[FOSS4G2017] Back from Bonn! On to Boston for 2017

[Jeff McKenna]

Hi Michael,

Welcome back.

I am also happy to see some action here publicly, which is very 
important, to generate interest.  I did send some tips in my 'next 
steps' message, but wanted to wait to provide more feedback once the 
local committee becomes more visible (hence I didn't respond to 
Heather's committee ideas recently, which I almost did minutes after she 
posted her questions, in hopes that one of you would jump in, and I'm 
happy to see that Guido did today) - so I'm very happy to see you here. 
If I may make some more suggestions:

- you will notice the lull this week of #foss4g news, after 2016, which 
is exactly as I predicted as the perfect time for the Twitter @foss4g 
handle switchover (and therefore the official handing of the FOSS4G 
torch).  Please let me know if you need the master password for the 
account, I still have it I believe, but please ask Till directly as that 
is more proper.

- I would suggest that you start 'opening' the work that the local 
committee is doing, and posting and sharing the committee progress and 
ideas, through the OSGeo wiki.  You could have each committee chair, as 
Heather did for the Kids Map Gallery committee, create a wiki page with 
status and plans and timelines etc, and then share that to the whole 
community here for input, as she has done.   As conference chair you 
could also start using the wiki to share input on timeline (for example 
2016 timeline draft by their committee at 
https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G_2016_Timelines

- I was thinking of calling a local committee meeting and anyone who is 
interested, for next week in the #foss4g IRC channel (again, you don't 
need any account, or software, just need a web browser and it will take 
you direct to the channel at 
http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=foss4g).   You could create a wiki 
page, to outline the agenda (similar to how the 2016 committee did at 
https://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G_2016_Meeting_minutes).  Again, it may 
not be your favorite hangout-ish cool tools, but it is all open and 
anyone can join and share the passion, with logs.  It would be great if 
you could call the meeting instead, and announce it here, so everyone 
can join - then those meetings could happen once every 2 weeks or so, 
then ramp up for once a week as the event approaches - trust me, these 
open meetings will become your lifeline.  Or let me know and I can this 
first meeting up, draft the wiki page of agenda, pick a time (using 
timeanddate.com so international attendees know the time), and send out 
the meeting announcement here, and you could take over for the next 
meetings, and I can fade away into the clouds ha.

- I am of course very familiar with the hesitation by past local 
committees, to use the open communication, to not share ideas on lessons 
learned wiki, to not save/archive their files and icons and drafts in 
svn, and to say 'oh we'll just give you a dump of the conversations 
after the event' - that is useless, as you can imagine, for future 
committees to see, for the community to offer help and input along the 
way.  That is why I push so hard at the beginning, to every local 
committee (ask the past chairs, like Steven, like Darrell, like Sanghee, 
like Till, like Gavin, like Claude, like Cameron, like Peter, like Paul, 
like Lorenzo - some outright detested me at this early stage and shunned 
my help, and they can all tell you how annoying i am sometimes. But i am 
every year here at the early stage, with no agenda or funding, before a 
public email list is set up, helping to set up the lists, asking to join 
private discussions, getting turned down, keep moving forward trying to 
push open planning - so hey, I've been here before ha, and this won't be 
the last time :)  Those same chairs will also tell you how I did fade 
away later, after things got moving in motion, and did not interfere any 
more.  (in case you wonder where this ends or goes ha)  It's your event, 
you were awarded it, I'm just here to help give advice, arguably with no 
title to my name, but it is optional to follow the advice of course.

- I still believe we must get moving publicly.  We are now almost in 
October, and early August comes fast, now faster than usual.  Let me 
know if you need help in finding a home for the next website version, or 
need access to OSGeo git or something to make it easier for your team to 
share the code with the design team (using those repositories makes it 
easier to push code onto the public server and for developers to pull in 
the latest code, as you know).

- I've noticed recently some new branding of a 'co-chair' for 2017 (this 
was not in your proposal).   I've mentioned this before, to other past 
local committees and potential bidders (I have the archive links if you 
need), where I explain how having a co-chair is confusing and cannot 
work for a FOSS4G.  At this early stage it may seem to make sense to 
share the load with 2 people, but as the event approaches, especially, 
people will be looking to the/ *the* FOSS4G chair for leadership, and 
expect it to come from one person.  Having one chair makes things more 
clear, of where to turn to for final decisions in the very lead up to 
the event in those times of stress and deadlines, and also pays off in 
terms of media and access and clarity.  I say this with not a single 
person in mind, for 2017, just that it should be said.

I hope that this e-mail of advice can be taken with no offense, with no 
underlying agenda, but to be taken just for the good spirit of FOSS4G, 
and help making FOSS4G Boston great.

Short story again: welcome back!  :)

-jeff





On 2016-09-14 2:46 PM, Michael Terner wrote:
> Guido and I returned from the terrific Bonn Conference and learned a ton
> and were inspired and filled with good ideas for Boston. The blog below
> captures some of these feelings:
>
> http://www.appgeo.com/blog/picked-pieces-global-2017-foss4g-conference-bonn-germany/
>
> ​The size of this list is growing rapidly following Bonn and the meeting
> cadence of our LOC will accelerate​ through the end of the year. There
> will be more activity and as a result more posts to this list. We want
> to keep you all informed and engaged.
>
> Michael & Guido
> Co-Chairs FOSS4G Boston 2017
>
>
> 2016 Chair, Till Adams sincerely thanking his LOC and volunteers on the
> last day:
> Inline image 1
>
>
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