<div>Nice - so Aust-NZ may already qualify :-)
</div>
<div><div><br></div><div>-- </div><div>Jody Garnett<br></div><div><br></div></div>
<p style="color: #A0A0A8;">On Friday, 27 January 2012 at 1:11 AM, Daniel Morissette wrote:</p>
<blockquote type="cite" style="border-left-style:solid;border-width:1px;margin-left:0px;padding-left:10px;">
<span><div><div><div>Please also note that you do not need a legal entity to qualify as a </div><div>local chapter, so being an OSGeo local chapter can be very lightweight </div><div>contrary to what was suggested in the thread. Several OSGeo local </div><div>chapters are only virtual groups with a small steering committee, </div><div>mailing list, website and in some cases ad-hoc face to face meetings.</div><div><br></div><div>Daniel</div><div><br></div><div>On 12-01-26 2:32 AM, Jody Garnett wrote:</div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div>The magic of cross posting…</div><div><br></div><div>This conversation started as a discussion on a different topic -> is</div><div>there any interest in having a conference, unconference or code sprint</div><div>in the Aust-NZ region :-)</div><div><br></div><div>As for the benefits of a local chapter; it may in fact being limited to</div><div>running a regional conference (with the NA group as an example of a</div><div>local chapter being formed for this purpose). The prospect of reporting</div><div>in the Annual meeting or OSGeo newsletter is another benefit of a local</div><div>chapter - however I tend to promote direct involvement in OSGeo projects</div><div>and committees as an alternative.</div><div><br></div><div>--</div><div>Jody Garnett</div><div><br></div><div>On Wednesday, 25 January 2012 at 7:30 PM, Cameron Shorter wrote:</div><div><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div>OSGeo Discuss,</div><div><br></div><div>In Australia/New Zealand we have been discussing whether we should</div><div>legally "formalise" the Aust-NZ OSGeo chapter, and come to the</div><div>conclusion that we gain little, and loose a lot by becoming legal.</div><div>Email discussion here:</div><div><a href="http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/aust-nz/2012-January/thread.html">http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/aust-nz/2012-January/thread.html</a></div><div><br></div><div>Highlights:</div><div><br></div><div>On 3/01/2012 1:12 PM, Jody Garnett wrote:</div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div>Where did we get to on this Aust-NZ local chapter stuff? As I recall</div><div>we still need to register as a non profit; have a meeting with</div><div>minuets, and set up a back account.</div></div></blockquote><div>On 5/01/2012 11:06 AM, Jody Garnett wrote:</div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div>The benefit would be an OSGeo local chapter; right now we have not</div><div>"formed" as I understand it and are still listed as under</div><div>construction on the OSGeo wiki.</div></div></blockquote><div>On 6/01/2012 6:51 AM, Cameron Shorter wrote:</div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div>Right, so osgeo aust-nz would change from unofficial to official in</div><div>the eyes of osgeo. I see very little benefit from that. I don't think</div><div>we will attract any more osgeo converts from such a title. (If we</div><div>need an official title, we can always call upon the greater OSGeo</div><div>organisation).</div><div><br></div><div>However, I do see a large drain on volunteer time. As soon as we</div><div>require money to run, we need to worry about chasing people or</div><div>organisations for membership fees, which is an unpleasant task which</div><div>sucks up lots of valuable volunteer times.</div></div></blockquote><div>On 6/01/2012 7:58 AM, mapbutcher wrote:</div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div>In this modern age of 'meetups' do such chapters have a place? What</div><div>does a chapter actually provide?</div><div><br></div><div>The organic development of groups across the country in the past year</div><div>has evidenced a growing interest and adoption of open source. It has</div><div>not required a chapter to support this growth. There are adequate</div><div>means of communication to support cross pollination between these</div><div>groups IMO. We even managed to organize a [international foss4g]</div><div>conference without a chapter if my memory serves me correctly</div></div></blockquote><div>On 6/01/2012 8:49 AM, Bruce Bannerman wrote:</div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div>I see greater benefit from a ‘virtual’ community, particularly</div><div>considering the broad geographic region the we cover.</div><div><br></div><div>We don’t necessarily need an ‘entity’ as the ‘go to’ body for the</div><div>Local Chapter. The mailing list and Wiki could perhaps suffice.</div><div><br></div><div>As I see it we have a reasonably robust community as it is (if rather</div><div>quiet at present).</div></div></blockquote><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>--</div><div>Cameron Shorter</div><div>Geospatial Solutions Manager</div><div>Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050</div><div>Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254</div><div><br></div><div>Think Globally, Fix Locally</div><div>Geospatial Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and Open Source</div><div><a href="http://www.lisasoft.com">http://www.lisasoft.com</a></div><div>_______________________________________________</div><div>Discuss mailing list</div><div>Discuss@lists.osgeo.org <<a href="mailto:Discuss@lists.osgeo.org">mailto:Discuss@lists.osgeo.org</a>></div><div><a href="http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss">http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss</a></div></div></blockquote><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>_______________________________________________</div><div>Discuss mailing list</div><div><a href="mailto:Discuss@lists.osgeo.org">Discuss@lists.osgeo.org</a></div><div><a href="http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss">http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss</a></div></div></blockquote><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>-- </div><div>Daniel Morissette</div><div><a href="http://www.mapgears.com">http://www.mapgears.com</a>/</div><div>Provider of Professional MapServer Support since 2000</div><div><br></div><div>_______________________________________________</div><div>Discuss mailing list</div><div><a href="mailto:Discuss@lists.osgeo.org">Discuss@lists.osgeo.org</a></div><div><a href="http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss">http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss</a></div></div></div></span>
</blockquote>
<div>
<br>
</div>