The OSM-Community uses many different platforms and channels to discuss, organize and document internal issues. This talk provides an overview about the relevance and reach of these tools at local and international level and also locks into pros and cons of this strategy of communication in OSM.
Creating a world map with as much detail as possible requires a lot of communication at local and international level. There must be a place to discuss local mapping details and to organize mapping and hacking events. Additionally, a lot of international communication is needed in international OSM projects as well as in the OSMF and the Working Groups. Plus users and software developers also have their own discussion and documentation channels.
For this purpose a lot of tools and platforms are established in OSM: Mailing lists, forums, wikis, websites, social media, etc.
This variety of communication media is important and makes OpenStreetMap the colorful, open and diverse project it is today. But it also complicates the search on a particular topic and raises a number of questions:
Where do I have to search to get up-to-date information? How can you distinguish between proposals, current and outdated content? What do you do if many sources contradict each other? How can knowledge best be passed on to subsequent OSM generations?
This talk is intended to overview various communication platforms and their relevance and reach at local and international level. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of the current strategy for communication and knowledge transfer will be discussed.
