Hello Alex, As I stated in an earlier email, I have been oblivious to any issues. I tend to focus more on international efforts.
This may be because there is no issue, or because discussions have been held in private. However, when people I respect for their past efforts resign mid-term and we have a list discussion on whether it is really necessary to have an open board list, it gets me wondering if there are deeper issues at play. This may well be a storm in a tea cup, but I believe that it is worth working through. @All, As to what I want from our local community: Openness within an open source community is critical to good community governance. There may be situations e.g. that involve code of conduct discussions; or procurement evaluations where private discussions are required, however these should be minimised, and not the norm. As a rule, all discussions should be open. If people have not done so already, I suggest that Karl Fogel’s excellent book ‘Producing Open Source software’ is a good starting point to help determine what they want. This book can be found here: https://producingoss.com/ <https://producingoss.com/> I have found this book to be an excellent primer on what types of things need to be in place for a thriving and effective open source community. Kind regards, Bruce > On 7 Dec 2020, at 14:09, Alex Leith <alexgle...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Hi Bruce > > There have been three directors resign. Two for personal reasons, and one for > ethical reasons. (Correct me if I'm wrong, Daniel, John or Adam?) > > I do feel fairly defensive of these types of criticisms, and I don't really, > honestly think I should, but I do. I have been involved in this organisation > from when it was an informal committee organising a conference through until > now, and like Ed and Phil say, it's full of good people doing good things and > meaning well. The organisation has made some minor mistakes, and we're still > working out how we work, but there is no serious issue that I see. Please > have a read of my words in the annual report, or help me understand what you > see as the serious issue or issues are? > > I'd like to hear from the community about what the expectations of openness > are, though. And thankyou Ed for kicking this off. > > Cheers, > > On Mon, 7 Dec 2020 at 13:36, Bruce Bannerman <bruce.bannerman.os...@gmail.com > <mailto:bruce.bannerman.os...@gmail.com>> wrote: > Hello Edoardo, > > Well done for initiating this thread. I encourage the OSGeo Oceania community > to contribute their thoughts on this issue. > > > I also encourage you to not try and downplay or whitewash any issues. > > There is obviously a serious issue here. Why else did two former Directors > feel ethically compelled to resign from the OSGeo Oceania Board mid-term? > > > Kind regards, > > Bruce > > >> On 7 Dec 2020, at 11:17, Edoardo Neerhut <eneer...@gmail.com >> <mailto:eneer...@gmail.com>> wrote: >> >> Thanks for your thoughtful response Phil. I share much of your positivity >> and appreciation for all the board has achieved. >> >> I agree that managing the myriad of communication channels is difficult and >> time consuming. I have a love/hate relationship with the mailing lists, but >> they seem to be the most open, universal mechanism to disseminate >> information and have discussions. Prediction: The year is 3020 and we're >> still sending emails to mailing lists. >> >> My own conclusion with communication is that people should communicate >> wherever they like, but you have one central, open place for >> official/important communication and that would be the mailing list. Part of >> the conversation here seems to be: what is official and important? Did we >> make things as open as we should have? >> >> These things are hard in a volunteer community, so this is not a criticism >> of anyone, but a reflection on the ways we can continually improve. >> >> On Mon, 7 Dec 2020 at 10:18, Phil Wyatt <p...@wyatt-family.com >> <mailto:p...@wyatt-family.com>> wrote: >> Hi Folks >> >> >> >> TLDR: >> >> COVID-19! I am happy. The board are doing their difficult job in these >> initial stages. Communication in this day and age is bloody hard! Things >> will settle down. >> >> >> >> My experience >> >> I have been a low key bystander during the formation of OSGEO Oceania. I am >> retired and have lots of time on my hands to check multiple communication >> channels. I am an initial member having attended the Melbourne conference >> and supported the idea of an organisation that supports our region in Open >> Source software and OpenStreetMap. >> >> >> >> The role of the board is set out in a fairly legal and technical way and I >> commend all those that have stood up to take on the roles, especially in the >> formation stages of the organisation. >> >> >> >> https://aicd.companydirectors.com.au/resources/director-tools/practical-tools-for-directors/governance-relations/role-of-the-board >> >> <https://aicd.companydirectors.com.au/resources/director-tools/practical-tools-for-directors/governance-relations/role-of-the-board> >> >> >> It’s not easy, there will be a learning a curve for many and there will be >> frustrations, arguments and concerns as the organisation develops. The >> overarching thing for me is that the board does not do anything that would >> be harmful to the community. To date, I have not seen anything that I >> believe has harmed the community. In the year of COVID I am just thankful >> that you have all survived in your work lives (hopefully!) as well as >> helping set up a vibrant regional organisation. Thank you. >> >> >> >> There are likely processes that need to be ironed out, procedures that need >> formalising and standards set for appropriate timelines for actions but >> these things will get sorted as the pressure eases from the initial >> formation stage. Lets be honest, 2020 has been a year like no other and we >> have managed to survive! Thanks again to you all for your hard work. >> >> >> >> Openness and communication >> >> Do I, as a member, need to know every aspect of the board deliberations of >> all processes? No, I don’t, but I should have a role in