[TOSprint] Planning begins for the 2012 North American code sprint

[Michael P. Gerlek]

This mail is to announce the start of planning / early call for
participation for the 4th annual OSGeo North American code sprint.  Held in
previous years in Toronto, New York City, and Montreal, we are proposing to
hold the next event in Jan-Mar of 2012 on a small island near Seattle.

Unlike previous years, this event will not be downtown in a major city with
the sprint and dining venues clustered in an urban neighborhood.  Instead,
we're proposing to hold it on Bainbridge Island at a place called IslandWood
-- "a unique 255-acre outdoor learning center designed to provide
exceptional learning experiences and inspire life-long environmental and
community stewardship" (see http://islandwood.org/conferences).
 
The event would be different from previous years in that we would be staying
on-campus the whole time (lodging, eating, working).  This would change the
dynamics a bit, but I think for the better.  This will also change the cost
model for the event, too: it is likely to be more expensive, and people will
need to register (and pay) in advance, although we would still intend to
have sponsors help cover costs.
 
If you're interested, please subscribe to the tosprint list
(http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/tosprint) and voice your support
for this plan (or not...).  I will use that list to provide more details
(esp. pricing, which I should have in a few days).

-mpg