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What's the whole story here? Is it because he created a way for people to create routes, and is not using the official Google Maps API method for creating/show
by dpcan 11y ago
What's the whole story here? Is it because he created a way for people to create routes, and is not using the official Google Maps API method for creating/showing routes? If he just altered his app to use Google's approved method, would he be fine?
- andrewguenther 11y agoGoogle Maps already provides a way for you to share routes, Routebuilder is duplicating that functionality (even if it makes it easier) which is a violation of Google Maps' ToS.
- ocdtrekkie 11y agoBeing better than Google is clearly a reason Google would want to shut you down.
- Someone1234 11y ago> Google Maps already provides a way for you to share routes Does it? Where? Map Maker doesn't do what the article claims it does. It doesn't try to reproduce Routebuilder at all. It allows you to fix errors in Google Map's data, it isn't useful for creating new custom routes for specific purposes (e.g. races, sightseeing, etc).
- teraflop 11y agoThe author might have been thinking of the similarly-named "My Maps".
- kbrosnan 11y agoHere is an example of a Google maps route from Providence to Boston for bicycling, https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?hl=en-US&mid=zH358fz1z920.kAlJZ89Jw4Kc https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?hl=en-US&mid=zH358fz1z920...
- pmontra 11y agoThey are not routes. They are pins connected by straight lines. The screenshot in the post doesn't reflect the reality of the service. Try clicking on NYC, Washington DC, Detroit and Boston and see the route. Prepare to do some swimming :-) That's by design. From the FAQ: > How come if I click on two points along a curvy road, the line doesn't follow the curvature of the road? > Two reasons. First, Google doesn't provide an interface to the road data, so I have no way of knowing if you clicked on a road or not, nor do I know where the road twists and turns. > Second, many people create routes that go off-road (e.g. to plot a hiking path). These people wouldn't want RouteBuilder to follow along a road anyway. From the wording of the mail and of the ToS [1] I don't think that it would make any difference if he used the Google Directions API [2]. Actually, after reading that letter I wonder what developers can use that API for, if not for eventually getting that letter. [1] https://developers.google.com/maps/terms#section_10_4 https://developers.google.com/maps/terms#section_10_4 [2] https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/directions/intro?hl=en https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/directions/...