From president at linux.org.au Fri Dec 1 20:25:02 2017 From: president at linux.org.au (Linux Australia President) Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2017 20:25:02 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] We don't do that here Message-ID: <2595d5e2-fb05-bf5d-e40e-18a3454027c1@linux.org.au> Hi everyone, and hope this note finds you keeping cool, and dry. Stay safe over the next couple of days. We are a very passionate community. We're passionate about what we do, and how we do it. We all want to have a space here that is friendly, comfortable and welcoming. We don't always know though how to do that - and sometimes jokes with the best of intention don't carry through this medium well. Similarly, efforts to call out that behaviour can also come across as blunt.? Be inclusive rather than exclusive, even if it's a joke. Be kind. Be welcoming. Think twice about how your post will be read and interpreted. Do call out people on their behaviour, and equally try to do that in a way that saves them face, and allows them to participate again appropriately. That might be privately first. As a community, we're always going to wrestle with how we get our culture right. We're a unique blend of personalities. Let's all strive to have a better community - incrementally - every d ay. One of the best pieces I've seen lately on this is 'We don't do that here'. http://thagomizer.com/blog/2017/09/29/we-don-t-do-that-here.html Being exclusionary, embarrassing others, being unwelcoming, or hurtful, or unkind - or unthinking. We don't do that here. Kind regards, Kathy -- Kathy Reid President Linux Australia 0418 130 636 president at linux.org.au http://linux.org.au Linux Australia Inc GPO Box 4788 Sydney NSW 2001 Australia ABN 56 987 117 479 From paulway at mabula.net Sun Dec 3 21:42:09 2017 From: paulway at mabula.net (Paul Wayper) Date: Sun, 3 Dec 2017 21:42:09 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Nomination for Ordinary Council Member Message-ID: <4abe000e-7d93-4851-af62-179e261a6704@mabula.net> Hi all, I would like to put myself forward for one of the Ordinary Council Member positions for Linux Australia for the upcoming election in January 2018. For people who haven't met me, I'll introduce myself by saying that I'm a keen Open Source and Open Hardware enthusiast. I've organised, or herded, the Canberra Linux Users Group for a number of years although I gave that up a couple of years ago. I've been a member of Linux Australia since I came to my first LCA in 2005 and have been a keen attendee of LCA and OSDC ever since. For a time I was a part of the Linux Australia LUG communications sub-committee. I've given talks at LCA, OSDC, SLUG and CLUG on a variety of FOSS topics. I work for Red Hat, contributing to an open source project called Insights. I'm keen to open a new chapter in my contribution to Free Open Source Software by helping with the smooth operation of Linux Australia. Personally, I'm a six foot tall ape descendant and nobody is currently trying to drive a bypass through my home. I've built an electric motorbike. I play computer, card and board games, turn wood, grow fruit and vegetables, ski downhill and cross country, go for long romantic walks on the beach, teach a dance class, compose and mix music, and play the piano at a very amateur level. None of these things makes me qualified for being on the Linux Australia Council but they might be amusing. Discussion and feedback welcome! Have fun, Paul From arjen at lentz.com.au Tue Dec 5 09:43:56 2017 From: arjen at lentz.com.au (Arjen Lentz) Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2017 08:43:56 +1000 (EST) Subject: [Linux-aus] You want to speak at: Open Education miniconf Message-ID: <95094924.94930.1512427436454.JavaMail.zimbra@lentz.com.au> Hi all You can still submit to speak and participate at the Open Education miniconf in Sydney on January 23rd! https://linux.conf.au/programme/miniconfs/open-education/ Regards, Arjen. From kathy at kathyreid.id.au Tue Dec 5 13:03:29 2017 From: kathy at kathyreid.id.au (Kathy Reid) Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2017 13:03:29 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Nominating for President in 2018 Message-ID: <26537cb6-2199-0c85-1fbd-bdf7d4449561@kathyreid.id.au> Hi everyone, I am nominating for President of Linux Australia in 2018. Over 2017, I've been incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to lead a dedicated, professional, committed and high-performing team in Council. As a team, we have had rigourous debate on a number of issues internally, but have strived to provide a united face as the leadership of Linux Australia, supported incredibly by several subcommittees. We've delivered a number of key outcomes. We've almost completed a rebrand of the organisation, the outputs of which will then be applied to new web and membership systems next year, if I'm re-elected. We've breathed new life into our Grants Programme, which saw around $AUD 35k distributed to multiple worthwhile projects, including Womens Wednesday's at Ballarat Hackerspace, sponsorship of diversity and inclusion initiatives, such as VALA Tech Camp, and cross-pollinating open source with other disciplines, such as with bioinformatics - through STEMformatics. We've provided behind-the-scenes support for a number of events - although our involvement has largely been hands off - ensuring infrastructure like bank accounts and seed funding are in place. We've welcomed Linux Users Victoria as a subcommittee, helping to reduce their administrative overheads, and focus on what they do best - bringing together the Linux and open source community in Melbourne and surrounds. We've liaised and started to build relationships with other relevant organisations in Australia and abroad - such as through our WordPress MoU - although there is much work still to do here. We've also done the boring administrivia that ensures our established processes run smoothly - in building a pipeline for future linux.conf.au and ensuring we do forward budget planning, that we have insurance coverage, that we're complying with Fair Trading NSW law, and that our bills are paid on time. We've also made strong efforts to communicate our activities this year - providing space and opportunity for feedback, criticism and dialogue. Thank you to those who have taken that opportunity - while we may not have always solved an issue, feedback helps us ensure we're in alignment with the wishes of the Linux Australia community. We've had our challenges. Striking the balance between freedom of expression, and creating an environment where *all* open source practitioners, developers and users feel welcomed remains a challenge. Sometimes we get that balance right, and sometimes we need to work harder to shift the pendulum. While we have more diversity of genders attending Linux Australia events, this is nowhere near parity. And our community is overwhelmingly white - which is not reflective of the diversity in Australia - not just diversity of ethnicity - but diversity of viewpoints, diversity of thinking, diversity of approaches. Together we do better.? We're also challenged by capacity. A 7-person volunteer Council puts in tens of hours per week just to "keep things running" - one of the reasons that some of the goals for this year have been delayed (web refresh and new member database). We need to be realistic about what we can achieve with an entirely voluntary leadership team, and a revenue model that is based entirely on volunteer efforts. We do not want to see burnout in our community or in Council. Why me? It would be easy to say "well, no-one else is silly enough to put up their hand", but this would insult those whose steps I've followed - Hugh, and Josh, and John, and James, and Stewart, and Jon, and Pia, and Anand, and Terry. You shouldn't nominate me, or vote for me because there's no one else. You should vote for me because you have confidence in my ability to lead, and you believe in the direction I want to take us in. If there are others with other directions and visions - great - we benefit from a diversity of strategies, and the desire and drive to fulfill them. Where to? Next year, I would like to continue the momentum we've built in 2017 - running the Grants Program again, and continuing to refresh our aging systems. I would like us to continue to foster relationships with other technology organisations and identifying where we can work jointly on issues that affect us, and effect greater change. We need to review whether our name - Linux Australia - effectively captures what we do now. And we need to continue to incrementally improve our operational processes, and make things easier for those running events under our umbrella - through templates, well documented procedures and so on. We also need to be aware of the pipeline issue we face - we have fewer younger and newer members, and we don't have strong methods for attracting new members to our community. Those who survive and thrive are those who can best adapt to change, and we need to evolve. Full disclosure of interests: * I currently contract with Mycroft.AI, an open-source company specialising in natural language processing and artificial intelligence * I run my own microbusiness - kathyreid.com.au, where I contract in web development and data visualisation * I sit on two committees with G21 - the Geelong Regional Alliance (Education and Training and Economic Development) * I hold a BA in Indonesian and security studies, a BS in Information Systems and an MBA (Computing) Kind regards, Kathy Reid -- -- Kathy Reid email: kathy at kathyreid.id.au mobile: 0418 130 636 twitter: @kathyreid -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From tim at wirejunkie.com Tue Dec 5 21:43:40 2017 From: tim at wirejunkie.com (Tim Serong) Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2017 21:43:40 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] In memoriam: Mark Elwell Message-ID: <20171205104340.GT14575@seshat.divinus.wirejunkie.com> It is my sad duty to announce the passing of Mark Elwell, one of our keynote speakers at OSDC 2015. When I first met Mark several years ago, he appeared as a skinny black dude named Cursa, in an ancient Egyptian sim in Second Life. We role played together in that environment of course, but beyond that, Morgan Leigh (my wife and co-conspirator in organising OSDC 2015), collaborated with him on several academic papers and conference talks about education in shared virtual environments, and we all worked together on and off over many years. Mark founded Hakusan International School, the first primary and secondary institution in the Hokuriku region of Japan with English as the medium of instruction, administration, and school life. He worked conceiving, implementing, and assessing curricula and teaching methods in government and private school systems for more than thirty years. He cared deeply about education, about technology, and about bringing people together online. For someone who spent so much time online in virtual worlds, I can think of no more fitting memorial than to leave this here, on a public mailing list that will ultimately be archived online approximately forever. Having eventually met him in person as Mark, had him speak at our conference, broken bread with him, and showed him around our farm, I'll miss him as Mark. But I'll also miss him as Cursa. Tim Serong From ilox11 at gmail.com Wed Dec 6 20:27:36 2017 From: ilox11 at gmail.com (Ian) Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2017 19:57:36 +1030 Subject: [Linux-aus] Nominating for President in 2018 In-Reply-To: <26537cb6-2199-0c85-1fbd-bdf7d4449561@kathyreid.id.au> References: <26537cb6-2199-0c85-1fbd-bdf7d4449561@kathyreid.id.au> Message-ID: Hello Kathy, I support your nomination, I think it would be great for Linux Australia to have you in the role again. I sincerely thank you for your passion and dedication to LA that you have shown in the President's role and in previous roles. I must question this opening statement and seek your clarification: "We've almost completed a rebrand of the organisation, the outputs of which will then be applied to new web and membership systems next year, if I'm re-elected." Umm, please feel free to correct me but the work that has been done so far will very likely continue with the new Committee, whether you are on it or not. Yes? Maybe you were suggesting that you would continue to push this process forward if re-elected which I fully support. But that isn't how it reads at present. Good luck to you and all nominees for this election. On 5 December 2017 at 12:33, Kathy Reid via linux-aus < linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au> wrote: > Hi everyone, > > I am nominating for President of Linux Australia in 2018. > > Over 2017, I've been incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to lead > a dedicated, professional, committed and high-performing team in Council. > As a team, we have had rigourous debate on a number of issues internally, > but have strived to provide a united face as the leadership of Linux > Australia, supported incredibly by several subcommittees. > > We've delivered a number of key outcomes. > > We've almost completed a rebrand of the organisation, the outputs of which > will then be applied to new web and membership systems next year, if I'm > re-elected. We've breathed new life into our Grants Programme, which saw > around $AUD 35k distributed to multiple worthwhile projects, including > Womens Wednesday's at Ballarat Hackerspace, sponsorship of diversity and > inclusion initiatives, such as VALA Tech Camp, and cross-pollinating open > source with other disciplines, such as with bioinformatics - through > STEMformatics. We've provided behind-the-scenes support for a number of > events - although our involvement has largely been hands off - ensuring > infrastructure like bank accounts and seed funding are in place. We've > welcomed Linux Users Victoria as a subcommittee, helping to reduce their > administrative overheads, and focus on what they do best - bringing > together the Linux and open source community in Melbourne and surrounds. > We've liaised and started to build relationships with other relevant > organisations in Australia and abroad - such as through our WordPress MoU - > although there is much work still to do here. We've also done the boring > administrivia that ensures our established processes run smoothly - in > building a pipeline for future linux.conf.au and ensuring we do forward > budget planning, that we have insurance coverage, that we're complying with > Fair Trading NSW law, and that our bills are paid on time. We've also made > strong efforts to communicate our activities this year - providing space > and opportunity for feedback, criticism and dialogue. Thank you to those > who have taken that opportunity - while we may not have always solved an > issue, feedback helps us ensure we're in alignment with the wishes of the > Linux Australia community. > > We've had our challenges. > > Striking the balance between freedom of expression, and creating an > environment where *all* open source practitioners, developers and users > feel welcomed remains a challenge. Sometimes we get that balance right, and > sometimes we need to work harder to shift the pendulum. While we have more > diversity of genders attending Linux Australia events, this is nowhere near > parity. And our community is overwhelmingly white - which is not reflective > of the diversity in Australia - not just diversity of ethnicity - but > diversity of viewpoints, diversity of thinking, diversity of approaches. > Together we do better. We're also challenged by capacity. A 7-person > volunteer Council puts in tens of hours per week just to "keep things > running" - one of the reasons that some of the goals for this year have > been delayed (web refresh and new member database). We need to be realistic > about what we can achieve with an entirely voluntary leadership team, and a > revenue model that is based entirely on volunteer efforts. We do not want > to see burnout in our community or in Council. > > Why me? > > It would be easy to say "well, no-one else is silly enough to put up their > hand", but this would insult those whose steps I've followed - Hugh, and > Josh, and John, and James, and Stewart, and Jon, and Pia, and Anand, and > Terry. You shouldn't nominate me, or vote for me because there's no one > else. You should vote for me because you have confidence in my ability to > lead, and you believe in the direction I want to take us in. If there are > others with other directions and visions - great - we benefit from a > diversity of strategies, and the desire and drive to fulfill them. > > Where to? > > Next year, I would like to continue the momentum we've built in 2017 - > running the Grants Program again, and continuing to refresh our aging > systems. I would like us to continue to foster relationships with other > technology organisations and identifying where we can work jointly on > issues that affect us, and effect greater change. We need to review whether > our name - Linux Australia - effectively captures what we do now. And we > need to continue to incrementally improve our operational processes, and > make things easier for those running events under our umbrella - through > templates, well documented procedures and so on. We also need to be aware > of the pipeline issue we face - we have fewer younger and newer members, > and we don't have strong methods for attracting new members to our > community. Those who survive and thrive are those who can best adapt to > change, and we need to evolve. > > Full disclosure of interests: > > - I currently contract with Mycroft.AI, an open-source company > specialising in natural language processing and artificial intelligence > - I run my own microbusiness - kathyreid.com.au, where I contract in > web development and data visualisation > - I sit on two committees with G21 - the Geelong Regional Alliance > (Education and Training and Economic Development) > - I hold a BA in Indonesian and security studies, a BS in Information > Systems and an MBA (Computing) > > Kind regards, > > Kathy Reid > > -- > -- > Kathy Reid > > email: kathy at kathyreid.id.au > mobile: 0418 130 636 > twitter: @kathyreid > > > > _______________________________________________ > linux-aus mailing list > linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to > linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au > -- -- Ian -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kathy at kathyreid.id.au Thu Dec 7 16:53:25 2017 From: kathy at kathyreid.id.au (Kathy Reid) Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2017 16:53:25 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Nominating for President in 2018 In-Reply-To: References: <26537cb6-2199-0c85-1fbd-bdf7d4449561@kathyreid.id.au> Message-ID: Hi Ian, Thanks for your email, and for your support. In terms of whether the rebrand work will continue, this is highly likely, however a new Council is free to make other determinations. Certainly, if I'm re-elected, I will be pushing forward with this. We're still finalising some of the details of the rebrand, and will share when we have a more finished product. The rebrand seeks to reflect our evolving identify, which still resonating with the long history we have as a community. Kind regards, Kathy On 06/12/17 20:27, Ian wrote: > Hello Kathy, I support your nomination, I think it would be great for > Linux Australia to have you in the role again. > I sincerely thank you for your passion and dedication to LA that you > have shown in the President's role and in previous roles. > > I must question this opening statement and seek your clarification: > "We've almost completed a rebrand of the organisation, the outputs of > which will then be applied to new web and membership systems next > year, if I'm re-elected." > > Umm, please feel free to correct me but the work that has been done so > far will very likely continue with the new Committee, whether you are > on it or not. Yes? > > Maybe you were suggesting that you would continue to push this process > forward if re-elected which I fully support. But that isn't how it > reads at present. > > Good luck to you and all nominees for this election. > > > On 5 December 2017 at 12:33, Kathy Reid via linux-aus > > > wrote: > > Hi everyone, > > I am nominating for President of Linux Australia in 2018. > > Over 2017, I've been incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity > to lead a dedicated, professional, committed and high-performing > team in Council. As a team, we have had rigourous debate on a > number of issues internally, but have strived to provide a united > face as the leadership of Linux Australia, supported incredibly by > several subcommittees. > > We've delivered a number of key outcomes. > > We've almost completed a rebrand of the organisation, the outputs > of which will then be applied to new web and membership systems > next year, if I'm re-elected. We've breathed new life into our > Grants Programme, which saw around $AUD 35k distributed to > multiple worthwhile projects, including Womens Wednesday's at > Ballarat Hackerspace, sponsorship of diversity and inclusion > initiatives, such as VALA Tech Camp, and cross-pollinating open > source with other disciplines, such as with bioinformatics - > through STEMformatics. We've provided behind-the-scenes support > for a number of events - although our involvement has largely been > hands off - ensuring infrastructure like bank accounts and seed > funding are in place. We've welcomed Linux Users Victoria as a > subcommittee, helping to reduce their administrative overheads, > and focus on what they do best - bringing together the Linux and > open source community in Melbourne and surrounds. We've liaised > and started to build relationships with other relevant > organisations in Australia and abroad - such as through our > WordPress MoU - although there is much work still to do here. > We've also done the boring administrivia that ensures our > established processes run smoothly - in building a pipeline for > future linux.conf.au and ensuring we do > forward budget planning, that we have insurance coverage, that > we're complying with Fair Trading NSW law, and that our bills are > paid on time. We've also made strong efforts to communicate our > activities this year - providing space and opportunity for > feedback, criticism and dialogue. Thank you to those who have > taken that opportunity - while we may not have always solved an > issue, feedback helps us ensure we're in alignment with the wishes > of the Linux Australia community. > > We've had our challenges. > > Striking the balance between freedom of expression, and creating > an environment where *all* open source practitioners, developers > and users feel welcomed remains a challenge. Sometimes we get that > balance right, and sometimes we need to work harder to shift the > pendulum. While we have more diversity of genders attending Linux > Australia events, this is nowhere near parity. And our community > is overwhelmingly white - which is not reflective of the diversity > in Australia - not just diversity of ethnicity - but diversity of > viewpoints, diversity of thinking, diversity of approaches. > Together we do better.? We're also challenged by capacity. A > 7-person volunteer Council puts in tens of hours per week just to > "keep things running" - one of the reasons that some of the goals > for this year have been delayed (web refresh and new member > database). We need to be realistic about what we can achieve with > an entirely voluntary leadership team, and a revenue model that is > based entirely on volunteer efforts. We do not want to see burnout > in our community or in Council. > > Why me? > > It would be easy to say "well, no-one else is silly enough to put > up their hand", but this would insult those whose steps I've > followed - Hugh, and Josh, and John, and James, and Stewart, and > Jon, and Pia, and Anand, and Terry. You shouldn't nominate me, or > vote for me because there's no one else. You should vote for me > because you have confidence in my ability to lead, and you believe > in the direction I want to take us in. If there are others with > other directions and visions - great - we benefit from a diversity > of strategies, and the desire and drive to fulfill them. > > Where to? > > Next year, I would like to continue the momentum we've built in > 2017 - running the Grants Program again, and continuing to refresh > our aging systems. I would like us to continue to foster > relationships with other technology organisations and identifying > where we can work jointly on issues that affect us, and effect > greater change. We need to review whether our name - Linux > Australia - effectively captures what we do now. And we need to > continue to incrementally improve our operational processes, and > make things easier for those running events under our umbrella - > through templates, well documented procedures and so on. We also > need to be aware of the pipeline issue we face - we have fewer > younger and newer members, and we don't have strong methods for > attracting new members to our community. Those who survive and > thrive are those who can best adapt to change, and we need to evolve. > > Full disclosure of interests: > > * I currently contract with Mycroft.AI, an open-source company > specialising in natural language processing and artificial > intelligence > * I run my own microbusiness - kathyreid.com.au > , where I contract in web development > and data visualisation > * I sit on two committees with G21 - the Geelong Regional > Alliance (Education and Training and Economic Development) > * I hold a BA in Indonesian and security studies, a BS in > Information Systems and an MBA (Computing) > > Kind regards, > > Kathy Reid > > -- > -- > Kathy Reid > > email: kathy at kathyreid.id.au > mobile: 0418 130 636 > twitter: @kathyreid > > > _______________________________________________ > linux-aus mailing list > linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to > linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au > > > > > > -- > -- Ian > -- -- Kathy Reid Independent digital consultant email: kathy at kathyreid.id.au mobile: 0418 130 636 twitter: @kathyreid video: https://zoom.us/j/3384470933 blog: http://blog.kathyreid.id.au linkedin: https://au.linkedin.com/in/kathyreid calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=www.kathyreid.id.au%40gmail.com&ctz=Australia/Sydney ?: bitcoin:14pXC2GzccgqcWBnWhDZnu6KNopS824kPE -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From president at linux.org.au Thu Dec 7 17:55:31 2017 From: president at linux.org.au (Linux Australia President) Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2017 17:55:31 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Linux Australia December update Message-ID: <0c34ca09-9add-36e1-f61d-bf35e9579d69@linux.org.au> Hi everyone, Hoping that this note finds you and your loved ones well and safe, despite whatever inclement weather your region has chosen to throw at you. As we ease into the holiday season, I'd like to round off the year with a quick update on our activities, and position us into the start of the new year. linux.conf.au 22nd-26th January, Sydney It will be awesome. If you haven't got your ticket already, and you're planning to, please do - ticket sales have been strong and we