[Osmf-talk] What's our USP? | Re: "Legitimacy from an election process to direct attention" – Your response to the question regarding Working Groups

[Christoph Hormann]

On Friday 13 December 2019, Mikel Maron wrote:
> [...]
> > What I wrote could be interpreted as “Anyone who wants a map should
> > leave OSM”, and that's totally not what I think, sorry for my poor
> > communication. 🙁 Mea culpa. I attempted to (tersely) say “OSM
> > provides more than “just” a map”.
>
> Ok cool! But also, whatever. Does it matter? Can we just move on to
> something more substantive, or as Rihards suggested, you all who want
> to argue about it can get drunk offline the mailing list and maybe
> sing a song together?

Sorry to disappoint - but i don't drink alcohol and i don't sing.  And i 
also don't think it is appropriate to react to a serious discussion of  
the essence and values of OSM with "But also, whatever. Does it 
matter?" - at least not for a current and wannabe future board member.

> That's nothing revolutionary, and actually something many people are
> looking to the Board to do something about, and something many
> candidates (including me) mention in our statements.
> [...]
> Regarding "craft" mapping and global South and East (which I don't
> think Michal meant as a specific dig at Russian mappers, but yes is a
> way overly broad reference what are sometimes labeled "developing"
> countries), I find the term "craft" so loaded as to be useless.
> [...]
> The reality is that any efforts to use machine generated data have
> been well designed to assist humans to map

It seems to me you are fully agreeing with Michal in his assessment - 
except for using the wrong term (because it has been proudly adopted by 
those originally meant to be vilified by it).

And yes, craft mapping is exactly the right terms because it so well 
catches the difference to the *industrial mapping* ideas you and Michal 
seem so universally and critiquelessly fond of.

-- 
Christoph Hormann
http://www.imagico.de/