Changeset 85 for trunk/npemap.org.uk
- Timestamp:
- Oct 19, 2006, 9:43:32 PM (15 years ago)
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trunk/npemap.org.uk/static/FAQ.html (modified) (6 diffs)
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trunk/npemap.org.uk/static/FAQ.html
r19 r85 1 1 <html> 2 2 <head> 3 <title>Free Postcodes !!!</title>3 <title>Free Postcodes</title> 4 4 </head> 5 5 … … 11 11 <h3>What is it?</h3> 12 12 13 <p>There are a lot of uses on websites for being able to tell where13 <p>There are a lot of applications on websites for being able to tell where 14 14 people are from their postcode. For example "Where is my nearest 15 15 B&Q?". Unfortunately this data is expensive to licence (a few 16 thousand pounds/year for a website I believe). <a16 thousand pounds/year for a website). <a 17 17 href="http://www.freethepostcode.org">Free the postcode</a> are doing a 18 verygood job, but it is hard to contribute to their database as you19 need a GPS so they have few postcodes.</p>18 good job, but it is hard to contribute to their database as you 19 need a GPS, so they have few postcodes.</p> 20 20 21 <p> The ideais to collect postcode data by getting users to locate21 <p>Our goal is to collect postcode data by getting users to locate 22 22 themselves on a map of the country. They need only give the first part 23 23 of their postcode, and if we can collect locations for all of these 24 parts then we can create a database that is 'good enough' for a lot of 25 web purposes. 24 parts then we can create a database that is good enough for many 25 applications. We are also accepting complete postcodes and 'partial' 26 postcodes including the number portion of the second half of the postcode, 27 in order to improve our accuracy. 26 28 </p> 27 29 28 30 <h3>What licence will the data have?</h3> 29 31 30 <p>It will be public domain. Users will have to place their data in the 31 public domain. </p> 32 <p>The data will be will be in the public domain; consequently, users 33 submitting data agree to their submission being in the public domain 34 when they enter their postcode.</p> 32 35 36 <h3>What maps are you using?</h3> 33 37 34 <h3>What maps will you use?</h3> 38 <p>We have scans of out of copyright OS maps of England and Wales. 39 You can <a href="scotlandAndNI.html">register interest in future 40 projects involving Scotland and Northern Ireland</a>.</p> 35 41 36 <p>We have scans of out of copyright OS maps of the whole country.</p> 42 <h3>So can I do what I like with your scans/tiles?</h3> 43 44 <p> 45 No. The scans and tiles have been placed under a 46 <a href="tileLicence.html">licence</a>; they are not in the public 47 domain. 48 </p> 37 49 38 50 <h3>Isn't orthowotsiting an old map hard?</h3> 39 51 40 52 <p>Luckily we're going to work in the OSGB coordinate system that 41 matches up with the lines on the map,this means we don't have to53 matches up with the grid lines on the map; this means we don't have to 42 54 distort the maps too much. We also are not overly fussy about the 43 55 accuracy, so this step can be done quickly.</p> 44 56 45 57 <h3>Why don't you use maps created from <a 46 href="http://www.openstreetmap.org">Open streetmap</a> data?</h3>58 href="http://www.openstreetmap.org">OpenStreetMap</a> data?</h3> 47 59 48 60 <p>Because they are licensed under Creative Commons Share-alike … … 50 62 51 63 <p>There are people who believe that locating a point on a map creates a 52 derived work, and hence requires a licence. I don't want to be the first 53 to prove them wrong in a court as that will be pricy.</p> 64 derived work, and hence requires a licence. We don't want to be the first 65 to prove them wrong in a court, as that will be pricy.</p> 66 67 <p>Also, the OpenStreetMap maps are not yet complete enough to achieve our 68 goal of country-wide coverage</p>. 54 69 55 70 <h3>Will this data be imported back into Free the Postcode?</h3> 56 71 57 72 <p>It might be, that will depend on someone working out how to store 58 partial postcode data in Free the Postcode.</p> 73 partial postcode data in Free the Postcode. We are importing Free the 74 Postcode data into our database.</p> 59 75 60 76 <h3>If you are using scans of old maps, how accurate will the locations 61 77 be?