[GRASS-dev] Re: [OTT_OSGEO] Re: [GRASS-user] GRASS Project Steering Committee (PSC) Nominations [Amendments]

[Scott Mitchell]

The issue with a PSC is probably not so much the membership, in that  
first we need consensus that there should/will be a PSC, and then how  
it will come into being.  I do appreciate you bringing this up, Dave,  
as it has spurred me (and hopefully some others) to go back and re- 
read past posts on the issue.

 From having done so, I agree that there is general consensus from  
those that have posted on the issue, but that there are also concerns  
with specifics of the formation and/or decision making procedure.  I  
don't have any issue with the process as it has been discussed, and  
agree that we need suggestions for alternatives from those that do  
have issues.

For those that don't know me (I'm relatively quiet on the list):   
this is all from the perspective of someone who is a long time GRASS  
user (from version 4.1), that has had to admit to himself in the past  
couple of years that he is not going to find the time to contribute  
significantly to code development, despite having had a lot of fun  
playing with programming as a grad student.  I have a large stake in  
the future of GRASS in terms of academic research and teaching, so am  
working to increase contribution in the training and outreach areas.   
I can read the code, but am too rusty to be writing it ! :)

But back on topic - the most active programmers are making a great  
effort to get the new release out, and this is definitely appreciated  
by the greater community.  This decision-making issue has longer term  
implications, and while it shouldn't be taken lightly nor rashly, I  
think it's in everyone's interest to get it settled.  So I hope we  
can keep the issue moving forward.

So my purpose here is to declare my support for the formation of a  
steering committee, and full participation in OSGEO.  I too had  
concerns about the copyright transfer issues early on, but this seems  
to have been taken care of.  I think we should be able to agree on a  
structure that will maintain the spirit of open, informal  
collaboration and wide-open potential input, but still have a   
management structure that is formal enough to be considered viable by  
OSGEO.  I won't go into details since there's extensive discussion in  
the archives already, and I think that the main issue is probably to  
rationalize different viewpoints already expressed.

For those that haven't read past discussions already, or want a  
refresher, see (at least):

http://grass.itc.it/pipermail/grass5/2006-April/022429.html
and
http://grass.itc.it/pipermail/grass5/2006-April/022501.html

Despite my declaration that it's probably not the "real" issue, I'm  
quite happy to support all of these nominations for a steering  
committee...

>
Michael Barton +1
Hamish Bowman  +1
Brad Douglas   +1
Paul Kelly     +1
Markus Neteler +1
Cedric Shock   +1
Venkatesh Raghavan +1
Roger Bivand +1
Paolo Zatelli +1

The number of committee members is another open issue - MAYBE the  
potential committee is getting big, but I would add a nomination for  
Helena Mitasova.  If this has already happened and you've declined,  
sorry, I missed that in reviewing the archives.  Helena has been  
involved in the GRASS community for as long as I can remember, is a  
passionate advocate, and contributes greatly to the consensus-seeking  
discussions on the development list in our informal current  
approach.  She has research and development partnerships in various  
labs around the world that have used GRASS in their research and  
contributed improvements to GRASS capabilities and performance back  
into the code base for all to share.  A perfect example of the open  
source model ! :)

I know you're trying to reduce the cross posting, but since I'm not  
currently subscribed to the user's list, this probably won't get  
through there - so I'm addressing the dev list too.

Cheers,
Scott

----
Scott Mitchell, Assistant Professor, Carleton University
Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, Loeb B443A
& Geomatics and Landscape Ecology Research Laboratory, Nesbitt 340
Mailing:  Loeb B349, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6 Canada
+1-613-520-2600 x2695 Fax: +1-613-520-4301 Scott_Mitchell at carleton.ca