Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
On 9-Oct-08, at 11:49 AM, Arnulf Christl (OSGeo) wrote: Instead of despairing or complaining - why don't you start your own meeting? Whatever it is - ranging from meeting in a pub to full fledged conferences with 500+ attendees - is better than nothing. Try to not compete with FOSS4G - The Gobal Meeting of the Tribes but complement this event, either regionally, language-wise or by tastes of beer. The simple magic that gets you going is to connect with your peers and then DIY. If you think that OSGeo can help - ask for it. I agree, and for those who might not be aware, this is similar to what is happening already. In areas where local chapters are not running, it must still feel a bit lonely - hopefully this list can help that. But in other places where the chapters are active, they are charging ahead preparing great local events. There are so many things happening that it's hard to keep up with all the activity :) Hope that's encouraging, Tyler ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
I've been to Canada, so I can vouch for that. :] -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jody Garnett Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2008 4:57 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; OSGeo Discussions Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts In Canada we go to the pub. Jody Paolo Cavallini wrote: Frank Warmerdam ha scritto: I would suggest that local/regional conference In Italy, GRASS meetings (now GFOSS meeting) have been organized regularly since 2000. Next year it will be in Sardinia: http://gfoss2009.crs4.it/ All the best. pc ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss Warning: Information provided via electronic media is not guaranteed against defects including translation and transmission errors. If the reader is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this information in error, please notify the sender immediately. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Mini-conf in Seattle? (was: RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts)
(In Seattle, we go out for a latte.) This is a quick troll to see who'd be interested in coming to (and/or helping organize) a mini-conference in Seattle in spring of '09. Send me email, and I'll follow up later with a summary. -mpg -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jody Garnett Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2008 5:15 PM To: OSGeo Discussions Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts Jody Garnett wrote: In Canada we go to the pub. Jody Although that said; a regional conference would be fun ... we are still struggling to have any kind of meetings for the bc chapter. I am amazed at all these other groups that have had yearly conferences since rocks were beginning to cool. One down side with the whole conversation track here is the idea of splitting into multiple venues is that the open source projects cannot always field community members to attend everything. The original post talked about minimizing expense; breaking into several venues actually updates the expense from where I am sitting. Jody ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: Mini-conf in Seattle? (was: RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts)
I would likely attend a regional meeting in Seattle. -Eric Wolf On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 10:08 AM, Michael P. Gerlek [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: (In Seattle, we go out for a latte.) This is a quick troll to see who'd be interested in coming to (and/or helping organize) a mini-conference in Seattle in spring of '09. Send me email, and I'll follow up later with a summary. -mpg -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jody Garnett Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2008 5:15 PM To: OSGeo Discussions Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts Jody Garnett wrote: In Canada we go to the pub. Jody Although that said; a regional conference would be fun ... we are still struggling to have any kind of meetings for the bc chapter. I am amazed at all these other groups that have had yearly conferences since rocks were beginning to cool. One down side with the whole conversation track here is the idea of splitting into multiple venues is that the open source projects cannot always field community members to attend everything. The original post talked about minimizing expense; breaking into several venues actually updates the expense from where I am sitting. Jody ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss -- -=--=---===---=--=-=--=---==---=--=-=- Eric B. Wolf 720-209-6818 USGS Geographer Center of Excellence in GIScience PhD Student CU-Boulder - Geography ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
RE: Mini-conf in Seattle? (was: RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts)