</h3> 62 78 63 <p>Some of the scans are out by a degree or two but they are pretty 64 good. We hope to be able to get better than 100yds accuracy out of it in 65 the end. This is more than good enough to locate a reagion as large as 66 the first half of a postcode. </p> 79 <p>Some of the scans are out by a degree or two but they are fairly 80 good. We hope to be able to get better than 100 metres accuracy out of it in 81 the end. This is more than good enough to locate a region as large as 82 the first half of a postcode, and hopefully as much as the 'partial' 83 postcodes described in the answer to 'What is it?' above.</p> 67 84 68 85 <h3>My house isn't on a 1950s map</h3> 69 86 70 <p>Find some local landmarks ,guess where your house is. This is71 accurate enough for our purposes. 87 <p>Find some local landmarks and guess where your house is. This is 88 accurate enough for our purposes.</p> 72 89 73 90 <h3>I know exactly where I am, and what my postcode is</h3> … … 77 94 world a better place.</p> 78 95 79 80 <h3>Why doesn't it work yet?</h3> 81 82 <p>We're still thinking about how this will work, and processing the 83 maps so we can use them on the web.</p> 84 85 <h3>So, how will I work it?</h3> 96 <h3>So, how do I use it?</h3> 86 97 87 98 <p>Find your location on our map, click where your postcode is, enter 88 99 the postcode, agreeing to release your data.</p> 89 100 90 <h3> psst, I have a copy of the codepoint database wanna look?</h3>101 <h3>Psst, I have a copy of the codepoint database. Wanna look?</h3> 91 102 92 103 <p>No thanks, we want free data so we don't have to keep paying the nice … … 95 106 <h3>Won't you drive codepoint out of business?</h3> 96 107 97 <p>We don't think so , there are a lot of places where this level of108 <p>We don't think so. There are a lot of places where this level of 98 109 accuracy just isn't enough. Those people will still have to pay until 99 110 <a href="http://www.freethepostcode.org">Free the Postcode</a> improves … … 102 113 <h3>The map doesn't join up.</h3> 103 114 104 <p>Ye ah, it isn't perfect, the OS didn't publish a single map of the whole105 country so you have to scan then stick together data from several maps. I don't106 really know how to correct it perfectly. It would be really cool if someone 107 could write software to detect the gridlines and automatically cut the images 108 up on the lines and make them square.</p> 115 <p>Yes, it isn't perfect. The OS didn't publish a single map of the whole 116 country, so you have to scan then stick together data from several maps. 117 We don't really know how to correct it perfectly. It would be really cool 118 if someone could write software to detect the gridlines and automatically 119 cut the images up on the lines and make them square.</p> 109 120 110 121 <h3>The wonkiness is so annoying it drives me mad, and I have experience of orthrectifying maps. Please let me straighten your maps.</h3> 111 122 112 <p>Cool. Contact us that would be great.</p>123 <p>Cool. Contact us, that would be great.</p> 113 124 114 125 <h3>Why didn't you use proj/gdal?</h3> 115 126 116 <p>Because I don't know how to work them. Feel like improving how this works, let me know.</p> 127 <p>Because we don't know how to work them. If you feel like improving how this 128 works, let us know.</p> 117 129 118 130 <h3>Why don't you have good mapping data of Scotland and Northern Ireland?</h3> 119 131 120 <p>I don't think they were part of the new popular edition at 1inch to the mile. If you have free higher res images of either of these places (we only have quarter inch to the mile) then we might be interested in them.</p> 132 <p>I don't think they were part of the New Popular Edition at 1 inch to the 133 mile. If you have free higher resolution images of either of these places 134 (we only have quarter inch to the mile) then we might be interested in them.</p> 121 135 122 136 <h3>Who did the work?</h3> 123 137 124 125 138 <p> 126 <ul><li>Richard Fairhurst acquired and scanned the maps, </li> 139 <ul> 140 <li>Richard Fairhurst acquired and scanned the maps,</li> 127 141 <li>Dominic Hargreaves and David Sheldon straightened and tiled the maps,</li> 128 <li>Matthew Westcott, David Sheldon, Dominic Hargreaves and Nick Burch worked on the user interface ,</li>142 <li>Matthew Westcott, David Sheldon, Dominic Hargreaves and Nick Burch worked on the user interface.</li> 129 143 <ul> 130 144 </body>
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