Advocacy and Community

Terrain Viewer streams national LiDAR and elevation datasets that each have their own community. This page keeps the list of venues where a release or showcase post fits, which ones have been done, and the upstream issues the project takes part in. It exists so that the next announcement starts from a list rather than from a search.

DoneCopy Anchor Link

• OSM community forum, the international category and the French one.
• IGN communauté LiDAR HD (France).
• MapLibre: comments on PR 8335 (sparse tiles and the Esri placeholder tile) and PR 8567 (3D Tiles).
• geogrid-maplibre-gl: issue 18, MapLibre 6 support and label placement.
• geospatial-skills: issue 7, a browser option for remote DEMs.
• Placemark discussion.

Still to doCopy Anchor Link

• maplibre-contour issue 434: the custom-protocol fetch through the main thread, with lib/protocol-registry.ts as the example.
• Mapterhorn issue 27: a sweep of national sources finer than what is ingested, with the National Datasets comparison as the reference.
• The venues below, Geoforum.nl first.

Venues per countryCopy Anchor Link

Researched 2026-09-27; every URL was fetched or returned by a search at that date. "Activity" comes from the latest topics/archives checked today. "Announcements fit" means yes = showcase or project posts already appear there; check rules = the venue exists but its policy on project posts is not stated or not verified.

OSM forum note: the Czech, Lithuanian and Japanese categories on community.openstreetmap.org are archived "Migration" categories (last posts 2021-2022), so the table lists the active national channels instead.

Netherlands (AHN)Copy Anchor Link

• Geoforum.nl, AHN category: Dutch. Official-ish: a Discourse forum whose privacy policy is PDOK's (the national geodata platform). Datasets/AHN has 175 topics. Announcements fit: yes. The closest thing to IGN's community for any country here. Very active (posts daily in Sept 2026), and people post their own tools there ("OVspot", a topography game). The current thread Geolibre (en AHN) (2026-09-10) asks how to stream AHN online for visualisation, a natural place to reply. There is also a Toepassingen (applications) category.
• OSM forum, Nederland: Dutch, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. Very active (5,119 topics). AHN hillshade is already discussed there (thread).
• QGIS Gebruikersgroep Nederland: Dutch, QGIS. Check rules. Active user group (Matrix chat, Mastodon). Geoforum.nl also has a QGIS category.

Belgium (Digitaal Vlaanderen DHMV II)Copy Anchor Link

• OSM forum, België / Belgique / Belgien: NL/FR/DE, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. Active (posts Sept 2026, including a "FOSS4G.be call for maps").
• OSGeo Belgium / FOSS4G Belgium 2026: FR/NL/EN, OSGeo chapter. Check rules. The conference is on 15 Oct 2026 in Brussels and has a map gallery that takes submissions. Worth a map-gallery entry or a lightning talk.
• No agency forum found for Digitaal Vlaanderen. It has only service desks and in-person user days.

Switzerland (swisstopo)Copy Anchor Link

• GEOWebforum, "News über Produkte und Projekte": DE/FR, Swiss geomatics professional forum on Discourse (FHNW Geomatics Institute posts heavily). Announcements fit: yes, since the category is literally "news about products and projects". Active in Sept 2026. The closest Swiss equivalent to IGN's community, though it is not run by swisstopo.
• opendata.swiss, submit a showcase: EN/DE/FR/IT. Agency-run: the federal open-data portal takes showcase submissions for apps that use its datasets (100+ showcases). Announcements fit: yes (form).
• OSM forum, Switzerland: DE/FR/EN, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. Active.
• QGIS user group Switzerland (QGIS-CH): DE/FR/IT, QGIS. Check rules. Over 100 members; co-hosts the QGIS User Conference 2026 in Laax.
• Not listed: forum.opendata.ch. It was found, but it went offline in Feb 2024.

Spain (IGN/CNIG PNOA-LiDAR, Andalucía)Copy Anchor Link

• OSM forum, España: Spanish, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. Active.
• Asociación QGIS España: Spanish, QGIS. Check rules. Has a mailing list, a Telegram group and a Discord. The osgeo qgis-es list itself has been quiet since Feb 2026.
• OSM forum, Català: Catalan, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. Small (62 topics).
• No IGN/CNIG user forum found. CNIG has only a GitHub org and a news page. Geoinquietos Sevilla/Valencia are dormant.

Italy (INGV TINITALY)Copy Anchor Link

• QGIS-it-user (OSGeo Discourse): Italian, QGIS. Announcements fit: yes. Very active (2,487 topics, posts this week).
• GFOSS.it (OSGeo Discourse): Italian, OSGeo chapter. Announcements fit: yes. The historical Italian open-geo list (12,942 topics), still active in 2026.
• OSM forum, Italia: Italian, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. Active.
• No INGV community found.

