[this was originally posted to osmf-talk; I'm not a member of OSMF so
can't reply to it there. I'm also breaking my self-imposed discipline of
not posting to the talk@ list for this, but I figure it's important]
Sarah Hoffman wrote:
while checking the candidate list for the upcoming board elections, I came
across Frederik's maifesto here:
https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/User:Frederik_Ramm/2014_OSMF_Board_Elections_Manifesto
This sheds some rather bad light on how the board operates, indicating that
some of the practises border on the illigal. I understand that this is the
individual opinion of a single board member but I believe it is important
that such accusations are discussed because I don't see how the board can
operate efficiently otherwise. It is even more important in the light of
the upcoming elections. Reading this manifesto indicates that there is
little point in standing for election as there is nothing but frustration
to achieve in the board.
As a former board member, I would concur with Frederik's posting which
tallies with my unhappy experience on the board.
It is clear, I'm afraid, that the OSMF board is broken. Plenty of people
know this privately but it hasn't been admitted publicly. We should stop
pretending.
There are some really smart people in this project and it's sad that
most have chosen to involve themselves in their local organisations
rather than OSMF (I'm thinking particularly the US and France here). I
have no personal animus against the current board - quite the opposite,
they're lovely people - but it's clear it isn't working. (And I take my
share of responsibility as a one-time board member for failing to fix it.)
I would like to see:
- the whole board stand down in advance of this election;
- now and in the future, those who have already served two
standard-length terms (i.e. six years) should refrain from re-election
and further involvement; this is good practice in any organisation (e.g.
the US presidency!) but especially so in a fast-moving technology project.
Richard
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