[freeside] POP Locater

[Stephen Amadei]

On Wed, 15 Nov 2000, ivan wrote:

> Would you consider making this data available under an open-source or
> open-content license?

Well, my first intent has been to get a small local calling area DB going.
Using various sources, I have put together enough data to allow for a read
only outside web interface, and a editable web interface that allows one
to "connect" CO's with local calling.

I had planned on writing a separate DB with my calling numbers that would
"raid", through the readable web interface, a local POP.  For now, my
messy script does the job, but a simpler, graceful one could be written...
_if_ the LCA DB was complete (well, completer than RI, NJ and DE... ;-)).

Once this was finished, I was going to provide access to the world, a la
"The Directory" with some banner ads.  Not trying to become rich, but use
it to help publicize whatever my main work is... currently Dandy.net.

The problem is... that I have discovered the DB data entry is beyond my 
means and writing a script to convert the data will not work in many
cases, as all the tariffs are formatted differently...

As for making the data available for open-source or open-content
licensing, I am open to suggestion.  The LCA DB idea is something that 
I've fiddled with for years, as I love local calling... in other words,
getting free stuff from the greedy ILECs... dating back to my BBS days
when a handful of my friends put together a loose connection of systems
that would link local calls to do long distance BBSing.  I am still
interesting in local calling info because I think it is criminal to charge
what MapInfo and CCMI and TeleT-something charge for local calling info...
MapInfo wants $50K for the US.

I would like to see this info be made available to the public for free, or
nearly free, but not in the form that they can take the whole database
home, or resell it.  Again, like "The Directory" does.

How exactly would something like this be open-sourced or open-content
licensed?  As the info is coming from a number of sources, who owns the
data?

On a side note, I have searched for this info so much, I have friends
steal the local calling pages from the front of telephone books when they
go on vacation.  Collected Santa Cruz and San Jose last week at
ISPCON.  ;-)

					----Steve
Stephen Amadei
Dandy.net CTO
Atlantic City, NJ