On Tue, Jan 8, 2013 at 5:02 PM, Frederik Ramm <frede...@remote.org> wrote:
> I think that many suggestions would receive a much warmer welcome if they > were worded more like a call to action and less as a complaint. > > Compare: > > "Hey folks, I've been thinking it would be great if there was a way to > announce my mapping event to all mappers in the vicinity. I've looked at > the rails port code and I have some ideas how to do it, but before I > implement something I'd like to know if any work has been done on that > already? Also I think I might some help in setting up my rails instance, is > there a howto somewhere or would someone be willing to help me through IRC > or so?" > > (To which I'd probably reply, great idea, I'd like to see that, but make > sure you implement this via some sort of opt-in mechanism because we have > had complaints about such invitations in the past.) [*] > > with: > > "Hey folks, this OSM web site is a real problem with its 90s design and > lack of social features. This is going to fall over soon if you don't act. > I mean, even the simplest things aren't possible - I tried to invite > mappers in the vicinity to my mapping event and it cost me three hours. I > think this is a real problem, and it also demonstrates the general lack of > ambition in OSM. I think you should collect more donations and hire > developers because otherwise these problems are never going to get fixed." > I hope you didn't view my comments about announcing mapping parties as a complaint. I was trying to point out a problem looking for a solution. Also, like many mappers, I'm not a programmer. While I can do some minor programing, I wouldn't begin to touch it. So how does a non program convey a request to the community for features? We need to respect volunteers time. If they don't see a need for the feature it doesn't get coded. However, I am willing to buy beer if that helps. (SteveC, if you want us to add addresses, just buy beer!) One comment about "But there's another thing. I've been on these lists for a very long time and have discussed many aspects of OSM(F) with many people. Most ideas brought up here are not new; most of these discussions I have been through lots of times. " If we have recurring requests, maybe it is a cry for help. I agree that too often we ask for a solution instead of stating the problem. But if we are asking for something time and time again, maybe we need to get to the root of the problem to see if there is an acceptable solution. -- Clifford OpenStreetMap: Maps with a human touch
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