[OSGeo-Discuss] Successful FOSS4G use case needed especially in government sector
Hi all, I'm Sanghee Shin from Seoul, Korea. I hope somebody remember me. I presented activities of OSGeo Korean language L.C. to you at AGM this conference. Anyway.. I was invited to a national research institute(KRIHS) in Korea which supports policy making of Korean central government a month ago. There I presented what is FOSS4G and how can it be used in government sector. The mood was very good and they showed much interest in FOSS4G at that time. However, frankly to say, almost all the Korean GIS market - especially in government sector - have beent dominated by proprietary s/w yet and KRISH don't have enough courage to persuade central government to use FOSS4G at this point. KRISH still have uncertainty and doubt on FOSS4G. After coming back to my seat in my office from Cape Town, I got a phone call from KRISH researcher. She said that she wanted to include those successful case of FOSS4G use in another government into their report which should be submitted to Korean central government. She added that FOSS4G could be a good option for Korean government's next gis project. Since KRISH didn't know much about FOSS4G in real case, they needed true proven case of FOSS4G use in government sector. Therefore I'm writting a letter to you to request your help. Please let me know any successful case of FOSS4G in your country. Web site, implementation history, your experiences... and kinds of materials will be useful to me. Your help will be appreciated. Thanks in advance. -- Sanghee Shin p.s. ) To market FOSS4G, how about creating a wiki page to collect those kind of successful story of FOSS4G? ___ 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
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] Successful FOSS4G use case needed especially in government sector
Therefore I'm writting a letter to you to request your help. Please let me know any successful case of FOSS4G in your country. Web site, implementation history, your experiences... and kinds of materials will be useful to me. Here one more (absolutely incomplete): http://grass.osgeo.org/intro/index.php - Who is using GRASS? Markus ___ 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] Successful FOSS4G use case needed especially in government sector
Sanghee, I understand your question because I've had it asked from me a number of times too, and we should ensure we have answers as part of our Marketing Plan. I've started building up a wiki with links to various case studies which should be of help: http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Case_Studies (I encourage others to add links in here if their favourite case studies are not referenced). Sanghee Shin wrote: Hi all, I'm Sanghee Shin from Seoul, Korea. I hope somebody remember me. I presented activities of OSGeo Korean language L.C. to you at AGM this conference. Anyway.. I was invited to a national research institute(KRIHS) in Korea which supports policy making of Korean central government a month ago. There I presented what is FOSS4G and how can it be used in government sector. The mood was very good and they showed much interest in FOSS4G at that time. However, frankly to say, almost all the Korean GIS market - especially in government sector - have beent dominated by proprietary s/w yet and KRISH don't have enough courage to persuade central government to use FOSS4G at this point. KRISH still have uncertainty and doubt on FOSS4G. After coming back to my seat in my office from Cape Town, I got a phone call from KRISH researcher. She said that she wanted to include those successful case of FOSS4G use in another government into their report which should be submitted to Korean central government. She added that FOSS4G could be a good option for Korean government's next gis project. Since KRISH didn't know much about FOSS4G in real case, they needed true proven case of FOSS4G use in government sector. Therefore I'm writting a letter to you to request your help. Please let me know any successful case of FOSS4G in your country. Web site, implementation history, your experiences... and kinds of materials will be useful to me. Your help will be appreciated. Thanks in advance. -- Sanghee Shin p.s. ) To market FOSS4G, how about creating a wiki page to collect those kind of successful story of FOSS4G? ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss -- Cameron Shorter Geospatial Systems Architect 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 ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] FOSS4G 2009 Date Confusion
Yes, sorry Eric, we had to change the dates for FOSS4G2009 to 20-23 October due to clashes with venue availability. Regarding other conferences, we have collected a list of dates for related conferences at: http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G_2009_Marketing_Plan#Related_Conferences GeoComputation 2009 will be 23 Nov - 8 Dec 2009. Eric Wolf wrote: I'm a little confused on the dates for FOSS4G 2009. This page http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G_2009 says Oct 20-23 This page http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/FOSS4G_2009_Press_Release_2 says Nov 17-21 Which is correct? Also, does anyone have dates for GeoComputation 2009 (also in Sidney)? -Eric -- Cameron Shorter Geospatial Systems Architect 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 ___ 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
Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] Code Sprint: How Much?
I would go for 3 days - it worked out well for the GeoTools community. Three days is enough time to effect change; but not so much time you get bogged down. I did find timing of a sprint right after FOSS4G to be a bit of a trouble for some (in addition to being tired ) reports this year indicate that sprints were hampered by the occasional hangover (no doubt due to wish others a good trip home the night before). Jody Paul Ramsey wrote: Everyone loves a good code sprint... or do they? 2007 brought you the one-day sprint (with the GeoToolsers and uDiggers going for an extended weekend sprint). 2008 brings you another day. 2009 is still thinking about it. How much sprinting would you do? 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 days? I am wondering if the right way to handle the sprints is to turn them from something the conference quietly subsidizes to something that OSGeo pays for directly. That way the conference organizers don't feel like they are having it taken out of their hide, and it can be as long as people like. Also, it fits directly into the OSGeo mission of promoting the development of the software. Book-keeping-wise it's a left-pocket-to-right-pocket transaction for OSGeo, but from a authority and decision making PoV it removes the issue from the plate of the conference team and puts it into the hands of the software promoting team (whomever they may be). Paul ___ 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
