[Osmf-talk] Hostile takeover of the OpenStreetMap Foundation?

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Minh Nguyen wrote on Tue, 22 Nov 2022 10:49:15 -0800:
> I don’t see Brian claiming that the U.S. community is currently getting short shrift. What I do see is a valid concern that someone in a position of authority appears to be promoting the interests of one subset of the membership at the expense of another subset – the “out to get them”, as it were. It would be easier to pass off Roland’s remarks as inartful wording in translation, except that it dovetails with what Roland campaigned on last year. In his response to the official questionnaire, he describes the role of a board member akin to that of a legislator representing a specific constituency. [1] [..]
 
In my opinion, analyzing the cited sources and the entire discussion, it is a blatant misunderstanding of what Roland Olbricht wrote in [1] as referred to by Minh Nguyen. To read "to represent the German OSM community"🗲 into "to represent the [OSM] community" is a fallacy that could be characterized outright mean-spirited.

> Separately, there’s the issue of transparency. osmf-talk is a good place for the board to communicate with the membership, but if Roland wishes to communicate more directly to German speakers to encourage that community’s participation in the electoral process, that’s a very positive step worth emulating in other communities. When doing so, there’s a very fine line to walk: it is inappropriate to intentionally use language as a tool to pit one subgroup against another. As this episode has shown, it can also backfire, because we’re fortunate to enjoy the company of polyglots.

(NB: Despite the polyglots, there is still nuances and intent lost in translation, as quite some reactions reveal.)

For a moment accepting his premise of a risk of a hostile (or unfortunate) take over through the front door -- isn't it absolutely clear, why Roland chose not to publish the same call for candidates on the English speaking osmf-talk mailing list? Regarding Roland's mother tongue, talk-de is the obvious next best place to voice his concerns.

If you don't share his concern on the other hand, shouldn't there then be an agreement to disagree? And shouldn't  anyone abstain from giving Roland a "gagging order" or forcing him to post his call for candidates elsewhere?


Zeke Farwell wrote Tue, 22 Nov 2022 12:55:09 -0500:
> What I did find concerning was the implication that Germany needs German representatives on the board to represent German interests over all others.

I feel more than slightly offended by the sparingly covered Deutschland-Deutschland-über-Alles resentments in that posted opinion, caused by all but malicious reading -- I better believe it's only caused by translation nuances.

  Best regards.
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[1] https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Special:PermanentLink/2220677#Roland_Olbricht_-_Q4_Do_you_have_any_previous_relevant_experience.3F

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