don't want you to miss out. Auckland 2015 sold out, Geelong 2016 sold out, Hobart 2017 sold out, Sydney will likely sell out. Yes, because it will be awesome. The schedule is looking mighty fine, and Bruce, James and the team have pulled in some high calibre keynotes indeed - including Karen Sandler, Jessie Frazelle and Matthew Todd. Big ups too to event sponsors IBM (Penguin Sponsor), Sol1 (Adelie Sponsor), and Discourse (Fairy Penguin Sponsor). If your company hearts Linux as much as we do, then please do consider sponsoring - sponsorship at lca2018.org. Follow along on the Twitters @linuxconfau / #lca2018 or on the Book of Face at DrupalSouth Auckland 2017 wraps up Also in line for big ups are Nicole Kirsch, Pamela Clifford, Dave Sparks and the team led by Sparks Interactive, who delivered another excellent DrupalSouth recently in Auckland. If you'd like a recap, check out the Storify I made (yeah, I know, proprietary platform aggregating proprietary other platforms...) Rebranding We've almost finished rebranding work, very ably undertaken by Toby Ansell. We just have some Brand Guidelines to finalise, then we'll share with everyone. Yes, we've chosen what colour the bike shed will be. Elections Are you awesome? Know someone who is? It's Australia, so we like, need new leaders every five minutes or so, so now's your opportunity to put up your hand to help lead Linux Australia. You don't even need to be a British Citizen, or a Kiwi. Wait, no, the other thing. I jest. But in all seriousness, our organisation is awesome because of the awesome things that awesome people do. Put up your hand to be awesome, make new professional connections, get bossed around by the Pres - ^H^H^H enjoy growing your leadership skills, and above all, move open source in Australia forward. https://linux.org.au/membership/index.php?page=view-election&id=24 AGM and call for Agenda Items Our AGM will be held at linux.conf.au in Sydney and a Call for Agenda Items will go out shortly. Annual report and office bearer's reports Our Auditors are currently auditing our accounts for the financial year just gone, and these will be presented as part of the AGM in Sydney. We will be delivering our Office Bearer's reports in Annual Report form. Oooh shiny! Grants Programme We'll shortly be requesting updates from all Grant Recipients regarding their grant progress, and we'll include these in our annual report. On a parting note, will 2018 be the Year of Linux on the Desktop? https://www.techrepublic.com/article/2018-the-year-of-the-open-source-desktop-browser-and-office-suite/ Have a great holiday season, a great new year, and see you all in Sydney! Kind regards, Kathy -- Kathy Reid President Linux Australia 0418 130 636 president at linux.org.au http://linux.org.au Linux Australia Inc GPO Box 4788 Sydney NSW 2001 Australia ABN 56 987 117 479 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From michael.imelfort at gmail.com Sat Dec 9 00:41:29 2017 From: michael.imelfort at gmail.com (Mike Imelfort) Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2017 23:41:29 +1000 Subject: [Linux-aus] IWS-Hackathon report Message-ID: Hello everyone, I?d like to report back to LA about the IWS Hackathon we held in the first week of November. The event was held a few weeks ago, but as we?re all so heavily involved in many activities within our children?s school (and one of us is a teacher there) we?ve not had the time to let you all know about how the weekend went. Well, school?s out in QLD today, so there are no more excuses. Let?s get started. -- What we set out to do Our goal was to kickstart an open, freely available toolkit for the IWS that would include teacher instruction, connections to the Australian Curriculum, assessment and extension opportunities. We planned to have small teams of three or four teachers working together to create one or more lesson plans that use the IWS, include links to the Australian Curriculum and fit with a theme of work that students would typically work with throughout the year (e.g. the water cycle). -- The event (what we did) After a somewhat rocky start to the event (we had a higher than expected number of no shows) we managed to pull together a schedule that was really quite productive and fun. We changed from being a competition to being a workshop and we enlisted our remaining two judges who work in the STEM sphere to join in as participants. Our participants included representatives from 5 schools, including Tully State School in North Queensland, and a representative from Griffith University. As it was no longer a competition we decided to give away an IWS to each of the participating schools (We budgeted to give away eight, so we have enough $$ to give away three more). We had two teachers map out an entire semester's worth of work around the IWS and two more develop lesson plans suitable for learning about and constructing individual components of the system. Clearly, there's still a lot of work left to do but we?ve had confirmation that one of the participants, a teacher from Mudgeeraba State School who planned a semester's worth of work got sign off from her peers and so we should expect to see a large influx of workable lesson plans come in from there. We're pleased with the outcome and we feel that getting 5 schools on board after our first event is a good effort. -- What we learned Importantly, we need to understand why we had more no-shows than we expected. And we need to work out how to avoid that in the future. On a more positive note, we learned that teachers are interested in using the IWS for more applications that we had originally envisioned. One great example of this was a teacher who wants to teach straight up biology and use the IWS to enable students to accurately dose plants with fixed amounts of nutrients during temporal experiments. We had pretty much only been looking at the IWS from a very typical STEM perspective; coding, electronics, etc. so we were delighted to have this whole new realm of possibilities open up. We were not entirely sure how our attempts to hack together a hackathon would work, and I think now we have some proof that the concept has legs. We learned a lot about working in this space during the planning and over the weekend that we'll be sure to use as we prepare future events. We?d like to thank LA for their financial and other support. -- What?s next We?re going to concentrate on finalising delivery of the IWS?s we?ve promised to give away in preparation for the next school year and thanks to LA we even have the resources to make a few more IWS?s which we hope to get into some more local and regional schools. We?re looking to organise at least two more similar events next year and we?re going to start planning for that after the Holiday break. Once again, I?d like to thank LA for their support and I hope everyone has a safe holiday, Mike and the IWS Hackathon team. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kathy at kathyreid.id.au Mon Dec 11 15:57:00 2017 From: kathy at kathyreid.id.au (Kathy Reid) Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2017 15:57:00 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] IWS-Hackathon report In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <175a3119-34b2-e6e8-7229-29a713572759@kathyreid.id.au> Thanks so much Mike for the report. No-shows at events like this are a common occurrence and in no way reflect upon the efforts you and your team have made here. Best wishes for expanding the IWS reach, and on a personal note, thank you for showing our next generations that science is cool. Kind regards, Kathy On 09/12/17 00:41, Mike Imelfort via linux-aus wrote: > > Hello everyone, > > > I?d like to report back to LA about the IWS Hackathon we held in the > first week of November. The event was held a few weeks ago, but as > we?re all so heavily involved in many activities within our children?s > school (and one of us is a teacher there) we?ve not had the time to > let you all know about how the weekend went. Well, school?s out in QLD > today, so there are no more excuses. Let?s get started. > > > -- What we set out to do > > > Our goal was to kickstart an open, freely available toolkit for the > IWS that would include teacher instruction, connections to the > Australian Curriculum, assessment and extension opportunities. > > > We planned to have small teams of three or four teachers working > together to create one or more lesson plans that use the IWS, include > links to the Australian Curriculum and fit with a theme of work that > students would typically work with throughout the year (e.g. the water > cycle). > > > -- The event (what we did) > > > After a somewhat rocky start to the event (we had a higher than > expected number of no shows) we managed to pull together a schedule > that was really quite productive and fun. We changed from being a > competition to being a workshop and we enlisted our remaining two > judges who work in the STEM sphere to join in as participants. > > > Our participants included representatives from 5 schools, including > Tully State School in North Queensland, and a representative from > Griffith University. As it was no longer a competition we decided to > give away an IWS to each of the participating schools (We budgeted to > give away eight, so we have enough $$ to give away three more). > > > We had two teachers map out an entire semester's worth of work around > the IWS and two more develop lesson plans suitable for learning about > and constructing individual components of the system. Clearly, there's > still a lot of work left to do but we?ve had confirmation that one of > the participants, a teacher from Mudgeeraba State School who planned a > semester's worth of work got sign off from her peers and so we should > expect to see a large influx of workable lesson plans come in from there. > > > We're pleased with the outcome and we feel that getting 5 schools on > board after our first event is a good effort. > > > -- What we learned > > > Importantly, we need to understand why we had more no-shows than we > expected. And we need to work out how to avoid that in the future. On > a more positive note, we learned that teachers are interested in using > the IWS for more applications that we had originally envisioned. One > great example of this was a teacher who wants to teach straight up > biology and use the IWS to enable students to accurately dose plants > with fixed amounts of nutrients during temporal experiments. We had > pretty much only been looking at the IWS from a very typical STEM > perspective; coding, electronics, etc. so we were delighted to have > this whole new realm of possibilities open up. > > > We were not entirely sure how our attempts to hack together a > hackathon would work, and I think now we have some proof that the > concept has legs. We learned a lot about working in this space during > the planning and over the weekend that we'll be sure to use as we > prepare future events. We?d like to thank LA for their financial and > other support. > > > -- What?s next > > > We?re going to concentrate on finalising delivery of the IWS?s we?ve > promised to give away in preparation for the next school year and > thanks to LA we even have the resources to make a few more IWS?s which > we hope to get into some more local and regional schools. We?re > looking to organise at least two more similar events next year and > we?re going to start planning for that after the Holiday break. > > > Once again, I?d like to thank LA for their support and I hope everyone > has a safe holiday, > > > Mike and the IWS Hackathon team. > > > > _______________________________________________ > linux-aus mailing list > linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to > linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au -- -- Kathy Reid Independent digital consultant email: kathy at kathyreid.id.au mobile: 0418 130 636 twitter: @kathyreid video: https://zoom.us/j/3384470933 blog: http://blog.kathyreid.id.au linkedin: https://au.linkedin.com/in/kathyreid calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=www.kathyreid.id.au%40gmail.com&ctz=Australia/Sydney ?: bitcoin:14pXC2GzccgqcWBnWhDZnu6KNopS824kPE -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Robert.Manietta at hsipswich.org.au Tue Dec 12 00:26:29 2017 From: Robert.Manietta at hsipswich.org.au (Robert Manietta) Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2017 13:26:29 +0000 Subject: [Linux-aus] Linux Australia Grant Report Message-ID: Good Day to all concerned. - the items purchased with the grant. Purchased with the grant from Linux Australia were 10 Raspberry Pi?s and 3 TP-Link 8 port POE switches. - Activities undertaken with the grant resources to date 5 workshops have been run utilizing the Pi?s covering open source technologies, Git, Markdown and Docker. - Our reach / any specific cohorts: The Workshops attracted 15 individuals to learn about GIT and Markdown. The workshop on docker saw a further 3 attend the course and learn on our Raspberry Pi systems. - 19 people aged between 12-64 learned more about Docker, GIT and Markdown. Due to unforeseen circumstances, our Linux Introduction Course has been pushed out until the new year to ensure the best results, and attendance for that course. Over the up coming months many more planned courses and training will be coming, focusing on area's discovered through open consultation it has been discovered there is a strong desire for some web development on the Raspberry Pi's, and some IOT applications based on the Raspberry Pi's that some in the wider community are heavily interested in. Continually we have contact with people across the community interested in the workshops and courses. We have though been forced to limit places on these events to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity and access to our members who have taken on leading these workshops and courses ( our field experts ). Further it was discovered that by keeping our workshop and course groups smaller there is more time for those whom have these skills to sit with and assist those whom attend these events aiding them to get the most out of the said training events. With each workshop / course we are improving our resources and continue to make them available to all through our public gitlab account with open licences for other groups to use and to modify as they wish. https://gitlab.com/HSIpswich/ICT [https://assets.gitlab-static.net/assets/gitlab_logo-7ae504fe4f68fdebb3c2034e36621930cd36ea87924c11ff65dbcb8ed50dca58.png] ICT gitlab.com Projects in the IT&T Cause area HSIpswich www.gitlab.com HSIpswich Inc. (Hacker Space Ipswich Inc.) Located Ipswich QLD Australia. This Gitlab contains public repositories of documents and information by HSIpsiwch. It also contains a number of Private repositories exclusively... Kind Regards, Robert Manietta | Cause Leader IT&T & Digital Fabrication Mob: 0433 540 530 Email: robert.manietta at hsipswich.org.au Web: www.hsipswich.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/hsipswich [1498446394439_OutlookEmoji-1497956405598_Sign_V2_SIG.png3642e6bd-0244-4797-9ecf-40575133d76c.png] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 11724 bytes Desc: image001.png URL: From robert at ballarathackerspace.org.au Wed Dec 13 22:09:10 2017 From: robert at ballarathackerspace.org.au (Robert Layton) Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2017 22:09:10 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Ballarat Hackerspace reporting in - Milestone three completed Message-ID: Hi all! This is our final check-in for our grant application. It's a little late - that's my fault for not getting to it earlier, but the women have been very active in the space. They have put together a Prusa 3D printer, and are getting successful prints out of it! Plans are underway for future Raspberry Pi workshops for WW, and we have two new female members looking to help Kim with future events on Wednesday nights. They are doing a great job! Formally, against our milestones. We have 7 female members and 23 members overall, for a 30% female membership rate! So that's all milestones completed, and all KPIs met for this year. I'm really proud of the continued work that Kim has put into these nights, as well as our other committee members who have provided their time to help out with workshops, setting up, and getting things running. Thanks also to Linux Australia for your support this year, and the general support to the hacking community. Have a great Christmas! - Robert, on behalf of the Ballarat Hackerspace committee -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From president at linux.org.au Thu Dec 14 14:29:24 2017 From: president at linux.org.au (Linux Australia President) Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2017 14:29:24 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Ballarat Hackerspace reporting in - Milestone three completed In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <23f6a2bd-f7ae-b5e3-9c8a-c21f5d1cb661@linux.org.au> The regularity and detail of reporting from Ballarat Hackerspace fills me with pride and joy. This is a fantastic outcome Robert - congratulations to you and the bHack crew for an excellent project, and especially to Kim for all her efforts. /me puts a great big green tick next to Ballarat Hackerspace on the Grants list. Wishing all the bHack crew a great Christmas and New Year. May you receive many electronic pressies. Kind regards, Kathy On 13/12/17 22:09, Robert Layton via linux-aus wrote: > Hi all! > > This is our final check-in for our grant application. It's a little > late - that's my fault for not getting to it earlier, but the women > have been very active in the space. > > They have put together a Prusa 3D printer, and are getting successful > prints out of it! Plans are underway for future Raspberry Pi workshops > for WW, and we have two new female members looking to help Kim with > future events on Wednesday nights. They are doing a great job! > > Formally, against our milestones. We have 7 female members and 23 > members overall, for a 30% female membership rate! So that's all > milestones completed, and all KPIs met for this year. > > I'm really proud of the continued work that Kim has put into these > nights, as well as our other committee members who have provided their > time to help out with workshops, setting up, and getting things running. > > Thanks also to Linux Australia for your support this year, and the > general support to the hacking community. Have a great Christmas! > > - Robert, on behalf of the Ballarat Hackerspace committee > > > _______________________________________________ > linux-aus mailing list > linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to > linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au -- Kathy Reid President Linux Australia 0418 130 636 president at linux.org.au http://linux.org.au Linux Australia Inc GPO Box 4788 Sydney NSW 2001 Australia ABN 56 987 117 479 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From paul.j.fenwick at gmail.com Thu Dec 14 18:13:18 2017 From: paul.j.fenwick at gmail.com (Paul Fenwick) Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2017 07:13:18 +0000 Subject: [Linux-aus] KSP-CKAN reporting in Message-ID: Hey everyone! Just a quick reporting in on the KSP-CKAN cross-platform mod manager for Kerbal Space Program, for which Linux Australia is helping us with infrastructure funding. :) *tl;wr: We?re bringing lots of joy to space enthusiasts! :)* The most recent release of the KSP-CKAN client (17 October) has had 66k downloads, and we?ve had over a million downloads summed over all releases. We?re indexing over two thousand individual mods for Kerbal Space Programme, and over twelve thousand individual mod releases overall. While we purposefully don?t track mod downloads to protect user privacy, the sheer number of client downloads and contributions the project is receiving means I can confidently say we?re going very, very strong. We?re also extremely fortunate to have picked up some *incredible* new contributors. An extra special thanks goes to HebaruSan for the best UI improvements ever, which are already in the development version and will be landing with the next release. See the attached images for examples, or this PR for full details. :) I also want to express my enormous gratitude to Myk Dowling for his continuing role as Mission Director, Leon Wright for keeping our infrastructure running, and of course Linux Australia for helping with our infrastructure costs! May you go to space today! ? Paul ? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ckan2.png Type: image/png Size: 34901 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ckan3.png Type: image/png Size: 85844 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ckan4.png Type: image/png Size: 69150 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ckan1.png Type: image/png Size: 137088 bytes Desc: not available URL: From ben at dechrai.com Mon Dec 18 09:15:46 2017 From: ben at dechrai.com (Ben Dechrai) Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2017 09:15:46 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] BuzzConf report Message-ID: Dear Linux Australia, Many thanks, again, for supporting aspects of BuzzConf through the grants program. As outlined in the original request, we sought support to cover the cost of open hardware and components for projects that children at the event would build and take home, as well as increased costs in infrastructure to host the sessions. We had great feedback from the session leaders for the "Nightmare Lights" and "Coder Dojo" workshops that provided these resources to the children. Coder Dojo ran four workshops throughout the weekend, and almost all children went along to at least one of them. Kids had great fun with all the activities, and took part in a test to see how many people it would take to break a Makey Makey electric circuit. They created a chain of children, and got to 27 bodies while still maintaining connectivity :) The Nightmare Light workshop saw kids work in groups to create over a dozen lights, crafted from broken toys, op-shop bargains, arduinos, LEDs, and more. Some of the digital art that came out was fantastic, and all the children involved had so much fun creating the most nightmare inducing objects they could imagine. Despite severe weather warnings for Victoria that weekend, the venue in Ballan was both well equipped for any bad weather, and also avoided the worst of the weather-front. Despite some participants choosing not to attend, we were happy to discover almost all families attended, with 48 of the 50 registered children checking in to the festival. The additional funding, beyond the hard costs for the workshops, allowed us to secure a more suitable marquee for the children's track, which kept them lovely and dry even during spells of moderate rain on the Saturday. I'd like to personally thank the committee, and the members, for approving the funding request, and also to pass on sincere appreciation from the whole BuzzConf team, and the children's track session leaders. Regards, Ben Dechrai P.S. Apologies to council who received this twice, due to me sending the email from the wrong account and it entering moderation on the Linux-Aus list. From president at linux.org.au Mon Dec 18 10:08:42 2017 From: president at linux.org.au (Linux Australia President) Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2017 10:08:42 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] BuzzConf report In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Thanks so much for the report Ben - appreciate it. Sounds like a number of kiddos did a lot of technical levelling up over the weekend! Best, Kathy On 18/12/17 09:15, Ben Dechrai via linux-aus wrote: > Dear Linux Australia, > > Many thanks, again, for supporting aspects of BuzzConf through the > grants program. > > As outlined in the original request, we sought support to cover the cost > of open hardware and components for projects that children at the event > would build and take home, as well as increased costs in infrastructure > to host the sessions. We had great feedback from the session leaders for > the "Nightmare Lights" and "Coder Dojo" workshops that provided these > resources to the children. > > Coder Dojo ran four workshops throughout the weekend, and almost all > children went along to at least one of them. Kids had great fun with all > the activities, and took part in a test to see how many people it would > take to break a Makey Makey electric circuit. They created a chain of > children, and got to 27 bodies while still maintaining connectivity :) > > The Nightmare Light workshop saw kids work in groups to create over a > dozen lights, crafted from broken toys, op-shop bargains, arduinos, > LEDs, and more. Some of the digital art that came out was fantastic, and > all the children involved had so much fun creating the most nightmare > inducing objects they could imagine. > > Despite severe weather warnings for Victoria that weekend, the venue in > Ballan was both well equipped for any bad weather, and also avoided the > worst of the weather-front. Despite some participants choosing not to > attend, we were happy to discover almost all families attended, with 48 > of the 50 registered children checking in to the festival. > > The additional funding, beyond the hard costs for the workshops, allowed > us to secure a more suitable marquee for the children's track, which > kept them lovely and dry even during spells of moderate rain on the > Saturday. > > I'd like to personally thank the committee, and the members, for > approving the funding request, and also to pass on sincere appreciation > from the whole BuzzConf team, and the children's track session leaders. > > Regards, > Ben Dechrai > > P.S. Apologies to council who received this twice, due to me sending the > email from the wrong account and it entering moderation on the Linux-Aus > list. > _______________________________________________ > linux-aus mailing list > linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to > linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au -- Kathy Reid President Linux Australia 0418 130 636 president at linux.org.au http://linux.org.au Linux Australia Inc GPO Box 4788 Sydney NSW 2001 Australia ABN 56 987 117 479 From me at mith.ro Mon Dec 18 10:54:20 2017 From: me at mith.ro (Tim 'mithro' Ansell) Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2017 15:54:20 -0800 Subject: [Linux-aus] Create Hardware with FPGAs, Linux and Python Miniconf @ Linux.conf.au 2018 ticket available - limited spots left! Message-ID: Hello everyone, At Linux.conf.au 2018 (in Sydney, Australia between 22->26th Jan) this year myself and a number of other people will be running a project style miniconf in which we help you "Create Hardware with FPGAs, Linux and Python". As this miniconf requires purchase of hardware to participate and numbers are strictly limit to attend you will need to purchase an additional ticket to your Linux.conf.au registration. The ticket gets you an FPGA board, some required peripherals and lunch on the Miniconf day. These have now been available for over a week but there are still limited spaces left. If you wish to attend you should sign up ASAP! No knowledge of FPGAs or HDLs are required to attend the tutorial, but people should have strong programming experience and be comfortable with both Python and C code. I've included more information about the