[OSGeo-Conf] R: Start 2019 RFP / Board discussion about RFP for FOSS4G-2019

Mon Sep 4 08:52:06 PDT 2017

+1
Maria

Inviato dal mio dispositivo Samsung

-------- Messaggio originale --------
Da: Peter Batty <peter at ebatty.com>
Data: 04/09/17 17:10 (GMT+01:00)
A: conference <conference_dev at lists.osgeo.org>
Oggetto: Re: [OSGeo-Conf] Start 2019 RFP / Board discussion about RFP for FOSS4G-2019

+1 on allowing bidders flexibility on the dates that they propose.

On Mon, Sep 4, 2017 at 12:31 AM, Till Adams <till.adams at fossgis.de<mailto:till.adams at fossgis.de>> wrote:
+1 - fully agreed. So we wil lhint on our regular time period, but let the bidding teams propose their favoured times.

I just wanted to start a discussion around this and detect the opinions around that.

(Now knowing, that also is an option in the meaning of some members of CC, I feel less guilty because we @Bonn started this August-dates ;-))

Till

Am 03.09.2017 19:59, schrieb Steven Feldman:
+1 to everything MT has said below re dates

I’d also add that moving to September may well mean a clash with the Jewish High Holy Days which often land in September or early October. No date choice works for everyone!

Let’s live the choice of date open to bidders and ask them to give some explanation of the reason for their choice and the outline  possible options to move to another date/venue at a different cost (if any)
______
Steven

On 3 Sep 2017, at 18:29, Michael Terner <mgt at appgeo.com<mailto:mgt at appgeo.com>> wrote:

Just one note on dates coming in the wake of Boston where we heard loud, and often about our mid-August time period. And, as has been pointed out, this timing did not deter our ability to attract a record number of delegates:

  1.  No time period is good for everyone. Some people are on vacation in August. Other people have significant academic calendar challenges with September. There will always be some people disappointed/frustrated by a given date. I do not believe it is in the best interest of the conference to declare that August vacations are more/less important than other legitimate conflicts with other time periods.
  2.  At least in the US, there are significant cost and availability variations between August and September/October. Boston would have been a more expensive conference, with more expensive lodging had it been held in September.
  3.  Indeed, while August does mean that some people who are on vacation cannot come, it is likely that it also opened up an ability for others to come who might not have been able to make a September date (hence the good attendance figures from the past 2 August conferences).

>From my vantage, it is OK to have a conference that moves around an August - October time period. The specific conference date is chosen by the CC/Board and based on what was proposed. I do not believe it is in the best long term interest of the conference to have iron-clad limits on what might be proposed.

Reading from afar, it looks like very good work, with predictable challenges attempting to be addressed (i.e., cost containment; data selection; etc.). Best of luck in getting the RFP for 2019 on the street.

MT

On Fri, Sep 1, 2017 at 2:33 PM, Cameron Shorter <cameron.shorter at gmail.com<mailto:cameron.shorter at gmail.com>> wrote:
Till,

Thanks so much for taking the lead on this. In our do-ocracy your vote counts for much.

Re selecting dates, I agree we have diverse opinions on dates and are not likely to agree, but lets not have our committee members select a conference venue based on date proposed, (which might be the case if the opinions voiced here is the case). It is not fair to the cities putting in proposals.

We should collectively work out our opinion as a committee, and provide that information to proposers. Maybe do a poll of voting committee members for date ranges, and present that information to proposing cities.

On 31/8/17 11:58 pm, Till Adams wrote:
Hi CC,

based on the discussion that already took pace in the past 2 hours, I think we will not find an agreement, that satisfies everybody here. I'd suggest to follow Steven (let the bidding teams suggest their prefered date) and add a comment, that teams should line out, what an alternative date would mean in sight of costs or other circumstances (in Bonn they tourist office simply told me, that they could not block as many accommodations as needed).

So, if a bidding team suggests a date, that lies in "normal" holiday periods (I know, that holidays vary from year to year, in Germany they do it for every state every year), we could please them to briefly line out what an alternative date in, let's say, September would mean.

I'd more prefer, if anybody from CC (except Steven, he is on holidays ;-)) could make comments on my time schedule for the RFP... ;-)

Till

Am 31.08.2017 15<tel:31.08.2017%2015>:51, schrieb Dirk Frigne:
IMHO was Bonn (2016) during the last week of August. Boston (2017) was
August 15, which is a holiday and in the middle of the holiday season.

my2c.

btw, how many visitors where in Boston?

On 31-08-17 15:17, Bart van den Eijnden wrote:
Several members of our community have pointed out that it is an issue
for them to attend, e.g. Jeroen Ticheler pointed this out before. For me
this is the same, I normally can't attend a conference in the school
vacation. Boston wasn't possible. Bonn was barely possible because
schools had just started that week (but some years school vacation will
be until early September even due to regional rotation).

Looking at attendance figures and saying it's no big issue doesn't
really give the right attention to the problem IMHO.

Also even if the venue might be cheaper, I'm sure flights and
accommodation will be expensive in the European holiday season.

Best regards,

Bart

On 31-08-17 15:03, Steven Feldman wrote:
2016 was in august and attracted 940/950 people
2017 was in august and attracted 1140 people
That's record attendance 2 years running (in August)

Doesn't look like August is a big issue for us in the northern
hemisphere.
I also heard from some of the organisers that they were able to obtain
lower rates for venues in August

I think we should leave it to LOCs to propose the dates that work for
them based on regional holiday patterns, pricing, weather and any
other constraints they may have

Now I'm going back to my end of august holiday ;)

Steven

On 31 Aug 2017, at 13:15, María Arias de Reyna <delawen at gmail.com<mailto:delawen at gmail.com>> wrote:

Also I can imagine of editing the section regarding the conference
dates:
I think we just have s.t.h like a target timeperiod (Sept-Oct), but we
should hint bidding teams, that they may choose the best and/or
maybe also
cheaper period around this target period. On the other hand, I also
know,
that there have been some problems for people attending the
conferences in
2016 and 2017 that took place in holiday-pregnant August, so maybe
we can
also have a discussion whether we can/will allow people to have their
conference in August?
I think this is very important. Having the conference during the
northern summer may look appealing to people that go to conferences as
if they were holidays. But for people that need to take care of their
family or people that just want to enjoy their holidays disconnecting
from work, this is a major issue.
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