Difference between revisions of "Talk:Journal"

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== Peer Review ==
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Some info that used to be on the main page, has been deprecated or taken over by info on the Journal System: http://osgeo.org/ojs
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Many people in industry, academia, research, and government institutions need to build a record of peer reviewed publications. Because of this, it's been proposed that we initiate a formal process of peer review for a subset of OSGeo Journal articles. This would add an additional level of credibility to these particular papers and will also make them more citable and so forth.
+
-----
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'''
 
−
[[Proposed Paper Categorization]]'''
 
−
While the peer review process can be useful for some papers, it should not necessarily be a requirement for everything that gets published in OSGeo Journal. Hence it could be useful to categorize the articles in OSGeo Journal as:
 
−
1) Editorials and Discussion Articles
 
−
2) Announcements and Project Status Reports
 
−
3) Peer Reviewed Papers
 
−
'''
 
−
[[Proposed Review Process]]'''
 
−
For the peer reviewed papers, the following review process is proposed:
 
−
1) OSGeo Journal Senior Editor (Tyler?) and the Journal Review Board have final say on the number of peer reviewed papers that will be accepted in any given edition as well as timing requirements and so forth, but generally assign responsibility for the peer review process to an associate editor - AE. (I've agreed to take a shot at this - or someone else can do it. - dpa)
 
−
2) Call for papers is posted on the OSGeo.com web site. This call is on-going and describes the intended scope of the journal with respect to peer reviewed papers, types of papers sought, etc. (This text still needs to be worked out).  
 
−
3) A call for reviewers is also posted, and a list of potential reviewers is maintained on the WIKI (hopefully this is a long enough list to maintain individual anonymity on specific reviews).
 
−
4) Authors send their manuscripts to the AE who goes on the WIKI and lists the title and authors (just as an FYI to the community - and also lets the authors know that their paper is under consideration)
 
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5) AE contacts a few potential reviewers from the list of willing reviewers and sends them the manuscript electronically.
 
−
6) Reviewers are also given a link to the web site where a list of review considerations are posted. These will follow generally accepted considerations such as "Does the paper fit within the scope of OSGeo Journal?" "Does the paper make a new or original contribution to the field of geoinformatics and specifically the development of and/or application of FOSS4G software?" "Is the paper well written?" "Does the paper use correct English spelling, syntax and grammar?" "Is the title appropriate?" "Is the abstract succinct of the correct length and appropriate?" "Are the citations complete and correct?" "Are all of the figures and tables necessary, clear and informative?" "Do you have any suggestions for the authors that would improve the paper?" "Would you rate this paper as acceptable as is, requires minor changes (no re-review necessary), requires major changes (re-review necessary), or not-acceptable?"
 
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7) Reviewers are given four weeks to submit reviews.
 
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8) The AE notifies the authors of the reviewers decision as follows:
 
−
 
 
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If two or more recommend "Accept as is" then the paper will be placed on the queue for publication in an upcoming edition with no further review required.
 
−
 
 
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If two or more recommend at least "Accept with minor changes" then the authors will be sent the reviewers' notes and encouraged to make the requested modifications within a short time period. The associated editor will verify that the changes were made and then pass the paper on to the editor for addition to the publication queue
 
−
 
 
−
If two or more recommend at least "Major changes" then the authors will be sent the reviewers' notes and encouraged to make the requested modifications and then resubmit the paper for a follow-on review by the original reviewers. This would probably need to have a time associated with it so that the paper stays relatively fresh for the reviewers. Perhaps 4 weeks would be an appropriate time for turn-around.
 
  
−
If two or more recommend "Reject" then the authors would be sent a nice note indicating that the paper was found unsuitable for the journal and thanked for their effort, etc. They would also be sent the reviewers' comments.
+
== Content Sections and Editors ==
 +
The Journal has several volunteers that collect, edit, format articles and design/proof layout.  Because layout is currently done using [http://www.latex-project.org/ LaTeX], more volunteers familiar with it are always appreciated. By having several editors and categories we spread the work out and reduce the overall load for each volunteer.
  
