[Journal] FOSS4G 2011 Special Edition

Michael P. Gerlek mpg at flaxen.com
Wed Sep 28 10:55:08 EDT 2011 

How many articles per issue, and how many issues per year, have you done historically?

-mpg


> -----Original Message-----
> From: newsletter-bounces at lists.osgeo.org [mailto:newsletter-bounces at lists.osgeo.org] On Behalf Of Sunburned Surveyor
> Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2011 7:32 AM
> To: OSGeo Journal
> Subject: Re: [Journal] FOSS4G 2011 Special Edition
> 
> It seems hard to get enough volunteer support for the Journal as it
> stands. I fear splitting it into two (2) separate publications, one a
> magazine and the other an academic journal, would make this situation
> even worse.
> 
> I'm not from academia, but I know getting articles publishes in peer
> reviewed journals is important for those with academic careers, so let
> me ask this question:
> 
> Would it seriously damage the value of having a peer reviewed journal
> published in the OSGeo Journal if we had ads? I'm not talking about
> sleezy ads for presecription drugs form some crime mafia drug lab. I'm
> thinking of adds from quality companies offering services related to
> programming and GIS.
> 
> If ads would damage the value of peer review publishing in the
> journal, we could shoot for an annual peer reviewed issue with no ads
> in which we ask the authors for a donation to help fund the journal.
> The other "regular" issues could carry ads.
> 
> I still think there is an advantage to having the ability to print
> peer reviewed articles in any journal issue, as that will allow them
> to be printed more frequently. I really believe there is a great
> opportunity to allow researchers to publish their work on open source
> geospatial software in our Journal, and I think it is important that
> we provide them with that opportunity. If we can find a way to make
> that work with some dignified ads, that is the way I would prefer to
> move forward.
> 
> If doesn't sound like the Board is going to be strongly for or against
> us. We carry the OSGeo name, so we have to tread with some degree of
> caution.
> 
> I'll give others a chance to comment. I'd especially like to hear from
> Daniel and others from academia. After we've had some discussion, we
> can think about approaching the board about ads. If they give the
> green light, we can put together a small group to come up with an
> advertising policy that works for our academic contributors.
> 
> On a related note: I don't have a problem asking anyone, including the
> authors of peer-reviewed journals or our readers, for some
> contributions. If OSGeo finally has official non-profit status, we
> could also think about getting some corporate sponsors.
> 
> Landon
> 
> On Wed, Sep 28, 2011 at 12:45 AM, Yann Chemin <yann.chemin at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I just got your email... was thinking on similar lines :)
> >
> > On 28 September 2011 13:11, Yann Chemin <yann.chemin at gmail.com> wrote:
> >> The "Journal" moved slowly from GRASS Newsletter to OSGEO Journal I
> >> believe, and there was much efforts to include more peer-reviewed
> >> articles with time. There is benefit in any form described by Daniel,
> >> we just need to think about the type of audience and the type of
> >> irection this should go eventually to become more stable/sustainable
> >> in providing a good source of (*include level/type*) of information
> >> about FOSS4G (*research/developments/news/etc*).
> >>
> >> Maybe we still have an identity crisis about this "Journal"?
> >>
> >> On 28 September 2011 10:53, Daniel Ames <dan.ames at isu.edu> wrote:
> >>> My suggestion of charging a page charge was intended strictly for the
> >>> research/peer reviewed articles.
> >>> It seems that the larger question here is, what is the mission of the OSGeo
> >>> Journal? Just to publish annual project reports? If so then perhaps we
> >>> should rename it as the "OSGeo Annual Report 20XX" or we can rename it the
> >>> "OSGeo Magazine" as per Wikipedia:
> >>> " ... in academic use, a journal refers to a serious, scholarly publication,
> >>> most often peer-reviewed. A non-scholarly magazine written for an educated
> >>> audience about an industry or an area of professional activity is usually
> >>> called a professional magazine."
> >>> However I do think that there is an opportunity here to publish high quality
> >>> articles on algorithms, interfaces, applications, frameworks, etc. within
> >>> the FOSS4g world. In which case these "scholarly" papers can certainly be
> >>> paid for by the authors (speaking as one).
> >>> If the newsletter/Journal becomes the OSGeo Magazine, then we should
> >>> definitely sell advertising in it and try to get it into people's hands as a
> >>> trade magazine.
> >>> This would still leave space for an academic journal.
