User:Emacsen/manifesto

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This is Serge's manifesto for 2011 Board elections

Introduction

I started with OpenStreetMap in 2008 by way of a talk given to my local LUG by Richard Weait under the employment of CloudMade. I was struck by the project's goals and tenacity, working to create this tremendous dataset with such feirce competition.

Since then I've only come to appreciate the project more, mainly for its community. While there is the occasional squabble, I believe genuinely that this project has some of the nicest, smartest people I've met, and when I come to an OpenStreetMap event, I feel proud to be part of a community which has quickly become an staple in my life.

Since joining the community, I helped found the local Washington, DC area mapping group, MappingDC. Then I helped form and found the OSM US organization, and was part of the Local Chapter Working Group.

In the last year, my focus has been largely on the technical side. I attended both London OSM Hacking Weekends, and have been working on projects to make new ways for mappers to contribute. This includes a project called DC Sidewalks, which I created to help aid DC mappers in adding sidewalk data to make for better navigation through the city.

I'm a member of the TWG, where I've been able to provide some insight on system administration and configuration based on my twelve years of system administration for large organizations such as NIH and NASA, where I made my career.

In addition, I've recently created a series of videos which are designed to help new folks understand the OSM data structures. I continue to work on this project.

And I've recently joined the EWG where I hope to lower the bar for potential developers

As a member of Board, I will support the following:

  • Leadership and communication

The OSMF board can feel distant because it does not communicate a vision to its members. Delegation and community input are vital, but so is having a larger vision in mind, and acting on that vision in order to give the community something to coalesce around.

  • Serving the community

I feel the OSMF needs to provide support to folks wanting to contribute, and needs to be an active participant in this conversation.

  • A Focus on Infrastructure

The OSMF infrastructure is not where it could be. The TWG do an excellent job given the resource constraints they have, but given additional resources, could do more.

  • Results

One of the issues with the OSMF and the community is that it's often difficult to see what has taken place. If elected I will push for more transparency and accountability. The OSMF board should be results focused. Members should be able to see what actions the board has taken to further the project.

  • Healing

In the last year, there's been a great deal of contention in the project, and I think OSMF has a special role to play in healing the community and moving us forward together as a unified way.