Germany (Geobasis NRW DGM1, German open elevation data)Copy Anchor Link

• OSM forum, Deutschland: German, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. The most active local category (27,607 topics). NRW data use is discussed there (thread).
• FOSSGIS-Talk-Liste: German, FOSSGIS e.V. mailing list (open geodata and software). Announcements fit: yes. Active in Sept 2026.
• QGIS-DE e.V.: German, QGIS. Check rules. Its list is for members only and QGIS questions go to FOSSGIS-Talk. The 2026 user meeting is on 2 Oct 2026 in Frankfurt.
• No Geobasis NRW community found.

Austria (Land Tirol)Copy Anchor Link

• OSM forum, Österreich: German, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. Active (1,250 topics). The talk-at list has been quiet since Sept 2025.
• data.gv.at, Anwendung einreichen: German. Agency-run: the national OGD portal's app registry (about 500 apps). Announcements fit: yes (submission form). Tirol publishes its DGM here (dataset).
• No Tirol/tiris community found.

Czech Republic (ČÚZK DMR 5G / DMP)Copy Anchor Link

• talk-cz mailing list (OSM CZ): Czech, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. The active Czech OSM channel (68 posts in Sept 2026, including a "ZABAGED -> OSM" thread on ČÚZK data).
• CAGI, Česká asociace pro geoinformace: Czech, professional association (GIVS and GISPLAN conferences). Check rules. Events and news only; no forum.
• No ČÚZK community found.

Estonia (Maa- ja Ruumiamet LiDAR)Copy Anchor Link

• OSM forum, Eesti: Estonian/EN, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. Small but alive (posts Aug-Sept 2026).
• ESTGIS, Eesti Geoinformaatika Selts: Estonian, professional society (plus a Facebook page). Check rules. Runs GIS Day and a conference.
• No Maa- ja Ruumiamet community found.

Finland (NLS / Paituli)Copy Anchor Link

• OSM forum, Suomi: Finnish, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. Active (posts today).
• GeoForum Finland: Finnish, association. Check rules. It took over NLS's former Spatial Data Network (Paikkatietoverkosto), so it is semi-official, and it has run lidar webinars (example page).
• No NLS/Paituli discussion forum found.

Norway (Kartverket NDH)Copy Anchor Link

• OSM forum, Norge: Norwegian, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. Active. There is a thread on using høydedata (link).
• QGIS Norge (user group page, Facebook group): Norwegian, QGIS. Check rules. A user meeting is on 11 Nov 2026 in Oslo.
• GeoForum Norge: Norwegian, national professional association (about 2,100 members). Check rules.
• No Kartverket forum found.

Lithuania (Klaipėda)Copy Anchor Link

• talk-lt mailing list (OSM LT): Lithuanian, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. Low activity (1 post in Sept 2026).
• QGIS Lietuva: Lithuanian, QGIS community group. Check rules.
• No agency community found.

United Kingdom (Environment Agency LIDAR)Copy Anchor Link

• OSM forum, United Kingdom: English, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. Active, with tool announcements such as a JOSM postcode layer and an MCP server.
• OSGeo UK (OSGeo Discourse) / QGIS UK: English, OSGeo/QGIS. Check rules. Active (AGM Sept 2026, FOSS4G:UK).
• Megalithic Portal forum: English, archaeology enthusiasts. Announcements fit: yes. It already has a "Free LIDAR mapping data for England" thread, and the owner revived the forum in Dec 2025.
• Roman Roads Research Association forum: English, archaeology (620 members, lidar-driven road finds). Check rules: members only.
• No EA/Defra community found.

Faroe IslandsCopy Anchor Link

• None found. The Faroese Environment Agency publishes via foroyakort.fo, which has no forum. The nearest OSM venue is OSM forum, Danmark (active), but it is not specific to the Faroes.

USA (USGS 3DEP, Hawaii, New York, Alaska)Copy Anchor Link

• OSM forum, United States: English, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. Active.
• OpenStreetMap US Slack: English, OSM US (250+ channels, including #maplibre). Announcements fit: yes, in the channel matching the topic.
• QGIS US (OSGeo Discourse): English, QGIS. Announcements fit: yes ("Introducing Geodeploy" was posted Sept 2026). Active.
• New York: GISNY-L list: English. Open, unmoderated state GIS list run by the NYS Library. Check current activity.
• Hawaii: HIGICC: English, state GIS coordinating council (nonprofit, about 500 contacts). Check rules: newsletter or contact only.
• Alaska: none found.
• USGS 3DEP: no public user forum; only the executive forum archive and email.

