[OSM-talk] Your thoughts on osm.org

[Christoph Hormann]

On Tuesday 12 March 2019, Martijn van Exel wrote:
>
> Imagine the openstreetmap.org home page, but without the map.
> What would the home page be about instead?

You have to ask?  Cat content obviously:

https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/File:Lolcat.png

Seriously though, OpenStreetMap without map might not be the best idea.

I would like to see more different maps on osm.org and to make the 
standard style look better in the starting configuration when newcomers 
visit the site.  Better here means better cartography and better 
representation of what OSM is about.  This is challenging though which 
deters many people from engaging in serious work in that field.

Creating a starting page that well represents the OSM community in its 
diversity would be very hard to do with a non map/maps based design.  
The likeliness that ultimately such a design caters primarily certain 
special interests - if for no other reason then because it would likely 
be designed in English and then translated and thereby transport a 
British/American cultural preference - is very high and very difficult 
to avoid.

Note a map based starting page does not mean other content is not 
offered on it.  Rethinking what further content and functions are 
directly accessible from the starting page makes a lot of sense.

-- 
Christoph Hormann
http://www.imagico.de/