plans for this Miniconf below; > > In 2005 the Love-Rusty 3000 was a state of the art crypto accelerator. > Developed by the infamous Robert Love & Rusty Russell, it was the talk of > Linux.conf.au 2005[1]. > [Many intrepid kernel hackers spent much of the conference developing a > Linux driver]() for the [advanced feature set](). [1]: https://lca2005.linux.org.au/ > [2]: https://linux.org.au/conf/2005/abstractb2b1.html?id=296 > [3]: https://j.mp/lr3k-datasheet Sadly in 2018 the hardware is no longer available, the innovative & > advanced feature set can no longer inspire new Engineers. This doesn't have to be the end thanks to the development of low cost and > accessible FPGA hardware. You **can** help resurrect this jewel of a device > to inspire the next generation! What was old is new again! The Migen tooling developed by M-Labs[4] when extended by EnjoyDigital's > LiteX ecosystem[5] enables creation of "System on Chip" (SoCs) that can run > Linux. Using a Python based "Hardware Description Language" (HDL) combined > with open CPUs cores[6], the complete source code available under open > source licenses. [4]: https://m-labs.hk/gateware.html > [5]: http://www.enjoy-digital.fr/ > [6]: Like any of PicoRV32, OpenRISC 1K, LatticeMicro32 or J2 open > processor. This technology has been used in everything from custom mobile phone base > stations, quantum mechanics physics experiments[7] and is even the basis > for the TimVideos HDMI2USB project[8] which is currently being used to > record Linux.conf.au! [7]: https://m-labs.hk/artiq/index.html > [8]: https://hdmi2usb.tv During the day we will take you through the following; > * Creating your own SoC using Python based Migen and LiteX. > * Running your SoC on an FPGA and booting into Linux. > * Creating a peripheral providing the Love-Rusty 3000 feature set and > adding to your SoC. > * Controlling your new peripheral from Linux. No knowledge of FPGAs or HDLs are required to attend the tutorial, but > people should have strong programming experience and be comfortable with > both Python and C code. Please share this announcement with anyone you might think would be interested! Tim 'mithro' Ansell -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From clonemeagain at gmail.com Mon Dec 18 12:05:53 2017 From: clonemeagain at gmail.com (A) Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2017 01:05:53 +0000 Subject: [Linux-aus] Contact for Perth LUG Message-ID: Hello, I'm looking for a contact address for whomever manages the plug.linux.org.au page. Have a message for you about a few broken links, one of them is the contact us page.. hence this broadcast. http://www.plug.linux.org.au/ Aaron -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From president at linux.org.au Mon Dec 18 12:09:48 2017 From: president at linux.org.au (Linux Australia President) Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2017 12:09:48 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Contact for Perth LUG In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <8acd9f41-6bfe-2667-0129-c8b25057389d@linux.org.au> Hi Aaron, Try here; https://www.plug.org.au/about/committee Best, Kathy On 18/12/17 12:05, A via linux-aus wrote: > Hello,? > > I'm looking for a contact address for whomever manages the > plug.linux.org.au page.? > Have a message for you about a few broken links, one of them is the > contact us page.. hence this broadcast. > > http://www.plug.linux.org.au/ > > Aaron > > > _______________________________________________ > linux-aus mailing list > linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to > linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au -- Kathy Reid President Linux Australia 0418 130 636 president at linux.org.au http://linux.org.au Linux Australia Inc GPO Box 4788 Sydney NSW 2001 Australia ABN 56 987 117 479 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From clonemeagain at gmail.com Mon Dec 18 12:22:13 2017 From: clonemeagain at gmail.com (A) Date: Mon, 18 Dec 2017 12:22:13 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Contact for Perth LUG In-Reply-To: <8acd9f41-6bfe-2667-0129-c8b25057389d@linux.org.au> References: <8acd9f41-6bfe-2667-0129-c8b25057389d@linux.org.au> Message-ID: Thanks Kathy. I didn't know plug.org.au existed, turns out the contact us page on that domain works fine, www.plug.linux.org.au must be the same site with a different domain, and it even works if you use https (albeit with warnings). I've left a message for the webmasters. Case closed! :-) On 18 December 2017 at 12:09, Linux Australia President wrote: > Hi Aaron, > > Try here; > > https://www.plug.org.au/about/committee > > Best, Kathy > > > On 18/12/17 12:05, A via linux-aus wrote: > > Hello, > > I'm looking for a contact address for whomever manages the plug.linux.org.au > page. > Have a message for you about a few broken links, one of them is the contact > us page.. hence this broadcast. > > http://www.plug.linux.org.au/ > > Aaron > > > _______________________________________________ > linux-aus mailing list > linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to > linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au > > -- > Kathy Reid > President > Linux Australia > > 0418 130 636 > > president at linux.org.au > http://linux.org.au > > Linux Australia Inc > GPO Box 4788 > Sydney NSW 2001 > Australia > > ABN 56 987 117 479 From rowland at stemformatics.org Tue Dec 19 04:40:25 2017 From: rowland at stemformatics.org (Rowland Mosbergen) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2017 04:40:25 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Grant Application for Stemformatics Data Portal Student talk at LCA Message-ID: To the Linux Australia Community, We wanted to apply for a further grant application around the Stemformatics Data Portal project, this time around travel expenses. Sadia Waleem was one of the students who was on the Stemformatics Data Portal project (https://portal.stemformatics.org). She has been accepted to talk at the second Open Source and Bioinformatics miniconf as part of Linux Conference Australia on 22 January 2018 at University of Technology, Sydney. We are hoping that with this talk we may attract more people to help contribute to the Open Source Stemformatics ecosystem, especially around the Data Portal. We have been improving our documentation and will be updating our website to provide more information about how to contribute code to this and other Stemformatics projects. I estimate the flights will cost around $300 via Jetstar (normally $139 or $149 without check-in). I wasn't sure if there would be a provision to include taxi fares to and from Melbourne airport for Sadia. We would be happy to pay the taxi fares in Sydney, as we have another developer, Isha Nagpal, who is also speaking at the same event. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have around this. Below is the acceptance email from Alan Rubin about the miniconf. *---------- Forwarded message ----------From: Alan Rubin* < rubin.a at wehi.edu.au> Date: Tue, Dec 5, 2017 at 9:44 PM Subject: Invitation to Speak at LCA 2018 To: Sadia Waleem Cc: Rowland Mosbergen , Aaron Darling < aaron.darling at uts.edu.au> *Hi Sadia,Aaron Darling and I are organizing the second Open Source andBioinformatics miniconf as part of Linux Conference Australia on 22January 2018 at University of Technology, Sydney.We would be very excited to have you come and speak about yourStemformatics Data Portal project, particularly because it was supporteddirectly by Linux Australia. I think that the highly technical (but mostlynon-scientific) audience will be very interested in hearing about how youaddressed some of the challenges in dealing with large biological datasets.Conference registration is required, but we are able to secure single-dayregistrations for invited miniconf speakers. The conference website ishttp://lca2018.linux.org.au/ I?m happy to answer any questions you may have. Please let me know if youare able to accept at your earliest convenience. Hope to hear from yousoon.Best,AlanAlan F Rubin, PhDPostdoctoral FellowBioinformatics DivisionThe Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research1G Royal Parade | Parkville | VIC 3052 | AustraliaPhone +61 3 9345 2631 <%2B61%203%209345%202631>Email rubin.a at wehi.edu.au * Regards, *Rowland Mosbergen | Stemformatics Project Manager* Centre for Stem Cell Systems Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience | Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences Room 1.36, Level 1, Kenneth Myer Building The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010 Australia *T: *+61 3 834 46623 *E: **rowland at stemformatics.org * *I acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional Owners of the land on which I work, and pay my respects to the Elders, past and present.* *[image: cid:image002.jpg at 01D31D8F.E823DE70]* *CRICOS: 00116K* This email and any attachments may contain personal information or information that is otherwise confidential or the subject of copyright. Any use, disclosure or copying of any part of it is prohibited. The University does not warrant that this email or any attachments are free from viruses or defects. Please check any attachments for viruses and defects before opening them. If this email is received in error, please delete it and notify us by return email. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 3352 bytes Desc: not available URL: From kathy at kathyreid.id.au Tue Dec 19 16:03:48 2017 From: kathy at kathyreid.id.au (Kathy Reid) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2017 16:03:48 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Create Hardware with FPGAs, Linux and Python Miniconf @ Linux.conf.au 2018 ticket available - limited spots left! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <9937195b-350d-58d1-2aeb-3df57360a04c@kathyreid.id.au> So how do the Sponsored Kits work - if I buy one of those does it go to someone who could otherwise not afford it? (sorry if I've missed an email somewhere, 500 unread) Best, Kathy On 18/12/17 10:54, Tim 'mithro' Ansell via linux-aus wrote: > Hello everyone, > > At Linux.conf.au 2018 (in Sydney, Australia > between?22->26th Jan) this year myself and a number of other people > will be running a project style miniconf in which we help you "Create > Hardware with FPGAs, Linux and Python".? > > As this miniconf requires purchase of hardware to participate and > numbers are strictly limit to attend you will need to purchase an > additional ticket to your Linux.conf.au > registration. The ticket gets you an FPGA board, some required > peripherals and lunch on the Miniconf day. These have now been > available for over a week but there are still limited spaces left. If > you wish to attend you should sign up ASAP!? > > No knowledge of FPGAs or HDLs are required to attend the tutorial, but > people should have strong programming experience and be comfortable > with both Python and C code. > > I've included more information about the plans for this Miniconf below; > > > In 2005 the Love-Rusty 3000 was a state of the art crypto > accelerator. Developed by the infamous Robert Love & Rusty > Russell, it was the talk of Linux.conf.au > 2005[1]. > [Many intrepid kernel hackers spent much of the conference > developing a Linux driver]() for the [advanced feature set]().? > > ? > > ?[1]: https://lca2005.linux.org.au/ > ?[2]: https://linux.org.au/conf/2005/abstractb2b1.html?id=296 > ?[3]: https://j.mp/lr3k-datasheet? > > ? > > Sadly in 2018 the hardware is no longer available, the innovative > & advanced feature set can no longer inspire new Engineers.? > > ? > > This doesn't have to be the end thanks to the development of low > cost and accessible FPGA hardware. You **can** help resurrect this > jewel of a device to inspire the next generation! What was old is > new again!? > > ? > > The Migen tooling developed by M-Labs[4] when extended by > EnjoyDigital's LiteX ecosystem[5] enables creation of "System on > Chip" (SoCs) that can run Linux. Using a Python based "Hardware > Description Language" (HDL) combined with open CPUs cores[6], the > complete source code available under open source licenses.? > > ? > > [4]: https://m-labs.hk/gateware.html > [5]: http://www.enjoy-digital.fr/ > [6]:?Like any of PicoRV32, OpenRISC 1K, LatticeMicro32 or J2 open > processor.? > > ? > > This technology has been used in everything from custom mobile > phone base stations, quantum mechanics physics experiments[7] and > is even the basis for the TimVideos HDMI2USB project[8] which is > currently being used to record Linux.conf.au !? > > ? > > ?[7]: https://m-labs.hk/artiq/index.html > ?[8]: https://hdmi2usb.tv? > > ? > > During the day we will take you through the following; > ?* Creating your own SoC using Python based Migen and LiteX. > ?* Running your SoC on an FPGA and booting into Linux. > ?* Creating a peripheral providing the Love-Rusty 3000 feature set > and adding to your SoC. > ?* Controlling your new peripheral from Linux.? > > ? > > No knowledge of FPGAs or HDLs are required to attend the tutorial, > but people should have strong programming experience and be > comfortable with both Python and C code. > > > Please share this announcement with anyone you might think would be > interested! > > Tim 'mithro' Ansell > > > > _______________________________________________ > linux-aus mailing list > linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to > linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au -- -- Kathy Reid Independent digital consultant email: kathy at kathyreid.id.au mobile: 0418 130 636 twitter: @kathyreid video: https://zoom.us/j/3384470933 blog: http://blog.kathyreid.id.au linkedin: https://au.linkedin.com/in/kathyreid calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=www.kathyreid.id.au%40gmail.com&ctz=Australia/Sydney ?: bitcoin:14pXC2GzccgqcWBnWhDZnu6KNopS824kPE -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From president at linux.org.au Tue Dec 19 19:58:05 2017 From: president at linux.org.au (Linux Australia President) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2017 19:58:05 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? Message-ID: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Hi everyone, Linux Australia is an incorporated association, registered in the state of NSW, and has been in operation since around 2001. Initially convened as a vehicle to operate linux.conf.au, the organisation's remit, activities and scope have broadened significantly over the last decade and a half. We think it's time to change the name of the organisation to better reflect our widened mission, values, activities, partnerships and influence. But wait, hasn't this been tried before? Yes. In 2012/2013, the Linux Australia Council, led then by John Ferlito, attempted a name change. Consensus could not be reached on a name to change *to*, and so Linux Australia remained Linux Australia. This time, we're learning from the outcome of that process, and would like to present to you a decision: Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia (Yes/No) Other aspects of the organisation - constitution, makeup and so on, are not proposed to be changed. We're communicating this now to provide the community with time to discuss this proposed change before the AGM, where the resolution will be tabled in the AGM agenda. The result of the vote will be tabled at the AGM. That is, if the majority vote 'No', we won't change the name. If the majority vote 'Yes', we will. If you are a member of Linux Australia, you will be able to vote on this resolution at: https://www.linux.org.au/membership/index.php?page=view-election&id=25 Voting will open 25th December 2017, the same time voting opens for Council Elections, and will close on 21 January, the same time voting closes for Council Elections. Let the discussion begin. Kind regards, Kathy -- Kathy Reid President Linux Australia 0418 130 636 president at linux.org.au http://linux.org.au Linux Australia Inc GPO Box 4788 Sydney NSW 2001 Australia ABN 56 987 117 479 From me at mith.ro Tue Dec 19 20:22:07 2017 From: me at mith.ro (Tim 'mithro' Ansell) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2017 10:22:07 +0100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Create Hardware with FPGAs, Linux and Python Miniconf @ Linux.conf.au 2018 ticket available - limited spots left! In-Reply-To: <9937195b-350d-58d1-2aeb-3df57360a04c@kathyreid.id.au> References: <9937195b-350d-58d1-2aeb-3df57360a04c@kathyreid.id.au> Message-ID: The kits /are/ sponsored. IE There were $0 tickets (which would have cost $150 AUD) that could be purchased. Thanks! Tim 'mithro' Ansell On 19 December 2017 at 06:03, Kathy Reid via linux-aus < linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au> wrote: > So how do the Sponsored Kits work - if I buy one of those does it go to > someone who could otherwise not afford it? > > (sorry if I've missed an email somewhere, 500 unread) > > Best, Kathy > > On 18/12/17 10:54, Tim 'mithro' Ansell via linux-aus wrote: > > Hello everyone, > > At Linux.conf.au 2018 (in Sydney, Australia between 22->26th Jan) this > year myself and a number of other people will be running a project style > miniconf in which we help you "Create Hardware with FPGAs, Linux and > Python". > > As this miniconf requires purchase of hardware to participate and numbers > are strictly limit to attend you will need to purchase an additional ticket > to your Linux.conf.au registration. The ticket gets you an FPGA board, > some required peripherals and lunch on the Miniconf day. These have now > been available for over a week but there are still limited spaces left. If > you wish to attend you should sign up ASAP! > > No knowledge of FPGAs or HDLs are required to attend the tutorial, but > people should have strong programming experience and be comfortable with > both Python and C code. > > I've included more information about the plans for this Miniconf below; > >> >> In 2005 the Love-Rusty 3000 was a state of the art crypto accelerator. >> Developed by the infamous Robert Love & Rusty Russell, it was the talk of >> Linux.conf.au 2005[1]. >> [Many intrepid kernel hackers spent much of the conference developing a >> Linux driver]() for the [advanced feature set](). > > > > [1]: https://lca2005.linux.org.au/ >> [2]: https://linux.org.au/conf/2005/abstractb2b1.html?id=296 >> [3]: https://j.mp/lr3k-datasheet > > > > Sadly in 2018 the hardware is no longer available, the innovative & >> advanced feature set can no longer inspire new Engineers. > > > > This doesn't have to be the end thanks to the development of low cost and >> accessible FPGA hardware. You **can** help resurrect this jewel of a device >> to inspire the next generation! What was old is new again! > > > > The Migen tooling developed by M-Labs[4] when extended by EnjoyDigital's >> LiteX ecosystem[5] enables creation of "System on Chip" (SoCs) that can run >> Linux. Using a Python based "Hardware Description Language" (HDL) combined >> with open CPUs cores[6], the complete source code available under open >> source licenses. > > > > [4]: https://m-labs.hk/gateware.html >> [5]: http://www.enjoy-digital.fr/ >> [6]: Like any of PicoRV32, OpenRISC 1K, LatticeMicro32 or J2 open >> processor. > > > > This technology has been used in everything from custom mobile phone base >> stations, quantum mechanics physics experiments[7] and is even the basis >> for the TimVideos HDMI2USB project[8] which is currently being used to >> record Linux.conf.au! > > > > [7]: https://m-labs.hk/artiq/index.html >> [8]: https://hdmi2usb.tv > > > > During the day we will take you through the following; >> * Creating your own SoC using Python based Migen and LiteX. >> * Running your SoC on an FPGA and booting into Linux. >> * Creating a peripheral providing the Love-Rusty 3000 feature set and >> adding to your SoC. >> * Controlling your new peripheral from Linux. > > > > No knowledge of FPGAs or HDLs are required to attend the tutorial, but >> people should have strong programming experience and be comfortable with >> both Python and C code. > > > Please share this announcement with anyone you might think would be > interested! > > Tim 'mithro' Ansell > > > > _______________________________________________ > linux-aus mailing listlinux-aus at lists.linux.org.auhttp://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email tolinux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au > > > -- > -- > Kathy Reid > Independent digital consultant > > email: kathy at kathyreid.id.au > mobile: 0418 130 636 > twitter: @kathyreid > video: https://zoom.us/j/3384470933 > blog: http://blog.kathyreid.id.au > linkedin: https://au.linkedin.com/in/kathyreid > calendar: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=www.kathyreid.id.au%40gmail.com&ctz=Australia/Sydney > ?: bitcoin:14pXC2GzccgqcWBnWhDZnu6KNopS824kPE > > > _______________________________________________ > linux-aus mailing list > linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to > linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From bpa at iss.net.au Wed Dec 20 01:37:36 2017 From: bpa at iss.net.au (Brenda Aynsley) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2017 01:07:36 +1030 Subject: [Linux-aus] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: On 19/12/17 19:28, Linux Australia President via linux-aus wrote: > Hi everyone, > > Linux Australia is an incorporated association, registered in the state > of NSW, and has been in operation since around 2001. Initially convened > as a vehicle to operate linux.conf.au, the organisation's remit, > activities and scope have broadened significantly over the last decade > and a half. > > We think it's time to change the name of the organisation to > better reflect our widened mission, values, activities, partnerships and > influence. > > But wait, hasn't this been tried before? > > Yes. In 2012/2013, the Linux Australia Council, led then by John > Ferlito, attempted a name change. Consensus could not be reached on a > name to change *to*, and so Linux Australia remained Linux Australia. > > This time, we're learning from the outcome of that process, and would > like to present to you a decision: > > Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia (Yes/No) NO Why? Not because I am engaged in a religious war on the various aspects of open source theology but because OSIA open source industry australia exists and has done for a decade or more.? To rename LA to OSA open source australia is to court confusion in the market and the community/ies? and to what end? Sorry Kathy and I know you dont want to start name shopping but if we are to change name then it needs to be to one that does not walk into confusion from the get go. cheers brenda -- Brenda Aynsley OAM, FACS CP, ACS Honorary Life Member President, Professions Australia 2017-18 ACS Immediate Past President 2016 & 2017 Immediate Past Chair IFIP International Professional Practice Partnership (IP3) 2017 -- Mobile:+61(0)412 662 988 || Skype/Yahoo/Twitter: baynsley -- *Produced by Ubuntu and Mozilla Thunderbird* From me at mith.ro Wed Dec 20 02:01:03 2017 From: me at mith.ro (Tim 'mithro' Ansell) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2017 16:01:03 +0100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Create Hardware with FPGAs, Linux and Python Miniconf @ Linux.conf.au 2018 ticket available - limited spots left! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: FYI The FPGA Miniconf is currently sold out, a waitlist has been created here -> https://goo.gl/forms/GTDPRH61cRZs3cjy2 Please join the waitlist if you are still interested in attending. It will help us gauge both if we can do something bigger this year and if things go well, if we want to do a bigger event next year. Thank! Tim 'mithro' Ansell On 18 December 2017 at 00:54, Tim 'mithro' Ansell wrote: > Hello everyone, > > At Linux.conf.au 2018 (in Sydney, Australia between 22->26th Jan) this > year myself and a number of other people will be running a project style > miniconf in which we help you "Create Hardware with FPGAs, Linux and > Python". > > As this miniconf requires purchase of hardware to participate and numbers > are strictly limit to attend you will need to purchase an additional ticket > to your Linux.conf.au registration. The ticket gets you an FPGA board, > some required peripherals and lunch on the Miniconf day. These have now > been available for over a week but there are still limited spaces left. If > you wish to attend you should sign up ASAP! > > No knowledge of FPGAs or HDLs are required to attend the tutorial, but > people should have strong programming experience and be comfortable with > both Python and C code. > > I've included more information about the plans for this Miniconf below; > >> >> In 2005 the Love-Rusty 3000 was a state of the art crypto accelerator. >> Developed by the infamous Robert Love & Rusty Russell, it was the talk of >> Linux.conf.au 2005[1]. >> [Many intrepid kernel hackers spent much of the conference developing a >> Linux driver]() for the [advanced feature set](). > > > > [1]: https://lca2005.linux.org.au/ >> [2]: https://linux.org.au/conf/2005/abstractb2b1.html?id=296 >> [3]: https://j.mp/lr3k-datasheet > > > > Sadly in 2018 the hardware is no longer available, the innovative & >> advanced feature set can no longer inspire new Engineers. > > > > This doesn't have to be the end thanks to the development of low cost and >> accessible FPGA hardware. You **can** help resurrect this jewel of a device >> to inspire the next generation! What was old is new again! > > > > The Migen tooling developed by M-Labs[4] when extended by EnjoyDigital's >> LiteX ecosystem[5] enables creation of "System on Chip" (SoCs) that can run >> Linux. Using a Python based "Hardware Description Language" (HDL) combined >> with open CPUs cores[6], the complete source code available under open >> source licenses. > > > > [4]: https://m-labs.hk/gateware.html >> [5]: http://www.enjoy-digital.fr/ >> [6]: Like any of PicoRV32, OpenRISC 1K, LatticeMicro32 or J2 open >> processor. > > > > This technology has been used in everything from custom mobile phone base >> stations, quantum mechanics physics experiments[7] and is even the basis >> for the TimVideos HDMI2USB project[8] which is currently being used to >> record Linux.conf.au! > > > > [7]: https://m-labs.hk/artiq/index.html >> [8]: https://hdmi2usb.tv > > > > During the day we will take you through the following; >> * Creating your own SoC using Python based Migen and LiteX. >> * Running your SoC on an FPGA and booting into Linux. >> * Creating a peripheral providing the Love-Rusty 3000 feature set and >> adding to your SoC. >> * Controlling your new peripheral from Linux. > > > > No knowledge of FPGAs or HDLs are required to attend the tutorial, but >> people should have strong programming experience and be comfortable with >> both Python and C code. > > > Please share this announcement with anyone you might think would be > interested! > > Tim 'mithro' Ansell > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jack at saosce.com.au Wed Dec 20 11:50:46 2017 From: jack at saosce.com.au (Jack Burton) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2017 11:20:46 +1030 Subject: [Linux-aus] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: <20171220112046.1df38965@current.m.saosce.com.au> On Wed, 20 Dec 2017 01:07:36 +1030 Brenda Aynsley via linux-aus wrote: > On 19/12/17 19:28, Linux Australia President via linux-aus wrote: <...