[OSM-talk] OSM is dying (was Re: We Need to Stop Google's Exploitation of Open Communities)

[pecisk at gmail.com]

2011/4/11 M∡rtin Koppenhoefer <dieterdreist at gmail.com>:
> 2011/4/11 Dermot McNally <dermotm at gmail.com>:
>> OSM is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If
>> OSM is to survive at all it will be among bearded hippies too behind
>> the times to have discovered Waze. OSM continues to decay. Nothing
>> short of a cockeyed miracle could save OSM from its fate at this point
>> in time. For all practical purposes, OSM is dead.
>
>
> While I guess this was meant to be satirical there is indeed a problem
> with active contributors not growing any more since 17/08/2009
> http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/File:Osmdbstats4.png

There are several issues which needs to be addressed before we can
move forward (not necessary with growth, but forward nevertheless):
1) QA principles of map data. There are very few consistent know how
docs about mapping. No, I'm not talking about educating newbies, I
talking about agreements between active mappers how to do things. No
doubt, there are lot good QA tools, but they still lack serious
oversight and sometimes overburden contributor with details (not all
highways needs a name tag, you know). This is main problem I think
because lot of contributors just get confused with all stuff and there
is serious lack of documentation to explain all in detail;
2) Get air clear for licensing stuff - decide and move forward, give
concrete deadlines for moving to ODbL. I know there is resistance but
bird have already sung in this case - then better split up efforts to
not to hurt each another. I suggest critics shut up and show the code
with alternative service with old CC-BY-SA license;
3) Get some serious marketing team together. We have SOTM, we have
pictures of the day, we have lot of exciting new things in OSM - but
no one knows that. Heck, even majority of geeks still are clueless
what OpenStreetMap actually is and what you can do about it.
OpenLayers? No one knows. OpenStreetMap data can be used freely? Can't
I just use GM? No?

We as community, as organization need to deal with lot of stuff before
we can call us dead :)

Cheers,
Peter.