Goodbye maptime.io, hello maptime.fun!
by: Alan McConchie, keeping the lights on
Hey everybody! It’s been a while.
If you haven’t heard, Maptime HQ (as a central coordinating committee) is on indefinite hiatus. But the idea of Maptime lives on, in a small and now fully decentralized network of local chapters that continue meeting in various corners of the world, and in the hearts of map lovers around the globe wherever the passion for learning, sharing, and rainbows can be found.
That said, there are still a few of us occasionally checking in on the website, making sure things are still (mostly) running, and that the domain registration bills keep getting paid.
On that front, we’ve got two things to share:
First, we decided to let the maptime.io domain registration lapse, and we’ve switched over to maptime.fun as our new primary domain (with maptime.org as a backup).
Why make that switch? Well, at some point (it’s not clear when) the top-level .io domain will be going away. While the .IO suffix might seem like a straightforward techie reference to Input/Output (and certainly during heady days of the mid-2010s it was a vibe) it’s actually the top-level domain of the British Indian Ocean Territory, a bizarre colonial relic that thankfully and at long last has been ceded from the United Kingdom to rejoin the independent country of Mauritius.
You can read more about the impending demise of .io at “The Disappearance of an Internet Domain” by Gareth Edwards.
As part of this process of digital decolonization, we’re happy to bid farewell our .io domain. So, for now, .fun it is!
Second, yes we did mention we are still paying some domain registration bills! Our costs are very low, but if you feel like chipping in, anything would be appreciated! We take donations at https://ko-fi.com/maptime
What’s next:
Thank you all for your support and involvement in Maptime over the years, and into the future. What’s next for Maptime? Well, whatever you make of it!
There’s nothing stopping anyone from starting new Maptime chapters anywhere in the world. If you need help figuring out how to do it, just ask on social media (we are now on Mastodon and Bluesky) or drop by the #maptime channel in the OpenStreetMap Slack group.
As always, happy mapping! ❤️🌈
*Tap Tap* Is this thing on?
by: Emily Ashley, Torch Catcher
Hi. It’s been over a year since the maptimeHQ torch was passed and, not gonna lie, these are some pretty big shoes to fill.
but they’re definitely shoes worth filling! just gotta find a groove. In the meantime, we hope your maptimes are going as maptimey as ever.
Updates:
A few of our admins met online in January and thought maybe it’s time for the first “maptime census” or a “roll call” of sorts. Why? So we can all help keep the active chapter and organizer listings up to date. Why? So folks can find chapters to attend in their community or fill roles and revive hibernating chapters.
Like a phonebook – or any directory, really – it’s best when kept up to date.
How you can help:
Drop us a line. Say hi! Let us know how you and your chapter are doing. (or how you’re not doing, because thats totally ok too)
Got any ideas on how to do this? Join the HQ team and help us figure this out and respond to how everyone is doing!
So Long, and Thanks for All the Maps*
by: Beth Schechter, Maptime Founder
After three or so years with the same leadership of this organization, it’s time for a change of the guard. I’m pleased to announce that Emily Ashley (New Orleans), Rachel Stevenson (Boulder), and Omar Ureta (Los Angeles) will be taking over as the new Maptime HQ!
You might be wondering…wait, what’s up with this? Where are Beth, Alan, Lyzi and Camille going? And what’s next for Maptime?!
And whether you’re wondering or not, here are answers to all these questions.
Wait, what’s up with this? Where are Beth, Alan, Lyzi and Camille going?
To make a long story short, all of us started to get pretty burnt out after the 2015 Maptime Summit. I could write more about it here, but my talk from this year’s State of the Map sums it up the best.
If you’re feeling burnt out running your chapter, then take a look at Handing Off a Maptime Chapter for some tips on what to do.
If you’ve still got plenty of gas in the tank, great! But we’re all volunteers, and no one should feel like they have to volunteer indefinitely. If you need to take some time off, do it! If it stops being fun, pass the torch - it’s totally ok when that happens. Keep an eye on your metaphorical fuel guage and let the new HQ know before it hits ‘E’.
