[Board] OSGeo Elections

Mon May 21 03:13:14 PDT 2012

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Daniel,
thank you for understanding and supporting what I want to do. My
feelings are also mixed about this but as I just noted in the other
mail I have no intention of dropping the ball but rather continuing my
 activity as a common member.

I hope that my mail was not too discouraging to new directors. I
talked of a burden because I want to avoid that people step up just
because it is cool to be a director or president of OSGeo. The
coolness factor is a nice addition but it should not be the primary
motivation. So far we only had directors who really meant what they
were doing, therefore it is appropriate to give another big thanks to
all ex-directors and currently active board members! I really mean all
of them (just to make sure there is no impartiality here).

I very much thank you, Daniel, for re-running for the board and
preparing to take on another round of the rather thankless job of the
treasurer and associated work, you will get all my support. This is
not to say that there cannot be another director taking this one,
maybe someone really savvy is around and interested. (Ugh, it is so
complicated to be just and nice to everyone... :-).

Cheers,
Arnulf

On 05/18/2012 04:57 PM, Daniel Morissette wrote:
> Hi Arnulf,
> 
> I read your email with a mixed feeling. I feel that you will be
> greatly missed on the board, both for your opinions (which often
> echo'd mine) and also for your commitment to OSGeo and all the
> tasks that you used to take on and will now have to be taken over
> by other board members. Thank you very much BTW for offering to
> stick around for a bit for the transition with a new president,
> that will help a lot.
> 
> OTOH, I also understand and appreciate the reasons behind your
> decision to move on. 6 years on the board is quite impressive and
> I'd like to extend big thanks to you on behalf of myself and of the
> whole community for all your work and outstanding commitment to
> OSGeo in the past years.
> 
> With respect to the nagging feeling that some community members
> disagree with the (sometimes very tough) decisions made by the
> current board, I also have that feeling sometimes, but tend to
> remind myself that in a meritocracy, actions speak louder than
> words... this does not mean that I discard all input from the
> community (it's quite the contrary), but just that I value more the
> input that is accompanied with solutions and/or offers to help in a
> practical way. Community members should also keep in mind that
> commenting and ranting about a problem is easier than finding and
> applying a fix to it.
> 
> I will be up for re-election this year myself and plan to run again
> to continue the work that I started as treasurer, but if some
> members think that my views (about meritocracy and all) or the
> board decisions that I supported are too radical, or simply that I
> and the rest of the board are too North-American, then they should
> consider running for the board themselves or supporting other
> candidates closer to their own view. As long as I am re-elected
> then I will consider that my views are shared by those who voted
> for me and that I have their implicit support.
> 
> Finally, about the CRO role, if there is really no chance that you 
> change your mind and run for another 2 years on the board then I'm
> +1 on you taking on the CRO role. (We should really make a formal
> motion about this though.)
> 
> Cheers Arnulf and thanks again!
> 
> Daniel
> 
> 
> On 12-05-17 5:45 PM, Seven (aka Arnulf) wrote: Folks, I have been
> on the board for six consecutive years which is a long time for an
> organization that is six years old. Sort of the whole life. :-) It
> was a great pleasure working with you and making OSGeo what it is 
> now. Instead of dropping out completely I wish to continue serving
> OSGeo in my best capacities (if I got them right) as lateral
> thinker and lowest troll [0] but I would like to pass on the burden
> of being a director on the OSGeo Board.
> 
> Being president was a great experience and I have always felt
> welcomed and supported in this role, both by the board and OSGeo
> members and also by those who invited me. I will obviously complete
> all tasks which I have accepted in my role as president after my
> term ends unless the new president is keen on taking them over
> right away. For the next transition it might be a good idea to
> introduce the concept of a 'president elect' in order to avoid a
> void during transition.
> 
> There are other reasons which make me take this decision. One is a 
> nagging feeling that many in the community object to many (if not
> all) strategic decisions we took as a board. This is probably
> inevitable given the diversity of interests represented through
> OSGeo - but nonetheless it is a strain. In summary it feels like I
> am a bit worn out. And I am actually looking forward to do some
> work which for a change is honored by monetary compensation.
> 
> It took me a lot of listening to friends and thinking on my own to 
> arrive at this point but it seems to be the right thing to do.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> In my new role as outgoing director I would be happy to be CRO for
> the upcoming elections and suggest to get started asap so that we
> have enough time to run through Charter Member and Board elections
> before FOSS4G 2012. My hope is that we will receive broad support
> from around the globe and also to get some fresh faces on the
> board. If there are no objections I will set up a schedule for the
> 2012 elections and send it around for approval at the board meeting
> in three weeks.
> 
> Best regards, Arnulf.
> 
> [0] http://arnulf.us/Lowest_Troll
> 
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> 
> 

- -- 
Exploring Space, Time and Mind
http://arnulf.us
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