OSGeo Discuss,
In Australia/New Zealand we have been discussing whether we should
legally "formalise" the Aust-NZ OSGeo chapter, and come to the
conclusion that we gain little, and loose a lot by becoming legal. Email
discussion here:
http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/aust-nz/2012-January/thread.html
Highlights:
On 3/01/2012 1:12 PM, Jody Garnett wrote:
Where did we get to on this Aust-NZ local chapter stuff? As I recall
we still need to register as a non profit; have a meeting with
minuets, and set up a back account.
On 5/01/2012 11:06 AM, Jody Garnett wrote:
The benefit would be an OSGeo local chapter; right now we have not
"formed" as I understand it and are still listed as under construction
on the OSGeo wiki.
On 6/01/2012 6:51 AM, Cameron Shorter wrote:
Right, so osgeo aust-nz would change from unofficial to official in
the eyes of osgeo. I see very little benefit from that. I don't think
we will attract any more osgeo converts from such a title. (If we need
an official title, we can always call upon the greater OSGeo
organisation).
However, I do see a large drain on volunteer time. As soon as we
require money to run, we need to worry about chasing people or
organisations for membership fees, which is an unpleasant task which
sucks up lots of valuable volunteer times.
On 6/01/2012 7:58 AM, mapbutcher wrote:
In this modern age of 'meetups' do such chapters have a place? What
does a chapter actually provide?
The organic development of groups across the country in the past year
has evidenced a growing interest and adoption of open source. It has
not required a chapter to support this growth. There are adequate
means of communication to support cross pollination between these
groups IMO. We even managed to organize a [international foss4g]
conference without a chapter if my memory serves me correctly
On 6/01/2012 8:49 AM, Bruce Bannerman wrote:
I see greater benefit from a 'virtual' community, particularly
considering the broad geographic region the we cover.
We don't necessarily need an 'entity' as the 'go to' body for the
Local Chapter. The mailing list and Wiki could perhaps suffice.
As I see it we have a reasonably robust community as it is (if rather
quiet at present).
--
Cameron Shorter
Geospatial Solutions Manager
Tel: +61 (0)2 8570 5050
Mob: +61 (0)419 142 254
Think Globally, Fix Locally
Geospatial Solutions enhanced with Open Standards and Open Source
http://www.lisasoft.com
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