I'd be interested in helping and attending (if the price is right and my company agrees :) ) Chip Taylor Prepared Response, Inc -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Michael P. Gerlek Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2008 9:09 AM To: OSGeo Discussions Subject: Mini-conf in Seattle? (was: RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts) (In Seattle, we go out for a latte.) This is a quick troll to see who'd be interested in coming to (and/or helping organize) a mini-conference in Seattle in spring of '09. Send me email, and I'll follow up later with a summary. -mpg -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jody Garnett Sent: Wednesday, October 08, 2008 5:15 PM To: OSGeo Discussions Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts Jody Garnett wrote: In Canada we go to the pub. Jody Although that said; a regional conference would be fun ... we are still struggling to have any kind of meetings for the bc chapter. I am amazed at all these other groups that have had yearly conferences since rocks were beginning to cool. One down side with the whole conversation track here is the idea of splitting into multiple venues is that the open source projects cannot always field community members to attend everything. The original post talked about minimizing expense; breaking into several venues actually updates the expense from where I am sitting. Jody ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.173 / Virus Database: 270.7.6/1715 - Release Date: 10/8/2008 7:19 PM ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
On Tue, October 7, 2008 22:55, Gavin Fleming wrote: Frank wrote: As an alternative to a stand-alone event, it can also be helpful to work with an existing GIS conference organizer to provide an open source track or something similar. We've just been approached by www.eis-africa.org who are keen to run a dedicated FOSS4G track at www.africagis2009.org , 26-29 Oct 2009, the week after FOSS4G 2009. AfricaGIS is the major GIS conference in Africa (e.g. 750 delegates in Pretoria in 2005). So, who's keen to make it happen? GISSA will try to run FOSS4G tracks / have FOSS4G booths at all future national and provincial events in SA as well. Gavin Gavin, this is excellent! Even although this might be much to ask, please make sure that this takes place, even if you have to go in the lead again. You will eventually find someone to help and eventually take over. It is great to have connected with GISSA and see that they are picking up the idea, this will help spread word on OSGeo and FOSS4G a lot. All, from what I have read in this thread things seem to work out the way we hoped, that FOSS4G can actually spawn local activity and help chapters grow. But it all takes time, so don't despair if next year your only chance to see FOSS4G in action is in Sydney. Instead of despairing or complaining - why don't you start your own meeting? Whatever it is - ranging from meeting in a pub to full fledged conferences with 500+ attendees - is better than nothing. Try to not compete with FOSS4G - The Gobal Meeting of the Tribes but complement this event, either regionally, language-wise or by tastes of beer. The simple magic that gets you going is to connect with your peers and then DIY. If you think that OSGeo can help - ask for it. And please don't stop being critical just because you might get told off by greater minds with even better arguments. If you think something needs to be changed then you should say so. There are already many good ideas under way to make the global FOSS4G even more attractive for developers, communities and suites alike in coming years and many have started off as a comment on this list. We might also want to make FOSS4G a lot more accessible via web with online presentations, videos, podcasts, IRC transcriptions, and the like. Be prepared for a great show in Sydney. If we can't manage spatial who can? Best regards, -- Arnulf Benno Christl http://www.osgeo.org OSGeo President Still lingering at: -33.9201S +18.4237E ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
On Tue, October 7, 2008 21:16, Frank Warmerdam wrote: Landon Blake wrote: When I think about the possibility of setting up a local or regional conference I get a little scared about the unknowns. How do you go about locating conference space? Do you approach local hotels and motels about discount rooming rates? Would it be possible to have a way for the FOSS4G conference folks assist a chapter interested in a regional conference? Landon, Good question. I think Arnulf raised the suggestion that it would be good to have some how to hold a mini-conference materials in the wiki. I would suggest that local/regional conference aim for a more modest presence than FOSS4G. In particular look for inexpensive space to hold it. Often universities are cooperative in this regard if there are some FOSS4G friendly faculty. Universities also often have computer labs available if you want to try and do some hands on workshops. Also, ensure you have at least 3-4 local volunteers willing to help make arrangements. If it all falls on one person it can be a very heavy load. Ideally you would have more folks as part of a local chapter who would like to help. You will also want to be sure you have enough speakers to provide a useful event. Best to get some respectible ones committed early. Sometimes it is helpful to arrange smaller conferences just before or after some other GIS event to take advantage of folks existing travel arrangements. If you do this