794Who is playing whom?

2008-08-14T20:12:13Z

Sounds like FOSS4G 2008 is going to have an even stronger proprietary flavor than the 2007 edition. Says Gavin Fleming:

FOSS4G 2008 is not just about open source – the whole SA GIS community will be there, including all the normal 'proprietary' GIS community. Content, exhibitors, sponsors (including GIMS) are from the open source AND the proprietary communities, not that there is a clear distinction, with many being from both. If you attended AfricaGIS in '05, or any GISSA or local GIS conference for that matter, FOSS4G is for you and is going to be bigger and better. It is indeed also the ‘GISSA 2008’ conference. Learn about how proprietary and FOSS GIS can work together. Or, learn about how to make the transition from proprietary to FOSS.

I think this is not a positive trend.

Comments

1Re: Who is playing whom?

BenSlater, 2008-08-15T02:06:18Z
Don't be a hater! It sounds to me like the proprietary guys are wising up that they need to play nice with the open source crowd. And I think it's important for the open source crowd to stress that users don't necessarily need to give up their favorite propriety software to take advantage of the open source stuff. Everybody wins!

2Re: Who is playing whom?

Sean, 2008-08-15T03:05:31Z
Evidently you didn't enjoy the good old days as much as I did, Ben.

3Re: Who is playing whom?

Yves Moisan, 2008-08-15T12:55:35Z
"My current (2008) work interests are alternative local economic development strategies for mine-affected communities, spatial analysis and modelling to support sustainable development through mining and Sensor Web Enablement of mine environmental monitoring. I am passionate about Open Source GIS (at work and in education) and about bicycles as a means of alternative transport and economic empowerment!" Fleming's page If those are still his motivations I have to believe he thinks in terms of bridging the proprietary-FOSS gap in some sustainable way.

4Re: Who is playing whom?

BenSlater, 2008-08-15T14:30:11Z
Ha ha, the good old days involved a lot time sitting in front of a digitizing tablet for me. So I probably didn't enjoy them as much as you. :) But seriously - as a desktop GIS user, I was strictly a proprietary software user who infrequently dabbled with open source stuff. Now that everyone is doing Web GIS and the open source desktop applications have come so far, it would be silly not try out open source. And of course I'll want to know how to get the open source stuff to work with the already existing proprietary stuff I have. So far I'm really pleased. I'm curious about your reaction - do you see involvement from the proprietary players at these events as a threat to open source software?

5Re: Who is playing whom?

Sean, 2008-08-15T14:47:57Z
Ben: I was referring to the MapServer meetings that led up to what is now known as FOSS4G. I miss the open source enthusiasm. Did you attend them? Have you been attending FOSS4G since, or is this a purely hypothetical argument to you? Yves: the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. I had a good time last year, but found the pitching and endless stroking of the sponsors (proprietary software vendors) by speakers to be a soul-sucking experience. More of this simply dilutes the open source flavor.

6Re: Who is playing whom?

BenSlater, 2008-08-15T15:15:55Z
This is totally hypothetical for me. I can see your point about the overall atmosphere being less fun with the proprietary folks - they're there to make money as opposed to having fun or helping humanity. I was thinking more about the end product. I would expect the software to turn out just as well, and maybe sometimes even better with the proprietary involvement. Look on the bright side - you should be able to get some free drinks from all those vendors! :)

7Re: Who is playing whom?

Yves Moisan, 2008-08-15T18:05:34Z
I definitely share the concerns you have. I remember the days when I used to attend remote sensing conferences where one felt like a watcher of powerpoint slides and commercial booths. No code sprint there, nothing to go back home with and hack at. The spirit of FOSS4G meetings -- at least the ones I attended in Ottawa and Minneapolis -- definitely is more satisfying for me. I don't like "money bullying" in whatever form it takes. When FOSS4G becomes a suite of McActivities of sorts, I'll find myself missing substance. Luckily we can always flee to some pub ... We'll see what the atmosphere/environment is like this year. I hope it's no too different from the last FOSS4G I attended.

8Re: Who is playing whom?

Paul Ramsey, 2008-08-15T18:21:50Z
2008 has had to incorporate an existing regional GIS conference, and that means the amount of proprietary vendors and content is going to be somewhat higher than it might be ordinarily. Hopefully it will also mean that folks who would not ordinarily learn about FOSS will do so, and the world will be a brighter place. In general it seems like FOSS people know more about proprietary than vice versa, so this seems like a salutary opportunity, to me. We shall see in the final review just what people thought about it. I think the biggest difference between something like Ottawa 2004 (200 people) and Victoria 2007 (700 people) was one of scale rather than any "proprietary participation" thing. A bigger event is necessarily less cozy, and some "community" feel is lost.

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