HISTORY
History of SeekingFire
Some of the content of this web site was originally created by myself for use elsewhere (mostly ROSPA). The history of those efforts is detailed here.
ROSPA
What was ROSPA?
ROSPA was the Regina Open Source Professionals Association. Formed in 2002, ROSPA was a volunteer-driven peer support organization. It existed to provide support to those who work with open source tools and take advantage of open standards in a professional capacity. ROSPA was founded on a similar model as other successful IT professional associations, such as USENIX and SAGE.
Unfortunately, ROSPA dissolved by majority vote of the board of directors on 23 September 2004.
What did ROSPA do?
ROSPA operated like many professional associations, performing functions like:
- Advocacy on behalf on its members and their craft
- Monthly meetings, alternating between a downtown lunch meeting and a 7:00PM evening meeting
- Conducting technical presentations
- Providing an electronic forum for its members
- Facilitating knowledge sharing and peer support between its members
- Research and projects in the field of our craft
- Participating in the annual Regina Open Source Expo
Discussions on the ROSPA email lists and at the meetings included topics such as: open source technology trends, product HOWTO and troubleshooting, vendor announcements, open source interoperability and integration, and advocacy and awareness. The goal was to provide active forums that would support the members in getting the most out of open source software and methodologies.
Historically, ROSPA grew out of (and today remains a companion group of) LOSURS, which is an open source hobbyist user group for the Regina area. Where LOSURS focuses on the open source enthusiast and Linux home user, ROSPA focuses on professionals working with open source tools in a corporate environment. Consequently, the membership of ROSPA is smaller and more focused on technical and professional issues. Many members are involved in both groups, depending on where their interests lie.
ROSPA was also a member of the Regina Chamber of Commerce.
ROSPA Promotional Materials
- The old ROSPA information brochure, in either the (PDF) or the (PostScript) format.
SAGE Local Group
SAGE, the System Administrators' Guild, is organized to:
- advance the status of computer system administration as a profession,
- establish standards of professional excellence and recognize those who attain them,
- develop guidelines for improving the technical and managerial capabilities of members of the profession,
- and promote activities that advance the state of the art or the community.
At one time, ROSPA was working towards acting as a local SAGE group for the Regina area. With ROSPA's demise, that effort is no longer underway. But the concept of a local SAGE is a good one, and I'd like to re-visit the topic with other local SAGE members (or LOPSA, now that SAGE has been reorganized by USENIX).