though you may need some good lead time. It can be helpful to have some sponsorship to fund food, facilities, and such. In the OSBootCamp/GeoCamp event here in Ottawa we did not require attendies to register and pay (due to support for the food from sponsors, and the university for facilities). The downside of that was it was very hard to work out how many people were likely to show up, and there was no attendie list for future contact. So I'd suggest requiring registration, and getting contact info, even if the registration is relatively modest (ie. 100 local currency units). As an alternative to a stand-alone event, it can also be helpful to work with an existing GIS conference organizer to provide an open source track or something similar. Best regards, This is all good stuff that should be added to the Wiki and get consolidated there. Would the Conference Committee be interested in setting up and maintaining a Wiki page on this respect? Well, lets say: the Conference Committee should be highly prepared to set up and maintain a Wiki page on how to organize a local meeting / conference or piggy pack on another event. Best regards, Arnulf ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
Landon Blake wrote: Jody wrote: The original post talked about minimizing expense; breaking into several venues actually updates the expense from where I am sitting. How do you figure? The projects I work on are international; it is hard enough for developers to get enough money together to attend one FOSS4G - let alone FOSS4G and a (multiple?) regional conferences. There is also the related costs of development teams slow down while members get presentations ready, are not online during the conference, and generally missing the week after :-) Jody ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
I assumed the individuals attending a regional conference wouldn't be attending the international conference. For example: I might be able to attend a conference put on in Seattle, but never anything outside of the West Cost. Landon -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jody Garnett Sent: Thursday, October 09, 2008 12:34 PM To: OSGeo Discussions Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts Landon Blake wrote: Jody wrote: The original post talked about minimizing expense; breaking into several venues actually updates the expense from where I am sitting. How do you figure? The projects I work on are international; it is hard enough for developers to get enough money together to attend one FOSS4G - let alone FOSS4G and a (multiple?) regional conferences. There is also the related costs of development teams slow down while members get presentations ready, are not online during the conference, and generally missing the week after :-) Jody ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss Warning: Information provided via electronic media is not guaranteed against defects including translation and transmission errors. If the reader is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this information in error, please notify the sender immediately. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
Frank Warmerdam ha scritto: I would suggest that local/regional conference In Italy, GRASS meetings (now GFOSS meeting) have been organized regularly since 2000. Next year it will be in Sardinia: http://gfoss2009.crs4.it/ All the best. pc -- Paolo Cavallini, see: * http://www.faunalia.it/pc * ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
In Japan, we have been holding FOSS4G local conference once every year since 2006. For this year, we will have FOSS4G TOKYO/OSAKA in Nov. http://www.osgeo.jp/foss4g2008-in-tokyo/ http://www.osgeo.jp/foss4g2008-in-osaka/ They are very good opportunities for those who aren't good at English communication to understand the latest trends of FOSS4G world. Toru Mori OSGeo Japan chapter Markus Neteler [EMAIL PROTECTED] wroteF On Wed, Oct 8, 2008 at 8:45 AM, Paolo Cavallini [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Frank Warmerdam ha scritto: I would suggest that local/regional conference In Italy, GRASS meetings (now GFOSS meeting) have been organized regularly since 2000. Next year it will be in Sardinia: http://gfoss2009.crs4.it/ In Germany, there is the FOSSGIS series (since 2006): http://fossgis.osgeo.net/wiki/Main_Page Markus ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
On Wed, Oct 8, 2008 at 8:45 AM, Paolo Cavallini [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Frank Warmerdam ha scritto: I would suggest that local/regional conference In Italy, GRASS meetings (now GFOSS meeting) have been organized regularly since 2000. Next year it will be in Sardinia: http://gfoss2009.crs4.it/ In Germany, there is the FOSSGIS series (since 2006): http://fossgis.osgeo.net/wiki/Main_Page Markus ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