> > > We think it's time to change the name of the organisation to > > better reflect our widened mission, values, activities, > > partnerships and influence. > > > > But wait, hasn't this been tried before? > > > > Yes. In 2012/2013, the Linux Australia Council, led then by John > > Ferlito, attempted a name change. Consensus could not be reached on > > a name to change *to*, and so Linux Australia remained Linux > > Australia. > > > > This time, we're learning from the outcome of that process, and > > would like to present to you a decision: > > > > Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia > > (Yes/No) > > NO > > Why? Not because I am engaged in a religious war on the various > aspects of open source theology but because OSIA open source industry > australia exists and has done for a decade or more.? To rename LA to > OSA open source australia is to court confusion in the market and the > community/ies? and to what end? > > Sorry Kathy and I know you dont want to start name shopping but if we > are to change name then it needs to be to one that does not walk into > confusion from the get go. I must say I agree completely with Brenda on this. Please do not rebrand LA as OSA, as that is likely to cause extreme brand confusion between OSA & OSIA. Whether there should be any name change is a broader question, which I don't have a strong view on either way so long as whatever new name is chosen does not end up being likely to cause brand confusion with other relevant organisations. Linux Australia does superb & highly important work, as by far the leading community body for FOSS in Australia. In my opinion at least, the work of OSIA, as the only remaining industry body for FOSS in Australia, over the last 13 years has also been of great importance and utility (particularly in the public policy space) -- although admittedly not over the last 12 months, but steps are being taken at OSIA right now to remedy that in the new year. From an OSIA perspective, it would be a great shame if that work were derailed, by forcing us to undertake our own rebrand in the midst of all that -- which seems to me an inevitable outcome if LA changes its name to OSA. Please reconsider -- personally, I think that OSIA and Linux Australia (or whatever new name it chooses) should look more to *collaborate* with each other on relevant initiatives, rather than stepping on each other's toes (and that cuts both ways -- I'm aware that some of OSIA's limited activities during 2017 may have been seen as straying into community territory, and over at OSIA I'm seeking to end that and return to our core focus). The views above are my own and not necessarily those of the OSIA, although I suspect that most OSIA members would probably agree. Regards, -- Jack Burton FACS CP Director, Saosce Pty Ltd Company Secretary, Safecoms Cyber Security Pty Ltd Company Secretary, Open Source Industry Australia Ltd From president at linux.org.au Wed Dec 20 12:56:49 2017 From: president at linux.org.au (Linux Australia President) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2017 12:56:49 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: On 20/12/17 01:37, Brenda Aynsley via linux-aus wrote: > >> Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia (Yes/No) > > NO > > Why? Not because I am engaged in a religious war on the various > aspects of open source theology but because OSIA open source industry > australia exists and has done for a decade or more.? To rename LA to > OSA open source australia is to court confusion in the market and the > community/ies? and to what end? > > Sorry Kathy and I know you dont want to start name shopping but if we > are to change name then it needs to be to one that does not walk into > confusion from the get go. > > cheers > brenda > > Thanks for the feedback Brenda - a key reason for choosing "Open Source Australia" as an alternative name was that it was the highest ranked choice in the previous debate over whether to change the name. Kind regards, Kathy From president at linux.org.au Wed Dec 20 13:26:52 2017 From: president at linux.org.au (Linux Australia President) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2017 13:26:52 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <20171220112046.1df38965@current.m.saosce.com.au> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> <20171220112046.1df38965@current.m.saosce.com.au> Message-ID: <557e3dd4-20ab-20c6-04a3-147eeec87fd7@linux.org.au> On 20/12/17 11:50, Jack Burton via linux-aus wrote: >> NO >> >> Why? Not because I am engaged in a religious war on the various >> aspects of open source theology but because OSIA open source industry >> australia exists and has done for a decade or more.? To rename LA to >> OSA open source australia is to court confusion in the market and the >> community/ies? and to what end? >> >> Sorry Kathy and I know you dont want to start name shopping but if we >> are to change name then it needs to be to one that does not walk into >> confusion from the get go. > I must say I agree completely with Brenda on this. Thanks Jack for your feedback. > Please do not rebrand LA as OSA, as that is likely to cause extreme > brand confusion between OSA & OSIA. Any name that we move to that has "Open Source" in it is likely to have the same impact. As a case in point, is OSIA often confused with, say the Open Australia group (that does Right to Know etc)? > Whether there should be any name change is a broader question, which I > don't have a strong view on either way so long as whatever new name is > chosen does not end up being likely to cause brand confusion with other > relevant organisations. > > Linux Australia does superb & highly important work, as by far the > leading community body for FOSS in Australia. > > In my opinion at least, the work of OSIA, as the only remaining industry > body for FOSS in Australia, over the last 13 years has also been of > great importance and utility (particularly in the public policy space) > -- although admittedly not over the last 12 months, but steps are being > taken at OSIA right now to remedy that in the new year. Agreed, both organisations do excellent work. I'd be very interested to hear what OSIA has planned, particularly given the impetus that was started in 2013 with the OSIA 2013-2018 Strategic Plan: http://www.osia.com.au/drupal7/sites/default/files/default/osia_sp_2013-18-1.2_web.pdf Strategy 1.4 of this document seeks to collaborate and build open source / FOSS relationships in Australia, however from the Linux Australia perspective there doesn't appear to have been a lot of progress toward that strategic objective. And that's understandable. FOSS / open source organisations are often stretched for time and resources. > From an OSIA perspective, it would be a great shame if that work were > derailed, by forcing us to undertake our own rebrand in the midst of > all that -- which seems to me an inevitable outcome if LA changes its > name to OSA. This is a long bow to draw, and slightly disingenuous to be frank. We're not "forcing" OSIA into any sort of decision. We're canvassing the desire of our Members to change the name of an organisation to a name that was the most popular alternative the last time this was formally floated in 2011/2012. If our Members vote not to proceed, we won't proceed with the name change. If the vote passes, then it's up to OSIA whether to respond to that change. Our decision to seek feedback on a name change is driven by our external environment, and the role Linux Australia is now playing in that environment. The only 'Linux' event we run now is linux.conf.au, although to be fair it is a flagship event. We also run Pycon AU, DrupalSouth and this year have entered into an MoU to help facilitate WordPress-based events in Australia (we've been auspicing WordCamps for several years now). These only have a peripheral association with 'Linux' - and so activities such as Sponsorship, and relationship building can be hampered because of *our* brand in these markets. *Keeping* our name as Linux Australia actually has the same impact to us *now* - it causes brand confusion in the markets we operate in. > Please reconsider -- personally, I think that OSIA and Linux Australia > (or whatever new name it chooses) should look more to *collaborate* with > each other on relevant initiatives, rather than stepping on each other's > toes (and that cuts both ways -- I'm aware that some of OSIA's limited > activities during 2017 may have been seen as straying into community > territory, and over at OSIA I'm seeking to end that and return to our > core focus). I'd be very interested in hearing more from OSIA around how you see us collaborating. We've had some early initial discussions with EFA in this regard, and as you would have seen, we've finalised an MoU this year with WordPress Support PLC to facilitate WordPress in Australia. We also collaborated strongly this year with VALA around VALATechCamp, which was a roaring success. So yes, we're very open to suggestions on how we could collaborate and deliver mutual value. > The views above are my own and not necessarily those of the OSIA, > although I suspect that most OSIA members would probably agree. Out of curiosity, how many members does OSIA have currently? Kind regards, Kathy > > Regards, > > > -- > Jack Burton FACS CP > Director, Saosce Pty Ltd > Company Secretary, Safecoms Cyber Security Pty Ltd > Company Secretary, Open Source Industry Australia Ltd > _______________________________________________ > linux-aus mailing list > linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to > linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au -- Kathy Reid President Linux Australia 0418 130 636 president at linux.org.au http://linux.org.au Linux Australia Inc GPO Box 4788 Sydney NSW 2001 Australia ABN 56 987 117 479 From lloy0076 at adam.com.au Wed Dec 20 14:07:32 2017 From: lloy0076 at adam.com.au (David Lloyd) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2017 22:07:32 -0500 Subject: [Linux-aus] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <557e3dd4-20ab-20c6-04a3-147eeec87fd7@linux.org.au> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> <20171220112046.1df38965@current.m.saosce.com.au> <557e3dd4-20ab-20c6-04a3-147eeec87fd7@linux.org.au> Message-ID: <001801d3793f$b0396b90$10ac42b0$@adam.com.au> What happens to the "Linux Australia" brand if the name change is approved - or for that matter whether "just" renaming the organisation currently called "Linux Australia" is even the "right" move. I forget if it were ever proposed to do something like (IANAL) actually incorporating/forming an organization/company (perhaps even a "for profit" organization with directors) that happened to be major shareholder/owner/stakeholder in some sub-organizations. Or to put it in another way: "Would it be more sensible to keep the Linux Australia brand - and perhaps change its legal structure (depending on Legal Advice) and then bring up another organization called 'Open Source Australia'?" i.e. "Keep Google and its brand but make Alphabet which fairly much runs Google" <-> "Keep Linux Australia and its brand and make OSA which fairly much runs Linux Australia". But then when "WordPress Australia" or "Python Con Australia" or "invent the next open source thing that is big and needs its own org Australia" can fairly much be incubated under this OSA and either become a sister to Linux Australia, branch out on its own, a sub-committee or whatever. DSL [PS. I have no idea why but the list or something seems set to reply to the sender and only the sender, and not to the mailing list] > -----Original Message----- > From: linux-aus [mailto:linux-aus-bounces at lists.linux.org.au] On Behalf > Of Linux Australia President via linux-aus > Sent: Tuesday, 19 December 2017 9:27 PM > To: linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > Subject: Re: [Linux-aus] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open > Source Australia? > > On 20/12/17 11:50, Jack Burton via linux-aus wrote: > > >> NO > >> > >> Why? Not because I am engaged in a religious war on the various > >> aspects of open source theology but because OSIA open source > industry > >> australia exists and has done for a decade or more. To rename LA to > >> OSA open source australia is to court confusion in the market and the > >> community/ies and to what end? > >> > >> Sorry Kathy and I know you dont want to start name shopping but if > we > >> are to change name then it needs to be to one that does not walk into > >> confusion from the get go. > > I must say I agree completely with Brenda on this. > Thanks Jack for your feedback. > > Please do not rebrand LA as OSA, as that is likely to cause extreme > > brand confusion between OSA & OSIA. > Any name that we move to that has "Open Source" in it is likely to have > the same impact. As a case in point, is OSIA often confused with, say > the > Open Australia group (that does Right to Know etc)? > > Whether there should be any name change is a broader question, > which I > > don't have a strong view on either way so long as whatever new name > is > > chosen does not end up being likely to cause brand confusion with > > other relevant organisations. > > > > Linux Australia does superb & highly important work, as by far the > > leading community body for FOSS in Australia. > > > > In my opinion at least, the work of OSIA, as the only remaining > > industry body for FOSS in Australia, over the last 13 years has also > > been of great importance and utility (particularly in the public > > policy space) > > -- although admittedly not over the last 12 months, but steps are > > being taken at OSIA right now to remedy that in the new year. > Agreed, both organisations do excellent work. I'd be very interested to > hear what OSIA has planned, particularly given the impetus that was > started in 2013 with the OSIA 2013-2018 Strategic Plan: > http://www.osia.com.au/drupal7/sites/default/files/default/osia_sp_2013-18-1.2_web.pdf > > Strategy 1.4 of this document seeks to collaborate and build open source > / FOSS relationships in Australia, however from the Linux Australia > perspective there doesn't appear to have been a lot of progress toward > that strategic objective. And that's understandable. FOSS / open source > organisations are often stretched for time and resources. > > From an OSIA perspective, it would be a great shame if that work were > > derailed, by forcing us to undertake our own rebrand in the midst of > > all that -- which seems to me an inevitable outcome if LA changes its > > name to OSA. > This is a long bow to draw, and slightly disingenuous to be frank. > > We're not "forcing" OSIA into any sort of decision. We're canvassing the > desire of our Members to change the name of an organisation to a name > that was the most popular alternative the last time this was formally > floated in 2011/2012. If our Members vote not to proceed, we won't > proceed with the name change. > > If the vote passes, then it's up to OSIA whether to respond to that > change. > > Our decision to seek feedback on a name change is driven by our > external environment, and the role Linux Australia is now playing in > that > environment. > > The only 'Linux' event we run now is linux.conf.au, although to be fair > it > is a flagship event. We also run Pycon AU, DrupalSouth and this year > have entered into an MoU to help facilitate WordPress-based events in > Australia (we've been auspicing WordCamps for several years now). > These only have a peripheral association with 'Linux' - and so > activities > such as Sponsorship, and relationship building can be hampered because > of > *our* brand in these markets. > > *Keeping* our name as Linux Australia actually has the same impact to > us > *now* - it causes brand confusion in the markets we operate in. > > Please reconsider -- personally, I think that OSIA and Linux Australia > > (or whatever new name it chooses) should look more to *collaborate* > > with each other on relevant initiatives, rather than stepping on each > > other's toes (and that cuts both ways -- I'm aware that some of OSIA's > > limited activities during 2017 may have been seen as straying into > > community territory, and over at OSIA I'm seeking to end that and > > return to our core focus). > I'd be very interested in hearing more from OSIA around how you see us > collaborating. We've had some early initial discussions with EFA in this > regard, and as you would have seen, we've finalised an MoU this year > with WordPress Support PLC to facilitate WordPress in Australia. We also > collaborated strongly this year with VALA around VALATechCamp, which > was a roaring success. So yes, we're very open to suggestions on how > we could collaborate and deliver mutual value. > > The views above are my own and not necessarily those of the OSIA, > > although I suspect that most OSIA members would probably agree. > Out of curiosity, how many members does OSIA have currently? > > Kind regards, > Kathy > > > > > Regards, > > > > > > -- > > Jack Burton FACS CP Director, Saosce Pty > > Ltd > > Company Secretary, Safecoms Cyber Security Pty Ltd Company > Secretary, > > Open Source Industry Australia Ltd > > _______________________________________________ > > linux-aus mailing list > > mailto:linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to > > mailto:linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au > > -- > Kathy Reid > President > Linux Australia > > 0418 130 636 > > mailto:president at linux.org.au > http://linux.org.au > > Linux Australia Inc > GPO Box 4788 > Sydney NSW 2001 > Australia > > ABN 56 987 117 479 > > _______________________________________________ > linux-aus mailing list > mailto:linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to > mailto:linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au From jack at saosce.com.au Wed Dec 20 17:16:17 2017 From: jack at saosce.com.au (Jack Burton) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2017 16:46:17 +1030 Subject: [Linux-aus] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <557e3dd4-20ab-20c6-04a3-147eeec87fd7@linux.org.au> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> <20171220112046.1df38965@current.m.saosce.com.au> <557e3dd4-20ab-20c6-04a3-147eeec87fd7@linux.org.au> Message-ID: <1513750577.2144.2022.camel@fs.saosce.com.au> On Wed, 2017-12-20 at 13:26 +1100, Linux Australia President via linux-aus wrote: > On 20/12/17 11:50, Jack Burton via linux-aus wrote: > > Please do not rebrand LA as OSA, as that is likely to cause extreme > > brand confusion between OSA & OSIA. > Any name that we move to that has "Open Source" in it is likely to have > the same impact. As a case in point, is OSIA often confused with, say > the Open Australia group (that does Right to Know etc)? Personally I've never heard OSIA & OA being confused before, but I'm willing to take your word for it. For the record, I don't think that just having "open source" in the new name would be sufficient in itself to cause confusion. But I do think that OSA & OSIA are ripe for confusion with each other. Even if you look at what the full legal names would be: * Open Source Australia Inc.; cf. * Open Source Industry Australia Ltd ...there's still a great deal of similarity. That might not seem like an immediately obvious problem to those of us on this list ... after many years of happy hacking, I'm sure most of us could, for example, spot a strcat(3) that should really be a strlcat(3) a mile off, let alone a whole word of difference... ...but outside our community, that level of attention to detail is not always so common... ...so to me the clear uniqueness of a name would seem to be most useful when dealing with audiences *not* already in the fold -- for example governments, the mainstream media or the general public. I'm not going to get into suggesting specific alternative new names, as I realise that's a discussion you want to avoid. But I do think that, if Linux Australia needs a new name, it should be possible to select one that's not so close to the name of an existing organisation that supports many of the same things. > > Whether there should be any name change is a broader question, which I > > don't have a strong view on either way so long as whatever new name is > > chosen does not end up being likely to cause brand confusion with other > > relevant organisations. > > > > Linux Australia does superb & highly important work, as by far the > > leading community body for FOSS in Australia. > > > > In my opinion at least, the work of OSIA, as the only remaining industry > > body for FOSS in Australia, over the last 13 years has also been of > > great importance and utility (particularly in the public policy space) > > -- although admittedly not over the last 12 months, but steps are being > > taken at OSIA right now to remedy that in the new year. > Agreed, both organisations do excellent work. I'd be very interested to > hear what OSIA has planned, particularly given the impetus that was > started in 2013 with the OSIA 2013-2018 Strategic Plan: > http://www.osia.com.au/drupal7/sites/default/files/default/osia_sp_2013-18-1.2_web.pdf The OSIA SP is due for a review -- but I agree that S1.4 is well worth keeping. > Strategy 1.4 of this document seeks to collaborate and build open source > / FOSS relationships in Australia, however from the Linux Australia > perspective there doesn't appear to have been a lot of progress toward > that strategic objective. And that's understandable. FOSS / open source > organisations are often stretched for time and resources. Agreed -- there's been very little progress on that front, especially in relation to OSIA collaborating with Linux Australia. We did have some success collaborating with OSDC, before the merger. OSIA used to promote OSDC's conferences to our members, even sponsored the conference 2 or 3 times; and in the years that OSDC was held in Australia, they would often generously let OSIA hold our AGMs at OSDC (the time of year was just right for that). But even there, I'm sure we could have done a lot more that we didn't. It would be good to work towards better / broader collaboration with LA & potentially other orgs too in future. > > From an OSIA perspective, it would be a great shame if that work were > > derailed, by forcing us to undertake our own rebrand in the midst of > > all that -- which seems to me an inevitable outcome if LA changes its > > name to OSA. > This is a long bow to draw, and slightly disingenuous to be frank. > > We're not "forcing" OSIA into any sort of decision. We're canvassing the > desire of our Members to change the name of an organisation to a name > that was the most popular alternative the last time this was formally > floated in 2011/2012. If our Members vote not to proceed, we won't > proceed with the name change. > > If the vote passes, then it's up to OSIA whether to respond to that change. > > Our decision to seek feedback on a name change is driven by our external > environment, and the role Linux Australia is now playing in that > environment. > > The only 'Linux' event we run now is linux.conf.au, although to be fair > it is a flagship event. We also run Pycon AU, DrupalSouth and this year > have entered into an MoU to help facilitate WordPress-based events in > Australia (we've been auspicing WordCamps for several years now). These > only have a peripheral association with 'Linux' - and so activities such > as Sponsorship, and relationship building can be hampered because of > *our* brand in these markets. > > *Keeping* our name as Linux Australia actually has the same impact to us > *now* - it causes brand confusion in the markets we operate in. I'm not objecting to a name change in principle -- some good arguments have been made in favour of that -- just raising what I see as a fairly clear issue with the particular new name put forward this time. > > Please reconsider -- personally, I think that OSIA and Linux Australia > > (or whatever new name it chooses) should look more to *collaborate* with > > each other on relevant initiatives, rather than stepping on each other's > > toes (and that cuts both ways -- I'm aware that some of OSIA's limited > > activities during 2017 may have been seen as straying into community > > territory, and over at OSIA I'm seeking to end that and return to our > > core focus). > I'd be very interested in hearing more from OSIA around how you see us > collaborating. We've had some early initial discussions with EFA in this > regard, and as you would have seen, we've finalised an MoU this year > with WordPress Support PLC to facilitate WordPress in Australia. We also > collaborated strongly this year with VALA around VALATechCamp, which was > a roaring success. So yes, we're very open to suggestions on how we > could collaborate and deliver mutual value. Definitely open to those sorts of discussions. As to how, here's one suggestion for starters -- apologies in advance, this is likely to get quite long-winded, but please bear with me. OSIA's core mission, as I see it, is to influence governments on public policy matters -- proposing & supporting changes advantageous to the Australian FOSS industry, and opposing changes (or where necessary opposing the status quo) which discriminate against the Australian FOSS industry. This most often falls into one of four areas: government procurement; domestic law reform (mostly copyright & patent law); international treaties; and initiatives around government/citizen or government/business interfaces. That last category in turn seems to have three natural sub-categories: pushing for unencumbered open standards to be mandatory; pushing for any reference implementations to be released under FOSS licenses; and opposing the various "Australia Card like" initiatives that from time to time threaten to destroy the privacy & security of Australian citizens & businesses alike. Many of those areas are likely to be of interest to Linux Australia as well. To pick two examples from 2016 (the last time I was directly involved in OSIA's public policy work): 1. Both OSIA & LA lodged submissions to the Productivity Commission's Inquiry into Intellectual Property Arrangements and OSIA also appeared before one the Inquiry's public hearings: OSIA initial submission (2015): http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/194466/sub021-intellectual-property.pdf OSIA final submission (2016): http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/201278/subdr486-intellectual-property.pdf Linux Australia submission: http://www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/201280/subdr488-intellectual-property.pdf Transcript of public hearings: http://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/intellectual-property/public-hearings/intellectual-property-transcripts.pdf As an aside, this was one of OSIA's most successful engagements, with the Commission following 3 of the recommendations from our final submission in full and a further 18 of them in part. 2. Both OSIA & LA lodged submissions to the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCOT) Inquiry into TPP and OSIA also appeared before one of the Inquiry's public hearings: Linux Australia submission: https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=38187468-9761-4e05-84f1-281ba68e65a8&subId=410396 OSIA submission: https://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=ec75f856-7e07-4cc7-827e-fbf3f7d65055&subId=410548 Transcript of public hearing: http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/commjnt/a6fa4bc7-9c2e-4788-9378-e676fc0a3f53/toc_pdf/Joint%20Standing%20Committee%20on%20Treaties_2016_10_07_4491_Official.