[Talk-us] Onboarding new mappers | Keeping track of changes

Wed Jun 26 19:34:43 UTC 2013

Charlotte,

I don't disagree with:

        If an organization doesn't reach out to people in a positive way,
they won't stay, and they won't do their best when mapping

But the key here is, this is different.  What organization is/represents
OSM?  And beyond, how can any organization say they 'are' OSM?  If you think
the OSM-US (or international) Foundation(s) should be doing more, I think
they're always looking for volunteers to work with the Communications
Working Group
<http://www.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Communication_Working_Group> .

In a nutshell, I do my best to gently reach out to new mappers if I think
they may need some guidance; but never say 'you need to tag this
differently' (without an explanation of a better way).

=Russ

russdeffner at gmail.com

russdeffner on OSM

From: Charlotte Wolter [mailto:techlady at techlady.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2013 1:17 PM
To: Bryce Nesbitt; Talk-US at openstreetmap.org
Subject: Re: [Talk-us] Onboarding new mappers | Keeping track of changes

Bryce,

        Yes, most people sign up and never hear from OSM again. So they go
about their mapping as best they can until, perhaps, they join the Newbies
list (which often has highly technical discussions that many don't
understand) or they get told they are doing something wrong.
        If an organization doesn't reach out to people in a positive way,
they won't stay, and they won't do their best when mapping
        It would be better if there were some kind of regular, positive
communication from OSM. That could come in several forms:
        --a newsletter (monthly or bimonthly), which is something most
volunteer organizations have (so, why don't we?)
         --occasional emails about new developments in OSM mapping.
MapRoulette and LearnOSM are prime examples.
        --outreach from OSM "veterans" to mappers in their geographical
area. This could be as simple as, "Hello, I'm mapping in (your area). If you
have a question, don't hesitate to contact me." Of course we would need to
set up some way to send new mappers email addresses to seasoned mappers.
        As for tests, the idea itself is not bad, in the proper context.
But, unless we have a rapport with people, and have given them clear
direction and learning resources (something we don't do now), a test will
just drive them away. 
        A better way to do testing might be to let people know from the
beginning that we want to make sure everyone is mapping the right way, so at
some point (after a month?) we will be asking them to take a quick quiz on
OSM principles. The carrot is that the one with the best score (each month?)
gets a prize (SOTM t-shirt? OSM hat? OSM pin?). Rewards keep people around,
not criticism.
        Now all we have to do is come to some agreement on what is the right
way to tag. :-)

Charlotte

At 10:41 AM 6/26/2013, you wrote:

Moved from another thread:

On Wed, Jun 26, 2013 at 2:51 AM, stevea < steveaOSM at softworkers.com
<mailto:steveaOSM at softworkers.com> > wrote:

OSM has a peer review process in place right now.  It is called "watch the
map, help it evolve, grow it as you can, if somebody does something
odd/wrong/different, dialog with them."  And then, take it from there.

We're all grown ups here.

There may be a few children mixed in. But mostly, coming to OSM, signing up,
and mapping can be a very lonely experience.
In most cases nobody greets you or talks to you unless you make a mistake.

Changing that culture could change the participation or retention rate,
particularly among non-grownups (meaning the generations of children growing
up with social networking as a given).  OSM outside of mapping parties is
only barely social to a new mapper.

The tools could help:
1) After the first edit from a new user, the tools could present a list of
rules (chief among them don't copy from unapproved sources!).
2) A new users could be required to take a small quiz, like certain dating
sites do, prior to finalizing the edit.
3) A first edit could go in a queue for an experienced mapper to look at and
comment on.  Hopefully that comment is "great job, welcome to the
community!"
4) Editing a feature connected to a relation could bring up education on
route relations.  Perhaps even there is a skill level threshold: you must
have 25 peer reviewed edits prior to deleting a way that's part of a route
relation.  It becomes a goal a new mapper might strive to reach.
5) New users could be given 10 free edits, prior to needing to provide more
contact information and/or pass an editing quiz.
6) New users could be given their choice of a mapping challenge, where the
"correct" results are known,.
7) etc.

With all this effort to get new mappers in the USA we should be thrilled a
mapper wants to contribute...
... and put in the work to ensure such new users be onboarded and brought
into OSM culture.

Note that:
Wikipedia has a strong reasons to allow completely anonymous edits. OSM I
think not so much.  We could ask
more of people who want to edit, with the goal of making more good mappers,
rather than just more mappers.
We should honor an support mappers who have narrow interests... and find
ways to harness their energy.  We can ask users to ascend a ladder of
skills, to unlock capabilities within the community.

And it could be tested regionally.  If there's a theory that "raising the
bar" will reduce participation, it can be tested.  I suspect that peer
review of first edits, or achievement levels, would increase participation.

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Charlotte Wolter
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