> >>> Those looking to publish academic OSGeo related papers could certainly go to
> >>> one of the other open access GIS journals such as "Journal of Geographic
> >>> Information System" or "URISA Journal"
> >>> - Dan
> >>> --------------------------
> >>> Daniel P. Ames, Ph.D. PE
> >>> Associate Professor, Geosciences
> >>> Idaho State University - Idaho Falls
> >>> dan.ames at isu.edu
> >>> geology.isu.edu
> >>> www.mapwindow.org
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> On Tue, Sep 27, 2011 at 9:44 PM, Eli Adam <eadam at co.lincoln.or.us> wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>> Landon,
> >>>>
> >>>>       +1 for you talking to the Board about adding advertisements to the
> >>>> journal.  ASPRS publishes PE&RS which includes advertisements which I in
> >>>> general find to be appropriate in such a professional journal.  That is at
> >>>> least one example I am slightly opposed to mandatory charging for
> >>>> publication.  Many people have contributed good articles to the journal and
> >>>> a good portion of them are not Academic with associated publishing budgets.
> >>>>  Perhaps authors should be encouraged to contribute 15% (or some other
> >>>> appropriate percent) of their publishing budget, if your publishing budget
> >>>> is zero the math is easy.
> >>>>
> >>>>        Yann mentioned the hiring of an English Editor.  If this position
> >>>> ensures that there are no grammatical errors or unwieldy sentences, this is
> >>>> largely the effort I have been working on.  I think that I have been
> >>>> effective fixing grammar in each article.  I intend to keep providing this
> >>>> without charge as part of the journal team.  I have not taken the approach
> >>>> of standardizing the journal tone across an entire issue and even between
> >>>> issues.  This is perhaps a little heavy handed and also is an incredible
> >>>> amount of work.  Currently we have a mix of Canadian, US, British,
> >>>> Australian, and other English that varies between articles and issues.
> >>>>
> >>>> Eli
> >>>>
> >>>> >>> On 9/27/2011 at 1:55 PM, in message
> >>>> <CALJ1OBV6dt8tWL6YZCHyRiRyjudBncx_6eQ5HU7ZOazP3i67FA at mail.gmail.com>,
> >>>> Sunburned
> >>>> Surveyor <sunburned.surveyor at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>> > I'd rather see us let the advertisers pony up than charge for the
> >>>> > submission of academic papers. I'd rather have those organizations
> >>>> > spending that money on research.
> >>>> >
> >>>> > If we think it is a good idea to secure some funding for the journal,
> >>>> > I'd like this groups permission to talk to the board about the
> >>>> > possibility of advertising in the journal.
> >>>> >
> >>>> > Let me know.
> >>>> >
> >>>> > Thanks.
> >>>> >
> >>>> > Landon
> >>>> >
> >>>> > On Mon, Sep 26, 2011 at 8:06 PM, Yann Chemin <yann.chemin at gmail.com>
> >>>> > wrote:
> >>>> >> +1
> >>>> >>
> >>>> >> Most academics have budget for publication cost,
> >>>> >> if there is a pdf of the article online searchable by the
> >>>> >> BigEnginesOfSearch (+hit/download chart/stats),
> >>>> >> and if the author keeps the full copyright of the work (see CC type
> >>>> > ownership)
> >>>> >> then there are plenty of people who are wishing to publish there.
> >>>> >>
> >>>> >> Additionally, authors are also ready to pay an English Editor for
> >>>> >> their article to be accepted.
> >>>> >> This becomes more and more common now,
> >>>> >> maybe time to hop on the band wagon
> >>>> >>
> >>>> >> Yann
> >>>> >>
> >>>> >> On 26 September 2011 23:49, Daniel Ames <dan.ames at isu.edu> wrote:
> >>>> >>> Another common open access journal model is to charge publishers a
> >>>> >>> page
> >>>> >>> charge to publish their paper. This works for academic papers since
> >>>> >>> faculty
> >>>> >>> and researchers have an incentive (and often a budget) to publish
> >>>> >>> their
> >>>> >>> work.
> >>>> >>> Tyler, If we could publish 6 times per year and include 10 research
> >>>> >>> papers
> >>>> >>> in each edition, and if we assume 10 pages per paper so 100 pages of
> >>>> >>> research papers... and if we charge $25/page then there's $15000 per
> >>>> >>> year
> >>>> >>> that could supplement someone to manage the journal...
> >>>> >>> Of course that would mean a real commitment to authors for fast turn
> >>>> >>> around
> >>>> >>> etc. Also we'd want to try to get the journal to be ISI Indexed and
> >>>> >>> have
> >>>> >>> it's impact factor calculated etc. But if someone was getting $15K per
> >>>> >>> year
> >>>> >>> just to manage the journal then they could presumably work to make
> >>>> >>> these
> >>>> >>> things happen.