−
[[Specifics for OSGeo Journal Volume 1, Issue 2]]
+
Editorial duties include:
−
I believe it is possible that we could initiate a test peer review process for the second issue of OSGeo Journal and would propose the following time line:
 
  
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* June 1 - Call for papers
+
* looking through submitted articles
−
* June 15 - Deadline for papers (its expected that for this tight deadline we'll only receive a handful of papers which is probably good for this first effort).
+
* doing a brief review and perhaps fwd. them to another more experienced user/developer or other Reviewer
−
* June 22 - Target date for finding reviewers for the papers
+
* asking certain projects to submit articles (for volumes covering one subject)
−
* July 22 - Four week deadline for reviews from reviewers.
+
* check for layout errors, so that the final files can easily be merged with all other sections
−
* July 27 - Final deadline for reviews from reviewers.
+
* optionally converting content to LaTeX if needed
−
* August 3 - Deadline for acceptable manuscripts (accept as is, accept with minor changes) to be submitted in final form.
 
  
 +
This is the typical outline for an edition:
 +
{|class="toccolours" style="border:1px solid #a3bfb1; background:#cef2e0;"
 +
|-
 +
! width="150" | Section
 +
! width="100" | Editor
 +
! Length
 +
! Description
 +
|-
 +
| Editorial
 +
| [[User:Tmitchell | Tyler Mitchell]]
 +
| 1/2 page
 +
| Written by Editor in Chief or invited guest
 +
|-
 +
| News
 +
| [[User:Jfournier | Jason Fournier]]
 +
| 1 page
 +
| Past 6 months or news items
 +
|-
 +
| Event Reports
 +
| [[User:jmckenna | Jeff McKenna]]
 +
| 750 words
 +
| Brief article about meetings/conferences
 +
|-
 +
| Project Introductions
 +
| [[User:Wegmann | Martin Wegmann]]
 +
| 1500 words
 +
| General introduction to one software project or particular new features of a project
 +
|-
 +
| Case Studies
 +
| [mailto:micha@arava.co.il Micha Silver]
 +
| 1500 words
 +
| Highlighting specific application of technologies to a certain problem, user community or developer needs
 +
|-
 +
| Integration Studies
 +
| [[User:Wegmann | Martin Wegmann]]
 +
| 2500 words
 +
| Articles showing how many projects can work together in an integrated fashion, e.g. the power of GRASS, QGIS and GDAL all working together
 +
|-
 +
| Topical Studies
 +
| [[User:MarkusLupp | Dr. Markus Lupp]]
 +
| 1500 words
 +
| Introductions to concepts and theories, e.g. what something means, how to work with certain types of things
 +
|-
 +
| Programming Tutorials
 +
| [mailto:sunburned.surveyor@gmail.com Landon Blake]
 +
| 1500 words
 +
| Tutorials showing how to use a library or application at a programmatic level
 +
|-
 +
| Interviews
 +
| [[User:Poseidon Linux | Christian Ferreira]]
 +
| 1000 words
 +
| Introducing open source community members or organisations
 +
|- 
 +
| Sponsor Perspectives
 +
| ''vacant''
 +
| 1500 words
 +
| Introducing open source community members or organisations
 +
|-
 +
| Developer Announcements
 +
| [[User:Kotzino | Dimitris Kotzinos]]
 +
| 750 words
 +
| Announcements about recent changes/improvements to projects
 +
|-
 +
| Local Chapter Reports
 +
| [[User:Mleslie | Mark Leslie]]
 +
| 750 words
 +
| Reports submitted by representatives of local chapters
 +
|-
 +
| Proof Reading
 +
| [[User:Acarr | Angus Carr]]
 +
|
 +
| Proofing finals, along with other reviewers (below)
 +
|-
 +
| Peer Review
 +
| [[User:Danames | Dan Ames]]
 +
|
 +
| Editor in charge of peer review
 +
|-
 +
| Layout/Design
 +
| Kevin Yam
 +
|
 +
|
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
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== Article Length ==
+
=== Open Positions ===
−
We need to define article lengths - do you have any past experience setting lengths or have you left them wide open?  I think we should add them to the categories on this page. [[User:tmitchell|Tyler]]
+
Interested in helping?  This section lists current positions that need filling.  If you have other interests, you are also welcome to add them for discussion.
−
=== Previous editions ===
+
* '''Editor, Interviews'''
−
I just did a quick skim through the last GRASS News volume and came up with some rough word counts.  The following also include several screenshots, on average 1.5 images per page:
+
* '''Editor, Sponsor Perspectives'''
−
* Event Reports - 750 words (1 page)
+
* '''Spell/grammer-checker'''
−
* Short updates - 1200 words (2.5 pages)
+
* '''Reviewers''' - You have particular expertise and can review certain kinds of articles for content. Somewhat like a peer reviewer too, so logical questions can be turned back to authors if needed.
−
* Short Reports - 1500 words (3 pages)
+
* '''Formatting/Conversion''' - moving non-LaTeX content into LaTeX forms (each author/section Edt.has to check for latex errors etc.)
−
* Extended Reports - 2500 words (5 pages)
+
* '''Sponsor''' - interested in sponsoring the newsletter creation?
−
* Interview - 3000 words (4 pages, only 1 image)
 