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf Looking at all those submissions and testimony, it seems clear to me that: * there is much commonality at the core of the .au FOSS community & industry positions, as put by LA & OSIA respectively; * naturally there are some elements that only matter to one or the other; * it is sometimes necessary for the industry & community bodies to advance *different* arguments (from their respective perspectives) in favour of the *same* thing; and * sometimes there is benefit in proposing two completely different *approaches* to solving the same problem (e.g. as was the case with the problem of software patents), even when the arguments for why the problem needs solving are identical. Rarely (although I don't see an obvious example in any of the above), it may even be necessary to put opposing views on some things. Because of the first point above, I think there's substantial scope for LA & OSIA to collaborate on future public policy matters. I think it's still important for each organisation to lodge its own submissions, give its own testimony, etc. partly because of the last 3 points above, but mostly because governments will take a *different* view of arguments advanced by industry & community bodies: some types of argument will carry more weight if advanced by an industry body; others will carry more weight if advanced by a community body. Note that philosophically I do not support the idea of assessing an argument based on who its proponent is. I'm just stating that in my own experience that is something that governments tend to do, so it makes sense to optimise for it where possible. But a *lot* of the work involved on public policy matters -- particularly with enormous treaties like TPP -- lies in the analysis phase. It strikes me that, given the extent of the commonality, if LA & OSIA were to undertake that analysis work collaboratively, it would get done quicker (leaving both orgs more time for actual drafting) and would be higher quality simply by virtue of having more heads involved. That strikes me as a fairly obvious first step. If that turns out to work well, then it might even be feasible to share *some* of the drafting -- on those matters where both orgs hold the exact same view -- with the resulting text going into the submission of whichever org has better standing (in the eyes of government) to put the individual argument in question, and the other org simply saying "we agree with ${first_org} on this point". Odd as it might sound, government submissions from certain other, much larger & longer-lived industries often do just that. That's a more complex, slightly riskier model for collaboration, but I think it's worth at least considering. Happy to discuss those & any other ways that OSIA & LA could collaborate in future -- and happy to take those discussions off-list if this is not the appropriate place to have them (and sorry for hijacking this thread in the meantime!). > > The views above are my own and not necessarily those of the OSIA, > > although I suspect that most OSIA members would probably agree. Ditto. > Out of curiosity, how many members does OSIA have currently? That brings up the age old question (which I've heard discussed at Linux Australia meetings before too) of how exactly we should count members. In terms of total members, I'd estimate that somewhere between 20% & 50% of Australian FOSS businesses are OSIA members. OSIA's number of *financial* members is much smaller -- by roughly a whole order of magnitude. That's something that OSIA clearly needs to work on. And it might not happen quickly -- my personal view has always been that any organisation needs to demonstrate strong results *first*, then go to market seeking members (and sponsors): it's much easier to make a sale when you can demonstrate value. 12 months ago OSIA had those strong results and would have been well placed to go to market if that level of results had continued. Right now we don't, but the first steps towards rebuilding have begun and I'm confident OSIA will get there in time. Why am I talking in percentages instead of raw member numbers? Because OSIA's members are mostly businesses (anything from sole traders to large corporates, and everything in between), whereas Linux Australia's members are individuals -- so any comparison on raw numbers would be a case of apples & oranges. Regards, -- Jack Burton FACS CP Director, Saosce Pty Ltd Company Secretary, Safecoms Cyber Security Pty Ltd Company Secretary, Open Source Industry Australia Ltd From michael at the-davies.net Wed Dec 20 17:21:43 2017 From: michael at the-davies.net (Michael Davies) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2017 16:51:43 +1030 Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: <3CCA0703-0834-496B-BD6A-A8A9C251F551@the-davies.net> ?I think it?s time? OSA reflects who were are, who we represent and the activities that we?ve been doing. I?m not sure that was the case last time this was tried, but it definitely is now. Consequently, I support the proposed name change. Hope this helps, Michael... > On 19 Dec 2017, at 7:28 pm, Linux Australia President wrote: > > Hi everyone, > > Linux Australia is an incorporated association, registered in the state > of NSW, and has been in operation since around 2001. Initially convened > as a vehicle to operate linux.conf.au, the organisation's remit, > activities and scope have broadened significantly over the last decade > and a half. > > We think it's time to change the name of the organisation to > better reflect our widened mission, values, activities, partnerships and > influence. > > But wait, hasn't this been tried before? > > Yes. In 2012/2013, the Linux Australia Council, led then by John > Ferlito, attempted a name change. Consensus could not be reached on a > name to change *to*, and so Linux Australia remained Linux Australia. > > This time, we're learning from the outcome of that process, and would > like to present to you a decision: > > Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia (Yes/No) > > Other aspects of the organisation - constitution, makeup and so on, are > not proposed to be changed. > > We're communicating this now to provide the community with time to > discuss this proposed change before the AGM, where the resolution will > be tabled in the AGM agenda. The result of the vote will be tabled > at the AGM. That is, if the majority vote 'No', we won't change the > name. If the majority vote 'Yes', we will. > > If you are a member of Linux Australia, you will be able to vote on this > resolution at: > > https://www.linux.org.au/membership/index.php?page=view-election&id=25 > > Voting will open 25th December 2017, the same time voting opens for > Council Elections, and will close on 21 January, the same time voting > closes for Council Elections. > > Let the discussion begin. > > Kind regards, > > Kathy > > -- > Kathy Reid > President > Linux Australia > > 0418 130 636 > > president at linux.org.au > http://linux.org.au > > Linux Australia Inc > GPO Box 4788 > Sydney NSW 2001 > Australia > > ABN 56 987 117 479 > > _______________________________________________ > announce mailing list > announce at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/announce From jwoithe at just42.net Wed Dec 20 17:29:04 2017 From: jwoithe at just42.net (Jonathan Woithe) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2017 16:59:04 +1030 Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: <20171220062904.GR8641@marvin.atrad.com.au> Hi all On Tue, Dec 19, 2017 at 07:58:05PM +1100, Linux Australia President wrote: > We think it's time to change the name of the organisation to > better reflect our widened mission, values, activities, partnerships and > influence. > : > Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia (Yes/No) I'm in two minds about this. I can understand the rationale for doing so and can see how the inclusion of "Linux" in the name could, in some situations, create confusion in the minds of external parties. This is particularly relevant in connection with events which - while related to Linux - are not directly connected to Linux. However, having said that, the "Linux Australia" brand is well recognised within certain communities within Australia, partly due to the time it's been around for. It would be a disappointing to see this lost to the community or coopted by some other party for their own negative purposes. An earlier suggestion about retaining "Linux Australia" as a sub-component of a new overarching organisation would address this point. However, I imagine this will add administrative overheads which council would need to deal with and may not align well with corporations law in NSW (IANAL), under which the entire entity would be incorporated if I understand things correctly. I have reservations about the name being put forward: Open Source Australia. One of the motivations behind the name change is to better reflect the organisations broader range of activities. At least to me, "Open Source" still excludes a significant technology area which Linux Australia is active in: the open hardware movement. From my perspective, the proposed name therefore does fulfil the purpose of the rename. The "OSA" acronym is obviously remarkably similar to OSIA. Of course any three letter acronym (and many four letter acronyms) are already used by multiple organisations. However, the fact that Linux Australia and OSIA interact with the Open Source community might give rise to more confusion than normal. Conversely, confusion between "Open Source Australia" and "Optical Solutions Australia" (https://www.opticalsolutions.com.au/, for example) is unlikely to be of much consequence. For these reasons, my personal opinion is that if a name change were to be considered, I would rather see something a little broader: "Open Technologies Australia" for example (although this is close to "Open Technologies Foundation" from 2011, possibly now dormant). Of course, a broader term risks losing connection with the organisation's past which many do not wish to lose. It just goes to show how hard it is to choose a name and why there are so many divergent views on the matter. At this stage the resolution being put to the AGM includes the specific "Open Source Australia" name, so there's little to be gained by arguing over name options at this point. People can vote at the AGM on the resolution: if they don't want a rename or don't like the name as proposed then they vote against the resolution. If the resolution is voted down there will be no change of name. However, if the result is close or it is determined that there is general agreement that the name should be changed (with many "no" votes being specifically against the proposed name), subsequent discussions about the name will undoubtedly occur. > We're communicating this now to provide the community with time to > discuss this proposed change before the AGM, where the resolution will > be tabled in the AGM agenda. Thank to to Kathy and council for raising this issue in advance so everyone has adequate time to reflect on the resolution prior to the AGM and determine a reasoned response. Regards jonathan From abartlet at samba.org Wed Dec 20 20:08:57 2017 From: abartlet at samba.org (Andrew Bartlett) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2017 22:08:57 +1300 Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <3CCA0703-0834-496B-BD6A-A8A9C251F551@the-davies.net> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> <3CCA0703-0834-496B-BD6A-A8A9C251F551@the-davies.net> Message-ID: <1513760937.3416.186.camel@samba.org> On Wed, 2017-12-20 at 16:51 +1030, Michael Davies via linux-aus wrote: > ?I think it?s time? > > OSA reflects who were are, who we represent and the activities that > we?ve been doing. I?m not sure that was the case last time this was > tried, but it definitely is now. Consequently, I support the proposed > name change. > > Hope this helps, > > Michael... I agree. When this was last proposed I wasn't convinced, and it seemed that applying for some trading names and some explanatory text would be enough. But as I see the way this organisation has so expanded its reach and impact, the name Linux Australia doesn't even start to cover what it really does. Names are hard, and Linux Australia perhaps thankfully avoided becoming (dental) FLOSS Australia by pre-dating that term. It straddled the communities of 'Free Software' and 'Open Source Software' partly by naming itself around a specific technology that happens to be (as almost all I/we do is) both. This organisation will always be rooted in the Linux community, and it is great that this solid base means it can spread its wings so far! ? Given that expanding reach, a new name seems reasonable, and this one will do well enough. Andrew Bartlett From paul at gear.dyndns.org Wed Dec 20 22:50:17 2017 From: paul at gear.dyndns.org (Paul Gear) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2017 21:50:17 +1000 Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <3CCA0703-0834-496B-BD6A-A8A9C251F551@the-davies.net> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> <3CCA0703-0834-496B-BD6A-A8A9C251F551@the-davies.net> Message-ID: My recollection of the previous name change attempt (without going over the list archives) was that the lack of consensus on the proposed name was only part of the issue (I would argue: not the main issue), and I don't think the arguments for & against have moved a great deal since.? The things which seemed urgent to those pressing for change seem about the same (i.e. that "Linux" doesn't cover all the things we're interested in), and the things which seemed insufficiently justified previously (viz., that a rebrand was necessary to avoid confusion, and that any of the names proposed were obviously superior) seem roughly the same now. To my mind, the concern raised about the similarity OSIA is a show-stopper for this particular proposal (of course, the vote may prove me wrong), and I think the ball is back in the court of Kathy and those who feel a rebrand is needed to justify another selection. Paul On 20/12/17 16:21, Michael Davies via linux-aus wrote: > ?I think it?s time? > > OSA reflects who were are, who we represent and the activities that we?ve been doing. I?m not sure that was the case last time this was tried, but it definitely is now. Consequently, I support the proposed name change. > > Hope this helps, > > Michael... > > >> On 19 Dec 2017, at 7:28 pm, Linux Australia President wrote: >> >> Hi everyone, >> >> Linux Australia is an incorporated association, registered in the state >> of NSW, and has been in operation since around 2001. Initially convened >> as a vehicle to operate linux.conf.au, the organisation's remit, >> activities and scope have broadened significantly over the last decade >> and a half. >> >> We think it's time to change the name of the organisation to >> better reflect our widened mission, values, activities, partnerships and >> influence. >> >> But wait, hasn't this been tried before? >> >> Yes. In 2012/2013, the Linux Australia Council, led then by John >> Ferlito, attempted a name change. Consensus could not be reached on a >> name to change *to*, and so Linux Australia remained Linux Australia. >> >> This time, we're learning from the outcome of that process, and would >> like to present to you a decision: >> >> Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia (Yes/No) >> ... From andrew at donnellan.id.au Wed Dec 20 23:27:28 2017 From: andrew at donnellan.id.au (Andrew Donnellan) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2017 23:27:28 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: On 19 December 2017 at 19:58, Linux Australia President < president at linux.org.au> wrote: > Hi everyone, > > Linux Australia is an incorporated association, registered in the state > of NSW, and has been in operation since around 2001. Initially convened > as a vehicle to operate linux.conf.au, the organisation's remit, > activities and scope have broadened significantly over the last decade > and a half. > > We think it's time to change the name of the organisation to > better reflect our widened mission, values, activities, partnerships and > influence. > > But wait, hasn't this been tried before? > > Yes. In 2012/2013, the Linux Australia Council, led then by John > Ferlito, attempted a name change. Consensus could not be reached on a > name to change *to*, and so Linux Australia remained Linux Australia. > > This time, we're learning from the outcome of that process, and would > like to present to you a decision: > > Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia (Yes/No) > > I'm currently planning to vote no, as the OSA vs OSIA issue is a blocker for me. The names are far too similar and OSIA is obviously an organisation whose efforts we should be supporting, rather than hindering. If we're going to use a name that's so similar, at the very least we need to be engaging with OSIA from the very outset and getting their support for this. Unfortunately any name matching the "Open Source.*Australia" regex is going to have some degree of confusion, but I'm sure we can work something out... If it weren't for the OSIA issue - Open Source Australia certainly wouldn't be the worst name out there. (Philosophically I'm a bit more of a Free Software person myself, but I can let that go!) I certainly think that "Open Source" is a better phrase to use than "Open Technologies" or similar as proposed elsewhere in this thread - as much as I'd love to include open hardware, etc etc, any name that doesn't involve the words "Open Source" is going to result in much more time being spent explaining what LA is to begin with. Open Source is a phrase that enough CIOs and CTOs have heard now, anything else isn't. With regards to the underlying reasoning for the rebranding - I understand the underlying rationale that LA's activities have broadened to include a range of open source communities beyond just "Linux". But as someone who *is* a Linux developer, I think it needs to be made very clear that rebranding LA with a broader scope won't mean deprioritising the Linux community. I don't want to hear more complaints along the lines of what I've already been hearing from long-term community members whose work is specifically Linux-focused, that LCA is no longer worth attending because it has less relevant content than it used to, etc etc. Criticisms which I thoroughly disagree with myself, as LCA's growing breadth is a strength, not a weakness, but which I can kind of understand. OTOH, I recall there were proposals made during the last discussion on this topic about how a rebrand to make LA a more broadly-focused open source organisation could kick off a transformation that would allow us to undertake *more* Linux-specific activities, e.g. through subcommittees etc that put Linux on the same footing as other subcommunities within LA. Obviously this present discussion is purely about the name at this point, but there's a lot of other exciting opportunities that a rebrand might open up for us... -- Andrew Donnellan http://andrew.donnellan.id.au andrew at donnellan.id.au -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From russell at coker.com.au Wed Dec 20 23:29:48 2017 From: russell at coker.com.au (Russell Coker) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2017 23:29:48 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <1513760937.3416.186.camel@samba.org> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> <3CCA0703-0834-496B-BD6A-A8A9C251F551@the-davies.net> <1513760937.3416.186.camel@samba.org> Message-ID: <1774655.vgvfbG0iBo@liv> On Wednesday, 20 December 2017 10:08:57 PM AEDT Andrew Bartlett via linux-aus wrote: > On Wed, 2017-12-20 at 16:51 +1030, Michael Davies via linux-aus wrote: > > ?I think it?s time? > > > > OSA reflects who were are, who we represent and the activities that > > we?ve been doing. I?m not sure that was the case last time this was > > tried, but it definitely is now. Consequently, I support the proposed > > name change. > > > > Hope this helps, > > > > Michael... > > I agree. When this was last proposed I wasn't convinced, and it seemed > that applying for some trading names and some explanatory text would be > enough. But as I see the way this organisation has so expanded its > reach and impact, the name Linux Australia doesn't even start to cover > what it really does. > > Names are hard, and Linux Australia perhaps thankfully avoided becoming > (dental) FLOSS Australia by pre-dating that term. It straddled the > communities of 'Free Software' and 'Open Source Software' partly by > naming itself around a specific technology that happens to be (as > almost all I/we do is) both. > > This organisation will always be rooted in the Linux community, and it > is great that this solid base means it can spread its wings so far! > > Given that expanding reach, a new name seems reasonable, and this one > will do well enough. The main reason that I would like to see a name change is that Linux Australia is doing lots of things other than advocating for Linux in Australia. I'd like to see Linux Australia (under it's new name) having a subcommittee that is just about advocating for Linux in Australia, which can be called "Linux Australia". LUV has recently become a LA subcommittee. This is great for us. Now we don't have to bother about a lot of paperwork etc and can just concentrate on arranging meetings etc. I want to see an organisation advocating for Linux that also doesn't have to bother about paperwork etc. From xanni at glasswings.com.au Thu Dec 21 00:00:06 2017 From: xanni at glasswings.com.au (Andrew Pam) Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2017 00:00:06 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: <6343684d-9245-0ebd-ac22-af6f04a9ce44@glasswings.com.au> I understand that the current proposal is "Open Source Australia or nothing", and on that basis I will certainly vote NO due to the confusion with and impact on OSIA. But have we considered "Open Source Community Australia" or similar, which would clarify exactly what the role of the organisation is and how it differs from OSIA? Cheers, Andrew -- mailto:xanni at xanadu.net Andrew Pam http://www.xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu http://www.glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings http://www.sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics From ilox11 at gmail.com Thu Dec 21 00:04:46 2017 From: ilox11 at gmail.com (Ian) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2017 23:34:46 +1030 Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <6343684d-9245-0ebd-ac22-af6f04a9ce44@glasswings.com.au> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> <6343684d-9245-0ebd-ac22-af6f04a9ce44@glasswings.com.au> Message-ID: I won't support OSA for the reasons others have spoken about. Much too close to OSIA. I think Andrew's suggestion of OSCA - Open Source Community Australia - has legs and should be given consideration. I would support that amended re-Branding. It much more reflects who we are and what we stand for than OSA. On 20 December 2017 at 23:30, Andrew Pam via linux-aus < linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au> wrote: > I understand that the current proposal is "Open Source Australia or > nothing", and on that basis I will certainly vote NO due to the > confusion with and impact on OSIA. But have we considered "Open Source > Community Australia" or similar, which would clarify exactly what the > role of the organisation is and how it differs from OSIA? > > Cheers, > Andrew > -- > mailto:xanni at xanadu.net Andrew Pam > http://www.xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu > http://www.glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings > http://www.sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics > _______________________________________________ > linux-aus mailing list > linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to > linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au > -- -- Ian -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From a.nielsen at shikadi.net Thu Dec 21 00:17:49 2017 From: a.nielsen at shikadi.net (Adam Nielsen) Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2017 23:17:49 +1000 Subject: [Linux-aus] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <1774655.vgvfbG0iBo@liv> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> <3CCA0703-0834-496B-BD6A-A8A9C251F551@the-davies.net> <1513760937.3416.186.camel@samba.org> <1774655.vgvfbG0iBo@liv> Message-ID: <20171220231749.565a2b85@gik.teln.shikadi.net> > The main reason that I would like to see a name change is that Linux Australia > is doing lots of things other than advocating for Linux in Australia. I'd > like to see Linux Australia (under it's new name) having a subcommittee that > is just about advocating for Linux in Australia, which can be called "Linux > Australia". I couldn't agree more. I would be very sad to see the Linux Australia name go unused, because all the good work that is done under this name helps to promote Linux. The Red Cross doesn't need to rebrand to "International Humanitarian Aid Inc." because their work doesn't always involve crosses that are red, and all those companies that try to generate goodwill by sponsoring various local events do so primarily to get their brand recognised. In my opinion, having Linux Australia sponsor all these events unrelated to Linux might just make people go 'hey, these Linux people are alright'. Having said that (here it comes, you knew it would), my issue with the term "open source" in an organisation name is that it's preaching to the choir. The term is not self-explanatory to people who haven't heard it before. It would be nice to be able to refer to the organisation by name only, without needing to follow it up with an explanation about what it means. My preference goes to a name with the word "freedom" in it, since although it carries some connotations in the IT world, it's pretty clear what it means to everyone else. Although a poor suggestion for a name, something like "Freedom in Technology Australia" seems more likely to be followed by a question like "technology isn't free?" and cue a discussion about current issues, rather than the more usual "what's open source? What's source code? Well I can't use that so it doesn't matter to me." We have an opportunity to choose a name that starts a conversation, which could go a long way towards promoting issues that we care about. Cheers, Adam. From troy at box293.com Thu Dec 21 09:27:48 2017 From: troy at box293.com (Troy Lea) Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2017 09:27:48 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: With the discussion seeming to be about OSA vs OSIA I would like to throw this into the conversation. Would it be worthwhile for LA and OSIA to merge as one organisation? Troy Lea IT Consultant and Nagios Developer troy at box293.com sites.box293.com/nagios On Tue, Dec 19, 2017 at 7:58 PM, Linux Australia President via linux-aus < linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au> wrote: > Hi everyone, > > Linux Australia is an incorporated association, registered in the state > of NSW, and has been in operation since around 2001. Initially convened > as a vehicle to operate linux.conf.au, the organisation's remit, > activities