Description of its purpose and which open mapping groups it will serve
It will serve the OSM Turkey community. If this subcategory is opened, I believe it will make the community’s communication more effective.
Why is this new category needed instead of being hosted as part of the existing ones?
As far as I know, Telegram is currently the most active communication channel for the Turkish community. However, there are community members who don’t use Telegram. Members who don’t use Telegram cannot see the conversations on OSM Turkish Telegram group. I think having a Turkish subcategory for mapping topics in Turkey would be beneficial for the community.
Is this a new space or does it already exist on other platforms? Where?
Current volume of messages on the former platforms, if any (per week/per month)
If I’m not mistaken about the Telegram group, on average 300+ messages per month (in 2025).
Is there a transition plan for the old platform to this new one? (please link or describe)
No
(Optional) A link or list of the category specific guidelines
-
List the usernames of the category moderators
I will share the link to this topic in the OpenStreetMap Türkiye Telegram group. I will ask group members who wish to volunteer as moderators to reply to this topic. I will update this section after those who volunteer as moderators have replied to this topic.
1- @keyyushi - A meticulous and very active OSM contributor. I think @keyyushi would make a good forum moderator.
2-I believe that having @unen, one of the most experienced members of the Turkish community, as a moderator would be very beneficial for the Turkish subcategory. I think @unen would make a good forum moderator.
3-@burakonder is one of the most active and diligent contributors to the Turkish community. I believe that having him as a moderator would be beneficial for our forum subcategory. I think @burakonder would make a good forum moderator.
4- @MetehanOzyurek is also the administrator of the OpenStreetMap Turkey Telegram group and a contributor to CoMaps. I think @MetehanOzyurek would make a good forum moderator.
I also volunteer to be a category moderator. I am also a moderator of the Telegram group so I can help to establish an efficient connection between the two mediums.
This was a previous discussion in the Telegram Group and I can confirm that the folks there would be in favour.
I also would like to ping Metehan, Telegram groups main moderator, to see if he’s willing to take on moderation tasks here as well.
I also want to add a disclaimer that, I am associated with TomTom as a community & partnerships manager, and with the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team as a former staff and a voting member.
So I will refrain from any decision or action in the Turkiye sub-category regarding those two organizations, leaving the necessary actions to other moderators.
My organizational user account is unenTT and I will post or respond to anything related with TomTom through that account, keeping this one as my personal account, separate from TomTom’s organised editing activities.
I’d like to invite the community to discuss the category creation request and will wait for at least 5 days according to the moderator selection criteria to ensure that any objections can be heard. After that, a member of @forums-governance will set up a simple poll that will again run for 5 days. This will formally demonstrate community support for this new category and moderator team.
Note that there is an imported category with a small number of old threads, this content would be reactivated as part of the newly active community.
I also agree to be a volunteer moderator. I am currently a volunteer moderator in our Turkish Telegram chat and am ready to help here as well. Thanks @HaritaDuzenlemeHesabi and @unen for mentioning me.
this voting poll is to validate the initial moderation team for a “Türkiye (Turkey)” category. The list will be validated if it gets at least 80% of yes votes. Note that votes (who voted what) are public to help identify any abuses.
The poll has concluded unanimously and with an impressive level of support. The Communities > Türkiye (Turkey) category has now been set up (with the content imported from the old forum already in place). I’ve also added the approved moderators to the @mods-turkey group.
For visibility, I recommend to advertise this new channel within your local community and request an update to the OSM Community Index to include this new channel for your community.