ANNOUNC: GRASS OGF Activities Moved/User Survey (long)

Carlo van de Rijt carlor at sci.kun.nl
Thu Jan 12 11:12:40 EST 1995



Dear Carine,

I'm happy to hear that Rutgers is willing to take over GRASS activities,
and i hope it will be successful. Although i'm not very certain about my own
future GRASS activities (i will leave my current job to search for another
in Germany), i'm very interested in the future of GRASS. For the aforementioned
reason i can not aswer questions related to the organisation i work for. Until
now i'm the only GRASS user at the university, and i doubt if anyone else will
continue to work with GRASS. In my future jobs i'm sure i will be using GRASS
again, so we'll keep in touch.

greetings,

carlo


>  Name Organization__University of Nijmegen,
 The Netherlands______________________________________
>
>
>  ___________________________________________________________
>
>
>  Address____Toernooiveld 1 _________________________________________________
>
>
>  ___________________________________________________________
>
>
>  ___________________________________________________________
>
>
>
>  __________________________________________________________
>
>
>  Country_Netherlands_____________Postal Code _6525ED___________________
>
>  Tel.
 ++3180653047____________________________Fax.__++31652409___________
>
>  Name of Person Responding Carlo van de Rijt
>
>  Title _PhD student______________________________________
>
>  email__carlor at sci.kun.nl____________________________________________________
>
>  Mosaic URL of Organization___www.sci.kun.nl_________________________________
>
>  Type of Organization: University________  National Gov't agency________
>  Individual ______State Gov't________  Local Gov't________
>  International  agency_____Commercial_______ Non-Profit________
>  School________Other__________________________________________________
>
>  GIS Software Used (please indicate number of seats or licenses) GRASS___1___
_
 _
>  Arc/Info________ ILWIS________Idrisi________ MGE________
>  AutoCad________MapInfo_______ Genasys________
>  Other__________________________________________________
>
>
>  Hardware environment used for GIS/remote sensing/GPS work
>  (please indicate general number of computers for each)
>
>
>  DOS________ MAC________ WINDOWS________SUN___1_____ DEC________
>  Silicon Graphics________LINUX_______ Intergraph________
>
>  IBM Risc 6000________Other____________________________________________
>
>  GIS/Remote Sensing Applications
>
>  Archaeology________  Biology__x______        Coastal Studies________
>  Environment__x______Military________Mapping__x______Marine______Urban____
>  Park Mgmt_______ AM/FM________ Transportation_______ Utilities________ Wildl
 ife
>  Mgmt.________ Other__________________________________________________
>   _____________________________________________________
>
>
>  What version(s) of GRASS do you currently use? __4.0_____________
>
>  How did you find out about GRASS?  Magazine (name)_________________ Friend__
 __
>  Mosaic_________ University (name)_Un. of Utrecht_________________ Other_____
______________
 __
>
>  How did you acquire GRASS? CD-ROM_____ Internet (moon)__x___ Tape______
>  Friend_____Agency_________  Other_________________________
>
>  How would you prefer to acquire GRASS in the future CD-ROM_____ Internet__x_
_
 _
>  Tape_____  Friend_____ Agency_________  Other_________________________
>  Tel. ____________________________Fax.________________________
>
>  Do you want:
>  Source code Y_x__ N___
>  Compiled code  Y___ N___  which compiled code?_________________
>  Both Y___ N___
>
>  Why do you use the GRASS GIS? Please rank from 1 to 10, meaning most importa
 nt
>  (1) to least important (10)
>
>  Cost_2____   Open Programming Environment_5___ Customer(s) use GRASS___5___ 
 Ea
 se of
>  use___5___ Agency or company mandates its use___2____
>  Specific capabilities (list)__________________________________
>  Other__________________________________________________
>  _______________________________________________________
>
>  What kind of general uses for GRASS are there at your site?
>
>  University teaching __________research___x____applications__x____
>  code development_____contracting________short courses_____
>  other__________________________________________________
>
>  If you use GRASS for teaching, what kind of
>  courses?_______________________________________________________
>
>  What other GIS/RS software do you teach
>  with?__________________________________________________________
>
>  How would you rate GRASS as a teaching GIS (on a scale of 1-10 with 1 the be
 st
>  and 10 the worst)   ____________
>
>  What do you like about teaching using GRASS?___________________
>   ______________________________________________________________
>
>  What do you not like about teaching using
>  GRASS?___________________________________________
>
