ABSTRACT

Digital map data in particular is starting to be taken for granted. Instead of seeing it as a distinctive and valuable resource, some GIS practitioners have started to regard it almost as a disposable commodity. There seems to be an assumption that map data will be more or less freely available; and this attitude is often accompanied by a

corresponding disregard for the high cost and complexity of gathering the data, of keeping it up to date and accurate, and of processing it for commercial use.