helping formulate >> and at least seeing final drafts before a board sign-off. This has occurred >> with documents like the terms of reference. Would it be good to have the >> minutes of meetings in one place, yes absolutely. What’s the best place for >> those….well, I personally hate wiki’s but they seem to be the norm for open >> organisations. I can learn to live with that but I wish they had more >> structure and an easy way to navigate around! >> >> >> >> I follow many communication channels for various reasons…Slack, Discord, >> Mailing lists, Email, Telegram, Zoom, Big Blue Button, Youtube streams….the >> list is endless these days and adoption varies widely across the Oceania >> region. This will be a challenge in the short and long term for the >> organisation. Regions may have their own preferences for local communication >> so subject to information being available to the wider region it may well be >> that regions collectively put their thoughts back to the board by one >> appropriate formal channel. Maybe the mailing list is the ‘formal’ channel? >> >> >> >> Conclusion >> >> Don’t be too hard on yourselves – you are all volunteers. Yes, we all need >> to get some structure back into our lives and OSGEO Oceania is no different. >> Work on getting timely and regular processes in place and solid regular >> communication to a formal channel (or two) but personally, I don’t need all >> the minute details – I trust the board to do no harm! >> >> >> >> >> >> Cheers – Phil (aka tastrax) >> >> >> >> From: Oceania <oceania-boun...@lists.osgeo.org >> <mailto:oceania-boun...@lists.osgeo.org>> On Behalf Of Edoardo Neerhut >> Sent: Sunday, 6 December 2020 10:32 PM >> To: oceania@lists.osgeo.org <mailto:oceania@lists.osgeo.org> >> Subject: [OSGeo Oceania] A discussion on openness >> >> >> >> Hi everyone, >> >> >> >> TLDR: >> >> To the current/former directors: How would you describe the organisation's >> experience with openness and transparency? >> >> To the whole community: How do you feel? What should the board and the >> community do more or less of? >> >> >> >> The context >> >> There have been a number of comments made recently about transparency and >> openness and I wanted to tease them out a bit as the end of year approaches. >> In particular, Adam and John expressed their concerns here >> <https://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/oceania-board/2020-November/000112.html> >> and here >> <https://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/oceania/2020-November/002439.html> >> respectively, with both resigning as directors as a consequence. >> >> >> >> This is clearly an issue for further discussion. The OSGeo Oceania director >> elections end in a few hours and regardless of the results, I am very keen >> to hear what practical steps we should take to address these concerns. >> Adam/John: if you have time to elaborate that would be much appreciated as >> well. >> >> >> >> My experience >> >> I think most would agree transparency and openness should be fundamental >> aspects to our community. What's harder is living up to them. I am guilty of >> sending a quick Slack message or email to people for the sake of expediency, >> but failing on transparency as a consequence. >> >> >> >> I have worked with many on the current board and feel they are all >> wonderful, talented people, operating with the best interests of OSGeo >> Oceania at heart. I'm optimistic about where we're at and we can go and I >> want to thank all on the board and the wider community for getting us here. >> Hundreds of people from across the region have been able to learn, share, >> and connect with geospatial ideas and tools through these efforts. I >> honestly don't believe there is a people issue here, but a fog over the >> decision making process which we need to tease out. >> >> >> >> My read from where I stand is that there is a constant battle between >> expediency and openness. I am still trying to understand the relationship >> between these two things at a practical level. >> >> >> >> Practically speaking, what should we do? >> >> I am going to assume we agree that openness is fundamental to the health of >> the organisation. If I have falsely assumed this, please correct me. >> >> >> >> On the areas we are failing, why do we think this is the case? I believe >> everyone is operating in good faith. >> >> Take the example of meeting minutes. They went up eventually, so do we need >> to make sure we share responsibility more so that this happens immediately >> after? Could members of the community join board meetings in this role? >> On board decisions, why were some decisions timely? Can we minimise that in >> future? Were some board members slow to make a decision? What is the >> expectation here from board members? >> The concept of membership is still vague and I bear more responsibility for >> this failure than anyone. At the same time, this is something that we as a >> community should decide collectively. I should have done more to initiatie >> that conversation openly. >> These are just three examples. I'm sure there are many more. >> >> >> >> So finally, what are the low hanging fruits? Where should the community >> focus our efforts going forward? Why are we failing in these areas? How >> should we address them? >> >> >> >> We've come a long way thanks to all of you and I'm very optimistic about the >> road ahead. How do we traverse it? >> >> >> >> Looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts. >> >> >> >> Ed >> >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Oceania mailing list >> Oceania@lists.osgeo.org <mailto:Oceania@lists.osgeo.org> >> https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/oceania >> <https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/oceania> > > _______________________________________________ > Oceania mailing list > Oceania@lists.osgeo.org <mailto:Oceania@lists.osgeo.org> > https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/oceania > <https://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/oceania> > > > -- > Alex Leith > m: 0419189050
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