[Board] Questions about the OSGeo Journal Post Tyler Mitchell

[Frank Warmerdam]

Landon,

The board discussed the role of the Journal in the context of the
broader realm of OSGeo activities and in light of the currently
volunteer and staff resources.  Even when Tyler was available to
do quite a bit of work it was still a struggle to get the Journal out
in a timely fashion.

So our position is that the journal isn't all that strategic to the
foundation and barring volunteers wanting to pursue it we should
scale back.

I'd like to see the existing 2010 report finished up and I'm willing
to work personally with you on it.

Best regards,
Frank


On Mon, Jan 16, 2012 at 1:23 PM, Landon Blake
<sunburned.surveyor at gmail.com> wrote:
> Board Memebers:
>
> I’m in the process of trying to wrap up the 2010 annual report of the
> OSGeo Journal. During this work some questions about the Journal kept
> surfacing. I wanted to ask them here. At this point, I’m unsure if
> work on the 2010 annual report should even continue.
>
> Tyler Mitchell had a major role in previous efforts to prepare and
> publish the journal. His absence has created what I feel is an
> important void.
>
> Some of this void deals with practical issues. For example:
>
> How are decisions about the style, content, and format of the Journal
> going to be made?
> Who has the final say on these decisions, and how is the board going
> to give its input, if at all?
> Is there an official point of contact at the board for the journal team?
> Will we support peer-reviewed articles on open source geospatial
> topics, and if so, what will our guidelines for submission and review
> be?
> Will we have advertising of any form? If so, what will our guidelines
> be for adertising content?
> Do we want to support alternate formats for the journal, like EPUB,
> MP4, Video, etc...
>
> The void also creates some strategic issues. For example:
>
> How does the Journal support the board’s long term goals for the organization?
> How is the Journal related, if at all, to the organizations other activities?
> Does the board even see a need for the Journal?
>
> To be honest, at this point, despite repeated requests for help,
> production of the Journal is currently a one-man show. If the board
> decides it doesn’t want or need a journal, I’m OK with that decision.
>
> If the board does feel the Journal is important, I’d like to talk with
> board members more about what the tasks the Journal is supposed to
> accomplish, how it is supposed to accomplish those tasks, and how this
> work will be coordinated and supported.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Landon
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-- 
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I set the clouds in motion - turn up   | Frank Warmerdam, warmerdam at pobox.com
light and sound - activate the windows | http://pobox.com/~warmerdam
and watch the world go round - Rush    | Geospatial Software Developer