The idea of community sourced mapped didn't originate with OSM either. Like any good open source project, we freely credit our inspirations and direct sources. Google however has lifted so many ideas with complete denial of any deep conceptual connections. It only seems proper to acknowledge your influences.

However the real problem is how G glosses over the particulars of their business practices, and paints them in the light of community projects. That's deceptive and damaging, not to OSM, but to communities unaware of the obscure details of data and API licensing.

It seems to me that acknowledging influences can be incredibly dangerous in our presently litigious patent environment.