Canada (NRCan HRDEM/MRDEM, GeoNB, Ontario)Copy Anchor Link

• QGIS CA (OSGeo Discourse) / qgis.ca: EN/FR, QGIS. Announcements fit: yes. Newly approved as an official user group (22 Sept 2026) and looking for content.
• OSM forum, Canada: EN/FR, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. Active.
• GoGeomatics: English, Canadian geomatics magazine and community (meetups, GeoIgnite). Check rules: probably a news pitch rather than a forum post.
• No NRCan, GeoNB or Ontario community found.

Mexico (INEGI CEM)Copy Anchor Link

• OSM forum, México: Spanish, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. Moderately active (last post July 2026), and "Nuevas herramientas" is a recent topic.
• QGIS México: Spanish, QGIS. Check rules. Invites participation through forums and virtual meetings.
• No INEGI community found. The Geoinquietos México category on OSGeo Discourse has been dormant since 2024.

Australia (NSW, Queensland, SA / ELVIS)Copy Anchor Link

• OSM forum, Oceania: English, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. Active.
• OSGeo Oceania (about/channels): English, OSGeo chapter with an "oceania" mailing list and Slack. Check rules.
• No ELVIS, Geoscience Australia or ICSM community found.

New Zealand (LINZ)Copy Anchor Link

• OSM forum, Oceania and OSGeo Oceania: as for Australia.
• LINZ list of NZ GIS groups and networks: an agency-curated directory. Its most relevant entries are Grow GIS NZ (a LINZ-hosted Facebook page; check rules), Maptime Wellington (Facebook group) and the NZ Cartographic Society.
• No LINZ elevation forum found; contact is elevation@linz.govt.nz.

Japan (GSI elevation tiles)Copy Anchor Link

• OpenStreetMap Japan community page → Discord / Slack: Japanese, OSM. Announcements fit: yes (the Discord has an announcements channel). The talk-ja list is also still active.
• OSGeo.JP mailing list: Japanese, OSGeo chapter. Check rules. FOSS4G 2026 was held in Hiroshima (Aug-Sept 2026).
• GSI has only GitHub repos (e.g. experimental_dem) for technical feedback; that is not a venue for announcements.

Hong Kong (Lands Department)Copy Anchor Link

• None found: no OSM HK category, no HK QGIS or OSGeo group, and no CSDI community. The CSDI portal "What's New" is agency news only.

Indonesia (BIG DEMNAS)Copy Anchor Link

• OSM forum, Indonesia: Indonesian/EN, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. Active in Sept 2026.
• OSM Indonesia Telegram: Indonesian, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. Open to all, and monthly online discussions are announced there.
• Komunitas QGIS Indonesia (Facebook group): Indonesian, QGIS. Check rules. DEMNAS questions often come up in such groups.
• No BIG / Ina-Geoportal forum found.

Uruguay (IDEuy)Copy Anchor Link

• OSM forum, LATAM: Spanish, OSM. Announcements fit: yes. Moderate activity (last post Aug 2026). There is no Uruguay category.
• No Uruguay-specific venue found. The Spanish-language QGIS channels (see Spain) are the nearest.

Haiti (CNIGS)Copy Anchor Link

• None active found. The talk-ht list only relays hebdoOSM, and COSMHA (OSM Haiti) is documented only through HOT with no public forum located.

Cross-cuttingCopy Anchor Link

• OSGeo discuss list: English, OSGeo. Announcements fit: yes. Active in Sept 2026.
• OSGeo Discourse, Announce: English. Check rules: it mirrors OSGeo-Announce and mostly carries project and foundation releases.
• OpenTopography Tool Registry: English, a "community populated clearinghouse" of topography tools. Check rules: the submission process was not visible, so it may mean contacting OpenTopography.
• MapLibre community: English. Its monthly newsletter has a "Community Spotlight" (for example April 2026), and chat runs on the OSM US Slack #maplibre channel. Check rules on how to get featured.
• The Spatial Community (Slack): English, global geo Slack with 10,000+ members. Check rules (use the channel matching the topic).
• Heritage Quest (Zooniverse): NL/EN, an archaeology citizen-science project on AHN lidar with a Talk forum. Check rules: it is project-specific.
• Relief Visualization Toolbox (ZRC SAZU) / RVT_py GitHub: EN. No community forum; GitHub Discussions is not enabled. Possible contact for a mention of the SVF/LRM implementation, but not an announcement venue.
• Bonus France: GeoRezo forum (French GIS forum with LiDAR HD threads) and the Camptocamp forum LiDAR HD thread (mountaineering users).
• Not verified, so not listed: Reddit (r/gis, r/lidar, r/QGIS, r/archaeology…) is blocked for this session's fetcher and search. weeklyOSM's site returned a bot-block page, so its tip-submission route could not be confirmed. Esri Community lidar boards exist but are Esri-product support spaces, which makes them a poor fit.