I think it is important to remember, that a volunteer is not signing up for anything.
A volunteer, in my view, is a person who wants to help with his/hers skillset...so if we start saying you have to pass level x before continuing we have already lost (At least I can relate that to myself) I have been in this business since 1975, and I have never made it through any of all these "master classes" and other exams. I am just one of the guys who get things done, like in the early days before tcp/ip. What I am trying to say is, let´s help people work with us....that´s what it´s all about, if we can help people to easier help us, then we have a win-win situation. And in respect of introducing myself, which I forgot please read this resume: http://wiki.openoffice.org/wiki/User:JanIversen jan. Jan. On 19 October 2012 23:08, Rob Weir <rabas...@gmail.com> wrote: > On Oct 19, 2012, at 4:45 PM, Kay Schenk <kay.sch...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > > > > > On 10/19/2012 01:07 PM, Rob Weir wrote: > >> On Fri, Oct 19, 2012 at 12:17 PM, Rob Weir <robw...@apache.org> wrote: > >>> I am thinking about what new project volunteers need to get started. > >>> Obviously there are area-specific things. For example, developers > >>> need to know how to download and build. Translation volunteers need > >>> to understand Pootle, etc. But there are also some basic things that > >>> all volunteers should probably do. > >>> > >>> Although we have all of this information (or at least most of it) on > >>> the website or wikis or mailing list archives, it is scattered all > >>> over the place. I think it would be good if we could collect this > >>> information (or at least links to this information) into one place and > >>> put a linear order behind it, a step of specific steps we want new > >>> volunteers to take. > >>> > >>> Now, I can hear the objections already -- you can't tell volunteers > >>> what to do. That is why they are volunteers. You can't regiment > >>> them, etc. This is true. But at the scale we need to operate at -- > >>> I'm aiming to attract dozens of new volunteers on the project by the > >>> end of the year -- we need some structure. So what can we do to make > >>> their first 2 weeks in the project easier for them, and easier for us? > >>> > >>> One idea: Think of the new volunteer startup tasks in terms of > >>> "stages" or "levels", a defined set of reading and other activities > >>> that leads them to acquire basic skills in our community. > >>> > >>> For example: > >> > >> To make it more concrete, this is what "Level 1" might look like: > >> > >> http://incubator.apache.org/openofficeorg/orientation/level-1.html > >> > >> -Rob > > > > This is very good! I esp like the last part about providing a way for > volunteers to "sign up" if you will. This will be a nice touch. > > > > I'm also wondering if there's some way to tie this in to our current > "Help Wanted" page: > > > > https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/OOOUSERS/Help+Wanted > > Yes, It is worth looking at the new volunteer view of things, from end to > end. > > My current thinking is this: as we scale the number of volunteers > we'll soon want a better way to track items like these. Maybe putting > them into BZ would work? Introduce a new field to record "difficulty" > in BZ and filters to list unassigned easy issues? > > > > > Maybe someone has some ideas? > > > >> > >>> Level 1 tasks: > >>> > >>> 1) Read the following web pages on the ASF, roles at Apache and the > Apache Way > >>> > >>> 2) Sign up for the following accounts that every volunteer should > >>> have: ooo-announce, ooo-dev, ooo-users, MWiki, CWiki, BZ, Forums > >>> > >>> 3) Read this helpful document on hints for managing your inbox with > >>> rules and folders > >>> > >>> 4) Read this code of conduct page on list etiquette > >>> > >>> 5) Send a note to ooo-dev list and introduce yourself > >>> > >>> 6) Edit this wiki page containing project volunteers. Add your name > >>> and indicate that you have completed Level 1. > >>> > >>> > >>> Level 2 tasks: > >>> > >>> 1) Using the Apache CMS in anonymous mode > >>> > >>> 2) Readings on decision making at Apache > >>> > >>> 3) Readings on project life cycle and roles within the AOO project > >>> > >>> 4) Introduction to the various functional groups within the project: > >>> development, qa, marketing, UX, documentation, support, localization, > >>> etc. > >>> > >>> 5) Pick one or more functional groups that you want to help with. > >>> Edit the volunteer wiki and list them. Also indicate that you have > >>> now completed Level 2. > >>> > >>> Get the idea? After Level 2 this then could branch off into > >>> area-specific lists of start up tasks: how to download and build. > >>> How to submit patches. How to update a translation. How to define a > >>> new test case. > >>> > >>> Is any one interested in helping with this? > >>> > >>> -Rob > > > > -- > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > MzK > > > > "Anyone who considers protocol unimportant has never > > dealt with a cat." > > -- Robert Heinlein >
