[OSGeo Oceania] OSGeo Oceania newsletter

[Adam Steer]

Hei folks

I just this week got a newsletter in my inbox from OSGeo Oceania (OO),
and have some suggestions for next time :)

First, it would be great to rearrange content so that
community-relevant news comes before a bunch of promotions for various
companies. It seems weird that the OO election notice especially was
relegated to the back.

Next, please send plain text. I was a bit surprised to find a 4+ mb
PDF wrapping content worth maybe a couple of hundred kb. A html
formatted email would have been better, but still not great.

Reason 1: It's been great accessibility practice for decades to send
mailouts as plain text, especially if there is not a dedicated (paid,
full time) person designing accessible content using other media.
Reason 2: e-mail has an environmental footprint. That 4mb PDF has been
transmitted and stored a bunch of times, consuming bandwidth and
storage it doesn't need to. Sure, its small in the scheme of global
traffic - but OO is here to lead on sustainability, right?

Next, it would still be awesome to see a clear personal data statement
- the announcement came via mailchimp, and I know it is a list I
signed up to get news from at some point, but it is rarely made clear
that people signing up to the list are handing data to Mailchimp and
OO really has no idea what Mailchimp does with it. Its totally OK to
be open about it - something like 'hey this is our announcement list
you'll get periodic announcements. It is run by Mailchimp, who keep
your e-mail address and track clicks and other things, and we really
don't know what they do with that data. If that's OK by you, click to
subscribe'.

Last of all, can OO make clear its relationship with the companies it
is promoting via e-mai, ahead of its own content? are they sponsors?
What is the reason OO is promoting them - is it documented anywhere?

Comms is a hard bear to wrestle in OO - I know from experience.I make
these suggestions with the aim of reducing volunteer load (keeping it
real simple is smart, the better KISS principile :) ), and meeting
OO's goals of leading on community and environmental sustainability.

I don't personally expect or need responses to any of the above,
they're points to consider rather than things I need to feel in
control of.

Thanks, and good luck!

Adam