−
* Project Reports/Announcements - 500-1000 words (0.5-1 page) (GRASS report was several pages in past, probably should reduce to make room for others)
 
  
−
Do these make sense?
+
== Reviewers ==
  
−
== main non-Wiki page for submission ==
+
Please list yourself below with name, e-mail and field of expertise to review certain articles - individual editors will contact you if necessary:
  
−
shall we add a non-Wiki page for authors who want to submit articles?
+
* [mailto:sunburned.surveyor@gmail.com Landon Blake] - Coordinate Geometry, Geodesy, Surveying, Applications of GIS to Public Works and Parcel/Cadastral Records Management
−
Just instructions and contact e-mail add. of Edt.? [[User:Wegmann|Wegmann]] 13:50, 28 February 2007 (CET)
+
* [mailto:micha@arava.co.il  Micha Silver] - Using GIS and GPS in agricultural pest control projects; watershed analysis
−
: Good idea - Tyler
+
* [mailto:dan.putler@sauder.ubc.ca Dan Putler] - Application of GIS to marketing, retailing, and other business problems; geo-statistics.
−
:: Who do we have to contact to have a non-wiki OSGeo page for contact, download of templates + releases? [[User:Wegmann|Wegmann]] 18:05, 1 March 2007 (CET)
+
* [mailto:yann.chemin@gmail.com Yann Chemin] - Satellite image processing, evapotranspiration/crop models, multi-temporal/scale, spatio-temporal, data assimilation.
 +
* [[User:MarkusLupp | Dr. Markus Lupp]] - Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI), standards and processes of the OGC, Application of GIS to disaster management, urban planning and natural resource management.
 +
* [mailto:ploewe@gfz-potsdam.de Dr. Peter Löwe] - GRASS GIS, Sensor Web Enablement, Ontologies, Expert Systems, (Distributed) Artificial Intelligence, Nature Interpretation.
 +
* [[User:Smitch | Dr. Scott Mitchell]] - GRASS GIS, environmental modelling (especially biogeochemical, habitat, land use/land cover), spatial data analysis, spatial aggregation, decision support.
 +
* [mailto:kotzino@csd.uoc.gr Dr. Dimitris Kotzinos] - Web GIS, mobile GIS, development of GIS and for GIS packages, semantic web and semantics in GIS, decision support systems.
 +
* [mailto:Rafal.Wawer@sadl.kuleuven.be Dr. Rafal Wawer] - GIS/RS for environmental and agricultural applications, environmental modelling (watershed processes, soil erosion, landsliding, spatial management), WebGIS, CAD, decision support systems.
  
−
== call for volunteers ==
+
== Submission of articles ==
−
Here is my call for volunteers, focused on building our team:
+
Please start by reading our [http://wiki.osgeo.org/index.php/Journal_License_and_Guidelines guidlelines] for details about licensing and content.
−
------
 
  
 +
Your article should be written in [http://www.latex-project.org/ Latex]. For instructions which format/style shall be used, please have a look at this working [http://grass.itc.it/newsletter/GRASSnewsletter_template.tar.gz GRASS Newsletter Latex] template. If you do not know Latex yet, don't be scared as it is quite easy. You might want to have a look at the [http://www.stdout.org/~winston/latex/ Latex Cheat Sheet] to get to know a few commands, e.g. how to enumerate, make tables etc.
 +
Please send your zipped document to the respective Editors (see above).
  
