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Re: [ontology-summit] Ontology Summit 2008 Debriefing Session - Thu 2008

To: "Ontology Summit 2008" <ontology-summit@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: "Peter Yim" <peter.yim@xxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 23 May 2008 13:50:53 -0700
Message-id: <af8f58ac0805231350w27e785a0u19890184a457bf30@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Paola,  thank you for taking the time to write the long message.    (01)

Just to clarify one thing, the Summit represented a lot of hard work
from multiple organizations (not just Ontolog) and many people (not
just Leo and I, and not even just the organizing committee, which
formed the leadership team.) Proper credits are already reflected in
the OntologySummit2008 home page, in case anyone's interested. See:
http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?OntologySummit2008    (02)

Cheers.  =ppy
--    (03)


On Fri, May 23, 2008 at 5:51 AM,  <paola.dimaio@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Peter,
>
> it was the first time I attended the summit as it coincided with other
> events in the region, I dont expect it to happen regulary and really
> enjoyed meeting you all the great opportunity
>
>  Ontolog has been one of the key mailing lists, which has opened up a
> lot of conceptual spaces and important connections, so being in the
> same room with others was magic for me
>
> Every community faces challenges, its difficult to know when to let it
> grow, or when to steer it, how much to hold or let go of the reins
> etc, When we open things up too much for people to chose from, things
> dont happen, and when we make choices, we inevitably get things wrong
> The fact is, that we simply can't win easily at the community game.
>
>  I really think that you and Leo deserve a big thanks for making it
> happen, despite the rough edges
>
> I read in the comments posted on the links below, that many issues
> have already been raised, such as process improvement and more
> effective management of the breakout session,ks more effecient
> communication (shorter) etc
>
> Below some brief points from me
>
> what worked well
> --------------------------
> meeting everybody around a table with  ontology at heart, and
> different views of what is important,
> and how things should be done - this is a good start for whatever is
> that will come out of it
>
>
> what could be done better
> --------------------------------------------
>
> re. summit processes
> 1.Not being able to make the calls, due to time/space constraints, I
> feel it is important that participants are given the opportunity to
> contribute remotely, that includes via mailing lists, which is what
> works best for some of us. Virtual environments allow for this to
> happen, when set up properly. For me, this means: irrespective of
> how/when people contribute to a discussion, the contribution shoud be
> taken into account, and not forgotten (scripta manent)
>
> 2. each one of the statements that the summit is trying to make, in
> essence the points contained in the summit, should be 'debated' via a
> thread (to which people can contribute or not,depending on whether
> they have somethig to say) as well as via phone calls. The threads can
> then be summarised into brief statements for approval.
>
> 3. As much as I enjoyed meeting all the great new people whom I never
> had the pleasure of exchanging on list before, I think the 'champions'
>  are the people who contribute to the community regularly. Its
> difficult for me to accept as a champion someone who has rarely
> contributed to the online discourse, I would probably see the
> newcomers more as 'special guests' perhaps
>
> 4. the open process must be inclusive, that mans that people should be
> able to contribute to any given part of the discourse in their own
> time, and using the collaborative means of their choice
> (Contributions constitute part of the discourse ireespective of
> when/where/how they are made)
> Setting a time  for a call 10 am on a given day by phone automatically
> excludes from participation all the ones who cannot take part in the
> call. Assume we had Stephen Hawkings  or the Dalai Lama among our
> participants, they would not have the chance to make a contribution
> that easily, while maybe he could write an essay or a post or could
> interact via chat
>
> 5. for me a great value  of this forum  is the ability to exchange
> with peers about the things I am working on, I surprised myself having
> met with Ravi and Alexander, and MIchelle and  and not having had the
> time/space to talk about the things we had exchanged on list
> /elsewhere about (which I had totally forgotten about) which we are
> already working on. So maybe the opportunity for people to socialise
> more, or even organise informal minisessions to discuss what it
> important to participants
> One formula that is catching on is 'speed talks', or miniposter
> sessions, where people present one or two slides about their work, and
> participants can then hook up with them while grabbing a drink and
> chat to them about the funding opportunities etc. :-)
>
> Its nice when people come and say 'we would love to work with you on this'
>
> re. OOR - I think some question have really not been tackled/answered.
> Not at the summit, not on the list. For example, we raised it on the
> list, how useful is having open repositories, if we dont
> have open ontologies (and all the discussions that need to take place
> about that).
> Another issue : distributed or centralized repository? I dont think
> enough discussion went to address that point, and how 'centralised'
> conflicts with the 'linked data' mode; and certainly I dont remember
> the conclusion being
> exhaustive (unless I missed something, in which case pleaseforgive). A
> few other things, from definitions, to metadata, to architectures,
> would need more in depth analysis and workout before they can make
> sense to me.
> So I would personally see the need for each OOR point to be
> rediscussed and brainstormed via mailing list, as well as via the
> usual phone calls that you ahve already established.
>
> RE. ontolog/summit governance
> Not sure who is making all the decisions and how. As a member of the
> Ontolog community, and would like to contribute to decision making,
> just not sure how to do that
> Can collaborative decision making be set up in some way?  Finally, I
> think Peter and Leo's 'leadership' can be a hard act to follow, will
> always be Ontolog fathers, and I do not expect the same level of
> commitment from others,  but I wonder, should the conveners and
> committee memebers be elected by the commmunity on a rotation basis?
> Or are we stuck with whoever god has sent us so far? :-)
>
>
> I probably have a few more points to add, but time is out for today,
> thanks for the opportunity to comment - will post this note on the
> wiki
>
> Paola Di Maio
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, May 22, 2008 at 9:55 AM, Peter Yim <peter.yim@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> Folks,
>>
>>
>> Look like we don't have quorum ... therefore, the planned "debriefing"
>> conference call for today is now canceled ... and, as suggested in the
>> last message, we'll just follow-up on what transpired from Ontology
>> Summit 2008 through our regular e-mail forum.
>>
>> For those who are interested, here are links to the debriefings already done:
>>
>> (a) by the OOR-team -
>> http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?OOR/ConferenceCall_2008_05_09#nid1H7W
>>
>> &
>>
>> (b) by the Ontology Summit 2008 organizing committee -
>> 
>http://ontolog.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?OntologySummit2008/OrganizingCommitteeMeeting_2008_05_12#nid1HKK
>>
>> In particular, ref. (b) above, Barry Smith has already put in a great
>> idea for the theme of OntologySummit2009. We can mull over this, and
>> possibly other ideas, between now and the end of the year. Around that
>> time, I shall look forward to a new initiative from NIST, NCOR,
>> Ontolog (possibly other organizers too) to bring next year's Summit to
>> life!
>>
>>
>
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>    (04)

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