I have to agree with Radim and on the surface following this logic, I
would hate to see any negative impact of OSGeo on projects like
Freegis.org. On the other hand, freegis (as an example) doesn't seem
capable of becoming discouraged by the growth of OSGeo, (to their
credit). Furthermore, there are many projects referenced and/or hosted
on Freegis that perhaps don't belong in OSGeo.
I would feel more comfortable if OSGeo provided front page reference to
additional oss based geospatial resources in a sidebar, linking to
projects like freegis. That is, not a link to every oss geospatial
tool, but to portal sites like freegis. Jan has a lot of time into this
valuable resource for it to go by the wayside. I guess this is a topic
to be taken up at OSGeo and not here, but I would feel more comfortable
knowing. Seems ultimately we are all on the same side.
Incidentally, what is the likelihood that PostGIS is also contemplating
a move to OSGeo? Assuming much of Refraction's revenue comes from their
affiliation with PostGIS, I wonder if they view such a move as
detrimental to their core? I could easily understand that. As it is
now, if you want PostGIS, (short of installing a preconfigured package),
you have to visit the Refractions web server. Unlike Grass, GDAL, QGis,
MapServer, (i.e., independent projects), etc., they prominently market
all of their projects and services, whereas a CO-OP model seems to suit
the independents better.
Having said that, I support the 'move' initiative.
Jack Varga
Tim Sutton wrote:
> Hi Jack
>
> Radim has mentioned some possible 'downsides' in the preliminary
> discussions we had on the PSC mailing list before Gary sent the
> initial email in this thread out for wider comment. I think I can
> summarise by saying that Radims main concern was that the OSGEO
> becomes some kind of defacto portal for people trying to find free and
> open source GIS related software, essentially precluding non member
> projects for similar consideration. Of course this can be seen as an
> advantage for the OSGEO members projects, but since open source
> developers have a libertarian approach to life I cant help but agree
> with Radim a little. Not enough for me to *not* want to join PSC
> though because I think that lifting up some open source projects into
> the public eye will inevitably bring other initially less visible
> projects into focus too.
>
> In fact for me the biggest 'con' I can think of is the time and effort
> we will need to invest to oversee the incubation process and any
> additional admin overhead being an OSGEO member may introduce. Since
> QGIS is a 100% volunteer effort at the moment, any time spent on admin
> generally reduces otherwise productive developer time. The counter
> argument to this is of course is that if OSGEO lives up to our
> expectations it should reduce admin overhead that we currently invest
> in managing our project servers, removing spammer posts to the forums
> etc etc
>
> Other than that I really dont see any great cons in the road ahead -
> though it would be interesting to get a retrospective opinion on the
> matter from some projects that have already gone through the
> process...
>
> Best regards
>
> Tim
>
> On 1/28/07, Jack Varga <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>> Gary, Tim, et al;
>>
>> On the surface it seems hard to find a reason not to support a move to
>> OSGeo. Gary lists many Pros for joining, but no Cons. In my attempt to
>> remain objective, it would help to hear what some of the Cons might be
>> (for both users and developers)?
>>
>> The fact that QGis relies heavily on the advanced analytical
>> capabilities inherent in Grass and that Grass is already a (along with
>> GDAl, IMHO the two most critical) member(s) of OSGeo, it does seem a
>> logical course of action. That alone is without consideration for many
>> of the additional benefits Tim describes.
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Jack Varga
>>
>> Gary Sherman wrote:
>> > At present, there is no desktop GIS application like QGIS in the
>> > OSGeo collection. GRASS is already part of OSGeo thus joining OSGeo
>> > seems to be a natural step.
>> >
>> > OSGeo offers increased visibility, promotion at conferences, access
>> > to legal advice, hosting of downloads and other project services, and
>> > management of sponsorships. Promotion at major conferences includes
>> > brochures and booth presence.
>>
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>>
>
>
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