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.
Hello Saulius,
I was not suggesting we could possibly reuse the MP data, I only wanted to warn that we are not the only/first ones who ponder about translating for-pay crystallographic info into the not-for-pay area.
I know your sensitivities ;-), but personally I'm not too much concerned by these privacy issues. Money can be a barrier for progress, so I like scientific information to be accessible without paying. But if a supplier of scientific information asks me some information in return instead of money, I don't care. Even if it would trigger direct marketing (I wish them good luck when trying to direct-market me -- I delete every morning >50% of the new emails without reading them at all).
Of course, I prefer to contribute to projects that are maximally open. But I know that in the world in which we live many scientists face constraints that prevent them to make their data as open as you wish. And I will not deliberately keep myself unaware about their knowledge just because I want to protect my google profile ;-)
And now I shut up about this issue, as it is going to be off-topic as far as the TCOD mailing list is concerned.
Best, Stefaan