[Linux-aus] National Open Source Industry Cluster

[Con Zymaris <conz@cyber.com.au>]

[please note cross-posting...]

Members on OSV's list have proposed and have started discussing the
possibility of a national open source industry body. I'd like to raise
this with the members of this forum for opinion solicitation and response.

Specifically, what we have considered can be distilled into the following 
core points of what such an organisation would do:

 1) Focus primarily on thefor-profit aspects of Open Source. (We do not 
 need, nor do we want to cross-over existing boundaries of organisations 
 such as the state LUGs, Linux Australia, AUUG, SAGE-AU etc.)

 2) Focus on business, government and educational sector adoption of FOSS

 3) Focus on boosting member firms' ability to compete in the wider IT 
 industry. (Most industry-cluster members are businesses.)

 4) Act as a national co-ordinator for the various existing and 
 forthcoming state-based Open Source industry clusters.

What we _don't_ want such an organisation to do:

 1) Act as a technically-oriented user group or guild. This work is done 
 well by the aforementioned organisations.

 2) Be seen to be a technically-oriented user group or club.

 3) Be Linux-specific. As an example, OSV has many members which are
 pro-BSD, pro-Perl, Zope etc, whilst not using Linux per se.

There are probably other do's and don'ts, but we can debate these.

As for membership, I suspect this putative group may draw members
primarily from the existing and forthcoming state-based FOSS industry
clusters. Perhaps each state-based group could nominate a few people to
help maintain and co-ordinate this national group.

Anyways, for those who don't know me, I like things nice and informal, 
thus this nice and informal proposal. If enough people think this is a 
worthwhile and needed entity that can actually add real value above and 
beyond the structures which already exist, step forward. If you see danger 
ahead with this path, state your reasons.

Leon, perhaps you can relay this to the appropriate SLPWA forum for 
further comments.

-- 
_____________________________________________________________________________
Con Zymaris <conz@cyber.com.au> Level 4, 10 Queen St, Melbourne 03 9621 2377 
Cybersource: Unix/Linux, TCP/IP and Web App. Development  www.cyber.com.au