> >>>> >>> - Dan
> >>>> >>> --------------------------
> >>>> >>> Daniel P. Ames, Ph.D. PE
> >>>> >>> Associate Professor, Geosciences
> >>>> >>> Idaho State University - Idaho Falls
> >>>> >>> dan.ames at isu.edu
> >>>> >>> geology.isu.edu
> >>>> >>> www.mapwindow.org
> >>>> >>>
> >>>> >>>
> >>>> >>>
> >>>> >>> On Sat, Sep 24, 2011 at 12:18 PM, Sunburned Surveyor
> >>>> >>> <sunburned.surveyor at gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>> >>>>
> >>>> >>>> I know there has been a lag getting the annual report published
> >>>> >>>> because my own time to volunteer is limited. I certainly think there
> >>>> >>>> would be some benefit to having funds to pay for at least some work
> >>>> >>>> on
> >>>> >>>> the journal.
> >>>> >>>>
> >>>> >>>> There are a number of things that would likely need to be done for
> >>>> >>>> this to happen. We'd have to get the boards approval, of course. I
> >>>> >>>> also think we'd need an advertising policy of some sort.
> >>>> >>>>
> >>>> >>>> As far as the annual report goes, I'm committed to getting that done
> >>>> >>>> before the end of the year. We'll round up whatever chapter and
> >>>> >>>> project reports we can before the end of the month, and then we'll
> >>>> >>>> start working on our rough draft. We can take the month of October to
> >>>> >>>> work on any regular or peer review articles that will be included in
> >>>> >>>> the annual report issue.
> >>>> >>>>
> >>>> >>>> As soon as we are finished it we should start work on the annual
> >>>> >>>> report for 2011. :]
> >>>> >>>>
> >>>> >>>> Perhaps this is a good time to assess our current volunteer resources
> >>>> >>>> and take a realistic look at what we can accomplish. Ultimately the
> >>>> >>>> Journal is being put together by volunteers and as with many things
> >>>> >>>> in
> >>>> >>>> the open source world the major contributors will have the greatest
> >>>> >>>> influence on the outcome.
> >>>> >>>>
> >>>> >>>> While we work out the challenges to paid help with the journal,
> >>>> >>>> perhaps we should talk about better defining some of the roles and
> >>>> >>>> responsibilities of the Journal team. This is just a suggestion.
> >>>> >>>>
> >>>> >>>> At a minimum, I can see the team being made up of the following
> >>>> >>>> positions:
> >>>> >>>>
> >>>> >>>> - Editor: Oversees the basic operations of the journal. This includes
> >>>> >>>> gathering/soliciting content, ensuring review and editing of
> >>>> >>>> individual articles is complete, and making sure the post production
> >>>> >>>> process runs smoothly.
> >>>> >>>> - Assistant Editor: Assists with the editor duties as needed.
> >>>> >>>> - Peer Review Articles Editor: Coordinates peer review of peer review
> >>>> >>>> articles and deals with issues surrounding peer review standards.
> >>>> >>>> - Post Production Lead: Coordinates the post production of the
> >>>> >>>> Journal
> >>>> >>>> after the reviewed and edited content has been made available. This
> >>>> >>>> currently includes converting the articles to LaTex and producing a
> >>>> >>>> PDF.
> >>>> >>>>
> >>>> >>>> I can also see us having the additional positions:
> >>>> >>>> - Graphics Production Editor
> >>>> >>>> - Advertising Coordinator
> >>>> >>>>
> >>>> >>>> I'll be around to assist with the Journal editing for the foreseeable
> >>>> >>>> future. However,  it is certainly more work than I have time for on
> >>>> >>>> my
> >>>> >>>> own. People may get frustrated with the slow pace of things under my
> >>>> >>>> watch. On the other hand, if there is someone else who'd like to take
> >>>> >>>> a stab at helping as editor or assistant editor, I'd be glad to jump
> >>>> >>>> into another part of the process. I'd really like to tinker around
> >>>> >>>> with producing the journal in EPUB and HTML for example.
> >>>> >>>>
> >>>> >>>> I'm curious what the other people who are working (or have worked) on
> >>>> >>>> the Journal think.
> >>>> >>>>
> >>>> >>>> Landon
> >>>> >>>>
> >>>> >>>>
> >>>> >>>> On Fri, Sep 23, 2011 at 10:41 PM, Tyler Mitchell
> >>>> >>>> <tmitchell at osgeo.org>
> >>>> >>>> wrote:
> >>>> >>>> > Hi all Journal friends,
> >>>> >>>> >
> >>>> >>>> > As you have probably already saw, I will no longer have a job with
> >>>> >>>> > OSGeo
> >>>> >>>> > in two months.
