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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Dear All,<br>
<br>
This is the contents of the FAQ we mentioned, copied and pasted
for archive purposes. <br>
<br>
I have made one change since yesterday noting that OSGeo is a
member of LocationTech and that Anne Ghisla & Jody Garnett
have both participated while sitting as OSGeo board members. Jody
currently sits on both boards.<br>
<br>
Kind regards,<br>
<br>
Andrea<br>
<br>
<br>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
<b style="font-weight:normal;"
id="docs-internal-guid-9128c78a-f72e-5d63-2e4f-b8cebbc94123">
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">This
document is intended as a reasonably short FAQ for
information related to LocationTech as a conference
organizer for FOSS4G. Specifically the Ottawa and
Philadelphia bid teams have chosen LocationTech as a PCO in
2017. This has raised questions for some members of the
OSGeo Conference Committee. Boston chose a different
organization.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">The
thoughts below are pulled from questions and concerns raised
on the conference-dev list over the past few days. The hope
with this document is to tease apart the questions related
to LocationTech as a PCO, and hopefully help people feel
maybe a bit better about them.</span></p>
<br>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">There
are many logos on a conference web site, and exhibitors in
an exhibit hall. Do they detract from one another
inappropriately? </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Probably
not, otherwise people would never sponsor.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Someone
has to organize the conference. If you acknowledge them,
does it detract from others & especially OSGeo? </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">No,
it's the accepted and classy thing to do. This has been the
norm at past FOSS4G events... VTM, AGI, GITA, etc.
LocationTech as an organizer would be acknowledged in the
same manner.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Is
anyone allowed to participate in a FOSS4G bid?</span><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Under
the current RFP rules, there is nothing that suggests
otherwise. Obviously it helps if there are people with
strong connections to OSGeo such as charter members, board
members, project committers, founders, etc. All 3 bids for
2017 have good support in this regard. As well, all 3 bid
cities have included partners from their local, regional, or
national communities.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Are
FOSS4G bid teams allowed to pick whichever PCO they feel is
best? </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Yes.
That's the way it works. And it's pragmatic. The people from
the Ottawa & Philly teams are very community minded and
care deeply about the growth and success of the open source
geospatial ecosystem. They chose LocationTech as their PCO.
Boston cares the same, and made a different choice that
suited them, and that's totally fine.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Are
people who participate in LocationTech marauders from afar,
invading to steal our wonders?</span><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">No
they are people just like you. And just like you, they have
been involved in the OSGeo community for a long time and
still are. A FOSS4G bid is significant undertaking and
should be applauded. Having people participating in
LocationTech as well the bid is a positive thing.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Is
FOSS4G a better event with LocationTech and other non-OSGeo
projects present? </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">You
bet. FOSS4G has always been much broader than OSGeo
projects. That is an integral part of its success. Obviously
LocationTech projects (& many others housed at neither
OSGeo nor LocationTech) would prefer to go to one event if
that’s possible.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Is
LocationTech trying to take over FOSS4G?</span><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Nope.
The projects & members of LocationTech care about FOSS4G
and how it’s run, so LocationTech gets involved with
supporting bids. Again, rather than viewing them as
outsiders, it will likely be helpful to consider them as
long active members of the OSGeo community. If it needs to
be said, everything related to this support was done by the
book, following the processes as best people could, out in
the open, etc. The people that chose LocationTech did so of
their own volition for good reasons. Other bids made
different choices, and that is not only fine, but to be
encouraged. A diversity of approaches is likely to result
in better outcomes.. </span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">What
happens if LocationTech is the PCO for a FOSS4G event? </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">We
don’t need to hypothesize as we have a real life example. We
can expect the same thing that happened in California in
March 2015 for FOSS4G-North America: a great conference
that people really enjoyed. 85% rated it excellent or very
good. Add in those that rated it good, and it’s all but 1
person. For what it's worth, it had plenty of great
visibility for OSGeo... a really good looking booth in a
good location, logo on the website, Frank Warmerdam speaking
on its behalf in the opening and closing plenaries (there
were no board members present so Frank as ex-President
graciously agreed to do so when Andrea asked). It also had
some really great things like 30% women speakers &
attendees.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Why
doesn’t LocationTech run its own conference and stay out of
the FOSS4G sandbox?</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">For
the past three years, LocationTech has operated its own
multi-city “tour” in the fall with workshops, full day
events, and evening talks in a number of cities around the
world. These events have not been limited to LocationTech
projects and OSGeo and other open source projects are
invited and welcomed to give talks. This year LocationTech
also organized a 1-day FedGeoDay event in Washington DC.
