To the Debian Developers,
The Debian Project of course is the ultimate volunteer organization
with a democratic community and top notch “open source” ideals. It is in my
opinion this is a project that all others could greatly take notes from. The
intent of this post is address what I feel is two of the most significant
things that will increase contributions to the Debian Project by volunteers.
I believe the greatest barrier the Debian Project has in preventing
widespread contributions from greater numbers of volunteers is a psychological
barrier. I have personally introduced Debian to several of my friends and
always emphasize the idea that they too can contribute to the great cause
whether by documentation, translation or adopting a package, etc...
Universally they are excited, desire to try it out, then come back having read
what it takes to be a Debian Developer and are overwhelmed. They then begin
searching out other open source projects where it seems psychologically they
will be able to be more of an assistance. I must emphasize I am not trying to
argue the process of becoming a DD should be easier.(I personally think maybe
it should be harder :) ). It is to suggest there might be two things Debian
could do to Take away from this psychological barrier.
1.)All people psychologically want to feel important and that they are an
official part of an organization. I feel there should be an official title for
all contributers so they feel like they are part of the community, not just a
pion until they get official developer status. I feel the the title should be
something like “Debian Contributer” and the qualifications should be things
like: They have a Public Key, e-mail, IRC name, subscribe to official mailing
lists, and have documented contributions they can post, even if it at first is
no more that wiki posts. Just something they can document for others to see
they are contributing. I do not think they need to be given voting privileges
or if so I would feel it should only be given in a limited sense..
2.).People need to be able to know whether they are on the right track and
making progress. They need a way to measure how effective they are
contributing and see how they could do better. For this I propose there be some
website they can log into with 10-12 sections like these:
a) Bugs I have reported.
b) Patches I have made
c) Packages I have adopted
d) Translations I have done
e) Documentation I have contributed to
f) Posts I have made on mailing lists.
g)etc...
There also needs to be at least one other category:
h) Advocacy I have given to the open source community.
This category needs to be there to emphasize they need to open their
mouths about the wonders of open source. Surely, one of the biggest reasons
more people to join open source communities is because there is so little
publicity about them. People just don't know such things exist. :( This will
encourage all to spread the wealth. :)
This of course will not only help them see what they have so far done,
but the different categories will help them see what areas they could be
improving in to assist this great work. It will also provide them a proper a
path toward becoming a DD, pointing them in the right direction.
Now there are I think two hidden benefits from this. First It will
keep track of who is active and who is not since it will be documented. MIA's
will be immediately discovered. Second, many will become a “Debain
Contributer” , last for a couple months, and fall away. However, during that
initial excitement while they are being extreamly vocal with friends about the
project in order to earn advocacy points, others will become contributers from
their advocacy and out of that group of others will often emerge a real gem for
the Debian Project.
Skepticism:
Like all ideas it will be healthy for many to be skeptical, for honest
debate and discussion always makes ideas better. I hope people debate the good
and the bad about this idea remembering that only stating one sided opinions is
not always helpful. I admit these ideas could work, and they could also be a
disaster. Too much time and effort that could be spent in other areas of the
project. It may be something nobody signs up for or even cares about. It may
seem these are childish ideas for if people really wanted to contribute they
would without needing a special title or login page. Maybe a login page for
every person will take up too much space. Or maybe because things are working
fine just the way they are in Debian. Whatever your arguments are I hope
people will comment on both the good and bad so as everybody benefits from
seeing the whole picture not just one side.
Conclusion:
I am certain if these ideas were implemented it might seem slow at first,
however I believe they set foundations for the future. It is the future of
Debain and of “Open Source” I have in mind. I believe if these things were
added to the project, Debian would see an increase in contributions from
volunteers. More importantly, I see more serious contributers joining who will
be tomorrow's Debian Developers where this is the only way they could get over
the psychological barrier of how hard the road seems. I see this project thus
expanding in ways it would not otherwise, for the good of open source. Thanks
for your time. Sorry if the post was too long. I just really feel strongly
about “Open Source” and hope with all my heart the road to being a great help
was made a little easier for those with great desire, but are just a little
intimidated.
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Joseph Smidt
422 Wymount
Provo, UT 84604
phone: 801-371-5564
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