Dave, I could not agree with you more! But I think it speaks to having regional as well as international conferences. As we all know, applications for GIS is growing at a prodigious rate and the need for frequent interaction between developers and others grows apace. Chip Taylor Prepared Response, Inc -Original Message- If you 'reverse the directions' in Chip's text, you might get the wording used by people in Capetown to explain why they perhaps didn't wouldn't a FOSS4G conference in Seattle. And the same might have been said for some people in Australia who didn't attend FOSS4G 2007 in Victoria BC Canada, but then you could probably 'reverse' that in 2009 for why some people won't attend FOSS4G 2009 in Sydney Australia. It just reinforces that by moving FOSS4G around geographically, each year some people will be unable to attend, while at the same time others will have an opportunity to attend that year. Overall, the most good for the most people, given time. -- Dave Patton CIS Canadian Information Systems Victoria, B.C. Degree Confluence Project: Canadian Coordinator Technical Coordinator http://www.confluence.org/ OSGeo FOSS4G2007 conference: Workshop Committee Chair Conference Committee member http://www.foss4g2007.org/ Personal website: Maps, GPS, etc. http://members.shaw.ca/davepatton/ ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.173 / Virus Database: 270.7.6/1713 - Release Date: 10/7/2008 6:40 PM ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
In Canada we go to the pub. Jody Paolo Cavallini wrote: Frank Warmerdam ha scritto: I would suggest that local/regional conference In Italy, GRASS meetings (now GFOSS meeting) have been organized regularly since 2000. Next year it will be in Sardinia: http://gfoss2009.crs4.it/ All the best. pc ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
Jody Garnett wrote: In Canada we go to the pub. Jody Although that said; a regional conference would be fun ... we are still struggling to have any kind of meetings for the bc chapter. I am amazed at all these other groups that have had yearly conferences since rocks were beginning to cool. One down side with the whole conversation track here is the idea of splitting into multiple venues is that the open source projects cannot always field community members to attend everything. The original post talked about minimizing expense; breaking into several venues actually updates the expense from where I am sitting. Jody ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
Registration + hotel represent 1/2 of the price of the trip. So together they WERE a deciding factor.I am always too busy, so browsing the discuss lists and the web for BB in Cape Town was not an option. If the conference is not targeted towards business, then the conference accommodation site should include budget hotels (the 5-star hotels can circulate on the discuss lists for those interested). -Laura On Oct 7, 2008, at 10:46 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Message: 6 Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2008 16:42:47 +0200 From: Gavin Fleming [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], OSGeo Discussions discuss@lists.osgeo.org,conference_dev [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii This thread has been doing the rounds on the conference_dev list as well Some of my thoughts in the aftermath of FOSS4G 2008. I have heard very positive feedback from all quarters. As Arnulf alluded to in the AGM, I believe the decision to host in an 'untested' location WORKED. The mix of FOSS and proprietary worlds WORKED. The mix of the full-spectrum ecosystem from geek to user to academic to businessperson to government official WORKED. It WORKED on so many levels we'll be seeing positive spin-offs for years to come. Business people loved meeting developers and picking up the sense of community. Developers loved being with other developers and interacting with users and funders. And we did manage a code sprint of around 40 people. http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G2008_CodeSprint Cost: -Registration was well within the limits set by OSGeo of $600. It was NOT the deciding factor for most people. Academics and students got 50% discount, but these were a minority. -Travel was THE deciding factor. -Accommodation: yes, 'official' hotels where our agents got block bookings were not exactly budget prices (global tourist destination in high season) but we advertised and listed many links for organising one's own cheap accommodation from backpackers to BBs. So that should not have been a factor. -with more sponsorship we would have loved to support those who could not afford it. Luckily many who asked made a plan of their own. By its nature, a moving conference will be expensive to get to from many places. But it will be cheap and accessible to regional attendees and that's the point. That's part of OSGeo's mission. The value of bringing FOSS4G to South Africa (or Sydney or other future global venues) far outweighs the 'cost' to a few who could not make it. Sydney will be in the same boat next year - far from almost everywhere. But they're already focussing on Australia/NZ and Southeast Asia. And a core contingent of OSGeo techies WILL make it to FOSS4G each year. And there you have the magic mix. So, from me: -keep FOSS4G roaming the globe annually -stimulate and support local or regional events whenever and wherever they emerge -keep the FOSS4G mix as it is - don't split along a perceived technical-business divide. -put out RFPs even earlier to allow time to secure cheap venues, big sponsorships, optimal scheduling, etc. A case in point is http://www.igarss09.org/ where the conference was awarded years back enabling the hosting of thousands at a cheap venue (university). Gavin Fleming ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
