[TCOD] [SPAM] Re: Re: What structures do we accept to TCOD?

[Saulius Gražulis]

Hi,

On 2014-07-30 12:21, Stefaan Cottenier wrote:
> It might be useful to know that others have done already exactly this.
> www.materialsproject.org is a free database of VASP calculations for
> essentially all relevant ICSD entries. They list not only the unit cell
> info after optimization, but also the starting point... which is exactly
> what you find in ICSD. Free to read for anyone. (I once asked them
> whether they asked permission to ICSD to do this. The answer was: no, we
> just did it, and so far nobody complained.)

Just looked into the www.materialsproject.org web site. This might be a
useful project, but nowhere close to being "free" (as in "freedom"):

a) Terms and conditions: "You agree not to use automated scripts to
collect large fractions of the database and disseminate them."
(https://www.materialsproject.org/terms).

b) Even to look at it, you need to log in (no data is available
otherwise -- or at least I could not find it). When I tried to register
using my gmail account, Google reports: "Materialsproject.rpxnow.com
would like to: View the email address associated with your account; -
View your basic profile info". Why would the MP want to dig into my
profile just to let me to view a sample of the MP data?! I wonder if MP
makes a database of materials properties, or a database for direct
marketing? Needless to say, I declined.

The declared MP terms and conditions fall short of any open data
definition (e.g. as in http://opendefinition.org/), IMHO. That's
probably why ICSD did not complain -- the Materials project actually
exposes nothing on the Web.

This is not to say that they are doing anything bad or not useful under
special circumstances, but we may not/can not reuse the MP data for
TCOD, so it is of little use for us. *COD databases are completely
different in this respect -- they are indeed free.

Regards,
Saulius

-- 
Dr. Saulius Gražulis
Vilnius University Institute of Biotechnology, Graiciuno 8
LT-02241 Vilnius, Lietuva (Lithuania)
fax: (+370-5)-2602116 / phone (office): (+370-5)-2602556
mobile: (+370-684)-49802, (+370-614)-36366