Hello,

I am a member of the OSMF Data Working Group and we have had several complaints about this discussion here (offtopic, bullying, toxic etc.etc.)

We are not normally involved in policing the forum but will do so if nothing else helps. I’ve discussed this thread with the forum administration and they’ve asked us to step in.

In general, there seem to be a couple of misconceptions here.

  1. Off-topic postings are generally not something that needs a moderator. If one person posts off-topic and the rest of the community is disciplined enough then that shouldn’t be such a big issue. If the community is united in finding Map-Finder’s posts not worthy of a reply, then don’t reply - instead of calling for a ban. Bans should remain reserved for people who are abusive, not for people who are just (perceived to be) a nuisance.

  2. A forum moderator’s job is not to make sticky posts with tagging instructions. A forum moderator who does that abuses their position. The wiki (where everyone has equal edit rights) is the canonical place for tagging documentation. Sticky posts in the forum can be about forum rules, or important events, or perhaps they can include a few frequently asked questions, but they are not there to explain how to tag toll booths.

  3. A forum moderator does not have to post frequently on the forum. In fact, it can be better if it is someone who is usually not involved in discussions. Someone who is often involved in heated discussions would have it very difficult to be a good forum moderator.

  4. Ideally, in a healthy forum, a forum moderator makes use of their privileges once or twice a month. The job of a forum moderator is not to tell everyone what to do all the time!

  5. Being a forum moderator is not a position of power or a reward for good deeds; it is a position of service to the community. A forum moderator must be respected by the overwhelming majority of the forum or else they will not be able to do a good job.

(As a side note, I noticed someone writing that “we don’t know Map-Finder’s OSM user name” but what about https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/Map-Finder?))

So, please everybody calm down, and we’ll see what we can do about that moderator question.

Bye
Frederik