Another consideration: my students who attended last week said that the mix of GISSA with FOSS4g was EXCELLENT. The really liked having the business GIS users/non-FOSS people there. In fact, doing a joint conference like this gave the FOSS folks lots of great proselytizing opportunities that they wouldn't otherwise have. So that was a GREAT idea the South Africa group had. Good job. One more thing... We should be careful talking about having conferences closer. Come on folks, as geo-people you all know that closer is relative to your datum... There is a huge growing GIS interest in China right now. Wouldn't it be cool to have FOSS4g there one year? So a public Thanks to the SA organizers, and a Good luck! to the Aussies... and as for 2010? Anyone interested in Beijing? How about Idaho? :) - Dan On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 8:42 AM, Gavin Fleming [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: This thread has been doing the rounds on the conference_dev list as well Some of my thoughts in the aftermath of FOSS4G 2008. I have heard very positive feedback from all quarters. As Arnulf alluded to in the AGM, I believe the decision to host in an 'untested' location WORKED. The mix of FOSS and proprietary worlds WORKED. The mix of the full-spectrum ecosystem from geek to user to academic to businessperson to government official WORKED. It WORKED on so many levels we'll be seeing positive spin-offs for years to come. Business people loved meeting developers and picking up the sense of community. Developers loved being with other developers and interacting with users and funders. And we did manage a code sprint of around 40 people. http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G2008_CodeSprint Cost: -Registration was well within the limits set by OSGeo of $600. It was NOT the deciding factor for most people. Academics and students got 50% discount, but these were a minority. -Travel was THE deciding factor. -Accommodation: yes, 'official' hotels where our agents got block bookings were not exactly budget prices (global tourist destination in high season) but we advertised and listed many links for organising one's own cheap accommodation from backpackers to BBs. So that should not have been a factor. -with more sponsorship we would have loved to support those who could not afford it. Luckily many who asked made a plan of their own. By its nature, a moving conference will be expensive to get to from many places. But it will be cheap and accessible to regional attendees and that's the point. That's part of OSGeo's mission. The value of bringing FOSS4G to South Africa (or Sydney or other future global venues) far outweighs the 'cost' to a few who could not make it. Sydney will be in the same boat next year - far from almost everywhere. But they're already focussing on Australia/NZ and Southeast Asia. And a core contingent of OSGeo techies WILL make it to FOSS4G each year. And there you have the magic mix. So, from me: -keep FOSS4G roaming the globe annually -stimulate and support local or regional events whenever and wherever they emerge -keep the FOSS4G mix as it is - don't split along a perceived technical-business divide. -put out RFPs even earlier to allow time to secure cheap venues, big sponsorships, optimal scheduling, etc. A case in point is http://www.igarss09.org/ where the conference was awarded years back enabling the hosting of thousands at a cheap venue (university). Gavin Fleming This message is intended for the addressee only. Information and attachments in this e-mail may contain confidential, proprietary, or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, or responsible for delivery of the message to the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution, or any action taken is prohibited and may be unlawful, and could result in a claim against you. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss -- Daniel P. Ames PhD, PE Department of Geosciences Idaho State University - Idaho Falls [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.MapWindow.org www.Hydromap.com ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
I should have clearly stated that local conferences could be an alternative to FOSS4G, not a REPLACEMENT. Please don't burn me at the stake for that slip up. :] Landon From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Landon Blake Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2008 11:04 AM To: OSGeo Discussions Subject: RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts I really think the best solution to this issue would be smaller, regional conferences. Perhaps this could be an issue that could be tackled by local OSGeo Chapters? It would be cool if we could get a point location and radius of acceptable travel from each OSGeo member. You could then determine which host cities for a local or regional conference would impact the most users. Landon From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Daniel