On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 12:22 AM, Cameron Shorter
<cameron.shorter@gmail.com> wrote:
...
I suspect that conference software has become a commodity item and that
there is little to be gained by using the same software every year. Please
correct me if I'm wrong.
IMHO there is a lot to gain:
- OSGeo branding effect: if you change every year the software, we never reach
a feel-at-home effect
- conferences are made for the community, not for the commodity of the
organizers (sorry to say, please don't feel offended)
- using the same software also helps to get things replicated easier
in the following year
At least layout and colors should be similar and reflect the OSGeo style.
On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 12:22 AM, Cameron Shorter <cameron.shorter@gmail.com> wrote: ...
I suspect that conference software has become a commodity item and
that there is little to be gained by using the same software every
year. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
IMHO there is a lot to gain: - OSGeo branding effect: if you change
every year the software, we never reach a feel-at-home effect -
...
I would agree with Markus. Apart from branding effect, using the
same software will help to manage and maintain the annual conference
content more easily instead of many people managing contents on
disparate web sites.
Despite some shortcomings in flexibility, OCS is still a good
Open Source tool for conference management.
I'm much in the same boat as Frank - I personally see high value in having open access to our content and the underlying system, but don't think I can help support a choice either way now due to lack of time. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a good job here for someone, either as a volunteer or possibly in some part time work. I see several ads for OJS/OCS developers, for example.
In the end I see it as more of a question of having access to presentations and other organisational details from year to year. So far we are fine because our past events are still being (voluntarily) hosted by past organisers and, presumably, we still have people on the inside that can access the systems to suck the info out when needed.
If we were able to implement a solution (and really, we already have with OCS) and improve it so it met all our/PCO needs - the FOSS-lover in me dreams that PCO's would have a free tool they could use internally too. I've seen some PCO's have to sub-license these kinds of tools from other service providers as well, so they are not always 100% in charge of the tools anyway.
Tyler
On 21-May-08, at 6:00 AM, venka.osgeo wrote:
Markus Neteler wrote:
...
On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 12:22 AM, Cameron Shorter <cameron.shorter@gmail.com> wrote: ...
I suspect that conference software has become a commodity item and
that there is little to be gained by using the same software every
year. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
IMHO there is a lot to gain: - OSGeo branding effect: if you change
every year the software, we never reach a feel-at-home effect -
...
I would agree with Markus. Apart from branding effect, using the
same software will help to manage and maintain the annual conference
content more easily instead of many people managing contents on
disparate web sites.
Despite some shortcomings in flexibility, OCS is still a good
Open Source tool for conference management.