−
Hi all,
+
If Latex is a problem for you or your article, please discuss it with your editor.  At their discretion, editors can choose to help you convert your content into a suitable format for publishing.
−
As you may be aware, last year the GRASS News production offered to transition their great production into a brand new OSGeo Newsletter.  Although branded as OSGeo, all open source projects are welcome to be part of it.
 
  
−
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the last volume, have a look at this:
+
'''Original Research and Technical Papers'''
−
http://osgeo.org/files/news/GRASS_OSGeo_News_vol4.pdf (5.3MB).  As you can see it is much more than just some news clippings!
 
  
−
Well, now is the time to get a new team together to help make a great production. You are invited to be part of that team!  Want some exercise for your writing skills?  Would you like to get some more exposure for your project?  Want to learn the ins and outs of some publication software?  Or do you just want to help spread the word about some projects or case studies that you love?
+
All Original Research and Technical Papers are peer reviewed by volunteer reviewers in the OSGeo community. Please consider submitting your manuscripts for publication in OSGeo Journal. Original Research and Technical Papers should be submitted through the [OJS system http://www.osgeo.org/ojs].
  
−
There are several positions available for any volunteer who would help to coordinate collecting articles, writing content, reviewing content, helping with layout or graphics, and more.  Want to sign up just for one volume or to test the waters first?  That is fine too.
+
== Newsletter Software ==
−
 
 
−
Please see the Newsletter wiki page for a list of open positions and categories for content that need editors:
 
−
http://wiki.osgeo.org/index.php/Newsletter
 
−
 
 
−
If you have any reservations, comments, questions or concerns please just let me know!  As we will work as a team, please do not be shy about your interests, even if you are going to need some help getting started.
 
−
 
 
−
After the team is gathered and production deadlines are finalised, then we will make a more general call for contributors.  If you already have something that you would like to contribute, you are welcome to sign up now on the page:
 
−
http://wiki.osgeo.org/index.php/Newsletter_Volume_1
 
−
 
 
−
Hope you will join us in putting this together!
 
−
 
 
−
Tyler
 
−
 
 
−
Following needs to be forwarded to more lists.  Copy raw text from edit more to get something that works well in an email.
 
−
-----
 
−
From:   tylermitchell@shaw.ca
 
−
Subject: Call for articles - OSGeo Newsletter
 
−
Date: March 5, 2007 11:14:56 AM PST (CA)
 
−
To:   discuss@lists.osgeo.org
 
  
−
The OSGeo Newsletter development team invites you to contribute news, articles, event summaries, programming tutorials and more for the upcoming OSGeo News - Volume 1. There are several sections planned for the newsletter. General descriptions of each category can be found on the Newsletter wiki page [1]. Specific committed articles are listed on the Newsletter Volume 1 wiki page [2].
+
Based on GRASS-News (which was based on R News) Latex is recommended, but other publishing packages might be considered for forthcoming issues. (For example, [http://www.scribus.net Scribus] has been recommended.)
  
−
There has been already been a lot of interest to contribute articles and some sections are already quite full. You are welcome to propose an article for any section, but we are specifically looking for more articles in the following categories:
+
Contributors ought to submit articles in Latex and images as pdf (high res jpg is fine as well, kim (inside kde) can convert them easily to pdf):
  
−
* News - any particularly newsworthy items you would like to pass along
+
'''links to templates will go here'''
−
* Event Reports - have a conference summary that you would like to share?
+
* template for article
−
* Topical Studies - introduce a theoretical topic that is of general interest
+
** template for inserting images
−
* Programming Tutorials - serving as an introduction to coding an application or task
+
** template for inserting tables
−
* Interview - conduct an interview with someone in the community
 
−
* Developer Announcements - brief summaries of what your project team has been doing recently and future outlook for the project
 