Ames Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2008 10:49 AM To: OSGeo Discussions Cc: conference_dev Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts Another consideration: my students who attended last week said that the mix of GISSA with FOSS4g was EXCELLENT. The really liked having the business GIS users/non-FOSS people there. In fact, doing a joint conference like this gave the FOSS folks lots of great proselytizing opportunities that they wouldn't otherwise have. So that was a GREAT idea the South Africa group had. Good job. One more thing... We should be careful talking about having conferences closer. Come on folks, as geo-people you all know that closer is relative to your datum... There is a huge growing GIS interest in China right now. Wouldn't it be cool to have FOSS4g there one year? So a public Thanks to the SA organizers, and a Good luck! to the Aussies... and as for 2010? Anyone interested in Beijing? How about Idaho? :) - Dan On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 8:42 AM, Gavin Fleming [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: This thread has been doing the rounds on the conference_dev list as well Some of my thoughts in the aftermath of FOSS4G 2008. I have heard very positive feedback from all quarters. As Arnulf alluded to in the AGM, I believe the decision to host in an 'untested' location WORKED. The mix of FOSS and proprietary worlds WORKED. The mix of the full-spectrum ecosystem from geek to user to academic to businessperson to government official WORKED. It WORKED on so many levels we'll be seeing positive spin-offs for years to come. Business people loved meeting developers and picking up the sense of community. Developers loved being with other developers and interacting with users and funders. And we did manage a code sprint of around 40 people. http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G2008_CodeSprint Cost: -Registration was well within the limits set by OSGeo of $600. It was NOT the deciding factor for most people. Academics and students got 50% discount, but these were a minority. -Travel was THE deciding factor. -Accommodation: yes, 'official' hotels where our agents got block bookings were not exactly budget prices (global tourist destination in high season) but we advertised and listed many links for organising one's own cheap accommodation from backpackers to BBs. So that should not have been a factor. -with more sponsorship we would have loved to support those who could not afford it. Luckily many who asked made a plan of their own. By its nature, a moving conference will be expensive to get to from many places. But it will be cheap and accessible to regional attendees and that's the point. That's part of OSGeo's mission. The value of bringing FOSS4G to South Africa (or Sydney or other future global venues) far outweighs the 'cost' to a few who could not make it. Sydney will be in the same boat next year - far from almost everywhere. But they're already focussing on Australia/NZ and Southeast Asia. And a core contingent of OSGeo techies WILL make it to FOSS4G each year. And there you have the magic mix. So, from me: -keep FOSS4G roaming the globe annually -stimulate and support local or regional events whenever and wherever they emerge -keep the FOSS4G mix as it is - don't split along a perceived technical-business divide. -put out RFPs even earlier to allow time to secure cheap venues, big sponsorships, optimal scheduling, etc. A case in point is http://www.igarss09.org/ where the conference was awarded years back enabling the hosting of thousands at a cheap venue (university). Gavin Fleming This message is intended for the addressee only. Information and attachments in this e-mail may contain confidential, proprietary, or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, or responsible for delivery of the message to the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution, or any action taken is prohibited and may be unlawful, and could result in a claim against you. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss
Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 8:06 PM, Landon Blake [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I should have clearly stated that local conferences could be an alternative to FOSS4G, not a REPLACEMENT. This is what I also brought up a few days ago on the conference list. Half a years after/before the main event. This would enable more people to participate (since travel matters) and would be of even wider media impact. Obviously, the main FOSS4G remains the most important conference as meeting of the tribes. Markus ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
