The Life of the Party: Commitment to Social Mapping in OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap has grown rapidly to be the most successful example of a geo-wiki, where contributors collectively build an open map of the world. Official mapping parties invite users to socialize, map and engage newcomers locally. These events in London are assosiated with those highly committed and prolific members to whom OpenStreetMap's success can be accredited. In this work, we explore the direct and indirect impact of mapping parties on user contributions in both the short and long terms, questioning whether they are a cause for users becoming highly committed through a social bond or are an effect of the need of such heavy users to find a com- mon social ground. We find that mapping parties have a more profound direct effect on weaker users but a stronger long term effect on heavy users who also have a high long term retention.