ZeLonewolf
(Brian M Sperlongano)
17
A user from the United States had a mapping question about part of the map in the United States. The title mentioned a state in the United States. The question was perfectly phrased and titled in such a way that any mapper from the United States would understand what the OP was asking. The user presented an address that was perfectly formatted according to conventions in the United States. The question was asked in English, which is the most-spoken language in the United States.
I suspect if the user were familiar with this forum, they would have asked the question in the United States forum in the first place, where they would have gotten a less hostile1 response than they got in the “Help and Support” forum.
I do not expect everyone across the planet to know that “Florida” is in the United States. However, I would expect a reasonable forum participant unfamiliar with Florida to type “Florida” into a search engine before taking the step of berating the user for not expanding the abbreviation “FL” to “Florida”. At that point they would learn that Florida is in the United States. The user, upon learning that Florida is in the United States could then ask themselves: “do I understand the usual abbreviation conventions in the United States?” If the answer is “no”, then that would be a good indicator that berating the user for using an abbreviation is uncalled for.
There is also the option, which seems lost on some participants here, of saying nothing if you’re confused about the question. That would have been better than the responses here.
Obviously I am not able to read your mind, and I cannot speak to your intent in writing the words that you wrote. I also come from a totally different cultural background. So perhaps in your culture, your response was fully tactful, expected, and not at all rude. In my culture, your response was tactless, rude, and makes OSM look like a bunch of jerks.
Cultural differences exist, and sometimes they will intersect on OSM. Hopefully we can use this as a learning point for future interactions.
1as defined from a United States cultural understanding
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