I have to agree that something more local needs to be offered as well. I attended the Victoria conference and found it to be one of the most useful conferences I had attended in many years. But the cost of an airline ticket from Seattle to Capetown was nearly $2,000 US. Flying time to Capetown was on the order of 24 hours and returning the flying time was over 31 hours. That's 55 hours of grueling travel time, not to mention airport time. Add in the hotel/BB/tent/sleeping on the street, food and the conference fees you are talking a good bit of expense here. In both cash and time, this was just too prohibitive. My company would have rejected it outright and I certainly could not have afforded it from my own funds. I hope to attend a FOSS4G conference again, but I am afraid with world finances the way they are, as well as airline situations, it will be quite a few years before I can do that. Chip Taylor Prepared Response, Inc Tacoma, WA From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Daniel Ames Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2008 11:08 AM To: OSGeo Discussions Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts I'll make another plug for Helena's suggestion on the conference list that an International FOSS4g be offered every other year. In alternate years members would be encouraged to run regional and/or project specific small conferences... - Dan On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 12:04 PM, Landon Blake [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: I really think the best solution to this issue would be smaller, regional conferences. Perhaps this could be an issue that could be tackled by local OSGeo Chapters? It would be cool if we could get a point location and radius of acceptable travel from each OSGeo member. You could then determine which host cities for a local or regional conference would impact the most users. Landon ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
I don't think this is really fair on the organizers, if you don't have time to do a Google search for accommodation or follow one low traffic mailing list (open source people are mostly following or actively participating on multiple e-mail lists), then how do you find the time to actually attend the full conference week at all. Every trip needs some preparation, which you need to be prepared to put into it. I do agree that it might have been easier if those options had been listed (but on the other hand I also understand the commercial reasons behind them not being listed),. Best regards, Bart Laura Toma wrote: Registration + hotel represent 1/2 of the price of the trip. So together they WERE a deciding factor.I am always too busy, so browsing the discuss lists and the web for BB in Cape Town was not an option. If the conference is not targeted towards business, then the conference accommodation site should include budget hotels (the 5-star hotels can circulate on the discuss lists for those interested). -Laura On Oct 7, 2008, at 10:46 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Message: 6 Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2008 16:42:47 +0200 From: Gavin Fleming [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED], OSGeo Discussions discuss@lists.osgeo.org mailto:discuss@lists.osgeo.org, conference_dev [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii This thread has been doing the rounds on the conference_dev list as well Some of my thoughts in the aftermath of FOSS4G 2008. I have heard very positive feedback from all quarters. As Arnulf alluded to in the AGM, I believe the decision to host in an 'untested' location WORKED. The mix of FOSS and proprietary worlds WORKED. The mix of the full-spectrum ecosystem from geek to user to academic to businessperson to government official WORKED. It WORKED on so many levels we'll be seeing positive spin-offs for years to come. Business people loved meeting developers and picking up the sense of community. Developers loved being with other developers and interacting with users and funders. And we did manage a code sprint of around 40 people. http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G2008_CodeSprint Cost: -Registration was well within the limits set by OSGeo of $600. It was NOT the deciding factor for most people. Academics and students got 50% discount, but these were a minority. -Travel was THE deciding factor. -Accommodation: yes, 'official' hotels where our agents got block bookings were not exactly budget prices (global tourist destination in high season) but we advertised and listed many links for organising one's own cheap accommodation from backpackers to BBs. So that should not have been a factor. -with more sponsorship we would have loved to support those who could not afford it. Luckily many who asked made a plan of their own. By its nature, a moving conference will be expensive to get to from many places. But it will be cheap and accessible to regional attendees and that's the point. That's part of OSGeo's mission. The value of bringing FOSS4G to South Africa (or Sydney or other future global venues) far outweighs the 'cost' to a few who could not make it. Sydney will be in the same boat next year - far from almost everywhere. But they're already focussing on Australia/NZ and Southeast Asia. And a core contingent of OSGeo techies WILL make it to FOSS4G each year. And there you have the magic mix. So, from me: -keep FOSS4G roaming the globe annually -stimulate and support local or regional events whenever and wherever they emerge -keep the FOSS4G mix as it is - don't split along a perceived technical-business divide. -put out RFPs even earlier to allow time to secure cheap venues, big sponsorships, optimal scheduling, etc. A case in point is http://www.igarss09.org/ where the conference was awarded years back enabling the hosting of thousands at a cheap venue (university). Gavin Fleming ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss -- Bart van den Eijnden OSGIS, Open Source GIS [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.osgis.nl ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