>  What developments would you like to see that would help you the most in teac
 hing
>  using GRASS?____________________________________
>
>
>  _______________________________________________________
>
>  GENERAL GRASS CAPABILITIES What do you see as the best general features of
>  GRASS?____Shell scripting, raster and imagery
 programs_______________________________
>
>  _____________________________________________________
>
>  ______________________________________________________
>
>  What do you see as the worst features or greatest limitations of
>  GRASS?___RDBMS RIM
 ____________________________________________________
>
>  _______________________________________________________
>
>  _______________________________________________________
>
>  GRASS MEETINGS How should the GRASS user community address the issue of meet
 ings?
>  These cost money, and require significant administrative effort to plan and
 host.
>  We would like your ideas about how (or if) we should do future meetings.
>
>  Should there be future GRASS meetings? Yes___No___
>
>  What would most influence your decision to attend a GRASS meeting in the fut
 ure
>  (put a number in order of importance, with 1 being the most important)
>
>  cost__1__location__1__ What is your preferred location?________________
>  content and quality of papers_____Vendor booths____Seeing friends___
>  "Birds of a feather" meetings___Fun__ Hearing Scott Madry Sing_____
>
>  When would you most prefer such a meeting (month)______________
>
>
>  Would you consider hosting a future GRASS users meeting? Y__N___
>
>
>  where_________________________when_________________________
>
>
>  Would you prefer a: (please rank 1-7, with 1 being the best)
>  Stand-alone GRASS users meeting_______ Regional mtgs.____
>  Joint meeting with URISA_______ASPRS_____GIS/LIS_______
>  European meeting__1_____ Asian/Pacific rim meeting_________
>  Other___________________________________________________
>
>  GRASSCLIPPINGS ISSUES In the past, there has been a color newsletter/magazin
 e
>  dealing with GRASS, funded partly through paid advertisements.  Rutges wants
 to
>  produce a "virtual GRASSCLIPPINGS" as a mosaic home page on the internet. Yo
 ur
>  comments are requested.
>
>  Do you like the idea of a Mosaic-based "Virtual GRASSCLIPPINGS" magazine on
 the
>  Internet? Y__x_ N___
>
>  Do you currently have a Mosaic home page URL that could be "connected"?
>  Yes______No_____
>  If yes, please list it:____________________________________________
>
>
>  Provide the email address of the person responsible for it
>  ___________________________________________________________
>
>  Would you be willing to provide articles/papers/news/etc. via Mosaic for the
>  Virtual Clippings? Yes_x___  No____ Explain__________________________
>
>  Do you have a better name for the new electronic
>  Clippings?___________________________________________________________
>
>
>  How do we serve those without Mosaic
>  capability_Postscript documents on ftp server_______
>
>
>  GRASS USERS GROUP ISSUES In the past, the official functions of organizing G
 RASS
>  activities have been handled by the Open GRASS Foundation. Now that the OGF
 is
>  gone, we should discuss the future of the grass users group.  We want to pro
 pose
>  that we create a new organization to coordinate GRASS-related activities.
>
>  Should there be a new GRASS Users Organization? Y_x__ N___
>
>
>  Do you have a suggestion for a name for the new GRASS users
>  group____________________________________________________________
>
>
>  Should this new organization be :
>
>  a legal entity (non-profit corporation, etc.)? Y___ N___
>  a loosely organized user group Y___ N___
>  other structure____________________________________________
>  Don't really care _x____
>
>
>  Do we need to form a new GRASS users group Steering Committee
>  Y__x_ N___
>
>  Would you be willing to participate in a meaningful way (meaning time and ef
 fort)
>  by serving on a Steering Committee? Y_x_ N__
>
>  Can I put your name on a list that will be posted on grass-l to be voted on
 by
>  the community within the next month or so. Y x__ N__
>
>  It costs money to provide many of the services that have been available to t
 he
>  GRASS community in the past. How should we (or should we) consider raising f
 unds
>  for future GRASS activities?
>
>  Would you pay individual membership dues? Y_x___ N____
>  How much would you be willing to pay per year  $_50________
>  Should ther be a group or organizational membership? Y___ N_x__
>  How much would your organization be willing to pay per year ? $_0_____
>  Should we try to get grants to fund GRASS activities from standard granting
>  organizations Y_x__ N___
>  Which ones?______________________________
>  Other ________________________
>  Don't feel the need to raise funds_____
>
>  GRASS DISTRIBUTION AND RELEASE ISSUES
>
