[Osmf-talk] OSMF Business Card

[Robert Grübler]

> What is an "official membership card"?
An official confirmation of membership.
The card should include:

1) Name and address of the issuer (an officially registered organisation)
2) Name/ID of the member
3) Period of validity

Example: https://www.dav-augsburg.de/019%20-%20Sektion%20Augsburg/Artikel/Sektion/News/2023/66891/image-thumb__66891__gallerycarousel/DAV_Ausweis_2023.jpg 

> How will anyone but us OSMers know the card is genuine?
The authenticity is not the point, but the declaration of how the membership can be verified.

> Isn't it easier to show that "no, OSM is not some creepy website …
not in the field.


-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: o_andras [mailto:o_andras at emailasso.net] 
Gesendet: Donnerstag, 30. November 2023 22:21
An: Robert Grübler <robgruebler at gmail.com>
Cc: 'OSMF Talk' <osmf-talk at openstreetmap.org>
Betreff: Re: [Osmf-talk] OSMF Business Card

What is an "official membership card"?

Just about anyone print (paper) money! The authenticity doesn't depend on the paper/card itself, something else is necessary. In the case of money, there are some tricks people use (the shiny bits here and there, the right texture at the right places, etc) to tell that a bill is _not_ genuine (that's why you can't use Monopoly money to pay for things). But it's not enough.

For an OSM "membership card" you'd need that something as well. Will OSMF start send its members a physical "membership card"? How will anyone but us OSMers know the card is genuine?

It all sounds so silly to me. Isn't it easier to show that "no, OSM is not some creepy website; yes, I'm this particular user; you can find all my edits here; if you'd like to learn more about OSM go to this or that group; etc" ?