[Osmf-talk] Continuity

[Christoph Hormann]

On Friday 22 November 2019, Allan Mustard wrote:
>
> Mea culpa.  Internet was so slow in Ashgabat that I never bothered to
> try, and since returning home, the resettlement process and repair of
> our neglected house have combined to keep me busier than expected and
> will through the end of this calendar year.  If that means I am
> disqualified, I'll withdraw my candidacy.

Well - the term for the new board starts in mid December so if you are 
willing and able to commit the necessary time next year i would see no 
reason to consider this a big problem.

The amount of time invested by board members to this function varies 
strongly - this is clearly visible when you observe the board's work 
for a longer time.  And it also varies a lot by the way how much time 
people need to invest on a daily basis to be able to contribute 
successfully.  

If you are willing to invest time and energy into OSMF work in the 
future i think - given your change in personal/professional 
circumstances - you can make a believeable point about this - after all 
it is visible that you have invested significant time and energy into 
mapping in the past.

I have in my recent attempt at writing some guidance to candidates:

https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/imagico/diary/391104

strongly encouraged people to run for the board if they feel they can 
contribute in a useful way and let the members decide who are the most 
qualified people - largely also because i always feel bad about 
elections where people feel inclined to vote for people who seem the 
least bad of all the bad options.  So i would encourage you to maintain 
your candidacy and just honestly explain any limitations to what you 
will be able to do during your time on the board in your statements.  
This of course also applies to the other candidates.

And while i agree with Frederik that having listended to a few board 
meetings is useful background knowledge for a board candidate i would 
not consider this a prerequisite.  Some people are very active in the 
OSM community and possibly even in the OSMF and rarely ever turn up at 
board meetings but still keep up-to-date with the matters the board is 
dealing with.  Staying informed about things is what counts, not how 
you do so.  If candidates demonstrate they know what are currently 
important questions for the OSM community and the OSMF i would not ask 
how they got this knowledge and awareness.

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