This was tweeted @hotosm just now, but I think folks local to Berlin would be best to see if or how OSM might be of benefit or where it needs improvement:
I think you have understood reclus23’s tweet the wrong way (due to a lack of knowlege of German?). It has rained in Berlin but there is no humanitarian crisis.
German (and Berlin) OSM community does not need any help. We are no developing country, have a large user base and remote mapping from people without local knowledge harms us much more as it harms local communities in developing countries.
Please go back to your HOT community and do some mapping where you can really save lifes XD
I see, so it was just a sarcastic comment of some sort?
Considering HOT as a community does no mapping in Germany, I am a little confused as to the point of the tweet then.
And perhaps I was not clear which lead to a misunderstanding as well: HOT was not considering mapping in response to the tweet or the flooding, which is why I passed it on to the local folks, so I have nothing to “go back to”, I was never going to map there because there is a large, active, skilled, knowledgeable OSM community already, but thank you for the advice. The offer of the use of the tasking manager was just in case it as a tool would have been of any help to local folks mapping.
As a part of the german community I feel the need to apologize for this feisty reaction to your request, Blake. The tweet was a harmless joke that you didn’t understand it as such, but Nakaners answer was unnecessary snotty in my opinion. It just reflects the reservations of some people over the HOT Projects.