> >>>> >>>> > It doesn't mean I will run away but, as you can imagine, being
> >>>> >>>> > surprised
> >>>> >>>> > by job loss
> >>>> >>>> > means you cannot speculate on your time availability in the near
> >>>> >>>> > future.
> >>>> >>>> >
> >>>> >>>> > I may have time to help with the current annual report if needed,
> >>>> >>>> > but
> >>>> >>>> > for the next
> >>>> >>>> > edition I'm not so sure.  I'm in the process of handing off my
> >>>> >>>> > primary
> >>>> >>>> > responsibilities
> >>>> >>>> > over to the OSGeo board, though I don't expect directors will be
> >>>> >>>> > available to help
> >>>> >>>> > fill in on my journal tasks since it was often out of scope for my
> >>>> >>>> > position.
> >>>> >>>> >
> >>>> >>>> > So, we should talk about finding the smoothest way
> >>>> >>>> > through this change, because we had committed to publish a handful
> >>>> >>>> > of
> >>>> >>>> > paper
> >>>> >>>> > proceedings from the FOSS4G 2011 event.  Papers will be reviewed
> >>>> >>>> > and
> >>>> >>>> > submitted by end of year and require a 1-3 month turnaround.  We
> >>>> >>>> > can
> >>>> >>>> > even
> >>>> >>>> > required them to be submitted in latex so conversion requirements
> >>>> >>>> > are
> >>>> >>>> > minimal.
> >>>> >>>> >
> >>>> >>>> > Any thoughts?  I'm happy to pass the reigns or remain officially
> >>>> >>>> > until I
> >>>> >>>> > know
> >>>> >>>> > that I absolutely cannot help - either way works for me, I just
> >>>> >>>> > don't
> >>>> >>>> > want to be a
> >>>> >>>> > bottleneck.
> >>>> >>>> >
> >>>> >>>> > This is one of my most
> >>>> >>>> > personal special projects so it's hard to even think of stepping
> >>>> >>>> > back
> >>>> >>>> > more than I
> >>>> >>>> > already have due to priorities I had at the time.
> >>>> >>>> >
> >>>> >>>> > Perhaps it's time to consider a topic several of you have brought
> >>>> >>>> > up
> >>>> >>>> > before: advertising
> >>>> >>>> > and sponsorship?  If I was able to acquire some funding to help
> >>>> >>>> > fund my
> >>>> >>>> > editing
> >>>> >>>> > position, would anyone be opposed to having these used in the
> >>>> >>>> > Journal.
> >>>> >>>> >  I'm not
> >>>> >>>> > sure I'll ultimately need it, but thought I'd check to see what you
> >>>> >>>> > thought.  In the last
> >>>> >>>> > issue we had a great contractor also help and I think that eased
> >>>> >>>> > the
> >>>> >>>> > pain for all
> >>>> >>>> > of us.  Having some cash for this might help on a few fronts.
> >>>> >>>> >
> >>>> >>>> > That's not be all and end all of brainstorming but thought I'd
> >>>> >>>> > start the
> >>>> >>>> > ball rolling.
> >>>> >>>> > Share your thoughts on next steps :)
> >>>> >>>> >
> >>>> >>>> > Best wishes and officially, thanks for all the hard work going into
> >>>> >>>> > the
> >>>> >>>> > project
> >>>> >>>> > historically and presently!  It's been a pleasure working with you.
> >>>> >>>> >
> >>>> >>>> > Tyler
> >>>> >>>> >
> >>>> >>>> > _______________________________________________
> >>>> >>>> > newsletter mailing list
> >>>> >>>> > newsletter at lists.osgeo.org
> >>>> >>>> > http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/newsletter
> >>>> >>>> >
> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________
> >>>> >>>> newsletter mailing list
> >>>> >>>> newsletter at lists.osgeo.org
> >>>> >>>> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/newsletter
> >>>> >>>
> >>>> >>>
> >>>> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>>> >>> newsletter mailing list
> >>>> >>> newsletter at lists.osgeo.org
> >>>> >>> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/newsletter
> >>>> >>>
> >>>> >>>
> >>>> >>
> >>>> >>
> >>>> >>
> >>>> >> --
> >>>> >> Yann Chemin
> >>>> >>
> >>>> > _______________________________________________
> >>>> > newsletter mailing list
> >>>> > newsletter at lists.osgeo.org
> >>>> > http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/newsletter
> >>>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Yann Chemin
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Yann Chemin
> > _______________________________________________
> > newsletter mailing list
> > newsletter at lists.osgeo.org
> > http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/newsletter
> >
> _______________________________________________
> newsletter mailing list
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