and scope have broadened significantly over the last decade > and a half. > > We think it's time to change the name of the organisation to > better reflect our widened mission, values, activities, partnerships and > influence. > > But wait, hasn't this been tried before? > > Yes. In 2012/2013, the Linux Australia Council, led then by John > Ferlito, attempted a name change. Consensus could not be reached on a > name to change *to*, and so Linux Australia remained Linux Australia. > > This time, we're learning from the outcome of that process, and would > like to present to you a decision: > > Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia (Yes/No) > > Other aspects of the organisation - constitution, makeup and so on, are > not proposed to be changed. > > We're communicating this now to provide the community with time to > discuss this proposed change before the AGM, where the resolution will > be tabled in the AGM agenda. The result of the vote will be tabled > at the AGM. That is, if the majority vote 'No', we won't change the > name. If the majority vote 'Yes', we will. > > If you are a member of Linux Australia, you will be able to vote on this > resolution at: > > https://www.linux.org.au/membership/index.php?page=view-election&id=25 > > Voting will open 25th December 2017, the same time voting opens for > Council Elections, and will close on 21 January, the same time voting > closes for Council Elections. > > Let the discussion begin. > > Kind regards, > > Kathy > > -- > Kathy Reid > President > Linux Australia > > 0418 130 636 > > president at linux.org.au > http://linux.org.au > > Linux Australia Inc > GPO Box 4788 > Sydney NSW 2001 > Australia > > ABN 56 987 117 479 > > _______________________________________________ > linux-aus mailing list > linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to > linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From craige at mcwhirter.com.au Thu Dec 21 20:46:41 2017 From: craige at mcwhirter.com.au (Craige McWhirter) Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2017 19:46:41 +1000 Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: <20171221094641.pcb3rihjf4ylza2m@archer.mcwhirter.io> On Tue, Dec 19, 2017 at 19:58:05 +1100, Linux Australia President wrote: > Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia (Yes/No) I'll be voting (No) to this proposal, not because I'm against name change but because I disagree with this particular name change. Not only do I agree with the bulk of no objections thus far but more importantly for myself, changing the name from "Linux Australia" to "Open Source $Anything" represents a *significant* watering down of the ethical position that for me at least, has underpinned LA from the start and the LUGs that preceded it. I'd support a name change that was more representative of our activities but not one that waters down our ethos. -- Craige -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: signature.asc Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 801 bytes Desc: not available URL: From craige at mcwhirter.com.au Thu Dec 21 20:56:19 2017 From: craige at mcwhirter.com.au (Craige McWhirter) Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2017 19:56:19 +1000 Subject: [Linux-aus] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: <20171221095619.ouxuwg5ez5lvqqbh@archer.mcwhirter.io> On Thu, Dec 21, 2017 at 09:27:48 +1100, Troy Lea via linux-aus wrote: > Would it be worthwhile for LA and OSIA to merge as one organisation? It's a good question Troy and possibly particularly tempting with OSIA's recent woes, from which I'm sure they'll pull through. However, with Linux Australia being about community people and OSIA being about business community, there should be a place for both to thrive independently and together when appropriate as I believe the there is space for both, with differing priorities but over lapping interests. IMHO without both thriving, we're not succeeding as a broader community. That's my 2c at least :-) -- Craige -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: signature.asc Type: application/pgp-signature Size: 801 bytes Desc: not available URL: From president at linux.org.au Thu Dec 21 21:04:29 2017 From: president at linux.org.au (Linux Australia President) Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2017 21:04:29 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] REMINDER: Nominations for Council Elections closing 24th December, voting opens 25th December Message-ID: <7576cf3a-ffb7-140b-7e81-17715714d088@linux.org.au> Greetings awesome Humans, TL;DR: You have 3 days to nominate for Linux Australia Council. This is a reminder that nominations for Council Election close on 24th December, Christmas Eve, where you too may be partaking of $beverages and not realise that you are nearing the deadline to nominate. So, get in early! Yay! Punctuality! https://linux.org.au/membership/index.php?page=view-election&id=24 If you'd like to know the sort of activities that Council members undertake, the Position Descriptions here are a good read: https://github.com/linuxaustralia/position-descriptions Kind regards, Kathy -- Kathy Reid President Linux Australia 0418 130 636 president at linux.org.au http://linux.org.au Linux Australia Inc GPO Box 4788 Sydney NSW 2001 Australia ABN 56 987 117 479 From simon at darkmere.gen.nz Thu Dec 21 21:17:00 2017 From: simon at darkmere.gen.nz (Simon Lyall) Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2017 23:17:00 +1300 (NZDT) Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <20171221094641.pcb3rihjf4ylza2m@archer.mcwhirter.io> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> <20171221094641.pcb3rihjf4ylza2m@archer.mcwhirter.io> Message-ID: So I'm thinking. What would a a corporate branding specialist do? Would they play around with the words Open, Linux, Source, Tech, etc until they found something vaguely okay? No, they would do this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YBtspm8j8M " Linux Australia is now... Linaus " and don't forget to cycle "Lin" though "Link" , "Align" , "Linux" and a few other cool words in the video. Just to remind people it can stand for anything. BTW: My previous employer changed their name, I thought they did a good job with "Serenova". -- Simon Lyall | Very Busy | Web: http://www.simonlyall.com/ "To stay awake all night adds a day to your life" - Stilgar From rowland.mosbergen at gmail.com Thu Dec 21 22:59:21 2017 From: rowland.mosbergen at gmail.com (Rowland Mosbergen) Date: Thu, 21 Dec 2017 22:59:21 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> <20171221094641.pcb3rihjf4ylza2m@archer.mcwhirter.io> Message-ID: Personally, I would want to quantify how much the "Linux Australia" brand is worth before I made any decision. If it was found to be valuable, I would think about other options. For example, when you think of Amazon do you think of an online bookshop, cloud compute or building tablets? In Korea, Samsung builds apartments and operates funeral homes and uses the Samsung name prominently: http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/17/technology/samsung-south-korea-daily-life/index.html I suggest that the place to start is to understand how much the brand is worth as a pre-requisite. On Thu, Dec 21, 2017 at 9:17 PM, Simon Lyall via linux-aus < linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au> wrote: > > So I'm thinking. What would a a corporate branding specialist do? Would > they play around with the words Open, Linux, Source, Tech, etc until they > found something vaguely okay? > > No, they would do this: > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YBtspm8j8M > > > " Linux Australia is now... Linaus " > > > > and don't forget to cycle "Lin" though "Link" , "Align" , "Linux" and a > few other cool words in the video. Just to remind people it can stand for > anything. > > BTW: My previous employer changed their name, I thought they did a good > job with "Serenova". > > -- > Simon Lyall | Very Busy | Web: http://www.simonlyall.com/ > "To stay awake all night adds a day to your life" - Stilgar > > > _______________________________________________ > linux-aus mailing list > linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to > linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From mkaan at abdcomputers.net Fri Dec 22 09:20:56 2017 From: mkaan at abdcomputers.net (Moe Kaan - ABD Computer Installations) Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2017 09:20:56 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: <04e5090be0b09ae4787a31b575d16a4d.squirrel@abdcomputers.net> Season Greetings Everyone, :) I'll be voting "YeS" - reason being, Opensource is not only our industry but it is our entire advocacy . We are considerably bigger advocates of Opensource on a whole than we are Linux specifically. Whilst Linux brings us through the door to Gimp, Firefox, Gnome, Gnumeric , Samba , foo, bar /var, /usr, and /etc. We have a duty to the entire advocacy rather than a single project. By broadening our scope we lower the divide and allow more in. That's my vision or as Craige says "3 cents worth". Have a nice evening all :) - Moe Kaan - On Tue, December 19, 2017 7:58 pm, Linux Australia President via linux-aus wrote: > Hi everyone, > > > Linux Australia is an incorporated association, registered in the state > of NSW, and has been in operation since around 2001. Initially convened as > a vehicle to operate linux.conf.au, the organisation's remit, activities > and scope have broadened significantly over the last decade and a half. > > We think it's time to change the name of the organisation to > better reflect our widened mission, values, activities, partnerships and > influence. > > But wait, hasn't this been tried before? > > > Yes. In 2012/2013, the Linux Australia Council, led then by John > Ferlito, attempted a name change. Consensus could not be reached on a > name to change *to*, and so Linux Australia remained Linux Australia. > > This time, we're learning from the outcome of that process, and would > like to present to you a decision: > > Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia (Yes/No) > > > Other aspects of the organisation - constitution, makeup and so on, are > not proposed to be changed. > > We're communicating this now to provide the community with time to > discuss this proposed change before the AGM, where the resolution will be > tabled in the AGM agenda. The result of the vote will be tabled at the > AGM. That is, if the majority vote 'No', we won't change the > name. If the majority vote 'Yes', we will. > > If you are a member of Linux Australia, you will be able to vote on this > resolution at: > > https://www.linux.org.au/membership/index.php?page=view-election&id=25 > > > Voting will open 25th December 2017, the same time voting opens for > Council Elections, and will close on 21 January, the same time voting > closes for Council Elections. > > Let the discussion begin. > > > Kind regards, > > > Kathy > > > -- > Kathy Reid > President > Linux Australia > > > 0418 130 636 > > > president at linux.org.au http://linux.org.au > > > Linux Australia Inc > GPO Box 4788 > Sydney NSW 2001 > Australia > > > ABN 56 987 117 479 > > > _______________________________________________ > linux-aus mailing list linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to > linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au > > -- Moe Kaan Senior Engineer ABD Computer Installations W: www.abdcomputers.net E: admin at abdcomputers.net P: 0408 867 967 From paul.j.fenwick at gmail.com Fri Dec 22 17:11:17 2017 From: paul.j.fenwick at gmail.com (Paul Fenwick) Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2017 06:11:17 +0000 Subject: [Linux-aus] KSP-CKAN reporting in Message-ID: Hey everyone! Just a quick reporting in on the KSP-CKAN cross-platform mod manager for Kerbal Space Program, for which Linux Australia is helping us with infrastructure funding. I had sent this through a couple of weeks ago but it appears to have been lost in moderation, so I'm resending with less graphics to avoid that. *tl;wr: We?re bringing lots of joy to space enthusiasts! :)* The most recent release of the KSP-CKAN client (17 October) has had 66k downloads, and we?ve had over a million downloads summed over all releases. We?re indexing over two thousand individual mods for Kerbal Space Programme, and over twelve thousand individual mod releases overall. While we purposefully don?t track mod downloads to protect user privacy, the sheer number of client downloads and contributions the project is receiving means I can confidently say we?re going very, very strong. We?re also extremely fortunate to have picked up some *incredible* new contributors. An extra special thanks goes to HebaruSan for the best UI improvements ever, which are already in the development version and will be landing with the next release. *See this PR for the new interface in all its glory.* :) I also want to express my enormous gratitude to Myk Dowling for his continuing role as Mission Director, Leon Wright for keeping our infrastructure running, and of course Linux Australia for helping with our infrastructure costs! May you go to space today! ? Paul -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From admin at sunlug.com.au Fri Dec 22 20:52:20 2017 From: admin at sunlug.com.au (SunLUG) Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2017 20:52:20 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: <5af9a258-e523-3188-ca39-e91558b35f2e@sunlug.com.au> I'll be voting no also as in my experience people have heard of this linux thing but most dont know what it is, ie we are getting somewhere with the linux name and open source doesnt mean anything to most people . . . jmo? Phil On 19/12/2017 7:58 PM, Linux Australia President via linux-aus wrote: > Hi everyone, > > Linux Australia is an incorporated association, registered in the state > of NSW, and has been in operation since around 2001. Initially convened > as a vehicle to operate linux.conf.au, the organisation's remit, > activities and scope have broadened significantly over the last decade > and a half. > > We think it's time to change the name of the organisation to > better reflect our widened mission, values, activities, partnerships and > influence. > > But wait, hasn't this been tried before? > > Yes. In 2012/2013, the Linux Australia Council, led then by John > Ferlito, attempted a name change. Consensus could not be reached on a > name to change *to*, and so Linux Australia remained Linux Australia. > > This time, we're learning from the outcome of that process, and would > like to present to you a decision: > > Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia (Yes/No) > > Other aspects of the organisation - constitution, makeup and so on, are > not proposed to be changed. > > We're communicating this now to provide the community with time to > discuss this proposed change before the AGM, where the resolution will > be tabled in the AGM agenda. The result of the vote will be tabled > at the AGM. That is, if the majority vote 'No', we won't change the > name. If the majority vote 'Yes', we will. > > If you are a member of Linux Australia, you will be able to vote on this > resolution at: > > https://www.linux.org.au/membership/index.php?page=view-election&id=25 > > Voting will open 25th December 2017, the same time voting opens for > Council Elections, and will close on 21 January, the same time voting > closes for Council Elections. > > Let the discussion begin. > > Kind regards, > > Kathy > From russell at coker.com.au Fri Dec 22 22:04:39 2017 From: russell at coker.com.au (Russell Coker) Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2017 22:04:39 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <5af9a258-e523-3188-ca39-e91558b35f2e@sunlug.com.au> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> <5af9a258-e523-3188-ca39-e91558b35f2e@sunlug.com.au> Message-ID: <1920541.jegzbHCKkD@liv> On Friday, 22 December 2017 8:52:20 PM AEDT SunLUG via linux-aus wrote: > I'll be voting no also as in my experience people have heard of this > linux thing but most dont know what it is, ie we are getting somewhere > with the linux name and open source doesnt mean anything to most people How does the Linux name help? Isn't Linux Australia just the organisation that funds a bunch of conferences to most people? From russell at coker.com.au Fri Dec 22 22:13:34 2017 From: russell at coker.com.au (Russell Coker) Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2017 22:13:34 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: <2609911.pGyEmheJ4z@liv> On Thursday, 21 December 2017 10:59:21 PM AEDT Rowland Mosbergen via linux-aus wrote: > Personally, I would want to quantify how much the "Linux Australia" brand > is worth before I made any decision. > > If it was found to be valuable, I would think about other options. > > For example, when you think of Amazon do you think of an online bookshop, > cloud compute or building tablets? Council: Please clarify whether you intend to abandon the name "Linux Australia" or use it for a subcommittee for that purpose? It seems like a lot of the debate is based on assumptions of what would happen in that regard. From bret at busby.net Fri Dec 22 04:20:21 2017 From: bret at busby.net (Bret Busby) Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2017 01:20:21 +0800 (AWST) Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: On Tue, 19 Dec 2017, Linux Australia President wrote: > Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2017 16:58:05 > From: Linux Australia President > To: linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au, announce at lists.linux.org.au, > council at linux.org.au, media at linux.org.au > Subject: [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source > Australia? > > Hi everyone, > > Linux Australia is an incorporated association, registered in the state > of NSW, and has been in operation since around 2001. Initially convened > as a vehicle to operate linux.conf.au, the organisation's remit, > activities and scope have broadened significantly over the last decade > and a half. > > We think it's time to change the name of the organisation to > better reflect our widened mission, values, activities, partnerships and > influence. > > But wait, hasn't this been tried before? > > Yes. In 2012/2013, the Linux Australia Council, led then by John > Ferlito, attempted a name change. Consensus could not be reached on a > name to change *to*, and so Linux Australia remained Linux Australia. > > This time, we're learning from the outcome of that process, and would > like to present to you a decision: > > Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia (Yes/No) > > Other aspects of the organisation - constitution, makeup and so on, are > not proposed to be changed. > > We're communicating this now to provide the community with time to > discuss this proposed change before the AGM, where the resolution will > be tabled in the AGM agenda. The result of the vote will be tabled > at the AGM. That is, if the majority vote 'No', we won't change the > name. If the majority vote 'Yes', we will. > > If you are a member of Linux Australia, you will be able to vote on this > resolution at: > > https://www.linux.org.au/membership/index.php?page=view-election&id=25 > > Voting will open 25th December 2017, the same time voting opens for > Council Elections, and will close on 21 January, the same time voting > closes for Council Elections. > > Let the discussion begin. > > Kind regards, > > Kathy > > -- > Kathy Reid > President > Linux Australia > Won't the constitution be required to be changed, to implement the name change, if the name change is approved? Thence, if I am correct in that belief, would it not be more appropriate, and, more efficient, to put a motion to change the constititution, insomuch as changing the organisation name within the constitution? As Linux Australia is a NSW incorporated organisation, NSW laws are applicable, and, I know not of NSW laws, so I do not know whether the constitution would be needed to be amended, to implement such a name change, if the name change would be approved, but, if the constitution would need to be amended, to implement such a name change, it seems to me, to be more appropriate, to go directly to a motion to be put, to amend the constitution, insofar as (only) changing the name of the organisation, especially, with the AGM coming, so as to avoid the need for a Special General Meeting, to amend the constitution to change the organisation name. I am not saying whether the name should be changed, just suggesting procedural efficiency (if what I am suggesting, is applicable). -- Bret Busby Armadale West Australia .............. "So once you do know what the question actually is, you'll know what the answer means." - Deep Thought, Chapter 28 of Book 1 of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy In Four Parts", written by Douglas Adams, published by Pan Books, 1992 .................................................... From keltoiboy at gmail.com Fri Dec 22 08:31:19 2017 From: keltoiboy at gmail.com (Michael .) Date: Fri, 22 Dec 2017 08:31:19 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: On 19/12/2017, Linux Australia President wrote: > Hi everyone, snip > We think it's time to change the name of the organisation to > better reflect our widened mission, values, activities, partnerships and > influence. snip > Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia (Yes/No) snip > Let the discussion begin. Hi everyone I received this email the other day and I have been thinking about it a bit and have decided to join the "discussion" regarding this issue. I, personally, think this may be a good idea but I wonder about the practicalities of it. For instance if the name gets changed to Open Source Australia will you promote other OSs such as the BSDs as much as you promote Linux or will your main focus be Linux (and associated applications)? If the main focus remains Linux and its associated applications then, to me, the name change will serve no useful purpose. If the name change will bring about a true focus on all Open Source activity including the BSDs and not just Linux and its associated applications then I am all for it. Cheers. Michael Findlay. From russell-linuxaus at stuart.id.au Sat Dec 23 13:51:43 2017 From: russell-linuxaus at stuart.id.au (Russell Stuart) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2017 12:51:43 +1000 Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: <1513997503.4447.2.camel@stuart.id.au> On Fri, 2017-12-22 at 08:31 +1100, Michael . via linux-aus wrote: > I, personally, think this may be a good idea but I wonder about the > practicalities of it. For instance if the name gets changed to Open > Source Australia will you promote other OSs such as the BSDs as much > as you promote Linux or will your main focus be Linux (and associated > applications)? If anyone is wondering why several LA councils have tried to change the name, this comment pretty much typifies it. I don't know how Linux Australia got its name, but it seems like it inherited it from the conference it was founded to run: Linux Australia Conference. I don't know way the conference called itself that, because as anyone whose been there knows Linux isn't the only, or even its prime focus. I suspect it was because back then open source was a small pool and Linux was a very big fish, so was a good marketing for a conference to have Linux in its name. While Linux has grown somewhat since them, but the open source pool has grown dramatically so Linux isn't the big fish it once was. And so to has Linux Australia grown - among the conferences it help run this year were Python, Drupal, and Wordpress. We are also providing services (bank accounts, money, a legal entity) to educators seeking to run STEM courses based on open source. If someone comes to Linux Australia with an idea that is based around source or designs that are open and shared with a community every is welcome to join, and doesn't look like it will make a loss, Linux Australia will likely fund it and wear the financial risk. If it looks like it might make a loss then LA might still fund it via a grant request. >From my perspective, Linux Australia reason for existence is to encourage the understanding, adoption and contributing to open source. It modus operandi is to do that by running conferences, and it seems to be a pretty successful strategy as now 1000's of people attend conferences Linux Australia helps run every year. As a practical matter, I have not seen LA promote anything other than it's own conferences - certainly not Linux. Given that, maybe you can understand the reaction of people who have been on the LA council for a while and know what LA really when they see the question "will you promote other OSs such as the BSDs as much as you promote Linux?". For me at least it was "I wonder how many opportunities we have lost to promote open source in Australia because people believe we are focused on Linux". It's not hard to go from there to believing having Linux in our name is a bit of an albatross around our neck. From michael.imelfort at gmail.com Sat Dec 23 15:31:49 2017 From: michael.imelfort at gmail.com (Mike Imelfort) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2017 14:31:49 +1000 Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <1513997503.4447.2.camel@stuart.id.au> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> <1513997503.4447.2.camel@stuart.id.au> Message-ID: So. I'm new here, but actually one of the main reasons I am so new is almost wholly because of the name. When you're outside the community the name Linux Australia gives you little to no idea about what is happening on the inside. Had I known what LA actually does I probably would have joined up sooner. So I like the idea of changing the name. But I worry about the issues raised above. Reading through the thread I'm not sure swapping one flavour of brand confusion with another is useful. Another point is that the term open source really points at software, but it seems like even software is not a core business anymore. LA supports many different areas of IP sharing and collaboration including open hardware, CC documentation, inclusive policies on conference panels and attendance etc. Which is great. Just not technically "open source" and definitely not just Linux. So I would vote no to this change because it seems like much work without much meaningful change. Without advocating for name shopping but because I wasn't around last time, would "Libre Australia" work. At least you get to keep on using the LA acronym and Libre seems like more of the core business here than Linux, or source code. On 23 Dec. 2017 1:49 pm, "Russell Stuart via linux-aus" < linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au> wrote: > On Fri, 2017-12-22 at 08:31 +1100, Michael . via linux-aus wrote: > > I, personally, think this may be a good idea but I wonder about the > > practicalities of it. For instance if the name gets changed to Open > > Source Australia will you promote other OSs such as the BSDs as much > > as you promote Linux or will your main focus be Linux (and associated > > applications)? > > If anyone is wondering why several LA councils have tried to change the > name, this comment pretty much typifies it. > > I don't know how Linux Australia got its name, but it seems like it > inherited it from the conference it was founded to run: Linux Australia > Conference. I