[Talk-us] Why we really don't get new users

[Martijn van Exel]

The fact of the matter is that we don't have any numbers to back any
of these claims up. Perhaps out ontology puts people off - perhaps
not. Perhaps the launch of iD has led to more new sign-ups becoming
recurring mappers - perhaps not. Maybe the increased visibility of OSM
is a factor? Maybe the edit-a-thons have something to do with it?

We just don't know.

That does not mean we should stop trying. All the things people have
pointed out that may put new mappers off need attention. I don't think
there is any one secret recipe to attracting and retaining new
mappers. There are simple things everyone can do today and that do not
require months of discussion and building new tools: offer a warm
welcome to new mappers: be courteous, friendly and reach out a helping
hand. Subscribe to an RSS feed for local new mappers[1] and send them
a welcome email[2]. Start or become active in a local group.

Best
Martijn

[1] map here: http://resultmaps.neis-one.org/newestosm.php - you can
create your own RSS feed there - here's a recipe to send notifications
to your smartphone: https://ifttt.com/myrecipes/personal/1634033
[2] some examples here:
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/User:Mvexel/Welcome_Working_Group#New_mapper_messages

On Fri, Mar 21, 2014 at 5:59 AM, Richard Weait <richard at weait.com> wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 17, 2014 at 2:17 PM,  <osm at charles.derkarl.org> wrote:
>>
>> I'm going to just point out the elephant in the room here. I don't think any
>> normal user cares about the license at all. I think the actual reason its hard
>> to get new mappers, especially those that are not nerdy and obsessive like
>> myself is that *the ontology sucks*. There, I said it, so you don't have to.
>
> I think that you are combining two separate issues.  Perhaps there is
> no causation from sucky ontology to  "hard to get new mappers".
>
> On the matter of getting new mappers.  Perhaps we'll just won't be
> satisfied until everybody on the planet is also an OpenStreetMap
> contributor.  That would be awesome.  I've written about mapper
> motivation and outreach before.  I'll leave that one alone for now.
>
> You aren't the first to suggest that "the ontology sucks".  There have
> been previous similar declarations.  I recall a presentation at State
> of the Map 2010 in Girona, Spain.  Have a look at the slides and video
> by David Earl and see if things have changed at all.
>
> http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/SotM_2010_session:_Tag_Central:_a_Schema_for_OSM
>
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-- 
Martijn van Exel
President, US Chapter
OpenStreetMap
http://openstreetmap.us/
http://osm.org/