>  GRASS currently resides in the public domain, with free access to source cod
 e
>  available on the internet. This is one of its great strengths. CD-ROMs and
>  documentation are available for nominal cost from Rutgers, and there are
>  commercial spin-off versions that are available. Primary development and rel
 ease
>  coordination costs are significant, and are still provided by CERL (and othe
 rs).
>  If this model changes, how would you like to see GRASS distribution and rele
 ase
>  coordination (which costs real money and staff) handled in the future after
 the
>  5.0 release (please rate 1-10, with 1 being the most preferable, and 10 bein
 g
>   the least).
>
>  __x_ As is, in the public domain, with source available on the internet for
>  free, source and compiled code available on CD-ROM and manuals available for
 a
>  small fee.
>
>  ___Stop public domain status with 5.0, and transition GRASS to an "IDRISI" l
 ike
>  model, with Rutgers providing all support, new development, documentation, n
 ew
>  ports, etc. for a reasonable fee per release.
>
>  What is a reasonable fee for each new release for such a complete
>  product/service?
>  Academic US $ 100_________    Commercial US $ 100_________
>  Academic US $ 300_________    Commercial US $ 300_________
>  Academic US $ 500_________    Commercial US $ 500_________
>  Academic US $ 1,000_________  Commercial US $ 1,000_________
>  Other US $ _________________
>
>  Other proposed model___________________________________________________
>
>  GRASS DEVELOPMENT ISSUES The GRASS community includes a large number of
>  technical development sites around the world. The issue of how (or if) we
>  should coordinate GRASS development in the wider international community alo
 ng
>  with the two primary development sites (USA/CERL and USDA SCS) should be
>  considered, especially if or
>  when they reduce their development activities significantly.
>
>  Should future GRASS development be coordinated? Y_x__ N___
>
>  What are the five most important GRASS development areas that need to be
>  addressed (what does GRASS most need that it doesn't have now)?
>
>  1)___________________________________________________________
>  2)___________________________________________________________
>  3)___________________________________________________________
>  4)___________________________________________________________
>  5)___________________________________________________________
>
>  Would you or your facility be interested in participating in a new GRASS
>  development consortium or group that will serve as a clearinghouse for
>  coordinating and sharing development activities.  Y___ N___
>
>  How should such a consortium be aranged to produce future GRASS releases bey
 ond
>  version 5.0 if CERL/SCS no longer supports future releases? How can the
>  responsibilities and costs be shared?_________________________________
>  ___________________________________________________________
>
>  Would you be willing to support a site at your facility that would be
>  responsible for grass ports and configuration maintenance for a particular
>  HW/OS configuration? Y__ N__
>  If yes, what configuration? _______________________________
>
>  CERL currently maintains the "moon" server that contains the GRASS source co
 de,
>  documentation, etc. While there is no immediate intention at CERL to stop, i
 t
>  is realistic to assume that this arrangement will not continue indefinately.
 If
>  CERL decides to stop maintaining the server in the future, what would you
>  suggest as an alternative?
>
>  _____Find a new site to maintain the public domain server
>  (Apx. 1 full time system manager time and cost, plus equipment)
>
>  How would such a site be funded?______________________
>
>  Would you be willing to provide (and fund) such a site at your
 
>  facility? Y__ N__
>
>  _____Find a new site to maintain a server that would charge some access fee.
 
>  What charge would be acceptable? US$ _____________
>
>  _____Stop the maintenance of a centralized server
>
>  Other___________________________________________________________
>
>  Thank you very much for your input into this process. We at Rutgers are very
 
>  excited about beginning this new chapter in the GRASS story, and we will do
>  everyting we can to make it a success. We will be collecting your responses
 and
>  putting them on grass-l in the near future. Feel free to contact us at any
>  time.
>
>  Scott Madry, Associate Director
>  Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis
>  Rutgers University
>  tel (908) 932-1581/2  fax (908) 932-8746
>  madry at ocean.rutgers.edu
>       or
>  Carine O'Neil, GRASS Coordinator
>  same address
>  tel (908) 932-1582    same fax#
>  coneil at ocean.rutgers.edu
>



Carlo van de Rijt
Dept. of Ecology
University of Nijmegen
The Netherlands
Tel. ++31-80653047
Fax. ++31-80553450




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