While LocationTech has the capacity to operate its own
one-week conference (and the Eclipse Foundation operates
multiple annual conferences), the members of the
organization do not feel that it would be helpful or
constructive to the open source geospatial community to
operate a separate conference.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Does
LocationTech threaten OSGeo?</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Certainly
not intentionally, and not likely at all. Do you think the
Mozilla, Apache, Linux, Eclipse, and other Foundations fret
about each other's' existence? There doesn’t seem to be much
evidence for this. And they do collaborate all the time.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">OSGeo
is a valued member of LocationTech. It was invited to
participate. Anne Ghisla served as OSGeo’s board member and
representative at LocationTech for some time. Currently Jody
Garnett serves on both the OSGeo & LocationTech boards.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Does
LocationTech help OSGeo? </span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">It
certainly tries. It has been a cash sponsor and supporter of
many OSGeo events, including the 2015 Code Sprint and FOSS4G
North America, FOSS4G Nottingham, FOSS4G Portland, and
others. Its members (it is a member organization) have
participated in OSGeo at every level for many years. It has
provided free legal IP review for OSGeo projects that they
would otherwise not have had and they resulted in serious
issues being fixed. It has invited OSGeo projects to
participate in events should they wish to. It has sent
speakers from its projects to OSGeo events. Collaboration is
already happening on many facets and without any fuss.
People shuffle back and forth across an imaginary border all
the time paying it no attention.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Do
we need an MOU between LocationTech & OSGeo?</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">It’s
not clear what the objective would be, but LocationTech is
happy to discuss or review a draft if that would be helpful.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">What
will become of OSGeo? Will it become irrelevant?</span><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">OSGeo
has been around for many years, it continues to grow, and it
is supporting lots of really good activities. It seems a
safe bet that it will do more of the same for some time. It
will adapt as it needs to and as it sees fit. And that's a
good thing... it's needed. This is all independent of
LocationTech of course.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">If
LocationTech continues to grow will OSGeo decline (or vice
versa)?</span><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">It
doesn’t works that way, and isn’t a zero sum outcome. The
two organizations have optimized for different structures
and funding models, but they share the same objectives:
support and grow a strong open source geospatial ecosystem.
Growing the credibility and the number of people consuming
open source geospatial software works for everyone. It
attracts more users, more customers, more developers, and so
forth. Even technology wise, LocationTech & OSGeo
projects are intertwined with projects that share and build
upon common components.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">But
LocationTech works with ________ (pick your scary company de
jour).</span><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">
</span></p>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">LocationTech
is a member organization that includes businesses,
non-profit organizations, academic institutions and
government agencies. Membership dues are based on the size
and type of organization. The membership dues pay for
full-time professional staff that carry out community
development, intellectual property review, marketing,
information technology infrastructure, operations, event
organizing, and administration. The governance structure is
designed to prevent any single organization from controlling
the actions of any project or the organization as a whole.
Projects as LocationTech are governed by the committers,
which are elected by the existing committers on the project.
The only way to influence a project’s direction is to earn
that right by impressing the existing committers with
contributions.</span></p>
<br>
<p dir="ltr"
style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">I
heard ____ (big scary company) runs things at LocationTech.
</span></p>
<span
style="font-size:14.666666666666666px;font-family:Arial;color:#000000;background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-variant:normal;text-decoration:none;vertical-align:baseline;white-space:pre-wrap;">Absolutely
not. See previous question. There are hundreds of members of
all sizes, and they all get an equal vote. Committers
(developers who are individuals) get a vote too.</span></b>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<br>
<br>
<br>
On 10/11/15 23:21, Andrea Ross wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:56426DFE.3020507@eclipse.org" type="cite">
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type">
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Thanks Cameron. That's a great idea.
I'll do so tomorrow just in case anyone has any feedback before
then.<br>
<br>
Kind regards,<br>
<br>
Andrea<br>
<br>
On 10/11/15 21:09, Cameron Shorter wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:56424EE3.3030004@gmail.com" type="cite">
<meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8"
http-equiv="Content-Type">
Thanks Andrea for writing this and answering a number of
questions which have been hinted at in email threads.<br>
<br>
I suggest it would be worth while to cut and paste the contents
into this email thread, so that it gets archived with the rest
of the discussion.<br>
<br>
Warm regards Cameron<br>
<br>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 11/11/2015 3:30 am, Andrea Ross
wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote cite="mid:56421B9E.3060504@eclipse.org" type="cite">
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;
charset=utf-8">
Dear Everyone,<br>
<br>
I hope you don't mind. The mailing list emails can rapidly
become overwhelming so I picked through and turned information
into a FAQ related to LocationTech's involvement that I hope
is at least somewhat helpful.<br>
<br>
Please see:<br>
<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/15x1Q3J9OPM95jEkeZhYlU0xB5uO9V9NCOI28g5B_Yqc/edit">FOSS4G
2017 LocationTech FAQ</a> It is our hope that it makes the
information hopefully a bit more clear or easy to reference.<br>
<br>
Thank you to Robert Cheetham especially, and a bunch of other
people who helped pull it together.<br>
<br>
It is open for anyone to comment should they wish in case
there are any follow-on questions. I believe it all to be
pretty solid, but if anything looks amiss, please just let me
know.<br>
<br>
Kind regards,<br>
<br>
Andrea<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Cameron Shorter,
Software and Data Solutions Manager
LISAsoft
Suite 112, Jones Bay Wharf,
26 - 32 Pirrama Rd, Pyrmont NSW 2009
P +61 2 9009 5000, W <a moz-do-not-send="true" class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.lisasoft.com">www.lisasoft.com</a>, F +61 2 9009 5099</pre>
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