Loomio
Tue 15 Sep 2020 7:11PM

Presenting to OSMF board

R RobJN Public Seen by 58

Hi all,

We have been invited to present to the OSMF board at a future meeting. Are there any things you would like us to bring up with them specifically?

R

RobJN Tue 15 Sep 2020 7:32PM

Some topics:

  • Support with systems. The idea here is that it is manually intensive for all Local Chapters to maintain their own systems (e.g. a membership system, basic hosting). Would shared platforms free up our precious volunteer time for more interesting work.

  • Shared communications / outreach. A similar concept to the above. Some outreach is similar across many countries (e.g. reaching out to academic institutions). Would a shared effort with OSMF and other Local Chapters be better.

  • Joined/discounted membership. Allowing you to become an OSMF and OSM UK member at the same time.

  • Conflict resolution. Again another shared issue and manually intensive. Could a joined up approach help here?

  • Ability to message new mappers via OSM.org. Currently you can write to mappers via OSM.org but this is not exposed via the API. Some local chapters have a process in which they identify new mappers, copy and paste a welcoming message in to OSM.org, send it, and then log in their own system that a welcome message has been sent. Could the Local Chapters be granted access to do this in a more automated way.

  • The recent way in which the OSMF has been consulting and whether this reaches far enough. It has been great to see the OSMF moving things forward with more pace than previously, but are they missing the views of a wide audience by only posting to OSMF-talk and only providing a few days to respond?

  • Concerns around the separation of Companies from Local Chapters in the Advisory Board. How does the OSMF intend to ensure that these groups share knowledge in a constructive manner?

  • Local Chapter signup link on the OpenStreetMap.org website.

  • Financial support such that more of the projects we wish to work on can be progressed. Without this we are relying on mappers to fund projects whilst it is clear that companies could do more. If the Local Chapter spends the funds then you create a bigger separation between those giving money and those reliant on it. This may help reduce some of the concerns people have about companies buying influence in OSMF.

  • Support for the Microcosms project to make osm.org the go to portal for advertising and communicating events (less reliance on third party things like meetup.com). And generally adding more social elements to osm.org to help keep things there rather than on non-open/third party platforms.

That;s a bunch from me. What other ideas do you have?

DB

Dennis Bauszus Wed 16 Sep 2020 1:49PM

All of the both are good talking points. If I had to pick one I would like to express my concern about outreach. The signal to noise ratio in OSMF-talk, or any mailing list for that matter is terrible. It's hard to follow individual threads.

The OSMForum is somewhat better but 'FluxBB' still leaves a lot to be desired. Zoomers will hardly be excited about any of the current platforms used by the OSMF. I agree that we shouldn't be dependent on third party solutions. But at least move to something more modern and integrated like 'Discourse' which aims to melt forums and mailing lists into one platform.

Loomio is already such a huge step in the right direction and the only reason why I am writing this.

There is already a OSMForum post in this regard and I hope this will get more traction. https://forum.openstreetmap.org/viewtopic.php?id=68929

GL

Poll Created Thu 29 Oct 2020 6:05PM

Hot topics to discuss with OSMF Closed Mon 2 Nov 2020 1:03PM

We've got about 10 minutes to present some topics/start a conversation with the OSMF board. That's probably enough to cover 3 points. Please indicate below what we should try and prioritise for you.

  • You have the ability to add options if you've got one to add!

  • Considering that, you might want to revisit the poll before it closes on Monday, in case another topic option that interests you is added.

Results

Results Option % of points Voters
A local chapter signup link on the OpenStreetMap.org website. 29.7% 11 R MW GW JH AA DU AR SW GL NA CM
Joint/discounted membership, an option to sign up for local chapter as you sign up for OSMF, or similar? 18.9% 7 MW B JH AA GL CM D
Support with systems - provisioned platforms to reduce volunteers admin overhead 16.2% 6 GW DU AR SW GL D
Financial support for local chapter projects, the benefits to the progress of the map and allaying concerns about the tight feedback loop between large company donors and OSMF projects. 13.5% 5 R MW AA DU GL
API extensions to enable local chapters to more programmatically find new contributors to welcome and interact with. 10.8% 4 R JH CM D
Shared communications / outreach. A shared, coordinated system of communication between OSMF and other local chapters? 5.4% 2 R GW
Conflict resolution, a coordinated, approach for OSMF and all local chapters to use to reduce effort overall. 5.4% 2 R AR
Opinions on whether OSMF's increased consulting is far reaching enough, and if they may be missing insights due to focus on mailing lists. Also if the pace is hindering opportunity to respond in time. 0.0% 0  
Concerns around the separation of Companies from Local Chapters in the advisory board, and any communication gaps that may result. 0.0% 0  
Support for the Microcosms project to make osm.org the go to portal for advertising, managing & communicating events 0.0% 0  
Undecided 0% 70 AB HW DS SD GMD PB RW CS GR JM BZ AM JN IC RM SH B BP CS PB

13 of 83 people have participated (15%)

GL

Gareth L Thu 29 Oct 2020 6:05PM

Support with systems - provisioned platforms to reduce volunteers admin overhead
Joint/discounted membership, an option to sign up for local chapter as you sign up for OSMF, or similar?
Financial support for local chapter projects, the benefits to the progress of the map and allaying concerns about the tight feedback loop between large company donors and OSMF projects.
A local chapter signup link on the OpenStreetMap.org website.

Notably the provision of infrastructure (server hosting, implementation of membership systems, etc.) just to exist as a local chapter is a drain on volunteers time, but is essential. It makes little sense to have each local chapter repeat this effort.

GL

Gareth L Thu 29 Oct 2020 6:06PM

Please feel free continue to add commentary in addition to voting

JN

Jez Nicholson Mon 1 Feb 2021 8:47PM

Well...I did it...29 Jan. Went well. I'm not expecting specific actions but OSMF to want a follow-up chat at future date. Hard copy at https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Board/Minutes/2021-01#Monthly_Local_Chapter_presentation_-_OSM_UK