[Talk-us] US Chapter Mission Statement

[Richard Weait]

I'd hope the mission statement of any chapter would reflect the OSMF
mission.  In my judgment the key phrases to replicate are:

"3.1 OpenStreetMap Foundation is dedicated to encouraging the growth,
development and distribution of free geospatial data and to providing
geospatial data for anybody to use and share." [1]

and

"The OpenStreetMap Foundation is an international non-profit
organisation supporting but not controlling the project." [2]

>From these, I take that the OSMF is to remove barriers for mappers, to
serve mappers and to do things for mappers that they as individuals
would find more difficult than would a non-profit foundation.

So you get to serve the mappers.  Yay!

Also, I think that residence / citizenship should be a complete
non-issue for mappers.  Even for US Chapter members I see residence /
citizenship as only of passing interest.  Perhaps of more interest for
the chapter-board, but I'd prefer even that to be a non-issue.  The
Australian conflict of interest provisions are more to the point to my
mind.  Perhaps membership in other OSM local chapters should be a
reporting requirement as well.

This is not to say that a commercial mapping / geography interest is a
drawback, or that membership in multiple local chapters should be
forbidden.  I think they should be discussed.

Best regards,
Richard

[1] http://www.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Memorandum_of_Association
[2] http://www.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Main_Page