[OSGeo-Discuss] Distribution Special Interest Groups

[Frank Warmerdam]

Alexandre Leroux wrote:
>> geotorrent.org is focused on serving geospatial data, and I'm not
>> sure it would be apppropriate to start shoving software binaries in 
>> there.
>> I would like to see a torrent handler for software setup at osgeo.org.
> 
> Yes yes! That would be great. In fact, the torrent file links could be 
> done directly on a OSGeo wiki page. Some torrents could eventually be 
> hosted by the OSGeo (if the OSGeo agrees, of course), but this 
> "geotorrent wiki page" would also include .torrent files hosted 
> elsewhere. With the main objective to act as a "One-Stop webpage for all 
> geo-related torrents".
> 
> Important: we would need to make sure there is no duplication of 
> efforts. I'm mainly thinking about geotorrent.org here. I'll stop here, 
> some discussions with the folks behind geotorrent.org are required.

Alexandre,

I would like to see OSGeo affiliate in some sense with geotorrent.org, and
for that to be our "geospatial data torrent hosting site".  We could address
the software side of things.  I have contact with Richard at geotorrent.org
and will contact him about this.

> On the other hand...
> The challenge is in fact bigger. Why stop ourselves at torrents? A 
> website is badly in need for all open/free geo* data/software. This 
> could still be done within a wiki structure. For software, the structure 
> is very simple. 

Well, similarly I see freegis.org as the mature listing for all FOSS
geospatial software and I don't want to duplicate that, or do anything
that would undermine it's "authoritative" position in this regard.

 > For data, an intuitive way is required. It could be,
> still on the wiki, structure by regions (the best approach in my 
> opinion). Example:
> http://wiki.osgeo.org/index.php/Data/World/ [list subregions here and 
> list data covering the whole world]
> http://wiki.osgeo.org/index.php/Data/North_America/ [list NA subregions 
> here and list data covering North_America]
> http://wiki.osgeo.org/index.php/Data/Europe/ [list Europe subregions 
> here and list data for Europe here]
> http://wiki.osgeo.org/index.php/Data/Europe/Spain/ [This is subregion 
> Spain, list Spain's subregions here and data covering Spain here]
> etc.... you get the idea.

I believe the geodata group is talking about ways of organizing listings
of data.  You could certainly go ahead and try and sketch out a bit of
what this would work like in the wiki if you wanted.

> Maybe the OSGeo could simply start with links to software files 
> (including hosting/linking to .torrent files?), leaving aside open 
> geodata for the moment, thus making the whole process way simpler. 
> Anyway, this would require more thinking, do what you want with these 
> ideas! :-)

Well, geodata listing and provision is definately within the scope of
the geodata group.

Best regards,
-- 
---------------------------------------+--------------------------------------
I set the clouds in motion - turn up   | Frank Warmerdam, warmerdam at pobox.com
light and sound - activate the windows | http://pobox.com/~warmerdam
and watch the world go round - Rush    | President OSGF, http://osgeo.org