Hi, I agree that OSM should remain un-political where possible, just so that political squabbles do not interfere with mapping.
At one "Local Chapters Congress" at one of the recent SotM conferences, I remember someone from an African country saying that they already faced difficulties setting up an OSM organisation in that country because other people believed OSM was something subversive that would threaten established powers and values. And what we do is of course subversive when viewed from an authoritarian perspective (what, everyone to make their own maps that are not government-sanctioned, how dare you). I agree with Florian that OSM is deeply anti-Fascist in what it does, but that is as far as it goes: The things we do go against authoritarianism, against Fascism - we as a group or we as and organisation do not, and we do not endorse political organisations, be they pro or anti Fascist. Our official position should be that we are apolitical, even if our activities might not be! On the other hand, where governments propose or make laws that would make it harder for us to map, I think we should oppose that in a structured way, as an organisation - provided we have the time and energy for that. Bye Frederik -- Frederik Ramm ## eMail [email protected] ## N49°00'09" E008°23'33"
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