[Osmf-talk] OSMF membership applications rejected

[Frederik Ramm]

Hi,

On 25.08.2012 14:19, Henk Hoff wrote:
> I (in the position of membership secretary) have received (amongst
> others) a membership application from "Edwin-ldbg" and "Mike Dupont".
> Next to the application, I've also receive a membership payment by
> somebody else in favor of the two applications.
>
> I've discussed these applications with the Board. As a result the Board
> rejected both membership applications

[...]

Just to provide a little background on edwin-ldbg for those who are not 
at home in the German forum. Edwin is a bona fide mapper who has 
contributed good data over a long time, but his behaviour in the forum 
is pure trolling. People who know him shrug and smile - he's the forum 
clown for those who follow. But those who are new, or encounter his 
posts through a search engine, will often get the impression that this 
project is full of Nazis who can call for German world domination 
without anyone even caring, but most forum regulars seem to view him as 
harmless.

His "manifesto" on the Election wiki page therefore is fully "in 
character", and if viewed with the right portion of humour can be 
shrugged away - but I think it is very bad taste.

My estimate is that Edwin has a somewhat sick sense of humour and wrote 
his manifesto, just as last year, as a joke. The fact that someone 
*else* offers to pay his membership fee so that he can actually stand 
for election is a little troubling - we don't know if those who want to 
push Edwin into the limelight just have the same sick sense of humour, 
of if they are proper Nazis who really believe what Edwin writes.

I don't want to comment on whether or not it was the right decision to 
deny membership to Edwin; I just wanted to provide a little background.

Bye
Frederik

-- 
Frederik Ramm  ##  eMail frederik at remote.org  ##  N49°00'09" E008°23'33"