[SAC] Direction, budgeting, and resources

[Howard Butler]

All,

It seems OSGeo is going through its bi-annual thrashing about  
marketing open source software.  I admit that I likely caused some of  
the thrashing with my post to the board [1] about SAC's need for  
resources that must be considered as well.    I put the cart before  
the horse a little bit, however, and I should have solicited feedback  
from SAC on what we think our resource needs actually are.  I outlined  
some of the needs that I felt were pressing in the email, but I think  
we should discuss a bit on where we see SAC going in the next year or  
three, what our goals for development are, and how we plan to continue  
to serve OSGeo.

I recognize that being a volunteer system administrator is a rather  
thankless job.  No one usually says much until things go wrong.  I  
would like to thank those who have been putting in effort as part of  
SAC.  That systems work as smoothly as they do is a testament to the  
quality folks we have working on stuff.  I would also like to single  
out John Graham and TelaScience.  Those resources have been extremely  
valuable to OSGeo and our committee wouldn't be able to accomplish as  
much as we do without them.

I think we should back up and discuss some of the assertions I made in  
my email.  First, are we at any sort of exhaustion point for volunteer  
resources?  Are SAC tickets not picked up because of an unclear  
responsibility chain, or because of the labor required to complete  
tasks.  If we were to mix in paid or in-kind resources into SAC for  
completing some long-standing tasks, do you see it as being a net  
benefit?  Would it hurt SAC's prospects for long-term sustainability?

Does SAC just need hard resources (bandwidth, CPU, disk) moving  
forward, or should we attempt to procure soft resources (paid or in- 
kind manpower) as well?  Which would be the priority?  Am I correct in  
stating that we need more of either?  Are we happy with our current  
situation, and do you feel that hosting, hardware, and administration  
are sustainable long term?

I look forward to your feedback.

Howard




[1] http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/board/2008-November/002775.html