[Strategic] focus

[Steve Coast]

Kate

I can't find your email because I accidentally killed it on my iPad and 
Thunderbird refuses to find it on the IMAP server. So, I'm working from 
memory here.

There's not doubt I'm an asshole a lot of the time, but it's extremely 
rare I mean it personally. It's incredibly frustrating watching the 
horrifically bad progress of OSM in the US. I see that as an extension 
of Richards points about manpower, that there's little of it. The 
extension is the focus is all wrong, which just makes it worse of 
course. I don't believe that you helping Jakarta (all very laudable) 
obviates your elected role at OSMFUS, we can agree to disagree on that.

I looked at Toronto the other day because I put the other Richard in 
contact with someone there. It's incredible. Why doesn't the US look 
like that? What is RichardW smoking that makes Canada so awesome and us 
so lame? I have no idea.

We have all sorts of problems. This whole EU/US split over imports. 
MapMaker is doing well. Hell, we're even competing with Google for 
mapping slums! I was talking to some State GIS people and thanks to all 
Theas good work they've given up on OSM and are just working with MQ on 
a forked map.

We ideally need OSMF-US front and center helping fix all this. How can 
we help you guys do some work? We've had our own issues at OSMF. 
RichardW has helped with minutes and keeping people accountable. I'm 
sure there are lots of other ways.

I've just joined OSMF-US. Your signup form doesn't work with Google 
Chrome. The profile on paypal is very broken "Customer Service Email: 
         thea at cloudmade.com". I'd like to be able to send a donation 
too, but I know for a fact that that email address was shut down.

If you had 5 or 10 things you wanted OSMF-US to achieve, what would they 
be? Maybe we can find people to help.

Steve