[OSM-talk] Join the OSMF !

Nic Roets nroets at gmail.com
Sat Jun 18 22:39:42 BST 2011


Hello Russ,

It is very seldom that a democracy will make the best decisions.
Winston Churchill said "The best argument against democracy is a
five-minute conversation with the average voter."

But democracy has real motivational benefits in an information
society. In our case, users will be more motivated to keep on
maintaining their contributions.

Regards,
Nic

On Sat, Jun 18, 2011 at 11:13 PM, Russ Nelson <nelson at crynwr.com> wrote:
> Replying to myself ... I know ... But I was thinking while I was out
> mowing the lawn. It's NOT necessary for OSM or the OSMF to be a
> democracy. It's simply necessary to provide an environment where
> people can contribute to the map and share their contributions with
> other people. If accomplishing this means sometimes dragging people
> kicking and screaming, then that's what it means.
>
> But don't call it a democracy and don't call seeking accommodation
> "voting" or if a majority of accommodation is achieved, call it
> "approval".
> -russ
>
> Russ Nelson writes:
>  > Dermot McNally writes:
>  >  > In a democracy, a majority decides which way a decision should
>  >  > fall.
>  >
>  > It's still not a democracy.
>  >
>  >  > In our "vote"
>  >
>  > It's still not a vote, and calling it a "vote" instead of a vote
>  > doesn't help matters.
>  >
>  >  > Not my intention - everybody is free to explain what they meant by
>  >  > "yes". My point is, if enough people say "yes", it's fair to take them
>  >  > at their word and to proceed with the licence change.
>  >
>  > It's still not a vote, and you can't claim support for the process. If
>  > you want to look at the poll numbers, only 20% are actually in favor
>  > of the license change -- the other 80% are either indifferent or
>  > actively hostile.
>  >
>  > --
>  > --my blog is at    http://blog.russnelson.com
>  > Crynwr supports open source software
>  > 521 Pleasant Valley Rd. | +1 315-600-8815
>  > Potsdam, NY 13676-3213  |     Sheepdog
>  >
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