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Openstreetmap Foundation surveys - 2021 OpenStreetMap Community Survey

2021 OpenStreetMap Community Survey
Survey of the OpenStreetMap community regarding Board activities
Thank you for taking this survey. Since OpenStreetMap is a volunteer-driven project that depends on its community,
the Board of Directors of the OSM Foundation needs your input and feedback in order to set priorities in accord with
community needs.
There are 18 questions in this survey.

Feedback
In 2020, the Board of Directors of the OpenStreetMap Foundation made several decisions. We would appreciate yourhonest feedback on those decisions.

1 [F1]In 2020 the Board created a Diversity and Inclusion Special Committee, and asked the Local Chapters andCommunities Working Group to recommend actions in response to complaints about Systemic Offensive
Behavior in the OSM Community (https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/apm-wa/diary/395070).
On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is strongly disagree, 2 is disagree, 3 is neutral, 4 is agree, and 5 is strongly
agree, please mark how strongly you agree or disagree with these actions.

*
Please choose only one of the following:
1
2
3
4
5
On the Diversity and Inclusion Special Committee
https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Diversity_and_Inclusion_Special_Committee(https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Diversity_and_Inclusion_Special_Committee)
On the decision to respond to complaints about Systemic Offensive Behavior in the OSM Community
https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/apm-wa/diary/395070 (https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/apmwa/diary/395070)
December 2020 Talk Archive by Subject
https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/talk/2020-December/subject.html#start(https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/talk/2020-December/subject.html#start)
A Call to Take Action and Confront Systemic Offensive Behaviour in the OSM Community
https://docs.google.com/document/d/130JCTX9ve4H4ORXznmIVTpXiN3TX8nRGA8ayuTZ9ECI/edit?
ts=5fd11436#heading=h.ccgtgjykcfgh(https://docs.google.com/document/d/130JCTX9ve4H4ORXznmIVTpXiN3TX8nRGA8ayuTZ9ECI/edit?
ts=5fd11436#heading=h.ccgtgjykcfgh)

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2 [F2]In 2020 the Board began raising funds via large donations to cover projected increased costs of maintaining
the platform (hardware, software, personnel) in the face of rapidly growing demand for OSM data.
On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is strongly disagree, 2 is disagree, 3 is neutral, 4 is agree, and 5 is strongly
agree, please mark how strongly you agree or disagree with this action.

*
Please choose only one of the following:
1
2
3
4
5
Treasurer's Report to the 2020 Annual General Meetinghttps://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Annual_General_Meetings/2020/Treasurer%E2%80%99s_report(https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Annual_General_Meetings/2020/Treasurer%E2%80%99s_report)
OSMF Chairperson's Annual Report for 2020
https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Annual_General_Meetings/2020/Chairperson%E2%80%99s_report(https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Annual_General_Meetings/2020/Chairperson%E2%80%99s_report)[Osmf-talk] Community consultation: plans to hire a Senior Site Reliability Engineer
https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/osmf-talk/2020-July/thread.html(https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/osmf-talk/2020-July/thread.html)[Osmf-talk] FOSSGIS position on OSMF hiring staff (WAS: Framework for the foundation's hiring practices)
https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/osmf-talk/2020-June/thread.html(https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/osmf-talk/2020-June/thread.html)[Osmf-talk] Framework for the foundation's hiring practices
https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/osmf-talk/2020-May/thread.html(https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/osmf-talk/2020-May/thread.html)

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3 [F3]In 2020 the Board began funding small-scale, one-time, limited-scope, short-term projects to improve existing
software products that are considered core to OSM: Nominatim, osm2pgsql, and Potlatch. These products had
previously been maintained wholly by volunteers.
On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is strongly disagree, 2 is disagree, 3 is neutral, 4 is agree, and 5 is strongly
agree, please mark how strongly you agree or disagree with this action.

*
Please choose only one of the following:
1
2
3
4
5
osmf-talk thread on funding of three infrastructure projects
https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/osmf-talk/2020-August/thread.html(https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/osmf-talk/2020-August/thread.html)
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Nominatim (https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Nominatim)
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Osm2pgsql (https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Osm2pgsql)
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Potlatch (https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Potlatch)https://osmf.limequery.org/admin/printablesurvey/sa/index/surveyid/281662/lang/en

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4 [F4]In 2020 the Board voted to take over the cost of a single software developer for maintaining the default iD
editor from a private firm that had been funding the position, thereby shifting control of iD maintenance from athird party to the OSM community.
On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is strongly disagree, 2 is disagree, 3 is neutral, 4 is agree, and 5 is strongly
agree, please mark how strongly you agree or disagree with this action.

*
Please choose only one of the following:
1
2
3
4
5
osmf-talk thread on funding of iD development and maintenancehttps://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/osmf-talk/2020-August/thread.html#6997(https://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/osmf-talk/2020-August/thread.html#6997)

5 [F5]In 2020 the Board began funding microgrants for one-off projects.
On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is strongly disagree, 2 is disagree, 3 is neutral, 4 is agree, and 5 is strongly
agree, please mark how strongly you agree or disagree with this action.

*
Please choose only one of the following:
1
2
3
4
5
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Microgrants/Microgrants_2020(https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Microgrants/Microgrants_2020)

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6 [F6]Optional: Please use this text box to comment on any decisions made in 2020 by the Board of
Directors of the OSM Foundation.
Please write your answer here:

Community SentimentThis group of questions surveys community sentiments regarding certain controversial issues.

