[OSGeo-Conf] Re: FOSS4G

[Frank Warmerdam]

On 10/2/07, Frank Warmerdam <warmerdam at pobox.com> wrote:
> Folks,
>
> An old associate of mine wrote me the following notes on the
> conference (slightly abbreviated) which I thought I would pass on
> as a single "data point".
>
> > Hi Frank,
> >
> > I enjoyed the FOSS4G Conference.
> ...
> > I was impressed with the Conference, especially with the organization,
> > the efficiency of the volunteers and the generally high quality of the
> > presentations.  It was especially helpful that the session chairs kept
> > things very closely on track as far as timing. This is especially
> > important when there are many parallel sessions.
> >
> > Having been involved in the organization of many international
> > conferences during my career, I thought I could make a few
> > observations/suggestions:
> >
> > I thought the opening reception was disorganized. I guess this is OK,
> > but it should have been clear on the website and in the program that
> > this was just a suggested place for an informal gathering.  At most
> > conferences I have attended, this reception is sponsored either by some
> > organization (government, company) or the exhibitors (the cost being
> > included in their booth registration). Just an idea for the future.
> >
> > I was really unable to find out how, where, or when papers might be
> > available.  In the instructions to authors, it is recommended that
> > papers be uploaded to your web site, but no indication to the attendees
> > as to where and when these might be viewed and/or downloaded.  Many
> > conferences today require full manuscripts to be submitted before the
> > conference date and proceedings available upon registration (today CD or
> > DVD would probably be more appropriate than hard copy).
> >
> > The opening session was generally very good. The keynote speaker was
> > SUPERB!!!  I don't think I have ever heard a keynote presentation as
> > interesting and entertaining as this one.
> >
> > I was impressed that you were able to plan the conference so that most
> > people would really stay till the closing plenary. This is usually a
> > problem with most conferences -- people start drifting away the day
> > before the closing. However, I was quite disappointed in the Panel --
> > perhaps it was the accents, or poor use of microphones, poor sound
> > system (though it worked well on the opening day) or just my
> > deteriorating hearing ability -- but I found it very difficult to
> > understand what most of the panelists and moderator were saying, and it
> > did not seem that informative anyway.
> >
> > One of my biggest challenges was selecting which of the parallel
> > sessions to attend.
> ...
>
> --
> ---------------------------------------+--------------------------------------
> 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 Programmer for Rent
>


-- 
---------------------------------------+--------------------------------------
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 Programmer for Rent