don't know way the conference called itself that, > because as anyone whose been there knows Linux isn't the only, or even > its prime focus. I suspect it was because back then open source was a > small pool and Linux was a very big fish, so was a good marketing for a > conference to have Linux in its name. > > While Linux has grown somewhat since them, but the open source pool has > grown dramatically so Linux isn't the big fish it once was. And so to > has Linux Australia grown - among the conferences it help run this year > were Python, Drupal, and Wordpress. We are also providing services > (bank accounts, money, a legal entity) to educators seeking to run STEM > courses based on open source. If someone comes to Linux Australia with > an idea that is based around source or designs that are open and shared > with a community every is welcome to join, and doesn't look like it > will make a loss, Linux Australia will likely fund it and wear the > financial risk. If it looks like it might make a loss then LA might > still fund it via a grant request. > > From my perspective, Linux Australia reason for existence is to > encourage the understanding, adoption and contributing to open source. > It modus operandi is to do that by running conferences, and it seems to > be a pretty successful strategy as now 1000's of people attend > conferences Linux Australia helps run every year. > > As a practical matter, I have not seen LA promote anything other than > it's own conferences - certainly not Linux. Given that, maybe you can > understand the reaction of people who have been on the LA council for a > while and know what LA really when they see the question "will you > promote other OSs such as the BSDs as much as you promote Linux?". For > me at least it was "I wonder how many opportunities we have lost to > promote open source in Australia because people believe we are focused > on Linux". It's not hard to go from there to believing having Linux in > our name is a bit of an albatross around our neck. > _______________________________________________ > linux-aus mailing list > linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to > linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From michael at the-davies.net Sat Dec 23 17:53:14 2017 From: michael at the-davies.net (Michael Davies) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2017 17:23:14 +1030 Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <20171221094641.pcb3rihjf4ylza2m@archer.mcwhirter.io> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> <20171221094641.pcb3rihjf4ylza2m@archer.mcwhirter.io> Message-ID: On Thu, Dec 21, 2017 at 8:16 PM, Craige McWhirter via linux-aus < linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au> wrote: > On Tue, Dec 19, 2017 at 19:58:05 +1100, Linux Australia President wrote: > > > Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia (Yes/No) > > I'll be voting (No) to this proposal, not because I'm against name change > but > because I disagree with this particular name change. > > Not only do I agree with the bulk of no objections thus far but more > importantly for myself, changing the name from "Linux Australia" to "Open > Source $Anything" represents a *significant* watering down of the ethical > position that for me at least, has underpinned LA from the start and the > LUGs that preceded it. > > I'd support a name change that was more representative of our activities > but > not one that waters down our ethos. > So I totally understand that - I would describe myself as leaning more to the "free software" side of the fence too. However, I can't think of a name that a) reflects our free software and linux community heritage, b) includes software, hardware, & community etc - all aspects that are included in our organisation's activities, c) has (current or potential) broad brand recognition, and d) reflects what we've been actually doing - representing and supporting all things free and open source software and hardware and community. I think the Open Source Australia is the best fit for who we are, what we've been doing, (not just what we say we want to do), and who we've been supporting and representing. Hence I'll be voting "Yes" :-) On top of that, I support the current leadership and what they are doing. I don't have the capacity to put the hours into our organisation as the council and leadership team do, so I support their recommendation to the membership. Michael... -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From xanni at glasswings.com.au Sat Dec 23 18:06:21 2017 From: xanni at glasswings.com.au (Andrew Pam) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2017 18:06:21 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> <20171221094641.pcb3rihjf4ylza2m@archer.mcwhirter.io> Message-ID: On 23/12/17 17:53, Michael Davies via linux-aus wrote: > I think the Open Source Australia is the best fit for who we are, what > we've been doing, (not just what we say we want to do), and who we've > been supporting and representing.? Hence I'll be voting "Yes" :-) What about the concerns of Open Source Industry Australia? In their newsletter released today they again expressed objections to Linux Australia creating confusion by choosing Open Source Australia: [[ We note that Linux Australia has put forward to its members a question on renaming itself to "Open Source Australia" (OSA). We hope that they will reconsider, given the remarkable similarity of the names OSA & OSIA. We note the alternative suggestion of "Open Source Communit{y,ies} Australia" (OSCA) which some Linux Australia members have put forward and we believe that that would help delineate more clearly the respective roles of the two organisations. Whilst that decision will ultimately be one for Linux Australia and its members, we've been encouraged by the dialogue we've had with the Linux Australia Council in recent days. ]] Regards, Andrew -- mailto:xanni at xanadu.net Andrew Pam http://www.xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu http://www.glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings http://www.sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics From lloy0076 at adam.com.au Sat Dec 23 19:38:24 2017 From: lloy0076 at adam.com.au (David Lloyd) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2017 03:38:24 -0500 Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> <1513997503.4447.2.camel@stuart.id.au> Message-ID: <071c01d37bc9$68c7e4d0$3a57ae70$@adam.com.au> In my opinion: * There are clear reasons for changing the name of Linux Australia Inc to something other than that; * Naming organisations is ?a difficult matter? ? and far more difficult than simply naming cats; * Figuring out what the name should be ? as has been alluded to ? is about as easy as herding cats, though. So long as the new name fitted within the Australian legal framework (e.g. you?d not be allowed to call yourself Open Source Bank Australia unless you were a bona fide financial institution, nor would you change your name to Google Australia because that name is already taken) it really does not matter what the name is providing: * You keep the current culture; * If you cause brand confusion, you destroy the other competing brands. I would hazard a guess that if Linux Australia wanted to cause brand confusion with another organisation, so long as that organisation wasn?t well-funded or well-organised, it would probably win. In the short term, provided the new name brought more benefits to the organisation that was once named Linux Australia, it would be a stronger organisation in the short term. Whether the organisation that was called Linux Australia remains stronger really is up to its members and whether its current culture changes to such an extent where it collapses and loses support. So: * Names matter; * You?ll win the branding war unless you get walloped by lawyers or the name is deemed legally unusable. As far as I can tell, the organisation is probably strong enough to change its name to anything that is legally usable so long as it doesn?t get walloped by lawyers. But to manage any name change ? because names do matter ? probably needs a well thought plan because I?m fairly sure a name change isn?t just about submitting a motion to the AGM or an SGM ? that part is the easy part (although I do agree it is important and necessary). Should one assume that the Council already does have a plan of action for the case where the name is changed? It?s a safe bet ? DSL From: linux-aus [mailto:linux-aus-bounces at lists.linux.org.au] On Behalf Of Mike Imelfort via linux-aus Sent: Friday, 22 December 2017 11:32 PM To: Russell Stuart Cc: linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au Subject: Re: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? So. I'm new here, but actually one of the main reasons I am so new is almost wholly because of the name. When you're outside the community the name Linux Australia gives you little to no idea about what is happening on the inside. Had I known what LA actually does I probably would have joined up sooner. So I like the idea of changing the name. But I worry about the issues raised above. Reading through the thread I'm not sure swapping one flavour of brand confusion with another is useful. Another point is that the term open source really points at software, but it seems like even software is not a core business anymore. LA supports many different areas of IP sharing and collaboration including open hardware, CC documentation, inclusive policies on conference panels and attendance etc. Which is great. Just not technically "open source" and definitely not just Linux. So I would vote no to this change because it seems like much work without much meaningful change. Without advocating for name shopping but because I wasn't around last time, would "Libre Australia" work. At least you get to keep on using the LA acronym and Libre seems like more of the core business here than Linux, or source code. On 23 Dec. 2017 1:49 pm, "Russell Stuart via linux-aus" > wrote: On Fri, 2017-12-22 at 08:31 +1100, Michael . via linux-aus wrote: > I, personally, think this may be a good idea but I wonder about the > practicalities of it. For instance if the name gets changed to Open > Source Australia will you promote other OSs such as the BSDs as much > as you promote Linux or will your main focus be Linux (and associated > applications)? If anyone is wondering why several LA councils have tried to change the name, this comment pretty much typifies it. I don't know how Linux Australia got its name, but it seems like it inherited it from the conference it was founded to run: Linux Australia Conference. I don't know way the conference called itself that, because as anyone whose been there knows Linux isn't the only, or even its prime focus. I suspect it was because back then open source was a small pool and Linux was a very big fish, so was a good marketing for a conference to have Linux in its name. While Linux has grown somewhat since them, but the open source pool has grown dramatically so Linux isn't the big fish it once was. And so to has Linux Australia grown - among the conferences it help run this year were Python, Drupal, and Wordpress. We are also providing services (bank accounts, money, a legal entity) to educators seeking to run STEM courses based on open source. If someone comes to Linux Australia with an idea that is based around source or designs that are open and shared with a community every is welcome to join, and doesn't look like it will make a loss, Linux Australia will likely fund it and wear the financial risk. If it looks like it might make a loss then LA might still fund it via a grant request. >From my perspective, Linux Australia reason for existence is to encourage the understanding, adoption and contributing to open source. It modus operandi is to do that by running conferences, and it seems to be a pretty successful strategy as now 1000's of people attend conferences Linux Australia helps run every year. As a practical matter, I have not seen LA promote anything other than it's own conferences - certainly not Linux. Given that, maybe you can understand the reaction of people who have been on the LA council for a while and know what LA really when they see the question "will you promote other OSs such as the BSDs as much as you promote Linux?". For me at least it was "I wonder how many opportunities we have lost to promote open source in Australia because people believe we are focused on Linux". It's not hard to go from there to believing having Linux in our name is a bit of an albatross around our neck. _______________________________________________ linux-aus mailing list linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From russell at coker.com.au Sun Dec 24 13:15:09 2017 From: russell at coker.com.au (Russell Coker) Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2017 13:15:09 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <1513997503.4447.2.camel@stuart.id.au> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> <1513997503.4447.2.camel@stuart.id.au> Message-ID: <2326466.hJRbdhVCzt@xev> On Saturday, 23 December 2017 12:51:43 PM AEDT Russell Stuart via linux-aus wrote: > I don't know how Linux Australia got its name, but it seems like it > inherited it from the conference it was founded to run: Linux Australia > Conference. I don't know way the conference called itself that, > because as anyone whose been there knows Linux isn't the only, or even > its prime focus. I suspect it was because back then open source was a > small pool and Linux was a very big fish, so was a good marketing for a > conference to have Linux in its name. Well back then BSD had a reasonable market share. But CALU and the early LCAs were very Linux based. > From my perspective, Linux Australia reason for existence is to > encourage the understanding, adoption and contributing to open source. > It modus operandi is to do that by running conferences, and it seems to > be a pretty successful strategy as now 1000's of people attend > conferences Linux Australia helps run every year. Yes. > As a practical matter, I have not seen LA promote anything other than > it's own conferences - certainly not Linux. Given that, maybe you can > understand the reaction of people who have been on the LA council for a > while and know what LA really when they see the question "will you > promote other OSs such as the BSDs as much as you promote Linux?". For > me at least it was "I wonder how many opportunities we have lost to > promote open source in Australia because people believe we are focused > on Linux". It's not hard to go from there to believing having Linux in > our name is a bit of an albatross around our neck. I think it would be good to have a sub-committee for promoting Linux. There's no reason why we couldn't have other sub-committees for promoting BSD etc. https://www.winehq.org/ https://www.reactos.org/ https://www.haiku-os.org/ https://www.debian.org/ports/hurd/ There's also some interesting work going on with Wine (Windows emulator often used for games on Linux), ReactOS (free OS with NT system call interface), Haiku (BeOS like free OS), and HURD is still going. -- My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/ My Documents Blog http://doc.coker.com.au/ From noel.butler at ausics.net Sun Dec 24 15:27:12 2017 From: noel.butler at ausics.net (Noel Butler) Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2017 14:27:12 +1000 Subject: [Linux-aus] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <20171220231749.565a2b85@gik.teln.shikadi.net> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> <3CCA0703-0834-496B-BD6A-A8A9C251F551@the-davies.net> <1513760937.3416.186.camel@samba.org> <1774655.vgvfbG0iBo@liv> <20171220231749.565a2b85@gik.teln.shikadi.net> Message-ID: <26d26a5c3728fe7fd63399a3008135f1@ausics.net> Reminds me of an episode of Bar Rescue a few years back... Old owner, great well known name, great patronage Old Owner sells to New Owner New Owner changes name 12 months on in dire straits Johnny Tapper changes name back to Original name (and few minor changes - not one of his all in reno eps tho) Patronage soaring again 6 months on So much so New Owner changed name back to his. 6 months on bar nearly empty 6 more months on bar closed I'll be voting no, like last time, and the time ..... If you want a new organisation to represent open source, start it up yourself rather than try piggy back of LA's success. Merry Christmas y'all -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From markwalkom at gmail.com Sun Dec 24 17:52:24 2017 From: markwalkom at gmail.com (Mark Walkom) Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2017 17:52:24 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <26d26a5c3728fe7fd63399a3008135f1@ausics.net> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> <3CCA0703-0834-496B-BD6A-A8A9C251F551@the-davies.net> <1513760937.3416.186.camel@samba.org> <1774655.vgvfbG0iBo@liv> <20171220231749.565a2b85@gik.teln.shikadi.net> <26d26a5c3728fe7fd63399a3008135f1@ausics.net> Message-ID: Let me give one that's relevant to Australia and IT; SAGE-AU was all but dead a few years back. Long did we argue why, but the name was definitively restricting us from gaining new members. We know this because we had people actively leaving because they were no long sysadmins, or actively ignoring us because they weren't sysadmins despite being IT professionals - which was the intended target community. SAGE-AU realised that the industry had changed and the traditional sysadmin position had evolved with it, and renamed to stay relevant. ITPA is now much larger than it was when said change happened. They also have a newly formed, and strong, future providing IT certification, plus due to their history they also have the resources and weight to be able to actively influence the evolving IT ecosystem in AU via multiple means. The broader IT community is changing, business is changing, open source has and will be forever changing. Unless we do the same, we'll definitely have a lovely little pocket of the Australian open source world with a few conferences (of super awesome quality) to bring in funds that we can do some good with. But that's about it. Maybe that's enough for some? Given the reported numbers, it looks like others would like to have a future with LA actively existing and leveraging the successes of the past to build a bigger, better and more inclusive future. (I'm not saying OSA is the best option, the OSIA/OSA confusion is well worth considering. And to be frank, so would OSIA merging with LA.) On 24 December 2017 at 15:27, Noel Butler via linux-aus < linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au> wrote: > Reminds me of an episode of Bar Rescue a few years back... > > Old owner, great well known name, great patronage > > Old Owner sells to New Owner > > New Owner changes name > > 12 months on in dire straits > > Johnny Tapper changes name back to Original name (and few minor changes - > not one of his all in reno eps tho) > > Patronage soaring again 6 months on > > So much so New Owner changed name back to his. > > 6 months on bar nearly empty > > 6 more months on bar closed > > > > I'll be voting no, like last time, and the time ..... > > If you want a new organisation to represent open source, start it up > yourself rather than try piggy back of LA's success. > Merry Christmas y'all > > > _______________________________________________ > linux-aus mailing list > linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to > linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jamezpolley at gmail.com Sun Dec 24 23:41:54 2017 From: jamezpolley at gmail.com (James Polley) Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2017 23:41:54 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: On Fri, Dec 22, 2017 at 4:20 AM, Bret Busby via linux-aus < linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au> wrote: > On Tue, 19 Dec 2017, Linux Australia President wrote: > > Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2017 16:58:05 >> From: Linux Australia President >> To: linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au, announce at lists.linux.org.au, >> council at linux.org.au, media at linux.org.au >> Subject: [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source >> Australia? >> >> >> Hi everyone, >> >> Linux Australia is an incorporated association, registered in the state >> of NSW, and has been in operation since around 2001. Initially convened >> as a vehicle to operate linux.conf.au, the organisation's remit, >> activities and scope have broadened significantly over the last decade >> and a half. >> >> We think it's time to change the name of the organisation to >> better reflect our widened mission, values, activities, partnerships and >> influence. >> >> But wait, hasn't this been tried before? >> >> Yes. In 2012/2013, the Linux Australia Council, led then by John >> Ferlito, attempted a name change. Consensus could not be reached on a >> name to change *to*, and so Linux Australia remained Linux Australia. >> >> This time, we're learning from the outcome of that process, and would >> like to present to you a decision: >> >> Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia (Yes/No) >> >> Other aspects of the organisation - constitution, makeup and so on, are >> not proposed to be changed. >> >> We're communicating this now to provide the community with time to >> discuss this proposed change before the AGM, where the resolution will >> be tabled in the AGM agenda. The result of the vote will be tabled >> at the AGM. That is, if the majority vote 'No', we won't change the >> name. If the majority vote 'Yes', we will. >> >> If you are a member of Linux Australia, you will be able to vote on this >> resolution at: >> >> https://www.linux.org.au/membership/index.php?page=view-election&id=25 >> >> Voting will open 25th December 2017, the same time voting opens for >> Council Elections, and will close on 21 January, the same time voting >> closes for Council Elections. >> >> Let the discussion begin. >> >> Kind regards, >> >> Kathy >> >> -- >> Kathy Reid >> President >> Linux Australia >> >> > Won't the constitution be required to be changed, to implement the name > change, if the name change is approved? > > Thence, if I am correct in that belief, would it not be more appropriate, > and, more efficient, to put a motion to change the constititution, insomuch > as changing the organisation name within the constitution? > > As Linux Australia is a NSW incorporated organisation, NSW laws are > applicable, and, I know not of NSW laws, so I do not know whether the > constitution would be needed to be amended, to implement such a name > change, if the name change would be approved, but, if the constitution > would need to be amended, to implement such a name change, it seems to me, > to be more appropriate, to go directly to a motion to be put, to amend the > constitution, insofar as (only) changing the name of the organisation, > especially, with the AGM coming, so as to avoid the need for a Special > General Meeting, to amend the constitution to change the organisation name. > > I am not saying whether the name should be changed, just suggesting > procedural efficiency (if what I am suggesting, is applicable). > Yes, changing the name of the association does require a special resolution to be passed before the association?s name can be changed (NSW Associations Incorporation Act 2009, Division 10, section 10, para 2) My memory is that last time we looked at doing this, the plan was to register a new trading name rather than changing the association?s name, which wouldn?t need a constitutional change. I assume that that?s the plan this time around as well. > -- > Bret Busby > Armadale > West Australia > .............. > > "So once you do know what the question actually is, > you'll know what the answer means." > - Deep Thought, > Chapter 28 of Book 1 of > "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: > A Trilogy In Four Parts", > written by Douglas Adams, > published by Pan Books, 1992 > .................................................... > > _______________________________________________ > linux-aus mailing list > linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/linux-aus > > To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to > linux-aus-unsubscribe at lists.linux.org.au > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From president at linux.org.au Mon Dec 25 01:14:08 2017 From: president at linux.org.au (Linux Australia President) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2017 01:14:08 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] [LACTTE] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: Hi everyone, Firstly, thanks to everyone for the open, candid and robust discussion of renaming. Secondly, apologies for the timing of this email, late on Christmas Eve. I've been spending the last couple of days with family and friends, and much as I love this community, they take precedence. To address a number of points that have been raised; Should the vote go ahead? Should we add more naming options? Council discussed this at length at Thursday night's Council meeting, noting how close the proposed Open Source Australia name was to Open Source Industry Australia. We followed up with Jack Burton on Friday as an OSIA representative to seek input as to next steps - and I'd like to publicly thank Jack for his time and professionalism. Essentially we had three options: 1. Stop the election/ballot on a new name, and allow for more time for community discussion on alternative names, and whether to rebrand at all 2. Add new names to the ballot 3. Allow the ballot to proceed, knowing the proposal to rename to Open Source Australia will likely be defeated Given the timeframes involved, and recognising that there are community opinions expressed for and against a name change, for many reasons, we have decided to proceed with the ballot, knowing that the name change will likely be defeated. I would also like to be transparent that this was not the preferred course of action from OSIA; we recognise that and this is in no way intended to antagonise that relationship - we've started something and we want to follow it through to a logical conclusion. Further, adding more potential names at this late stage is unlikely to be productive; the reason Open Source Australia was given as an alternate name is that it had the highest polling in the last name change poll around 5 years ago. Voting on the ballot is now open to Linux Australia members: https://linux.org.au/membership/index.php?page=view-election&id=25 What happens next? We have committed to changing the name if we receive a mandate, via a majority of votes on the ballot, to do so. This would be raised as a Special Resolution at the January AGM. If the ballot is defeated, we will not proceed to change the name in the short term. Regardless of outcome, the discussions around changing the name of Linux Australia will likely continue; this is a positive step. What I *would* encourage is some broader debate about not only what we label ourselves; but what it is that label encompasses. Our activities, our functions, our remit, our mandate. What do we want to do in the future? What do we start doing? What do we stop doing? A name has meaning. A name is powerful. Who are we? Should the ballot be defeated, further community discussions on proposed names may continue; these discussions