So please tell me, what should I optimize for when moderating a local OpenStreetMap community. I personally feel it's crucial people internalize that's a project with a bottom-up organization. A "civil society", if you will. Alas, despite 200-250 daily active mappers in Poland [1] only a fraction ever posts on the forum, even if just to ask something. Meeting IRL is also futile except 2-3 largest cities. We have a forum, Facebook group and Discord.
Whatever I'd come up with, I'd like it to be a self-healing organism that would continue to thrive even if some important members become inactive. And to feel it's not a Sisyphean task.
I'm confused. I see OSM as a huge success. Firms like Mapbox and Strava have an incentive to update that wiki with you. The maps are amazing. Any local sub-community will be challenging to organize, but maybe the metric should be making it fun for you, and if you're having a good time others will join.
It's still very early for me, but I see myself in this post. It's going to be extremely slow going, as the main consumers of the content created have no desire to contribute, but since golf courses are mostly static, as long as i plug away, adding a little bit all the time, the site will be a success. It costs almost nothing to operate. Generating traffic is challenging, and i've been trying to find more people willing to contribute, but again, I see my product as best placed if i do exactly the opposite of what most of the golf course info sites are doing. Don't base my success on engagement, no aggregation, no overly-prodding to contribute. Just one day at a time, with the assumption that the task is endless anyway, having people share their passion on their own time.
If i can make that profitable at all, and it shouldn't be too difficult as the site grows, i'll see it as a total win.
Whatever I'd come up with, I'd like it to be a self-healing organism that would continue to thrive even if some important members become inactive. And to feel it's not a Sisyphean task.
[1] https://osmstats.neis-one.org/?item=countries&country=Poland