[Board] Re: [OSGeo-Conf] "OSGeo Teach-in

[Paul Ramsey]

Markus has made some notes:

http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/OSGeo_Conference_Policy

But they are still some way from a policy.

P

On Mon, Jun 9, 2008 at 4:10 PM, Cameron Shorter
<cameron.shorter at gmail.com> wrote:
> Paul,
> Having the conference committee draft a proposal is an appropriate forum.
> Has anyone volunteered or started on this yet?
>
> PS, I should note that my ethical arguments very conveniently align with my
> commercial interests as LISAsoft would likely be able to present Open
> Content training sessions.
>
> Paul Ramsey wrote:
>>
>> The board has already made a decision: to ask the conference committee
>> to develop a policy. Unless or until the conference committee delivers
>> a draft policy back to the board, there won't be any further
>> decisions, I imagine.
>>
>> I'm not going to make an effort to publicize a spat over an event, I
>> would much rather spend my credibility budget publicizing the event
>> itself, once I know exactly what it is going to be called, where it
>> will be and when it will be.
>>
>> If you are wondering what kind of reception it will get, note that the
>> two variants of response so far have been:
>>
>> "That's a great idea!" and
>> "That's a great idea, but I have philosophical objections!"
>>
>> Everyone has a different philosophical objection, so I have reconciled
>> myself that I am not going to be able to meet everyone's bottom line.
>> Jo and Markus want something European. Arnulf wants nothing commercial
>> under the OSGeo banner. You want creative commons materials. Someone
>> else wants student scholarships.
>>
>> I, however, don't want to please everyone, just the 300 people who
>> come to the event, who I want to experience well-developed material,
>> in a professional setting, from the properly compensated people who
>> know the topic, and send them home thinking "wasn't that great!".  If
>> OSGeo is unwilling to RECEIVE $10000 to be associated with such an
>> event, so be it.
>>
>> P.
>>
>> On Mon, Jun 9, 2008 at 1:47 PM, Cameron Shorter
>> <cameron.shorter at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Paul and others on the board,
>>>
>>> I feel strongly about my statements in this thread and would like to see
>>> broad community discussion before the board makes a decision. I suggest
>>> using OSGeo-Discuss or your blog. I would like to blog on the topic but
>>> it
>>> would be inappropriate of me to do so without first giving Paul the
>>> option
>>> to announce his training session and start the thread.
>>>
>>> Paul, if you plan to pursue a proprietary model for presentation content,
>>> could you please make a broader announcement about your ideas.
>>>
>>> Cameron Shorter wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Paul, I want to preface my email by noting that I'm very hopeful that
>>>> you
>>>> are able to build a successful "Teach In" conference series and that it
>>>> is
>>>> very lucrative for you. Where possible, I want to help make it happen
>>>> for
>>>> you, and ensure the OSGeo community maximises the value offered at the
>>>> same
>>>> time.
>>>>
>>>> There is nothing wrong with using a proprietary business model for your
>>>> conferences. You put in the effort building the content, you have every
>>>> right to sell it.
>>>>
>>>> However, I feel that OSGeo would be selling out on its principles if it
>>>> were to actively support a proprietary business model. In particular, a
>>>> proprietary tutorials program will likely undermine the effectiveness of
>>>> OSGeo's education program as potential sponsors of the education program
>>>> turn to the proprietary material, and contributors produce proprietary
>>>> content instead of open content.
>>>>
>>>> Open Source has a very effective community marketing value which I
>>>> understand you want to tap into, but I feel you need to make a choice.
>>>> Either:
>>>> 1. Go open, and make use of the OSGeo brand, or
>>>> 2. Go proprietary, and build your own brand.
>>>>
>>>> (A side note, I wouldn't under estimate your personal "rock star"
>>>> drawing
>>>> appeal).
>>>>
>>>> Paul Ramsey wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On Fri, Jun 6, 2008 at 3:16 PM, Cameron Shorter
>>>>> <cameron.shorter at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> * The proposal is missing one of the key elements of the Open Source
>>>>>> Business model. Ie, all material used for the "teach in" should be
>>>>>> provided
>>>>>> for free under an open license. Conference organisors can sell their
>>>>>> services (as presenters).
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> You go first. I'm not giving away 4 hours of workshop materials for
>>>>> $3K. I'm not a rock star, I hold no illusions that people are coming
>>>>> to the workshop to see *me*. The Open Source business model is that
>>>>> the *source* is open, and something else is not
>>>>> (http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/magic-cauldron/).
>>>>>
>>>>> P.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Cameron Shorter
>>> Geospatial Systems Architect
>>> Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
>>> Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254
>>>
>>> Think Globally, Fix Locally
>>> Commercial Support for Geospatial Open Source Solutions
>>> http://www.lisasoft.com/LISAsoft/SupportedProducts.html
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
>
> --
> Cameron Shorter
> Geospatial Systems Architect
> Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
> Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254
>
> Think Globally, Fix Locally
> Commercial Support for Geospatial Open Source Solutions
> http://www.lisasoft.com/LISAsoft/SupportedProducts.html
>
>
>