Add a "Probably attend"

[natrius]

Usally in the wiki there is often a "Will probably attend" section as well, some people do not like to press "Attend" when they are not able to check until directly beforehand. Often a "Might attend" is appreciated because it shows interest but its does not impose a clear obligation or commitment and it might be easier to plan for the organisator.

[danieldegroot2]

The developer may consider this eventually. Unfortunately, there is currently little incentive to add the additional functionality to support this. The Attend feature sees few use, in part by same few users on a handful of events (see also [1],[2]).

As workaround, on event creation, a survey can be added in which participants can be asked if (part of) the event has their interest. In addition, a (soft or hard) 'register beforehand' (RSVP) policy can be specified in the event description where needed. This may not make people feel more at ease pressing attend, but is a good first step for organizers to clarify who goes where.

Noteably, there's been hardly any events doing so. Many events accept users on a walk-in basis and with no appointment required. Numerous other events are still hosted on other platforms which are already in-use or preferred (open platforms) by communities and have this functionality built in. Here, 'Might attend' (similarly 'Interested') does see some use (see also [3],[4]).

For users considering to press attend, it usually helps to know others are actually attending (to some extent speaking) at an event. (there you can also argue to implement it now rather than later if you wanted to stretch it.)

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Sidenotes:

[1]: Any participation is voluntary. Much of the community does not participate in (react to) discussion on openstreetmap.org or related social platforms (a topic which has been discussed elsewhere in more detail than can be covered here).

[2]: I'm not sure how widely "Might attend" is used by various cultures. It would be nice if it is understood elsewhere regardless of the osmcal.org website being translated. Adding additional hardcoded options may be confusing to some users. (there is varying amount of use of the website by (humanitarian) orgs/communities in non-(native) english countries.)

[3]: By at least some definitions osmcal.org is not an open platform. This won't be covered in more detail here.

[4]: Ideal of having a 'better meetup.com' with all such features does not always go well with having a simple, usable website.

[natrius]

Thanks for your long answer but I'm not exactly sure where you are going with this. Taking my Regulars' table as example.

1) the survey: Yeah, i thought about the survey but i did not try it, i admit 2) Enforce register beforehand: Sure, i could try to 'enforce' that, but i want people to to also attend without having to register. Local newspaper, local ÖPNV contact, ... 3) A registration would still be nice to have at least some planning. Like, i have to check and reserve the venue. 4) The participation is voluntary: Yes. Of course. But it shows at least on our local wiki-pages that the people are willing to enter their yes/maybe/no even in the wiki for planning. For my regulars' table i said "Please use osmcal and not the wiki" 5) Use by various cultures: What? I'm sorry, i cannot follow. Nextcloud Polls has some simple settings when creating a poll, this can be integrated into the "Add Event" page. Example screenshot It could just be another checkbox and so the event-host can decide if its needed/wanted for their community. Doodle used around the world allows the creator to allow "maybe" votes. 6) osmcal not an open platform: Honestly, this is one of the cases where i don't care about that. Because osmcal.org is integrated in https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Main_Page and in https://weeklyosm.eu/ and in our local page https://www.openstreetmap.at/ as well. THATS what makes osmcal a good tool for OSM. 7) better meetup.com - i personally don't care but i understand the want/need for that. For everything else i use my own nextcloud polls. I use osmcal because its integrated in the osm-ecosystem. I mean, its called osmcal :D

I hope i was able to clear up why i wrote what i wrote. I think a "Maybe" will also help with the wider use of this great tool you guys created!

[danieldegroot2]

Thanks for the detailed reply. The developer should eventually reply on this issue when they get time.

You can see an example survey in #11 . Feel free to create a test event with survey. You can always cancel it and/or ask me here to have the event hidden.

[thomersch]

Can we try to keep discussions on-topic?

I think it's a fine idea to have a "maybe" option for participation with the caveat that I don't know how many people will use that feature. Can you try to use the sign up survey for it, e.g.

We can gauge interest using the survey. If usage picks up, I'd be willing to implement this.

[mvexel]

As an organizer, I am not a fan of introducing ambiguity like this. I've organized many local OSM events over the years, and even "I will attend" turns out to be fairly meaningless. People read about the event, click the button and then forget about it, and don't show up. So, "I will attend" really means at best "I'm interested". Introducing another option will make it harder, not easier, for organizers to assess how many people will show up.