Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-24 Thread Jorge Gaspar Sanz Salinas
2008/10/24 Alex Borrell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
>
>
> On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 7:52 AM, Laura Toma <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> Thanks Laura for your comments. It's true that FOSS4G is expensive, at least
> for Latin America. Cape Town
> and Sydney are far away from our budgets. I would take advantage of you mail
> to get in touch with other users
> in Latin American countries and try unite, and maybe sometime sponsor a
> conference or chapter. I am new
> to OSGeo, working to get some projects to work in Guadalajara city in
> Mexico. I am not aware of many
> users of gis open software here, but is definitely worth trying!
>
> Hope to get to some FOSS4G anytime soon, but like to thank all of you
> involved in these projects, you
> really help a lot.
>
> Alex Borrell
> Department of Transit and Transport.
> Guadalajara, Mexico

Hi Alex,

Maybe you don't know that OSGeo has a Spanish Language local chapter.
We have a mailing list and we're almost finished the process to be an
official LC of OSGeo. You can get more info at our entry page[1] at
osgeo wiki or go to the #osgeo-es irc channel to see if there's
someone

Finally, in February 2009 there will be an event at La Habana (Cuba)
where some OSGeoers will meet to perform a one day workshop and some
presentations about OSGeo and other projects[2].

Regards
[1] http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Spanish
[2] http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/OSGeo_en_Informatica_2009
-- 
Jorge Gaspar Sanz Salinas
Ingeniero en Geodesia y Cartografía
http://www.geomaticblog.net
http://oblongomirihi.wordpress.com
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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-24 Thread Alex Borrell
On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 7:52 AM, Laura Toma <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

> Dear OSGeo community,
>
> After attending FOSS4G last week, I wanted to share some thoughts.  As much
> as I'd like to be a regular attendee, I am afraid that the conference is
> becoming too  expensive.  This year the early registration was more than
> $400 (for 2.5 days of conference; the tutorials were extra), and the least
> expensive hotels listed by the conference website were more than$100 a night
> (As a matter of fact, most of the hotels listed on the conference website
> were 4 stars or more!).   Add the flight, and it ends up more than $2500.
> I am at a small university, and travel funds are limited. I imagine the
> situation is the same for many people in academia and external funding has
> become very hard to get.
>
> On the other hand, FOSS4G is the only conference that unites FOSS GIS
> developers.  I am wondering if anybody has the same concerns, and if
> anything can be  done to keep the conference available to a wide audience.
>  For e.g.,  have a regional conference;  and/or  split into several venues
> e.g.  users/research/business/developers;   have lower rates for academia
> and researchers.
>
>
> -Laura
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> Laura Toma
>
> Dept. of Computer Science
>
> Bowdoin College
> Brunswick, ME 04011, USA
>
>
Thanks Laura for your comments. It's true that FOSS4G is expensive, at least
for Latin America. Cape Town
and Sydney are far away from our budgets. I would take advantage of you mail
to get in touch with other users
in Latin American countries and try unite, and maybe sometime sponsor a
conference or chapter. I am new
to OSGeo, working to get some projects to work in Guadalajara city in
Mexico. I am not aware of many
users of gis open software here, but is definitely worth trying!

Hope to get to some FOSS4G anytime soon, but like to thank all of you
involved in these projects, you
really help a lot.

Alex Borrell
Department of Transit and Transport.
Guadalajara, Mexico

>
>
>
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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-17 Thread Tyler Mitchell (OSGeo)

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
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RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-09 Thread Landon Blake
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
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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-09 Thread Jody Garnett

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
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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-09 Thread Arnulf Christl (OSGeo)
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

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RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-09 Thread Arnulf Christl (OSGeo)
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

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RE: Mini-conf in Seattle? (was: RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts)

2008-10-09 Thread Chip Taylor
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
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Re: Mini-conf in Seattle? (was: RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts)

2008-10-09 Thread Eric Wolf
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
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-- 
-=--=---===---=--=-=--=---==---=--=-=-
Eric B. Wolf  720-209-6818
USGS Geographer
Center of Excellence in GIScience
PhD Student
CU-Boulder - Geography
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Mini-conf in Seattle? (was: RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts)

2008-10-09 Thread Michael P. Gerlek
(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
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RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-09 Thread Landon Blake
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?

-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
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RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-09 Thread Landon Blake
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
>   

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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-08 Thread Jody Garnett

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
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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-08 Thread Jody Garnett

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
  


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RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-08 Thread Chip Taylor
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/
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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-08 Thread Martin Landa
Hi,

2008/10/8 Markus Neteler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>:
>>> 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

In Czech Republic there is Geoinfomatics FCE CTU Workshop (since 2006)

http://geoinformatics.fsv.cvut.cz

Regards, Martin

-- 
Martin Landa  * http://gama.fsv.cvut.cz/~landa *
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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-08 Thread (Orkney)Toru Mori
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]> wroteF
> 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
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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-08 Thread Markus Neteler
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
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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-07 Thread Paolo Cavallini
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 *
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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-07 Thread Lucena, Ivan
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.


