8 Awesome Cases of Internet Vigilantism

This is a good read:

http://www.cracked.com/article_17170_8-awesome-cases-internet-vigilantism.html

I love this LOLcats:

Nothing wrong with Antyong making money

First off, it is my opinion that there is absolutely nothing wrong with Antyong making money on the side. He's doing what he loves anyway so why not get paid for it? We all know how passion drives humans and Antyong is passionate with both maps and money. Are you envious of Antyong, Bull?



If you are then its probably because there is a figure attached to it. RM5,000 is tangible. Have you thought about the money other people make like those GPS device sellers and the end-users who use the map to save time and money by not getting lost? These are probably intangible in value and you do not have an exact figure to put on it. But you cannot deny that they do make money indirectly.

The only thing Antyong did wrong was to take the maps away from Malsingmaps to create another community.

Hi from Fletcher Reede

Hello everyone. My name is Fletcher and I've been invited to co-blog and provide some balance to this website. I also hope to show a different aspect of the current situation affecting Malsingmaps and Malfreemaps. So stay tuned.

Oh, and thanks to Bull Cutter for inviting me.

Fletcher Reede

Fact 12: Anthony Yong earns RM5,000 a month at M3Tech

Anthony Yong has been kind enough to divulge his contract with M3Tech on his website at antyong.net:


Now we know why the last licensing deal at Malsingmaps did not go through. It was meant to benefit the Malsingmaps community but Anthony Yong prevented it from happening by vetoing the decision of the whole community which supported the deal. Why? Is it because if only one person was to benefit from this endeavour monetarily it would make it less complicated to disburse the money? Does Anthony Yong think it is enough that the community gets the free maps while ONLY HE gets paid RM5,000 a month just to attend one meeting a week plus the dividends from the profit of that company? It stinks to high heaven when everyone poured their blood and sweat to make the maps better. It is similar to the high bonuses and golden parachutes that CEOs of conglomerates receive while ordinary mappers and trackers enjoy their free one-meal-a-day maps. Its the same capitalism philosophy that brought down the world economy to its knees today.

ps What about other mappers at Malfreemaps? Are they making money over there too?

Help 5: Translation of website content to Mandarin

A reader has requested for a translation of this website's content in Mandarin. Please help translate and email to mfm.spin@gmail.com. Thank you.

Putar Belit 1: Peta Malsingmaps yang dihasilkan oleh Garmin tidak percuma selepas setahun

Kenyataan ini oleh SOSweet di Malfreemaps bertujuan untuk menimbulkan kesangsian terhadap Malsingmaps. Kenyataan "Percuma selama setahun selepas tarikh pertama GPS anda mendapat resepsi satelit" merujuk kepada peta TeleAtlas dan bukan peta Malsingmaps yang dihasilkan oleh Garmin.

Malsingmaps makes her stand loud and clear

Finally Malsingmaps has made their stance regarding the legal aspects of map ownership by seeking the counsel of an Intelectual Property lawyer:

Dear valued member and visitors,

Some of you may have heard allegations and claims over the rights and ownership over a portion of the map data at malsingmaps.com. We have also heard of claims of how certain individual claim all the hard work the community has contributed to this community for all these years as being attributable to him.

We flatly deny those claims on both counts. We state that the branding created at malsingmaps.com is by all of us, both mappers, users and contributors alike both past and present. And we have a large map spanning Peninsular Malaysia, East Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei and these have been made over the years, not by a single individual but by the community as a whole. The agreement with Garmin is the icing on the cake which validates and acknowledges the efforts of the entire community. It is an achievement that all of us can be proud of. We have at no time attempted to hide, devalue or not acknowledge any of
the works done by mappers and contributors of the past.

On the issue of legal ownership, our position has always been clear. We have the benefit of one of Malaysia's premier specialist Intellectual Property law firms who have reviewed the situation extensively. As contributors and users of malsingmaps, you are also accorded protection under the law. Any infringement, if at all, is not committed by malsingmaps but by others. Case law heavily supports our case, and in some of those cases, entitles us for a valid claim for injunctive relief. This is in addition to other causes of action that are open to us right now, today. We do not believe we need to resort to these unless it is absolutely necessary. It is a non-profit hobby anyway.

We are aware that cheap coffee shop talk by persons with no locus standi, no appreciation of the entire history nor understanding of the legal issues surrounding Intellectual Property law, is all too easy. 2 cents comments can be easily advanced backed only by emotions and interpretations which however cannot withstand legal scrutiny. Cheap shots and slanderous statements could be the preferred strategy by some, we on the other hand, prefer diplomacy and professionalism with the full backing of the law. We have the luxury of being civil todate because we have the law on our side.

The law is clear cut. Our legal position is crystal clear. We will exercise our rights to protect that position as and when required.

Be assured that what we did yesterday, what we do today and what we will do tomorrow, is lawful and we have not violated any laws. Of that we are certain. But you don't have to take our word for it. We didn't. We rely on professionals who are subject matter experts in the field of intellectual property.

So let's move on. There are more exciting things coming up in April 2009 where Garmin is concerned. Your continued support is very much welcomed and appreciated. So stick around, enjoy the free maps and enjoy this hobby site. As our motto goes "powered by the community for the community".

MSM Team

I have been wondering about Malsingmaps' stance on this copyright issue for a long time. Why did they have to rebuild the North Peninsular Map with the help of Masmap when Malsingmaps had the legal rights to the source data file from the very beginning? With the issue of copyright out of the way, I hope Malsingmaps and Masmap can now continue where the previous mappers left off.

On a side note, Malfreemaps has made a lot of noise about the issue of Malsingmaps "copying" their data on their website. But have they sought legal counsel regarding this issue? Have they written officially to Malsingmaps about this alleged copying? I don't think so. I think Anthony Yong is making a lot of noise rather than seek legal reprieve so that his valued contributors would be all fired up and do more tracklogging for him. Anthony Yong is one smart man. He does not seek legal reprieve because he knows he has no ground to stand on.