  
−
To volunteer for an article add your name and article title to the Volume 1 wiki page in the appropriate category, along with contact information.  Or join the Newsletter mailing list [3] and tell us about your idea. An editor will follow-up with you to arrange delivery and timing. Articles need to be delivered by March 23st. Length can vary depending on type of article and should be discussed with the editor for your category. If you want to contribute but a particular category is full (or you need more time), you are more than welcome to add yourself to the list of articles for the subsequent volume, Volume 2 [4].
+
They can be copied from [http://grass.itc.it/newsletter/GRASSnewsletter_template.tar.gz GRASS-News LaTex template].
  
−
We look forward to working with you on producing a great newsletter that is of interest to everyone in our communities and beyond.
+
== Process ==
 +
# Confirm editors/volunteers
 +
# Set deadlines
 +
# Solicit articles
 +
# Collect/edit/review articles
 +
# Format to LaTeX
 +
# Produce draft
 +
# Set deadline for review
 +
# Revisions
 +
# Final production
 +
# Press Release and promotion
  
−
Sincerely,
+
== Online Location ==
−
Tyler
+
OSGeo Journal team uses a subversion code repository for managing content for the publication.
 +
It can be accessed publicly [http://svn.osgeo.org/osgeo/journal here].
  
−
[1] Newsletter general wiki page: http://wiki.osgeo.org/index.php/Newsletter
+
== Background ==
−
[2] Newsletter Volume 1 wiki page: http://wiki.osgeo.org/index.php/Newsletter_Volume_1
+
The OSGeo Journal builds on top of the successful history of the [http://grass.itc.it/newsletter/index.php GRASS-News] production. [http://osgeo.org/files/news/GRASS_OSGeo_News_vol4.pdf Volume 4] (5.8MB) of that production was a joint GRASS/OSGeo effort. Subsequent editions are broader and branded as OSGeo Journal.
−
[3] Newsletter development mailing list: http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/newsletter
 
−
[4] Newsletter Volume 2 (future): http://wiki.osgeo.org/index.php/Newsletter_Volume_2
 

Latest revision as of 13:38, 23 September 2009

Some info that used to be on the main page, has been deprecated or taken over by info on the Journal System: http://osgeo.org/ojs

Content Sections and Editors

The Journal has several volunteers that collect, edit, format articles and design/proof layout. Because layout is currently done using LaTeX, more volunteers familiar with it are always appreciated. By having several editors and categories we spread the work out and reduce the overall load for each volunteer.

Editorial duties include:

  • looking through submitted articles
  • doing a brief review and perhaps fwd. them to another more experienced user/developer or other Reviewer
  • asking certain projects to submit articles (for volumes covering one subject)
  • check for layout errors, so that the final files can easily be merged with all other sections
  • optionally converting content to LaTeX if needed

This is the typical outline for an edition:

Section Editor Length Description
Editorial Tyler Mitchell 1/2 page Written by Editor in Chief or invited guest
News Jason Fournier 1 page Past 6 months or news items
Event Reports Jeff McKenna 750 words Brief article about meetings/conferences
Project Introductions Martin Wegmann 1500 words General introduction to one software project or particular new features of a project
Case Studies Micha Silver 1500 words Highlighting specific application of technologies to a certain problem, user community or developer needs
Integration Studies Martin Wegmann 2500 words Articles showing how many projects can work together in an integrated fashion, e.g. the power of GRASS, QGIS and GDAL all working together
Topical Studies Dr. Markus Lupp 1500 words Introductions to concepts and theories, e.g. what something means, how to work with certain types of things
Programming Tutorials Landon Blake 1500 words Tutorials showing how to use a library or application at a programmatic level
Interviews Christian Ferreira 1000 words Introducing open source community members or organisations
Sponsor Perspectives vacant 1500 words Introducing open source community members or organisations
Developer Announcements Dimitris Kotzinos 750 words Announcements about recent changes/improvements to projects
Local Chapter Reports Mark Leslie 750 words Reports submitted by representatives of local chapters
Proof Reading Angus Carr Proofing finals, along with other reviewers (below)
Peer Review Dan Ames Editor in charge of peer review
Layout/Design Kevin Yam

Open Positions

Interested in helping? This section lists current positions that need filling. If you have other interests, you are also welcome to add them for discussion.

