<div dir="ltr">I'll make another plug for Helena's suggestion on the conference list that an International FOSS4g be offered every other year. In alternate years members would be encouraged to run regional and/or project specific small conferences... - Dan<br>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 12:04 PM, Landon Blake <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:lblake@ksninc.com">lblake@ksninc.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
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<p><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy">I really think the best solution to this
issue would be smaller, regional conferences. Perhaps this could be an issue
that could be tackled by local OSGeo Chapters?</span></font></p>
<p><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy"> </span></font></p>
<p><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy">It would be cool if we could get a point
location and radius of acceptable travel from each OSGeo member. You could then
determine which host cities for a local or regional conference would impact the
most users.</span></font></p>
<p><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy"> </span></font></p>
<p><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy">Landon</span></font></p>
<p><font size="2" color="navy" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy"> </span></font></p>
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<p><b><font size="2" face="Tahoma"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold">From:</span></font></b><font size="2" face="Tahoma"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma">
<a href="mailto:discuss-bounces@lists.osgeo.org" target="_blank">discuss-bounces@lists.osgeo.org</a> [mailto:<a href="mailto:discuss-bounces@lists.osgeo.org" target="_blank">discuss-bounces@lists.osgeo.org</a>] <b><span style="font-weight:bold">On Behalf Of </span></b>Daniel Ames<br>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">Sent:</span></b> Tuesday, October 07, 2008 10:49
AM<br>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">To:</span></b> OSGeo Discussions<br>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">Cc:</span></b> conference_dev<br>
<b><span style="font-weight:bold">Subject:</span></b> Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some
post-FOSS4G thoughts</span></font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">Another consideration: my students who attended last week said that the
mix of GISSA with FOSS4g was EXCELLENT. The really liked having the
business GIS users/non-FOSS people there. In fact, doing a joint conference
like this gave the FOSS folks lots of
great proselytizing opportunities that they wouldn't otherwise have.
So that was a GREAT idea the South
Africa group had. Good job.</span></font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">One more thing... We should be careful talking about having conferences
"closer". Come on folks, as geo-people you all know that
"closer" is relative to your datum... There is a huge growing
GIS interest in China
right now. Wouldn't it be cool to have FOSS4g there one year? </span></font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">So a public "Thanks" to the SA organizers, and a "Good
luck!" to the Aussies... and as for 2010? Anyone interested in Beijing? How about Idaho? :)</span></font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">- Dan</span></font></p>
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<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 8:42 AM, Gavin Fleming <<a href="mailto:GavinF@mintek.co.za" target="_blank">GavinF@mintek.co.za</a>> wrote:</span></font></p>
<p><font size="3" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12.0pt">This thread has been doing the rounds on the conference_dev list as
well<br>
<br>
Some of my thoughts in the aftermath of FOSS4G 2008.<br>
<br>
I have heard very positive feedback from all quarters. As Arnulf alluded<br>
to in the AGM, I believe the decision to host in an 'untested' location<br>
WORKED. The mix of FOSS and proprietary worlds WORKED. The mix of the<br>
full-spectrum ecosystem from geek to user to academic to businessperson<br>
to government official WORKED.<br>
<br>
It WORKED on so many levels we'll be seeing positive spin-offs for years<br>
to come.<br>
<br>
Business people loved meeting developers and picking up the sense of<br>
community.<br>
<br>
Developers loved being with other developers and interacting with users<br>
and funders. And we did manage a code sprint of around 40 people.<br>
<a href="http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G2008_CodeSprint" target="_blank">http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G2008_CodeSprint</a><br>
<br>
Cost:<br>
-Registration was well within the limits set by OSGeo of $600. It was<br>
NOT the deciding factor for most people. Academics and students got 50%<br>
discount, but these were a minority.<br>
-Travel was THE deciding factor.<br>
-Accommodation: yes, 'official' hotels where our agents got block<br>
bookings were not exactly budget prices (global tourist destination in<br>
high season) but we advertised and listed many links for organising<br>
one's own cheap accommodation from backpackers to B&Bs. So that should<br>
not have been a factor.<br>
-with more sponsorship we would have loved to support those who could<br>
not afford it. Luckily many who asked made a plan of their own.<br>
<br>
By its nature, a moving conference will be expensive to get to from many<br>
places. But it will be cheap and accessible to regional attendees and<br>
that's the point. That's part of OSGeo's mission.<br>
<br>
The value of bringing FOSS4G to South Africa
(or Sydney or
other future<br>
global venues) far outweighs the 'cost' to a few who could not make it.<br>
Sydney will be
in the same boat next year - far from almost everywhere.<br>
But they're already focussing on Australia/NZ and Southeast
Asia. And a<br>
core contingent of OSGeo techies WILL make it to FOSS4G each year. And<br>
there you have the magic mix.<br>
<br>
So, from me:<br>
-keep FOSS4G roaming the globe annually<br>
-stimulate and support local or regional events whenever and wherever<br>
they emerge<br>
-keep the FOSS4G mix as it is - don't split along a perceived<br>
technical-business divide.<br>
-put out RFPs even earlier to allow time to secure cheap venues, big<br>
sponsorships, optimal scheduling, etc. A case in point is<br>
<a href="http://www.igarss09.org/" target="_blank">http://www.igarss09.org/</a>
where the conference was awarded years back<br>
enabling the hosting of thousands at a cheap venue (university).<br>
<br>
Gavin Fleming<br>
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<br>
-- <br>
Daniel P. Ames PhD, PE<br>
Department of Geosciences<br>
Idaho State
University - Idaho Falls<br>
<a href="mailto:amesdani@isu.edu" target="_blank">amesdani@isu.edu</a><br>
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