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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-07 Thread Dave Patton

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/B&B/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/
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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-07 Thread Dave Patton

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/
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RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-07 Thread Gavin Fleming
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 







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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-07 Thread Bart van den Eijnden (OSGIS)
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 B&B 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"


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 B&Bs. 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 








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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-07 Thread David William Bitner
Look at the history of the conferences that became FOSS4G.  The original
MapServer Users Conferences in Ottawa and Minneapolis were just planned by
local users groups with no overarching guidance.  One thing to notice is
that in both of these venues, the Universities played a major role which can
help keep costs down for things like labs and the like.
These regional conferences can be run much more on a slim budget and do not
have to have the large sponsors or polish that we have come to expect from
our flagship event.

On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 1:54 PM, Landon Blake <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 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
>
>
>  --
>
> *From:* [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] *On Behalf Of *Chip Taylor
> *Sent:* Tuesday, October 07, 2008 11:20 AM
> *To:* 'OSGeo Discussions'
> *Subject:* 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/B&B/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
>
>
>
>
> *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.
>
> ___
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>
>


-- 

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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-07 Thread Frank Warmerdam

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. $20).

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,
--
---+--
I set the clouds in motion - turn up   | Frank Warmerdam, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
light and sound - activate the windows | http://pobox.com/~warmerdam
and watch the world go round - Rush| Geospatial Programmer for Rent

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RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-07 Thread Landon Blake
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

 



From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Chip Taylor
Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2008 11:20 AM
To: 'OSGeo Discussions'
Subject: 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/B&B/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

 



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including translation and transmission errors. If the reader is not the 
intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, 
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RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-07 Thread Chip Taylor
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/B&B/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

 

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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-07 Thread Markus Neteler
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
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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-07 Thread Daniel Ames
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
>
>
>  --
>
> *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 B&Bs. 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
>

RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-07 Thread Landon Blake
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 B&Bs. 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

RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-07 Thread Landon Blake
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 B&Bs. 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



Warning:
Information provided via electronic media is not guaranteed

Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-07 Thread Daniel Ames
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 B&Bs. 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
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Re: RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-07 Thread Laura Toma


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 B&B 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"
,"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 B&Bs. 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




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RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-07 Thread Gavin Fleming
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 B&Bs. 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.

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Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-07 Thread Paolo Cavallini
Laura Toma ha scritto:
> Dear OSGeo community, 
> 
> After attending FOSS4G last week, I wanted to share some thoughts.  As
> much as I'd like to be a regular attendee, I am afraid that the
> conference is becoming too  expensive.
...
> audience.  For e.g.,  have a regional conference;  and/or  split into
> several venues e.g.  users/research/business/developers;   have lower
> rates for academia and researchers.  

I think you raised a good point. I have seen several people, very active
and interested on the freegis scene, not going for the very same
problem. On the other hand, I do not agree with having lower rates for
academia: lots of free lance devs (often the blood of many projects) are
not affiliated to any university, and they would be even more cut out of
the event. Splitting makes the metting less interesting, so it is not
the best option.
So the message to the organizers is: keep it simple and cheap.
E.g.: hold the conference close to a low cost airport, provide cheap
accommodation for those who cannot afford a 4-star hotel, and keep the
registration costs as low as possible.
Thanks.
pc
-- 
Paolo Cavallini, see: * http://www.faunalia.it/pc *
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[OSGeo-Discuss] some post-FOSS4G thoughts

2008-10-07 Thread Laura Toma

Dear OSGeo community,

After attending FOSS4G last week, I wanted to share some thoughts.   
As much as I'd like to be a regular attendee, I am afraid that the  
conference is becoming too  expensive.  This year the early  
registration was more than $400 (for 2.5 days of conference; the  
tutorials were extra), and the least expensive hotels listed by the  
conference website were more than$100 a night (As a matter of fact,  
most of the hotels listed on the conference website were 4 stars or  
more!).   Add the flight, and it ends up more than $2500.   I am at a  
small university, and travel funds are limited. I imagine the  
situation is the same for many people in academia and external  
funding has become very hard to get.


On the other hand, FOSS4G is the only conference that unites FOSS GIS  
developers.  I am wondering if anybody has the same concerns, and if  
anything can be  done to keep the conference available to a wide  
audience.  For e.g.,  have a regional conference;  and/or  split into  
several venues e.g.  users/research/business/developers;   have lower  
rates for academia and researchers.



-Laura




--
Laura Toma
Dept. of Computer Science
Bowdoin College
Brunswick, ME 04011, USA



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