  • Editor, Interviews
  • Editor, Sponsor Perspectives
  • Spell/grammer-checker
  • Reviewers - You have particular expertise and can review certain kinds of articles for content. Somewhat like a peer reviewer too, so logical questions can be turned back to authors if needed.
  • Formatting/Conversion - moving non-LaTeX content into LaTeX forms (each author/section Edt.has to check for latex errors etc.)
  • Sponsor - interested in sponsoring the newsletter creation?

Reviewers

Please list yourself below with name, e-mail and field of expertise to review certain articles - individual editors will contact you if necessary:

  • Landon Blake - Coordinate Geometry, Geodesy, Surveying, Applications of GIS to Public Works and Parcel/Cadastral Records Management
  • Micha Silver - Using GIS and GPS in agricultural pest control projects; watershed analysis
  • Dan Putler - Application of GIS to marketing, retailing, and other business problems; geo-statistics.
  • Yann Chemin - Satellite image processing, evapotranspiration/crop models, multi-temporal/scale, spatio-temporal, data assimilation.
  • Dr. Markus Lupp - Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI), standards and processes of the OGC, Application of GIS to disaster management, urban planning and natural resource management.
  • Dr. Peter Löwe - GRASS GIS, Sensor Web Enablement, Ontologies, Expert Systems, (Distributed) Artificial Intelligence, Nature Interpretation.
  • Dr. Scott Mitchell - GRASS GIS, environmental modelling (especially biogeochemical, habitat, land use/land cover), spatial data analysis, spatial aggregation, decision support.
  • Dr. Dimitris Kotzinos - Web GIS, mobile GIS, development of GIS and for GIS packages, semantic web and semantics in GIS, decision support systems.
  • Dr. Rafal Wawer - GIS/RS for environmental and agricultural applications, environmental modelling (watershed processes, soil erosion, landsliding, spatial management), WebGIS, CAD, decision support systems.

Submission of articles

Please start by reading our guidlelines for details about licensing and content.

Your article should be written in Latex. For instructions which format/style shall be used, please have a look at this working GRASS Newsletter Latex template. If you do not know Latex yet, don't be scared as it is quite easy. You might want to have a look at the Latex Cheat Sheet to get to know a few commands, e.g. how to enumerate, make tables etc. Please send your zipped document to the respective Editors (see above).

If Latex is a problem for you or your article, please discuss it with your editor. At their discretion, editors can choose to help you convert your content into a suitable format for publishing.

Original Research and Technical Papers

All Original Research and Technical Papers are peer reviewed by volunteer reviewers in the OSGeo community. Please consider submitting your manuscripts for publication in OSGeo Journal. Original Research and Technical Papers should be submitted through the [OJS system http://www.osgeo.org/ojs].

Newsletter Software

Based on GRASS-News (which was based on R News) Latex is recommended, but other publishing packages might be considered for forthcoming issues. (For example, Scribus has been recommended.)

Contributors ought to submit articles in Latex and images as pdf (high res jpg is fine as well, kim (inside kde) can convert them easily to pdf):

links to templates will go here

  • template for article
    • template for inserting images
    • template for inserting tables

They can be copied from GRASS-News LaTex template.

Process

  1. Confirm editors/volunteers
  2. Set deadlines
  3. Solicit articles
  4. Collect/edit/review articles
  5. Format to LaTeX
  6. Produce draft
  7. Set deadline for review
  8. Revisions
  9. Final production
  10. Press Release and promotion

Online Location

OSGeo Journal team uses a subversion code repository for managing content for the publication. It can be accessed publicly here.

Background

The OSGeo Journal builds on top of the successful history of the GRASS-News production. Volume 4 (5.8MB) of that production was a joint GRASS/OSGeo effort. Subsequent editions are broader and branded as OSGeo Journal.

Retrieved from "http://wiki.osgeo.org/w/index.php?title=Talk:Journal&oldid=41218"