[OSGeo-Discuss] Reflections on resignations, mergers & the soul of OSGeo

[Dirk Frigne]

yes we can :-)
D.
On 16-09-14 11:08, Jo Cook wrote:
> Hi Steven, Board and Discuss List,
>
> Well said. 
>
> I'm going to add another point to this, which is that to my mind OSGeo
> is becoming a victim of it's own success- in that the projects it
> nurtured and helped to grow have indeed grown, to the poinst where
> they are far better known than the organisation. I've worried about
> this for a while- I talk to people about open source geospatial and
> everyone knows what I'm talking about, but I mention OSGeo and no one
> has a clue. So great that we (collectively as a community and not just
> OSGeo) have made the projects a sucess but what's the future for the
> organisation itself?
>
> So.. basically this is a +1 for a deep breath and a thought about
> where we want OSGeo to go, but... we keep having these discussions-
> year on year and to my mind we're not making a lot of progress. Can we
> make this year the one where we do come up with a new plan?
>
> Jo
>
> On Tue, Sep 16, 2014 at 9:46 AM, Steven Feldman <shfeldman at gmail.com
> <mailto:shfeldman at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     The last few weeks there have been several threads running on the
>     mailing lists, rather than trying to reply in line to each of them
>     I want to draw out a theme that seems apparent to me as a relative
>     newcomer to the OSGeo community.
>
>     We are facing the challenges of success or what could be described
>     as growing pains. 
>
>     We have recently had debates over the role of the president, the
>     election of charter members and board members, references to
>     factions forming and off list conversations, a discussion about
>     the need for change in the way we organise FOSS4G’s (and believe
>     me as a recent past chair of a LOC, we need to make this easier)
>     and their purpose (fund raising vs community building) has somehow
>     morphed into a row over our relationship with LocationTech and in
>     the last couple of days a committed member of the board has
>     resigned. These are all indicative of a conversation that we need
>     to have about the role and future of OSGeo.
>
>     Why do we need an OSGeo (or a LocationTech)? There are loads of
>     reasons (but not for a short mail) and we as the OSGeo community
>     need to set out the options for our organisation, articulate a
>     clear vision for the next few years and find a way to broaden
>     discussion to a wider group than the small number of individuals
>     who have been active on the lists in the last couple of months,
>     there were over 800 people at each of the last 2 FOSS4G’s (massive
>     respect to the 2014 team) how do we engage with them to understand
>     their needs and aspirations. 
>
>     If we can agree on a clear vision for OSGeo including whether we
>     want to continue being a solely volunteer run organisation or
>     whether there is a need for some other model to deliver on our
>     aspirations then we can work out how we can cooperate with
>     LocationTech or if there is benefit from some closer relationship. 
>
>     Open Source engenders passion, we care about this stuff massively,
>     and sometimes that may lead those of us with strong opinions to
>     become critical of each other. It’s time to take a deep breath.
>     ______
>     Steven
>
>
>
>     _______________________________________________
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>     Discuss at lists.osgeo.org <mailto:Discuss at lists.osgeo.org>
>     http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>
>
>
>
> -- 
> *Jo Cook*
> Astun Technology Ltd, The Coach House, 17 West Street, Epsom, Surrey,
> KT18 7RL, UK
> t:+44 7930 524 155
> iShare - Data integration and publishing platform
> <http://www.isharemaps.com/>
>
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-- 
Yours sincerely,


ir. Dirk Frigne
CEO

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