[OSGeo Oceania] Transparency (was: Update)

[John Bryant]

I've split this into a new thread and removed the original private email,
which was posted by mistake.

I'm very sorry to see Bruce choosing to step away, I have great respect for
his inputs over the last few years. I think it raises an important issue
for OSGeo Oceania and this community.

I agree with Edoardo and Bruce that communications must be open, for
reasons both principled and pragmatic; this is what open source communities
are all about.

OSGeo Oceania was created on a promise of transparency [1], and should live
up to that promise. The board in particular has the opportunity to lead by
example, and set the tone for this open community.

I believe most of the current board agrees with this, and the 2021 board
got off to a great start, returning discussion to public lists, using a
public Loomio for voting on motions, and voting in favour of opening board
meetings [2]. Kudos to Edoardo for his huge efforts in leading this push.

Part way through the year the board's public discussion seemed to drop off
considerably, immediately following a discussion about transparency
(ironically).

As an outsider, I don't know what the board discusses in private. But if I
may speculate: there may be a small minority who prefer the board to
operate in private, and the force of their opposition to measures intended
to improve transparency could have a chilling effect on the rest of the
board's commitment to operate in public.

I believe this dynamic, if it exists, is a severe detriment to the
functioning of the organisation, and I hope it comes to an end as soon as
possible.

John

[1] OSGeo Oceania Terms of Reference:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13aZ6L08ke1-l32I7c00MahyEKgxeZkq8
[2] https://www.loomio.org/d/f0xNZQKg/open-board-meetings



On Sat, 6 Nov 2021 at 07:31, Bruce Bannerman <
bruce.bannerman.osgeo at gmail.com> wrote:

> Colleagues,
>
> I have spent around 15 years with OSGeo-AustNZ and now OSGeo-Oceania. This
> included working as a member of the FOSS4G-2009 Local Organising Committee.
>
> Eduardo is correct that in an open source community, communications MUST
> be open.
>
> For OSGeo-Oceania this means the oceania at lists.osgeo.org list.
>
> If I look at our list archives [1], I find very little in the way of open
> discussions.
>
> Imagine my surprise to find a FOSS4G event in Perth recently.  I only
> found this in passing on a LinkedIn thread.
>
> This and the email thread below, is symptomatic of an organisation in
> trouble.
>
> We discussed the need for openness on this list over twelve months ago in
> response to the problems that the then Oceania Board was having. It is
> apparent that this advise has been ignored.
>
> I intend stepping back from OSGeo Oceania and focus my volunteer time
> elsewhere.
>
> I’m currently a list administrator. I no longer wish to hold this role. I
> suggest that the current board find a replacement.
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Bruce
>
> [1] https://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/oceania/
>
> _______________________________________________
> Oceania mailing list
> Oceania at lists.osgeo.org
> https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/oceania
>
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