On Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 7:20 PM, Frederik Ramm <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi, > > On 12/29/2011 10:39 PM, Ben Johnson wrote: >> >> There seems to be a duality of identity here. On one hand, some are >> saying lets make it more accessible and friendly to "ordinary people". >> On the other hand, some appear embarrassed by the prominence of maps to >> represent what our community is all about, and they want to retain a >> geeky "we are not a map, we are a database" ideology. > > > This is not a geeky ideology, this is the heart of our project. > > Otherwise we'd all be using the Gimp (or maybe Inkscape), and not JOSM or > Potlatch.
Let's remember that Frederik believes that not everyone should be a map contributor, that there's value in a high bar for contribution. Frederik, if you think I'm misrepresenting you, please say so- but I think this belies the difference in the two views. This reminds me a lot of the early Debian arguments: "Linux can't be for the masses" turned into "I like compiling my own kernel and we should have a high bar for contribution." Fast forward five years, and I'm using Ubuntu. I agree wholeheartedly with the view that OSM should be providing maps. I think as long as we continue to cling to this idea that we want third parties to make the maps, then we limit the project's viability, its success and its overall accuracy. I hope strongly that the view will change, that the OSMF board will reflect this view. I've seen a slight shift already in the time I've been with the project. There's far more room for discussion on the point than there was just a few years ago, but I'm also worried that the strong beliefs of respected core project members like Frederik have driven away those who care about the project, but don't share the same views. - Serge _______________________________________________ talk mailing list [email protected] http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
