David,<div><br></div><div>Welcome. Getting a public geospatial data repository "off the ground" unfortunately is only a small part of the problem. These types of efforts take a lot of ongoing active support that goes well beyond the initial build out as they become stale and irrelevant very very quickly. There have been a number of false starts to get these things going by individuals throughout the years.</div>
<div><br></div><div>We most likely have significant physical resources that we can leverage and that I would certainly be happy to help get you access to. My experience says that without either getting a critical mass of volunteers involved (which is certainly more than one) or individuals or groups who have a specific business need that is met that it would be very difficult to be successful. If you are keen on getting some motion in this arena, managing human capital (both developers as well as data providers) is going to be more significant of a challenge than anything technical. The first question that you will need to be able to answer very clearly is "what value is this repository adding".</div>
<div><br></div><div>Please use this forum as you have any questions or to try to find like-minded individuals to work with you.</div><div><br></div><div>David<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Jan 21, 2011 at 4:10 PM, David Campbell <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:dcampbell24@gmail.com">dcampbell24@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">Greetings everyone,<br>
<br>
As part of my M.A. in Computer Science I am going to be doing GIS research, and<br>
my interests look like they align well with the goals of the Public Geospatial<br>
Data Project. I am planning on doing three semesters of research (starting now)<br>
leading up to a thesis. Unfortunately, although our Earth Science department<br>
uses GIS, there is no one with a strong technical GIS background. So I am<br>
seeking both ways to get involved and some guidance if anyone will offer it. I<br>
want to see OSGeo get their geodata repository off the ground and would be<br>
happy to work on researching data standards, building the browsing interface,<br>
building the back-end, and researching discovery methods (one thing at a time).<br>
<br>
My current experience includes a GIS certificate program in which, using ESRI<br>
products, I created a variety of maps, made some simple geodatabases, did<br>
spatial and network analysis, and made a customized interactive city map. I am<br>
not an experienced programmer, but have some familiarity with a number of<br>
languages including C, C++, Python, Haskell and Bash. I also have some<br>
experience with CSS/HTML.<br>
<br>
I look forward to working with the Public Geospatial Data Committee.<br>
<font color="#888888">--<br>
David Campbell<br>
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</font></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>************************************<br>David William Bitner<br>
</div>