Proposal talk:Tags for Volunteers

Scoping, form of word, and other aspects

Problems:

• volunteers:*=* : This seems it can show whether there are volunteers at that feature, besides volunteering. That isn't handled yet. Furthermore, the most common situation is community or NGO facilities providing volunteering opportunities by referral, not at the feature itself.
• volunteers:accepted=* , volunteers:accepted:urgency=* , check_date:volunteers:accepted:urgency=*  : Please don't add such time-sensitive info. It's beyond the capability, and outside the scope of OSM. Linking to the status is enough.
• volunteers:signup=* : This is too similar to volunteers:accepted=* ("Signup of new volunteers is currently open"). It doesn't have a single data format.
• website:volunteers=* : We have been debating website:*=* vs *:website=* vs *:url=* in Proposal_talk:Add_ability_to_specify_ordering-only_phone_number,_sms-only_phone_numbers_and_related_tags with no outcome. As mentioned there, leaving it out is a possible option. You only need to define volunteers:*=* . Then either it, or website:*=* if accepted, can be used. Formally, website:*=* hasn't been defined in the first place, so it is out-of-order.
• volunteers:benefits=* : It's too vague, non-geographical, and too fine-grained. Linking externally is enough.
• volunteers:shift_description=* : You are inventing a new *:description=*, and haven't defined volunteers:shift=* . OSM isn't a job board, local community group, or Craigslist. Linking externally is enough.
• volunteers:information=* : You are inventing a new *:description=* (this is only used in seamark:*=* )

→
Ideas:

• volunteers=* : Whether it is staffed by volunteers. Will be applicable to amenity=fire_station etc as well, besides amenity=animal_shelter etc.
  • volunteers=yes
  • volunteers=only
  • volunteers=main
  • volunteers=partial
  • volunteers=limited
  • volunteers=no
  • volunteers:conditional=* : For specific times
• volunteering=* : Whether it provides volunteering opportunities somehow. Doesn't have to happen there. Relevant to amenity=community_centre etc. (Not very confident how to organize this now)
  • volunteering=yes : Unspecified positive
  • volunteering=service_provider : It mainly provides social service. May still be able to refer you elsewhere.
  • volunteering=referral  : It mainly refers you to be a volunteer elsewhere, although there may be some limited voluntary work available to do
  • volunteering=partnership : It partnered with an organization that will provide the volunteers, or refer you to volunteering opportunities
  • volunteering=no
• volunteering:access=* ( access=*  : Who can enter into those volunteering opportunities
• volunteering:membership=* ( membership=* ) : Whether you need to formally join the organization first if it's a club or similar
• voluntary_work=* : Whether voluntary work happens there, ie whether you actually spend most of the time there as a volunteer. The feature may be an administrative back office, warehouse, etc.
  • voluntary_work=yes : Unspecified positive
  • voluntary_work=only : All the volunary work happens there
  • voluntary_work=main : You may have to work at other locations (doesn't necessarily mean outdoors) sometimes
  • voluntary_work=partial
  • voluntary_work=limited
  • voluntary_work=no : You only sign-up, receive briefing, get trained, gather & disband, stock & return, rest, etc there

Examples:

• Good Grocer
  • volunteers=only
  • volunteering=service_provider
  • volunteering:access=yes
  • voluntary_work=only
  • website=https://www.goodgrocer.org/ : This is fine for now
  • description=volunteers who work at least 2.5 hours every 4 weeks get 20% off any purchased items. : If you really need to include it, this is enough here for now
  • voluntary_work:description=Front of House Team handles cashiering, bagging, admin projects. Back of House Team handles receiving, stocking, cleaning.
• amenity=food_sharing : Donation, or community management, doesn't need to be considered as volunteering
• highway=* : Overlaps with existing community_adopted=* . Should be discussed together with it.

—— Kovposch (talk) 07:00, 2 July 2024 (UTC)

Why?

I fail to understand why or how volunteering is a suitable subject for the intrinsic data of the map.
Extending at the same level of abstraction should tags be created for 'staff' and include values for salary or qualifications required? I think not.
Alternatively should every element in OSM be tagged for voluntary work to maintain it?
Who will maintain the values of the tags - and how will they be checked for ripeness? A highway or building likely has a longer lifespan than a volunteer tag - so will there be guidance for maintaining what will probably be a transient volunteer tag.
The tags and data proposed is closer to a job description for a recruitment website.
I am not impressed by this proposal and would need strong arguments to abstain from voting.
--TonyS (talk) 22:35, 7 July 2024 (UTC)

Verifiability

In most cases, this does not seem to be easily verifiable at all. How does one independently verify urgency and who confirms the claimed benefits actually exist? It's not even close to geographical information and would pretty much always require reaching out to people in ways pretty much nothing else on OSM does. I can see why you would propose this and sympathize with supporting social work and so on, but this is not the way to go in my opinion. Uni (talk) 11:10, 12 July 2024 (UTC)