Frank wrote: As an alternative to a stand-alone event, it can also be helpful to work with an existing GIS conference organizer to provide an open source track or something similar. We've just been approached by www.eis-africa.org who are keen to run a dedicated FOSS4G track at www.africagis2009.org , 26-29 Oct 2009, the week after FOSS4G 2009. AfricaGIS is the major GIS conference in Africa (e.g. 750 delegates in Pretoria in 2005). So, who's keen to make it happen? GISSA will try to run FOSS4G tracks / have FOSS4G booths at all future national and provincial events in SA as well. Gavin This message is intended for the addressee only. Information and attachments in this e-mail may contain confidential, proprietary, or legally privileged information. If you are not the intended recipient, or responsible for delivery of the message to the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution, or any action taken is prohibited and may be unlawful, and could result in a claim against you. winmail.dat___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
On 2008/10/07 11:04 AM, Landon Blake wrote: It would be cool if we could get a point location and radius of acceptable travel from each OSGeo member. You could then determine which host cities for a local or regional conference would impact the most users. That would only let you look at the impact on OSGeo members. Even for a regional conference, that does not include the complete universe of potential delegates for the conference. I have no idea whether it would be a useful predictor of overall conference attendance. -- Dave Patton CIS Canadian Information Systems Victoria, B.C. Degree Confluence Project: Canadian Coordinator Technical Coordinator http://www.confluence.org/ OSGeo FOSS4G2007 conference: Workshop Committee Chair Conference Committee member http://www.foss4g2007.org/ Personal website: Maps, GPS, etc. http://members.shaw.ca/davepatton/ ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
On 2008/10/07 11:19 AM, Chip Taylor wrote: I have to agree that something more local needs to be offered as well. I attended the Victoria conference and found it to be one of the most useful conferences I had attended in many years. But the cost of an airline ticket from Seattle to Capetown was nearly $2,000 US. Flying time to Capetown was on the order of 24 hours and returning the flying time was over 31 hours. That's 55 hours of grueling travel time, not to mention airport time. Add in the hotel/BB/tent/sleeping on the street, food and the conference fees you are talking a good bit of expense here. In both cash and time, this was just too prohibitive. My company would have rejected it outright and I certainly could not have afforded it from my own funds. I hope to attend a FOSS4G conference again, but I am afraid with world finances the way they are, as well as airline situations, it will be quite a few years before I can do that. Chip Taylor Prepared Response, Inc Tacoma, WA If you 'reverse the directions' in Chip's text, you might get the wording used by people in Capetown to explain why they perhaps didn't wouldn't a FOSS4G conference in Seattle. And the same might have been said for some people in Australia who didn't attend FOSS4G 2007 in Victoria BC Canada, but then you could probably 'reverse' that in 2009 for why some people won't attend FOSS4G 2009 in Sydney Australia. It just reinforces that by moving FOSS4G around geographically, each year some people will be unable to attend, while at the same time others will have an opportunity to attend that year. Overall, the most good for the most people, given time. -- Dave Patton CIS Canadian Information Systems Victoria, B.C. Degree Confluence Project: Canadian Coordinator Technical Coordinator http://www.confluence.org/ OSGeo FOSS4G2007 conference: Workshop Committee Chair Conference Committee member http://www.foss4g2007.org/ Personal website: Maps, GPS, etc. http://members.shaw.ca/davepatton/ ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts
Last year the organization published a very nice report. That will certainly take some time do put all the number together as nice I they did before but I believe that it will help someone like me, who did not attended, to have a good perspective of what we should expect for Sydney. Dave Patton wrote: On 2008/10/07 11:04 AM, Landon Blake wrote: It would be cool if we could get a point location and radius of acceptable travel from each OSGeo member. You could then determine which host cities for a local or regional conference would impact the most users. That would only let you look at the impact on OSGeo members. Even for a regional conference, that does not include the complete universe of potential delegates for the conference. I have no idea whether it would be a useful predictor of overall conference attendance. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
