[OSM-talk] Survey: How to pay the OSM bill

Christoph Eckert ce at christeck.de
Sun Jul 1 08:05:00 BST 2007


Hi all,

while OSM is a volunteer project, it is obvious that it needs money to 
keep the needed infrastructure (hardware, bandwidth, ...) up and 
running. Currently there's some discussion about the newly introduced 
ads on our beloved map. Some agree, some disagree with ads on the map.

All who disagree on advertising on the map have to elaborate 
alternatives. IMO there should be a polpular vote whether we agree on 
maps or even not. If someone votes against the ads, he/she also needs 
to vote for fundraising alternatives.

I can imagine different kinds of ads:
* Mappam ads as currently seen on the project's main page
* Static banners on the main page
* Temporary banners on the main page

In the two latter cases, I can imagine a small additional text on the 
homepage clearly stating it is an advert, maybe »XYZ donates server 
bandwidth/donated a server to the project and thus is allowed to 
display advertising here«. This clearly states that it is ad, it also 
states why it is there and it raises the reputation of the generous 
sponsor.

People who dislike any kind of advertising need to show alternatives. I 
can imagine a monthly/yearly membership fee. If enough 
openstreetmappers contribute, we probably can keep the project free 
from advertising.

Unfortunately I didn't find any overview about osm bookkeeping. Thus I 
neither have a clue how much money the project burnt in the past nor 
how much costs we should expect in the foreseeable future. Steve, can 
you shed some light on the financial aspects of the project?

HTH & best regards,

ce





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