[Proj] PROJ PSC

[Howard Butler]

Greg,


PROJ has never operated under the aegis of anything really. The MetaCRS
attempt tried to rally SRS-related software projects under an umbrella
within OSGeo, but as I've mentioned on the MetaCRS list [1], it is a
failure as an organizing principle for the software projects. We are
ostensibly required to vote within MetaCRS to agree on a release, but it
is unfortunate make-work that doesn't really protect the release, and it
is a motion put forward to an uninterested voting base. I think it is
time to dissolve MetaCRS as an authority at least as it pertains to
releases and software project management. It's still a great mailing
list with access to real expertise on coordinate systems (that overlaps
with this mailing list, but not entirely).


PROJ needs some kind of body for release organization and technical
dispute resolution (we've never had one). A PSC will be a better
governance situation than exists now for PROJ. The PSC approach,
pioneered by Frank in the MapServer and GDAL communities, would work
very well for PROJ. The PSC names I listed were chosen because they have
been active recently (well, except Frank, who provides institutional
memory).


After Frank moved on, I stepped forward as the PROJ maintainer, but I
know very little about coordinate systems. I just tried to keep the
lights on and sweep the (documentation) floor. Thankfully, Kristian,
Charles, Kurt, and Thomas have stepped forward to takeover and provide
technical and academic heft to really improve things. Their PROJ efforts
are the basis of the GDAL SRS Barn Raising effort https://gdalbarn.com,
and without their contributions, there wouldn't be any traffic about
code styles, testing frameworks, or object hierarchies. PROJ has seen
more activity in the past year than it had in the previous fifteen. Its
renewal has been fantastic to watch.




Howard



[1] https://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/metacrs/2017-August/000956.html



On 5/31/18 4:26 PM, Frank Warmerdam wrote:
> Howard,
>
> I can imagine a few ways forward:
>
>  - We could just add the named contributors to the MetaCRS PSC and it might
> be that only those interested in PROJ.4 vote on PROJ.4 proposals.
>  - We could form a PROJ PSC and have the MetaCRS PSC authorize it to make
> decisions about PROJ.4 on a slightly less officious basis than normal PSC
> rules.
>  - We might want to consider the MetaCRS "experiment" to have run it's
> course and not worked out particularly well and dissolve MetaCRS other than
> perhaps as a potentially mailing list for coordination of related projects,
> and proceed with PROJ.4 as an independent project with it's own PSC, etc.
>
> I'd be happy enough with the third approach.  MetaCRS was mostly my
> brainchild and I'm willing to agree it is not really a functioning thing.
>
> Best regards,
> Frank
>
>
> On Thu, May 31, 2018 at 2:06 PM, Greg Troxel <gdt at lexort.com> wrote:
>
>> Howard Butler <howard at hobu.co> writes:
>>
>>> In the interest of self determination, I propose that PROJ form a PSC
>>> with the following membership:
>> No objection to the concept, but this raises the issue of whether the
>> project is operating under the aegis of charitable nonprofit
>> corporation.  I admit to having no clue about that before, and I'm not
>> saying it's a big deal, but clarity is good.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Proj mailing list
>> Proj at lists.maptools.org
>> http://lists.maptools.org/mailman/listinfo/proj
>>
>
>


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