My unsolicited advice to the new HQ is to instill rotating leadership on a yearly basis, so that a handoff happens before burnout does. It might be a good idea for chapters to try the same approach as well - but that’s for you to decide :)
Is Maptime still going after 501(c)3 status?
Alan, Lyzi, Camille and I decided to stop putting efforts into this for a few reasons:
-
It takes money that Maptime doesn’t have to do this, specifically to pay fees for things like business registration and bank accounts. It’s possible to come up with this money, but ultimately we were too burnt out to consider doing that work.
-
The legal and bank-related paperwork we had in motion were in the state of California. Moving to Oregon, unbeknownst to me, threw a major wrench into the plans, making it nearly impossible to do without starting all over.
-
Did I mention that we were all burnt out? Because for really real we were all burnt out.
Based on everything I now know about applying for 501(c)3 status, my recommendation to new leadership is to set up a fiscal sponsorship with an organization they trust. I will leave this decision to them.
I’ve updated the Bylaws to reflect these changes, and noted them in the changelog at the end. The new HQ can further update them as needed.
What’s next for Maptime?
That’s a great question – and one that’s for Rachel, Emily, Omar and you to answer. I look really forward to seeing what you come up with!
I couldn’t be more grateful to have been a part of this organization and to see it sprout from a tiny seedling to a global movement.
Let’s see what this next chapter has in store!
*Yes, WIRED Map Lab used this same title to announce the end of their column, but it’s just too good and I couldn’t help myself.
CartoDB's Maptime Pizza Donation Continues Another Year!
Pizza Time!
Looking back at a long year of Maptimes and mapping fun, one thing has remained true: Pizza and mapping go hand-in-hand. CartoDB’s Maptime pizza donations this past year has ensured that this remains true, and that mappers everywhere, from Chicago to Berlin, didn’t go a mapping evening un-fed.
Over the course of the past year, over 70 meetups across the world ate over 2,500 slices of delicious cheesy pie asa result of this collaboration, and CartoDB has announced they are extending their donation for another whole year! This means that every Maptime everywhere can enjoy delicious pizza courtesy of CartoDB well into 2017. now that’s reason to celebrate!
##How does it work? Same as before, getting pizza for your Maptime meetup is super easy. One week before every meetup, email santiago@cartodb.com with basic information about your event. Here’s what to include:
- Maptime chapter
- Meetup date
- Meetup link
- Organizer’s name & email
- Any interesting developments in your mapping community
And thats it! CartoDB will follow up with simple information on how to submit for pizza pay-back. In addition, if the pizza fuels some great CartoDB projects, inspires beautiful friendships, or if you just want to say thanks, be sure to tweet them @cartoDB.
Enjoy!
May 2016 is Missing Maps Month at Maptime
Mayday, mayday!
Earthquakes. Tsunamis. Volcanic eruptions. These natural disasters literally reshape the surface of the earth, and destroy centuries of human infrastructure while they’re at it.
This is a major problem for first responders to crisis, who are trying to get on the ground and help people as fast as possible. What if the street that used to be there isn’t there anymore? What if suddenly water supplies are contaminated? How can you help people get the support that they need when you can’t even navigate the space they’re in or the supplies they need have been destroyed?
This is where making maps can make a huge difference. They can literally make or break first responders’ ability to help.
That’s why, this May, Maptime is teaming up with Missing Maps, a collection of nonprofits devoted to organizing volunteers to map satellite data and get these maps working again. We’re asking all US Maptime chapters to devote one of your sessions in May to mapping satellite data for the Missing Maps mission.
Missing Maps event in Glasgow, Feb. 2016
Never mapped satellite data before? Have no fear! Missing Maps provides tutorials on how to get started with mapping, making it easy for you and your chapter to get up to speed.
What’s better? Participating Maptime chapters will get free pizza, courtesy of Missing Maps!
Want to participate? Sign up here by April 23 to ensure pizza.
Have questions? Email hello [at] maptime [dot] io.
Let’s help out Missing Maps and get some important maps back on the map!
//
Want to read more about the awesomesauce that is Missing Maps? Check out this article by collaborator Drishtie Patel