may lead to another vote at a future time. Some finer points of discussion * If we change the name, do we need to change the Constitution? No, but we do need a Special Resolution to be passed, and then we need to apply to the Office of Fair Trading NSW to change the name. A Ballot would be used as evidence to show that members had been consulted on the decision. * If Linux Australia becomes Something Else, would we still retain the trading name? Yes. We've traded as Linux Australia for over 15 years, and we would retain the trading name to prevent other organisations leveraging the name. If someone would like to form a "Linux" subcommittee, go right ahead. * Can't we just own the trading name Open Source Australia? We already do. * How much is the Linux Australia brand worth? We've never formally had the brand evaluated. Most conference brands are much more well known than the parent organisation brand. * Should OSIA merge with Linux Australia? This is a decision for OSIA first, and only an issue for Linux Australia should OSIA wish to broach it; this has not been formally broached. Our understanding is that OSIA are attempting a "reboot" to breathe new life into the organisation - and my feeling is that it is premature to ask this until the outcome of this measure is clearer. Discussions with OSIA over the last few days have highlighted a number of areas and specific paths with with Linux Australia and OSIA could co-operate as independent, yet collaborating organisations - my thanks are again extended to Jack Burton for outlining these. They centre around co-operation on approaches to government around policy formation. * Do I base leadership decisions on episodes of Bar Rescue? While I'm sure Bar Rescue is a fine series, I haven't had the pleasure of watching it myself. I'm currently binge-watching Berlin Station. /Wer rastet, der rostet./ Again, thank you to the community for a robust, and generally, respectful discussion and debate on this issue. Kind regards, Kathy On 19/12/17 19:58, Linux Australia President wrote: > Hi everyone, > > Linux Australia is an incorporated association, registered in the state > of NSW, and has been in operation since around 2001. Initially convened > as a vehicle to operate linux.conf.au, the organisation's remit, > activities and scope have broadened significantly over the last decade > and a half. > > We think it's time to change the name of the organisation to > better reflect our widened mission, values, activities, partnerships and > influence. > > But wait, hasn't this been tried before? > > Yes. In 2012/2013, the Linux Australia Council, led then by John > Ferlito, attempted a name change. Consensus could not be reached on a > name to change *to*, and so Linux Australia remained Linux Australia. > > This time, we're learning from the outcome of that process, and would > like to present to you a decision: > > Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia (Yes/No) > > Other aspects of the organisation - constitution, makeup and so on, are > not proposed to be changed. > > We're communicating this now to provide the community with time to > discuss this proposed change before the AGM, where the resolution will > be tabled in the AGM agenda. The result of the vote will be tabled > at the AGM. That is, if the majority vote 'No', we won't change the > name. If the majority vote 'Yes', we will. > > If you are a member of Linux Australia, you will be able to vote on this > resolution at: > > https://www.linux.org.au/membership/index.php?page=view-election&id=25 > > Voting will open 25th December 2017, the same time voting opens for > Council Elections, and will close on 21 January, the same time voting > closes for Council Elections. > > Let the discussion begin. > > Kind regards, > > Kathy > -- Kathy Reid President Linux Australia 0418 130 636 president at linux.org.au http://linux.org.au Linux Australia Inc GPO Box 4788 Sydney NSW 2001 Australia ABN 56 987 117 479 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From president at linux.org.au Mon Dec 25 01:24:29 2017 From: president at linux.org.au (Linux Australia President) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2017 01:24:29 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Voting now open for Linux Australia Council elections In-Reply-To: <7576cf3a-ffb7-140b-7e81-17715714d088@linux.org.au> References: <7576cf3a-ffb7-140b-7e81-17715714d088@linux.org.au> Message-ID: <74add835-2a0a-9d96-de82-d50815a1fd28@linux.org.au> https://linux.org.au/membership/index.php?page=view-election&id=24 This is technically a moot point; there are fewer nominations than there are vacancies. We will call for nominations to vacant positions at the AGM at linux.conf.au and can vote on appointing candidates at that time. Kind regards, Kathy On 21/12/17 21:04, Linux Australia President wrote: > Greetings awesome Humans, > > TL;DR: You have 3 days to nominate for Linux Australia Council. > > This is a reminder that nominations for Council Election close on 24th > December, Christmas Eve, where you too may be partaking of $beverages > and not realise that you are nearing the deadline to nominate. So, get > in early! Yay! Punctuality! > > https://linux.org.au/membership/index.php?page=view-election&id=24 > > If you'd like to know the sort of activities that Council members > undertake, the Position Descriptions here are a good read: > > https://github.com/linuxaustralia/position-descriptions > > Kind regards, > > Kathy > -- Kathy Reid President Linux Australia 0418 130 636 president at linux.org.au http://linux.org.au Linux Australia Inc GPO Box 4788 Sydney NSW 2001 Australia ABN 56 987 117 479 From noel.butler at ausics.net Mon Dec 25 12:49:16 2017 From: noel.butler at ausics.net (Noel Butler) Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2017 11:49:16 +1000 Subject: [Linux-aus] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> <3CCA0703-0834-496B-BD6A-A8A9C251F551@the-davies.net> <1513760937.3416.186.camel@samba.org> <1774655.vgvfbG0iBo@liv> <20171220231749.565a2b85@gik.teln.shikadi.net> <26d26a5c3728fe7fd63399a3008135f1@ausics.net> Message-ID: On 24/12/2017 16:52, Mark Walkom via linux-aus wrote: > Let me give one that's relevant to Australia and IT; > SAGE-AU was all but dead a few years back. Long did we argue why, but the name was definitively restricting us from gaining new members. We know this because we had people actively leaving because they I think you'll find many of them dropping out because all SAGE-AU did was up their prices every year to levels that can not be justified for what you get (I for one left for that reason, as did others I know), what it is now 165 dollars LOL. But yes it has many more members today, due to the "free" associate membership, when you turn them all into paying 165 bucks plus a year (coz we know all it does it go up) then maybe you can use SAGE-AU -> ITPA as a good example :) -- Kind Regards, Noel Butler This Email, including any attachments, may contain legally privileged information, therefore remains confidential and subject to copyright protected under international law. You may not disseminate, discuss, or reveal, any part, to anyone, without the authors express written authority to do so. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender then delete all copies of this message including attachments, immediately. Confidentiality, copyright, and legal privilege are not waived or lost by reason of the mistaken delivery of this message. Only PDF [1] and ODF [2] documents accepted, please do not send proprietary formatted documents Links: ------ [1] http://www.adobe.com/ [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenDocument -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From paul2471 at gmail.com Tue Dec 26 08:04:51 2017 From: paul2471 at gmail.com (Paul W Parker) Date: Tue, 26 Dec 2017 08:04:51 +1100 Subject: [Linux-aus] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <04e5090be0b09ae4787a31b575d16a4d.squirrel@abdcomputers.net> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> <04e5090be0b09ae4787a31b575d16a4d.squirrel@abdcomputers.net> Message-ID: <1514235891.21713.9.camel@gmail.com> Am voting NO.? What does Linux Australia mean to myself, and perhaps others. Linux Australia? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Linux is Open Source? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Linux supports Open Source? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Linux Australia supports Australian Open Source? A reputation of value.? Paul W Parker. From bret at busby.net Wed Dec 27 05:16:30 2017 From: bret at busby.net (Bret Busby) Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2017 02:16:30 +0800 (AWST) Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: On Tue, 19 Dec 2017, Linux Australia President wrote: > Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2017 16:58:05 > From: Linux Australia President > To: linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au, announce at lists.linux.org.au, > council at linux.org.au, media at linux.org.au > Subject: [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source > Australia? > > Hi everyone, > > Linux Australia is an incorporated association, registered in the state > of NSW, and has been in operation since around 2001. Initially convened > as a vehicle to operate linux.conf.au, the organisation's remit, > activities and scope have broadened significantly over the last decade > and a half. > > We think it's time to change the name of the organisation to > better reflect our widened mission, values, activities, partnerships and > influence. > > But wait, hasn't this been tried before? > > Yes. In 2012/2013, the Linux Australia Council, led then by John > Ferlito, attempted a name change. Consensus could not be reached on a > name to change *to*, and so Linux Australia remained Linux Australia. > > This time, we're learning from the outcome of that process, and would > like to present to you a decision: > > Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia (Yes/No) > > Other aspects of the organisation - constitution, makeup and so on, are > not proposed to be changed. > > We're communicating this now to provide the community with time to > discuss this proposed change before the AGM, where the resolution will > be tabled in the AGM agenda. The result of the vote will be tabled > at the AGM. That is, if the majority vote 'No', we won't change the > name. If the majority vote 'Yes', we will. > > If you are a member of Linux Australia, you will be able to vote on this > resolution at: > > https://www.linux.org.au/membership/index.php?page=view-election&id=25 > > Voting will open 25th December 2017, the same time voting opens for > Council Elections, and will close on 21 January, the same time voting > closes for Council Elections. > > Let the discussion begin. > > Kind regards, > > Kathy > > -- > Kathy Reid > President > Linux Australia > > 0418 130 636 > > president at linux.org.au > http://linux.org.au > > Linux Australia Inc > GPO Box 4788 > Sydney NSW 2001 > Australia > > ABN 56 987 117 479 > > _______________________________________________ > announce mailing list > announce at lists.linux.org.au > http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/announce > Hello. Another aspect of this has occurred to me. Some people may remember that, in previous years, I took issue with Linux Conferences being held in New Zealand, whilsty the organisation name was Linux Australia and the name of the organisation, and, the domain name (linux.conf.au) was also not inclusive of NZ. In the first paragraph above, is " > Linux Australia is an incorporated association, registered in the state > of NSW, and has been in operation since around 2001. Initially convened > as a vehicle to operate linux.conf.au, the organisation's remit, > activities and scope have broadened significantly over the last decade > and a half. " Whilst the web site at https://linux.conf.au/ appears to not include a history of the venues of past conferences, at https://linux.org.au/LCA is shown that venues for prevous years, include 2006 - Dunedin: University of Otago (NZ) 2010 - Wellington: Wellington Convention Centre (NZ) 2015 - Auckland: University of Auckland (NZ) so it appears to be held more frequently in NZ, than in each state of Australia (every four or five years in NZ, and, as Australia has about six states, that is more frequesntly than in each state (otherwise, it would be about a seven or eight year cycle)) ). Now, the point here, is that, as stated above, Linux Australia was "Initially convened as a vehicle to operate linux.conf.au", then, the question arises; if a change to the name of Linux Australia, is proposed, to change the name to "Open Source Australia (OSA)", then, why not, more appropriately, propose that the name be changed to Open Source Australia and New Zeand (OSANZ), to, more properly, reflect that the operations of Linux Australia, encompass new Zealand (which, whether some Australians like it nor not, IS a separate country)? After all, some of you may (or, may not be aware of the FSANZ; at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au is " Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is a statutory authority in the Australian Government Health portfolio. FSANZ develops food standards for Australia and New Zealand. " and at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_Standards_Australia_New_Zealand is " Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) (M?ori: Te Mana Kounga Kai - Ahitereiria me Aotearoa), formerly Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA), is the governmental body responsible for developing food standards for Australia and New Zealand. FSANZ develops food standards after consulting with other government agencies and stakeholders. The recommendations made by the body are open and accountable, and based upon a rigorous scientific assessment of risk to public health and safety. All decisions made by FSANZ must be approved by the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council, which is composed of the Health Minister from each of the Australian states and territories, and the Health Minister from New Zealand, as well as other participating Ministers nominated by each jurisdiction. " So, as, over the years, Linux Australia has expanded its operations, to include New Zealand, surely, it is appropriate, for Linux Australia to recognise (after over two hundred years of the existence of New Zealand as a country, rather than a colony) New Zealand as a separate country, in which Linux Australia also operates, by, in proposing a change of name for Linux Australia, to "Open Source Australia", amending that proposal to change the name, instead, to "Open Source Australia and New Zealand (OSANZ)". -- Bret Busby Armadale West Australia .............. "So once you do know what the question actually is, you'll know what the answer means." - Deep Thought, Chapter 28 of Book 1 of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy In Four Parts", written by Douglas Adams, published by Pan Books, 1992 .................................................... From bret at busby.net Wed Dec 27 06:32:27 2017 From: bret at busby.net (Bret Busby) Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2017 03:32:27 +0800 (AWST) Subject: [Linux-aus] [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: On Wed, 27 Dec 2017, Bret Busby wrote: > Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2017 02:16:30 > From: Bret Busby > To: Linux Australia President > Cc: linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au > Subject: Re: [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source > Australia? > > On Tue, 19 Dec 2017, Linux Australia President wrote: > >> Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2017 16:58:05 >> From: Linux Australia President >> To: linux-aus at lists.linux.org.au, announce at lists.linux.org.au, >> council at linux.org.au, media at linux.org.au >> Subject: [Announce] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source >> Australia? >> >> Hi everyone, >> >> Linux Australia is an incorporated association, registered in the state >> of NSW, and has been in operation since around 2001. Initially convened >> as a vehicle to operate linux.conf.au, the organisation's remit, >> activities and scope have broadened significantly over the last decade >> and a half. >> >> We think it's time to change the name of the organisation to >> better reflect our widened mission, values, activities, partnerships and >> influence. >> >> But wait, hasn't this been tried before? >> >> Yes. In 2012/2013, the Linux Australia Council, led then by John >> Ferlito, attempted a name change. Consensus could not be reached on a >> name to change *to*, and so Linux Australia remained Linux Australia. >> >> This time, we're learning from the outcome of that process, and would >> like to present to you a decision: >> >> Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia (Yes/No) >> >> Other aspects of the organisation - constitution, makeup and so on, are >> not proposed to be changed. >> >> We're communicating this now to provide the community with time to >> discuss this proposed change before the AGM, where the resolution will >> be tabled in the AGM agenda. The result of the vote will be tabled >> at the AGM. That is, if the majority vote 'No', we won't change the >> name. If the majority vote 'Yes', we will. >> >> If you are a member of Linux Australia, you will be able to vote on this >> resolution at: >> >> https://www.linux.org.au/membership/index.php?page=view-election&id=25 >> >> Voting will open 25th December 2017, the same time voting opens for >> Council Elections, and will close on 21 January, the same time voting >> closes for Council Elections. >> >> Let the discussion begin. >> >> Kind regards, >> >> Kathy >> >> -- >> Kathy Reid >> President >> Linux Australia >> >> 0418 130 636 >> >> president at linux.org.au >> http://linux.org.au >> >> Linux Australia Inc >> GPO Box 4788 >> Sydney NSW 2001 >> Australia >> >> ABN 56 987 117 479 >> >> _______________________________________________ >> announce mailing list >> announce at lists.linux.org.au >> http://lists.linux.org.au/mailman/listinfo/announce >> > > Hello. > > Another aspect of this has occurred to me. > > Some people may remember that, in previous years, I took issue with Linux > Conferences being held in New Zealand, whilsty the organisation name was > Linux Australia and the name of the organisation, and, the domain name > (linux.conf.au) was also not inclusive of NZ. > > In the first paragraph above, is > > " >> Linux Australia is an incorporated association, registered in the state >> of NSW, and has been in operation since around 2001. Initially convened >> as a vehicle to operate linux.conf.au, the organisation's remit, >> activities and scope have broadened significantly over the last decade >> and a half. > " > > Whilst the web site at > https://linux.conf.au/ > appears to not include a history of the venues of past conferences, at > https://linux.org.au/LCA > is shown that venues for prevous years, include > 2006 - Dunedin: University of Otago (NZ) > 2010 - Wellington: Wellington Convention Centre (NZ) > 2015 - Auckland: University of Auckland (NZ) > so it appears to be held more frequently in NZ, than in each state of > Australia (every four or five years in NZ, and, as Australia has about six > states, that is more frequesntly than in each state (otherwise, it would be > about a seven or eight year cycle)) ). > > Now, the point here, is that, as stated above, Linux Australia was "Initially > convened as a vehicle to operate linux.conf.au", then, the question arises; > if a change to the name of Linux Australia, is proposed, to change the name > to "Open Source Australia (OSA)", then, why not, more appropriately, propose > that the name be changed to Open Source Australia and New Zeand (OSANZ), to, > more properly, reflect that the operations of Linux Australia, encompass new > Zealand (which, whether some Australians like it nor not, IS a separate > country)? > > After all, some of you may (or, may not be aware of the FSANZ; at > http://www.foodstandards.gov.au > is > > " > Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is a statutory authority in the > Australian Government Health portfolio. FSANZ develops food standards for > Australia and New Zealand. " > > and at > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_Standards_Australia_New_Zealand > is > > " > Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) (M?ori: Te Mana Kounga Kai - > Ahitereiria me Aotearoa), formerly Australia New Zealand Food Authority > (ANZFA), is the governmental body responsible for developing food standards > for Australia and New Zealand. > > FSANZ develops food standards after consulting with other government agencies > and stakeholders. The recommendations made by the body are open and > accountable, and based upon a rigorous scientific assessment of risk to > public health and safety. > > All decisions made by FSANZ must be approved by the Australia and New Zealand > Food Regulation Ministerial Council, which is composed of the Health Minister > from each of the Australian states and territories, and the Health Minister > from New Zealand, as well as other participating Ministers nominated by each > jurisdiction. > " > > So, as, over the years, Linux Australia has expanded its operations, to > include New Zealand, surely, it is appropriate, for Linux Australia to > recognise (after over two hundred years of the existence of New Zealand as a > country, rather than a colony) New Zealand as a separate country, in which > Linux Australia also operates, by, in proposing a change of name for Linux > Australia, to "Open Source Australia", amending that proposal to change the > name, instead, to "Open Source Australia and New Zealand (OSANZ)". > Or, an alternative path, which would probably be better, given that I believe that a previous message indicated an expectation that the motion to change the name of the organisation, from "Linux Australia" to Open Source Australia", would fail, is that a second motion should also be discussed, and put to a vote, for resolution at the AGM; "that the name of the organisation, be changed, so that the word "Australia" is replaced with the words "Australia and New Zealand" ". If such a motion would be put, and, passed, then, regardless of whether the motion to change the name from "Linux Australia" to "Open Source Australia", passed, the amended name, replacing the word "Australia" with "Australia and New Zealand", would formally recognise the inclusion of New Zealand, in the operations of the organisation, including that the Linux Conferences, for which the organisation was originally established, are held and organised to be held, in both countries. -- Bret Busby Armadale West Australia .............. "So once you do know what the question actually is, you'll know what the answer means." - Deep Thought, Chapter 28 of Book 1 of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy In Four Parts", written by Douglas Adams, published by Pan Books, 1992 .................................................... From jack at saosce.com.au Wed Dec 27 14:57:33 2017 From: jack at saosce.com.au (Jack Burton) Date: Wed, 27 Dec 2017 14:27:33 +1030 Subject: [Linux-aus] [LACTTE] Should Linux Australia change its name to Open Source Australia? In-Reply-To: References: <5850b2ee-35f8-131a-b8ba-0bb32e4fab5a@linux.org.au> Message-ID: <20171227142733.7e9d3077@current.m.saosce.com.au> On Mon, 25 Dec 2017 01:14:08 +1100 Linux Australia President wrote: > To address a number of points that have been raised; > > > Should the vote go ahead? Should we add more naming options? > > Council discussed this at length at Thursday night's Council meeting, > noting how close the proposed Open Source Australia name was to Open > Source Industry Australia. We followed up with Jack Burton on Friday > as an OSIA representative to seek input as to next steps - and I'd > like to publicly thank Jack for his time and professionalism. Thanks Kathy for your kind words. I'd also like to thank you and your colleagues on the Linux Australia Council for reaching out to us at OSIA on this matter. That was much appreciated. <...> > Given the timeframes involved, and recognising that there are > community opinions expressed for and against a name change, for many > reasons, we have decided to proceed with the ballot, knowing that the > name change will likely be defeated. I would also like to be > transparent that this was not the preferred course of action from > OSIA; we recognise that and this is in no way intended to antagonise > that relationship - we've started something and we want to follow it > through to a logical conclusion. Further, adding more potential names > at this late stage is unlikely to be productive; the reason Open > Source Australia was given as an alternate name is that it had the > highest polling in the last name change poll around 5 years ago. Just to continue that spirit of transparency, I'd like to add that OSIA did *not* ask for the vote to be stopped either. We have no objection in principle to Linux Australia changing its name -- our only concerns have been around the specific name being put forward (OSA) and its potential for brand confusion with OSIA. The current OSIA board would have preferred to see as the new name for LA being voted on some other name (e.g. OSCA, as Andrew suggested a few days ago) such that the comparison between LA's new name & OSIA's would better describe the respective community / industry focus of the two complementary orgs -- but at the end of the day of course it will be a decision for Linux Australia's members, not OSIA's. We wish Linux Australia all the best in future, whatever decision its members make in the current poll. As Kathy pointed out: > Regardless of outcome, the discussions around changing the name of > Linux Australia will likely continue; this is a positive step. ...and we hope that something along the lines suggested will emerge from those discussions. > * Should OSIA merge with Linux Australia? > > This is a decision for OSIA first, and only an issue for Linux > Australia should OSIA wish to broach it; this has not been formally > broached. Our understanding is that OSIA are attempting a "reboot" to > breathe new life into the organisation - and my feeling is that it is > premature to ask this until the outcome of this measure is clearer. I completely agree with Kathy on that -- M&As of any type are not something which OSIA could even contemplate before February. Even then, I doubt that such an approach would be made if at all avoidable, for the reasons I raised briefly on this list last Wednesday and again over on osia-fin@ on Sunday. > Discussions with OSIA over the last few days have highlighted a number > of areas and specific paths with with Linux Australia and OSIA could > co-operate as independent, yet collaborating organisations - my thanks > are again extended to Jack Burton for outlining these. They centre > around co-operation on approaches to government around policy > formation. Thanks again Kathy. OSIA's interim board support OSIA & LA collaborating in future, and I look forward to discussing the possibilities in that area with you furthre over the next month or so. Regards, -- Jack Burton FACS CP Director, Saosce Pty Ltd Company Secretary, Safecoms Cyber Security Pty Ltd Company Secretary, Open Source Industry Australia Ltd