[Board] Resignation

Fri Aug 10 12:57:46 PDT 2012

Hi Jo,

It's really sad to see you go, but I also understand that we all need to 
make choices at some point on where we put our energies. Thank you for 
all your involvement in the board in the last year and I hope that we'll 
continue to see you around, not just for FOSS4G 2013, but also in other 
OSGeo initiatives in the future.

Even after reading your answer to Michael, I have a feeling that I do 
not fully understand what is meant by: "disagree with a lot of the ways 
the foundation gets things done". I have a feeling that if you are 
uncomfortable with some ways of doing things then you are probably not 
alone, and I'd like to understand the issues to see if there is any way 
we can improve for the benefit of all charter members in the future. 
After having been on the board you may have a different perspective on 
the issues that could help us get closer to a solution.

I realize that sometimes those issues may be hard to explain and relay, 
especially by email, so I'm not asking you to elaborate now, but I 
wanted to let you know that I'd be open to hearing more about those 
issues if and when you are ready to talk about them.

Cheers, thanks again and see you next year in Nottingham!

Daniel

On 12-08-10 11:46 AM, Jo Cook wrote:
> Hi Michael,
>
> I can elaborate a bit, but won't go into very much detail, I'm afraid!
> In general terms, I found the timezone difference hard to work with-
> it's extremely difficult to be part of an email discussion when you're 8
> hours apart from people, you're playing catch up all the time and the
> thread moves on before you have chance to participate. It's either that
> or you have to stay up extremely late! I don't have a constructive
> answer for that one though- it's a problem with being a global
> foundation. I would very much like to have seen greater participation by
> charter members, but having said that, there are some decisions that
> should be made by the board and not simply thrown out for general
> discussion or devolved to the committees. So many topics get hijacked
> rather than constructively answered, simply because this list is public
> and anyone can participate. My personal view is that the community
> elects the board because they trust them to make decisions on their behalf.
>
> I hope that's enough of an explanation for now
>
> Jo
>
> On Fri, Aug 10, 2012 at 4:29 PM, Michael P. Gerlek <mpg at flaxen.com
> <mailto:mpg at flaxen.com>> wrote:
>
>     Jo:
>
>     Let me begin by saying I respect your decision: I am sure it was a
>     difficult one to make, but a the end of the day you need to do what
>     is best for you. It was a pleasure working with you and I'm glad to
>     see you're pushing ahead with the 2013 event.
>
>     That said, could you please elaborate on your third point -- that
>     you "disagree with a lot of the ways the foundation gets things
>     done"? Having been on the board for a year now, I'm sure you could
>     provide us all with some things to think about as the new board
>     members begin their terms.
>
>     At a larger level, I too am frustrated with the organization as a
>     whole as I see some parts of OSGeo: as I've said here before I think
>     we need to rethink what our Foundation is for. We have limited
>     resources -- financial and human -- and we need to use them in ways
>     we can best serve the international community. I'm looking forward
>     to our new board members and their ideas.
>
>     -mpg
>
>
>
>     On Aug 10, 2012, at 7:56 AM, Jo Cook <jocook at astuntechnology.com
>     <mailto:jocook at astuntechnology.com>> wrote:
>
>>     Dear Board,
>>
>>     I'm sorry to say that I have decided to resign as a board member.
>>     I apologise for the incredibly short notice, given the election is
>>     currently ongoing, but I'm hoping that this gives you the
>>     opportunity to elect an additional member during this round of
>>     voting rather than having to hold an extra election later on. This
>>     has been on my mind for several months now, in fact probably since
>>     we got back from Seattle, and I have tried and failed to write
>>     this email several times over the last few months.
>>
>>     I don't intend to go into all the reasons, but here is some
>>     explanation. Firstly, I am spreading myself too thin, and feel
>>     unable to commit as much time, and to be honest, money for
>>     travelling around, as I'd like to the Board role. I'd rather my
>>     place was filled by someone who has the resources to do that.
>>     Secondly, I have no experience or knowledge of a lot of the issues
>>     that are discussed at board level, and again I would rather that
>>     my place was filled by someone more suitable. Thirdly, and perhaps
>>     most contentiously, I find that I disagree with a lot of the ways
>>     the foundation gets things done. This is not a reflection of the
>>     current board, but a more general comment about the foundation as
>>     a whole. I think this is for me to deal with, not the foundation,
>>     as I'm the one in the minority, and I have neither the time or the
>>     personal strength to take on large parts of the charter membership
>>     and upwards!
>>
>>     On a personal level, I need to step back from the "official" side
>>     of things and return to what I love best, which is just
>>     evangelising about the software. I have found that increasingly
>>     hard over the last year and I miss it.
>>
>>     As far as I'm concerned this has no impact on my role supporting
>>     and promoting FOSS4G 2013- in fact it gives me more time to help
>>     make that the best damned FOSS4G ever. You already have a board
>>     representative, so you don't even need to worry about that side of
>>     things.
>>
>>     Regards
>>
>>     Jo
>>
>>
>>     --
>>     ***Jo Cook*
>>     Astun Technology Ltd, The Coach House, 17 West Street, Epsom,
>>     Surrey, KT18 7RL, UK
>>     t:+44 750 095 8167 <tel:%2B44%20750%20095%208167>
>>     iShare - Data integration and publishing platform
>>     <http://www.isharemaps.com/>
>>
>>     *****************************************
>>
>>     Company registration no. 5410695. Registered in England and Wales.
>>     Registered office: 120 Manor Green Road, Epsom, Surrey, KT19 8LN
>>     VAT no. 864201149.
>>
>>     _______________________________________________
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>>     Board at lists.osgeo.org <mailto:Board at lists.osgeo.org>
>>     http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/board
>
>
>
>
> --
> ***Jo Cook*
> Astun Technology Ltd, The Coach House, 17 West Street, Epsom, Surrey,
> KT18 7RL, UK
> t:+44 750 095 8167
> iShare - Data integration and publishing platform
> <http://www.isharemaps.com/>
>
> *****************************************
>
> Company registration no. 5410695. Registered in England and Wales.
> Registered office: 120 Manor Green Road, Epsom, Surrey, KT19 8LN VAT no.
> 864201149.
>
>
>
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-- 
Daniel Morissette
http://www.mapgears.com/
Provider of Professional MapServer Support since 2000