7 [S1]In 2021, what do you think should be the priority order of tasks the Board of Directors has set foritself? Please rank the tasks in order of relative importance to the OSM project. * All your answers must be different and you must rank in order.
Please number each box in order of preference from 1 to 7

Takeover protection
BrexitRecruitment for Working Groups
Stability of the core infrastructure (hardware, software, human capital)
Attribution guidelines
Outreach to Local Chapters and Communities
Fund-raising
OSMF Chairperson's Annual Report for 2020
https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Annual_General_Meetings/2020/Chairperson%E2%80%99s_report(https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/wiki/Annual_General_Meetings/2020/Chairperson%E2%80%99s_report)

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8 [S2]Some OSM community members favor use of artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to
assist mapping. Others oppose use of these tools. The Board of Directors of the OpenStreetMap Foundation
has taken no position on the matter since such a decision would likely violate the core principle that the Board
does not tell anyone how to map or what to map. Should the Board... * Choose one of the following answers
Please choose only one of the following:...continue to take no position (i.e., leave the issue to local communities), since the Foundation tells
nobody what or how to map?
...adopt a policy formally approving artificial intelligence/machine learning tools (blanket approval)?
...adopt a policy formally approving artificial intelligence/machine learning tools but only if local
communities agree?
...adopt a policy banning artificial intelligence/machine learning tools?
No opinion
Artificial intelligence
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence)
Machine learning
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Machine_learning (https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Machine_learning)
General Questions about Map With AI
https://github.com/facebookmicrosites/Open-Mapping-At-Facebook/wiki/FAQ(https://github.com/facebookmicrosites/Open-Mapping-At-Facebook/wiki/FAQ)

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9 [S3]Some OSM community members think the Board should fund change of the map displayed on
openstreetmap.org from raster tiles to vector tiles. Bearing in mind the potential cost of such an undertaking,and the possible impact on the OSM ecosystem, in your opinion the Board should... * Choose one of the following answers
Please choose only one of the following:...do nothing in this regard.
...encourage volunteers to create vector tiles for openstreetmap.org, but nothing more.
...pay developers to create vector tiles for openstreetmap.org, but in a manner calculated not to competewith commercial developers.
...pay developers to create vector tiles calculated to demonstrate the full breadth of OSM data.
No opinion
Background on this issue:
Summary Report on OSMF Chair's Outreach Jan-early Apr 2020 (apm-wa diary entry, scroll to "Vector Tiles")
https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/apm-wa/diary/392767 (https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/apmwa/diary/392767)
What OpenStreetMap can be (blogpost by systemed)
http://blog.systemed.net/post/15 (http://blog.systemed.net/post/15)

What else should the Board know?
What issues does the Board need to attend to that have not been covered in this survey?

10 [S4]Optional: Please use this text box to comment on anything additional you think the Board of
Directors ought to know.
Please write your answer here:

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11 [S5]May we share (anonymously, of course) your comments with the OpenStreetMap community? *Please choose only one of the following:
Yes
No
Your comments will be seen only by members of the Board of Directors of the OpenStreetMap Foundation if
you select 'No'. If you check "Yes', the Board may choose to share your comment with the OpenStreetMap
community when it publishes the survey results.

Demographic data (optional)
We want to know more about the structure of the community and respondents to this survey. Answering thesequestions is optional but your answers would help the Board understand the data better.

12 [D1]
Optional Demographic: Are you a member of...
 Check all that apply
Please choose all that apply:
a working group
the OpenStreetMap Foundation
a local chapter
a local community without chapter statusa corporate sponsor of OSM
a commercial company using OSM dataa non-profit organization using OSM data
"Local community" includes supranational, national, and subnational OpenStreetMap communities that are notrecognized local chapters.

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13 [D2]
Optional Demographic: Are you a...
 Check all that apply
Please choose all that apply:
mappercommunicator
data user
developer / maintainer
event organizer
hardware / systems operator
Other:
Note: "Maintainer" refers to software maintainer. "Communicator" includes newsletter writer/editor, author,
journalist, blogger, CWG member, or any other actor who spends at least an hour a week on disseminating
information about OSM.

14 [D3]
Optional Demographic: How long have you been involved in the OSM project?
 Choose one of the following answers
Please choose only one of the following:
less than 1 year
from 1 to 5 years
from 5 to 10 years
from 10 to 15 years
more than 15 years

15 [D4]Optional Demographic: What is your gender?
 Choose one of the following answers
Please choose only one of the following:
FemaleMale
Non-binary
Other

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16 [D5]Optional Demographic: In what country are you located (please click on the country on the map)?
Please write your answer here:

Please ignore the text box. No exact location is required. The survey will only record the country, and noother location data. Click on the map if the location of the point is wrong.

17 [D6]Optional Demographic: Have you voted in an OSM Foundation election? If not, please explain why
not in the next question.
Only answer this question if the following conditions are met:
Answer was at question '12 [D1]' (Optional Demographic: Are you a member of... )Please choose only one of the following:YesNo

18 [D7]Optional Demographic: If you have not voted in an OSMF election, please tell us why not.
Only answer this question if the following conditions are met:
Answer was at question '12 [D1]' (Optional Demographic: Are you a member of... ) and Answer was 'No' atquestion '17 [D6]' (Optional Demographic: Have you voted in an OSM Foundation election? If not, please
explain why not in the next question.)
Please write your answer here:

Thank you for completing the survey.

Submit your survey.
Thank you for completing this survey.

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