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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">Matthew, I think that you are on the
right track here.<br>
We should ensure there is an expectation that if volunteers step
up and help you get your conference going, then at some point you
will give back in a similar way, maybe afterwards to another
conference.<br>
This should be matched by ensuring the process to contribute is
not seen as daunting, and there is a clear path for people to get
involved. Very often the most effective contributors are people
who start an email by saying something like:<br>
"I am a simple community member at large who enjoyed the Denver
conference. ..."<br>
<br>
On 18/08/2012 6:54 AM, Matthew Syphus wrote:<br>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">The
point would be to generate an open (even written)
expectation that the help afforded will go both ways. The
local/regional entity knows it going in and OSGeo has a
specific group (not person) to call on to help with FOSS4G
tasks, (as well as public community requests). Yes, it
rests mostly on personal feeling of obligation. No, there
is no OSGeo retribution (except perhaps for future event
sponsoring). Some individuals will not participate, for
reasons good or bad, but I think the net effect is that more
people would end up helping FOSS4G. (Y was expected, X
never happened, Y-X >= 0.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">By
volunteer I mean:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Unpaid<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">Individual
decides precisely what they can/will do<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">No
single individual is assigned a specific job<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">No
individual has a specific time requirement<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D">No
legal enforcement<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1F497D"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">From:</span></b><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"">
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:david.bitner@gmail.com">david.bitner@gmail.com</a> [<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:david.bitner@gmail.com">mailto:david.bitner@gmail.com</a>] <b>On
Behalf Of </b>David William Bitner<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Friday, August 17, 2012 2:27 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Matthew Syphus<br>
<b>Cc:</b> Cameron Shorter; Frank Warmerdam;
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:conference_dev@lists.osgeo.org">conference_dev@lists.osgeo.org</a><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [OSGeo-Conf] Analysing the downfall of
FOSS4G 2011<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">On Fri, Aug 17, 2012 at 3:12 PM, Matthew
Syphus <<a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:MSyphus@lhtac.org" target="_blank">MSyphus@lhtac.org</a>>
wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:12.0pt">Cameron,<br>
<br>
I am a simple community member at large who enjoyed the
Denver<br>
conference. I like your perspective regarding more
volunteers as a<br>
result of helping smaller events. My thought is: can you
add some sort<br>
of volunteer requirement as a condition of having OSGeo help
with an<br>
event?<o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class="MsoNormal">You can never categorically count on
volunteer effort in the future. "volunteer requirement" is
an oxymoron. I don't say this to be flippant, but as
someone who has worked for many years with volunteer
communities. Volunteers in any group come and go, I have
often seen some of the most dedicated volunteers in a
group simply drop off the face of the planet because they
got burnt out, had personal issues, or even just that they
got bored or found something else they thought was more
worth their time. We should certainly do everything we can
to encourage those with experience to hang around and to
share their experience forward, but it is simply not
practical to establish this as a hard expectation.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<br>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Cameron Shorter
Geospatial Solutions Manager
Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254
Think Globally, Fix Locally
Geospatial Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and Open Source
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.lisasoft.com">http://www.lisasoft.com</a>
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