Hi gileri,

Thank you for commenting. I’m happy to expand on my thoughts. The level of detail in my original post was inadequate. Many of the points lacked crucial context.

More accurately it is my priority to harden the OSMF against Hostile takeover, by corporate actors and business interests. The possibility of an aggressive influx of OSMF members affiliated with one company installing someone who has not contributed in any meaningful form should be curtailed.

Let me be clear: I welcome corporate involvement. I am an employee of such a company. Corporate participation is strategically essential to OpenStreetMap, and the project benefits every day from their contributions that come in many forms. However, I’m exhausted by the grossly false stereotype of corporate actors as hyper avaricious power-hunger schemers who seek to constantly dominate the OpenStreetMap project. Have some made mistakes? Yes! However, by and large, many companies respect the contributions of the volunteer community, enjoy interacting with volunteer editors and cheer on the successes of local communities and chapters. I am eager to be a visible example of an organized editor who puts the welfare of the project ahead of any particular business interest.

Also, generally, the Global South is grossly underrepresented at this juncture. I deeply sympathize with people who seek to change that. So many of them are at the heart of the project, but not at the heart of power. They have been dedicated supporters of the project and we all benefit from their empowerment. In an ideal world, everyone is heard and their needs are addressed. This OpenStreetMap Utopia may never be fully realized, but it is still incumbent upon all of us to work towards a reality that is as close as possible. I do not oppose tying a minority of board seats to geographical areas (which I admit is a thorny issue because any boundaries will have some degree of arbitrariness) or membership in collections of local chapters to ensure that those folks who have already given so much to the project are also at the levers of power. In all honesty, the best solution may be decentralization, granting special privileges to local chapters so they are better able to address the needs of their constituents and stakeholders. I’m unsure what these special privileges would entail, but I am open to all ideas.

I hope this answer is sufficient. I wish you all the best and good health to you and your family.