[OSM-talk] SteveC should decide

[James Livingston]

On 03/10/2009, at 4:29 PM, Gervase Markham wrote:
> Because sometimes, occasionally, a benevolent dictator (a phrase  
> used by
> lots of open source projects) has to break deadlock and dictate.  
> Things
> are working well when that power is used very, very rarely, but it  
> needs
> to exist. Mozilla has two - one code, one non-code, and I can't  
> remember
> the last time they had to break a deadlock in this way. But it's vital
> that they _could_.

As well as a benevolent dictator, they also have a power structure  
underneath them, which gives the community guidance on how to work  
together to solve issues. The guiding force of the power structure is  
why the benevolent dictator doesn't have to use their power very  
often. As far as I'm aware, OSM doesn't have any kind of power  
structure - there is no equivalent to the contributor->committer->core  
developer->maintainer chain.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I think we need a Tagging  
Committee. Not to develop tags themselves, but to oversee working  
groups who develop tags. If we had one, they could create a  
"footpaths, cycleways, and tracks" working group, who would then sort  
out the highway=footway/cycleway/path mess. The WG would work together  
to sort it out, and the TC would then say "we think your WG has  
achieved a consensus, your tags are now approved".