PM, Rufus Pollock <rufus.pollock at okfn.org> wrote:

>> <http://www.freebmd.org.uk/>
>
> That data would be much more useful if it were open ;) See the terms
> and conditions:
>
> 1. FreeBMD is provided free of charge for personal research purposes only.
> 2. Access to the data held by FreeBMD is only permitted manually via
> the search page. The use of front end programs or sites to enter
> search parameters is strictly forbidden
> 3. Data extracted from FreeBMD must not be reproduced in any form.

I don't know if it's the reason behind FreeBMD's licensing, but
historically the genealogical community has been gun shy of commercial
ventures due to past bad experiences snarfing up freely provided data
and then putting it behind pay walls and selling it back to the people
that provided it.  That, and the sleazy business practices of
companies like Ancestry have probably left a bad taste in people's
mouths about commercial usage.  I think the objections can be overcome
if the arguments are framed correctly, but it'll take some work.

Tom