[Board] FOSS4G Regional Events

Tue Jul 23 15:55:34 PDT 2013

(Retitling this email thread as I don't believe it is relevant to the 
FOSS4G global decision).

Hi David,
I think you are touching on the subtle difference between "OSGeo 
support" vs "OSGeo control" of regional FOSS4G events.
As you are hinting at, "Support" is welcome, "Control" is not. Ie, OSGeo 
should aim to collect a repository of wisdom and best practices, which 
regional conferences can draw upon, but still give regional conferences 
the flexibility to be creative and innovative and do things differently 
if they wish.

With regards to city selection for FOSS4G-NA, I agree that it should be 
up to the region to decide the process for selecting the city.

On 23/07/2013 10:36 PM, David William Bitner wrote:
> The precedence to date has been that the regional events are events 
> selected and organized by the regions at a bit of an arms length from 
> OSGeo International. FOSS4G-NA in Minneapolis did not have the 
> resources to operate without OSGeo as a financial backstop (note we 
> just needed the "insurance"  of a financial backstop, not any up-front 
> thanks to the FOSS4G-NA organizers in DC).
>
> If OSGeo is going to get in the business of selecting the locations 
> for any of these regionals, in my opinion, OSGeo better be willing to 
> step up to play a much more active role in these events. The direction 
> from OSGeo to these regional events has been wishy-washy at best. I 
> think that OSGeo needs a real strategy for these events. FOSS4G-NA is 
> not a consolation prize, it is an event thrown by and for the NA 
> community with a focus on the issues of that region.
>
> If the OSGeo Board and the Conf Comm believe that an LOC needs more 
> experience, I think it is reasonable to encourage them to bid for a 
> regional event as things are run right now.
>
> David
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 22, 2013 at 11:50 PM, Cameron Shorter 
> <cameron.shorter at gmail.com <mailto:cameron.shorter at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     Hi Mark,
>     I do like your proposal of 1st place being awarded FOSS4G Global,
>     and 2nd place being offered FOSS4G-NA the following year.
>
>     However, I'm not sure who will be responsible for selecting the
>     FOSS4G-NA city, or what process is in place (if any) for selecting
>     a FOSS4G-NA city. If someone following this thread is in the know,
>     I'd encourage you to speak up.
>
>
>     On 23/07/2013 12:01 PM, Mark Lucas wrote:
>>     Sounds like we are making up the rules as we go along.  I think
>>     we either have a board vote or not.  If someone wants to abstain
>>     because they believe they have a conflict of interest that should
>>     be their personal decision.
>>
>>     I'd like to find a way to select one as the international
>>     conference and let the other organize as a regional.
>>
>>     I'd really like to find a way to build up OSGeo revenues through
>>     some of the regional conferences as well.  Perhaps as simple as
>>     when they need OSGeo financial backing we work a division of profits.
>>
>>     First step is simply selecting the international venue.
>>
>>     Mark
>>
>>
>>     On Jul 22, 2013, at 8:36 AM, Daniel Morissette
>>     <dmorissette at mapgears.com <mailto:dmorissette at mapgears.com>> wrote:
>>
>>>     On 13-07-22 8:33 AM, Bart van den Eijnden wrote:
>>>>     Right, this makes sense Arnulf.
>>>>
>>>>     My concern was merely that if there is one proposal with "broad
>>>>     support"
>>>>     (a.k.a. conflict of interest), and all those people step out of
>>>>     voting
>>>>     (both on the conf committee as on the board), the vote will be very
>>>>     skewed. This is exactly what Daniel has pointed out.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>     BTW, I believe Mark Lucas is on the DC LOC so we'd lose him as
>>>     well for the vote unless I'm mistaken.
>>>
>>>
>>>     -- 
>>>     Daniel Morissette
>>>     http://www.mapgears.com/
>>>     Provider of Professional MapServer Support since 2000
>>>
>>>     _______________________________________________
>>>     Board mailing list
>>>     Board at lists.osgeo.org <mailto:Board at lists.osgeo.org>
>>>     http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/board
>>
>>
>>
>>     _______________________________________________
>>     Board mailing list
>>     Board at lists.osgeo.org  <mailto:Board at lists.osgeo.org>
>>     http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/board
>
>
>     -- 
>     Cameron Shorter
>     Software and Data Solutions Manager
>     Tel:+61 (0)2 8570 5050  <tel:%2B61%20%280%292%208570%205050>
>     Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254 <tel:%2B61%20%280%29419%20142%20254>
>
>
>     Think Globally, Fix Locally
>     Geospatial & Data Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and Open Source
>     http://www.lisasoft.com
>
>
>     _______________________________________________
>     Board mailing list
>     Board at lists.osgeo.org <mailto:Board at lists.osgeo.org>
>     http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/board
>
>
>
>
> -- 
> ************************************
> David William Bitner
> dbSpatial LLC
> 612-424-9932

-- 
Cameron Shorter
Software and Data Solutions Manager
Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254

Think Globally, Fix Locally
Geospatial & Data Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and Open Source
http://www.lisasoft.com

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/board/attachments/20130724/68493c40/attachment.htm>