Zulu Waterways News

[CaptTom]

I just got an e-mail from Zulu Waterways. I think this is good news...

First, for those who don't know, ZW is sort of the Australian version of Active Captain; a crowd-sourced cruising guide, if you will. They offer a web site and an app.

The change is they're going to a totally open-source license structure. Maybe someone with more legal knowledge can correct me, but I think this means the data we contribute can't be sold to Garmin some day.

Check out their Terms & Conditions page. Here's an excerpt:

Creative Commons License
We have always strived to be an open platform which promotes the free flow of information between boaters. In this spirit we have decided to license all community inputs on Zulu Waterways under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA International License.
You are free to:

Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material.

The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.

Under the following terms:

Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

Admittedly, the US data is pretty weak at this point. They have just uploaded thousands of points from Open Sea Maps, which will help. But it will require a lot of boaters going in and updating things before it's comprehensive enough to compete with Garmin's ActiveCaptain or Waterway Guide.

I think the new license structure may be enough to give ZW the edge, if enough people jump in.