I have no problem with the MTSC "running things", along with community advisors. HOWEVER: 1. Who chooses the MTSC? 2. What qualifies a person to be a member of the MTSC? 3. What is the term of office? 4. Is this a paid position (or envisioned to be one)? 5. What is the process the MTSC will use to decide what the Foundation does? 6. No foundation can truly exist without a charter!
My 38 cents (American) worth. Chip Taylor Prepared Response, Inc. > -----Original Message----- > From: UMN MapServer Users List [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On > Behalf Of Paul Ramsey > Sent: Friday, December 16, 2005 3:06 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [UMN_MAPSERVER-USERS] Choosing the Choosers > > Mapserverers: > > You may have noticed that things have been relatively quiet since the > initial Mapserver Foundation open letter, and associated flurry of > response. One of the reasons is that the folks behind the open > letter are a little shell shocked and trying to figure out how to > move forward in a way that is both inclusive and not hopelessly > inefficient. > > The big question they are wrestling with is: Who can make decisions > on matters regarding the future of Mapserver? > > It is not an easy problem, because among the questions that have to > be answered are: > > - Should Mapserver join a 'Foundation' at all? > - If so, under what terms of membership? > - If so, under what name? > > I would put to you, the 'community at large' the proposition that > Mapserver already has a good decision making body that has the > interests of Mapserver at heart: the Mapserver Technical Steering > Committee. The MTSC can make the final decisions on all of the above > questions quite capably providing they: > > - Take the temperature of the overall community before making big > decisions. > - Hold their discussions in an open forum so all viewpoints get a > hearing. > > The MTSC might want to add some advisory members, so they feel that > their voting numbers reflect a broader community, and I think that is > reasonable too, again, as long as they first put the names out for a > public hearing and make sure there are no substantive objections to > their choices. > > So, I put the question to you, do you feel comfortable with the MTSC > making some 'big decisions' for Mapserver over the next few months, > providing that they make their decisions within an open framework of > discussion? > > For the record, the current members of the MTSC are: Steve Lime > (Chair), Daniel Morissette, Frank Warmerdam, Sean Gilles, Assefa > Yewondwossen, Howard Butler and Perry Nacionales. > > Paul
