Re: Getting more people involved in "core" teams.
On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 11:25:39PM +0100, Kurt Roeckx wrote: > I think that one of issues we have is that there is alot of work > to be done by some teams, some of them even regularaly mail that > they need more members, but they seem to have a hard time keeping > the numbers up, burning the other team members out. > > What are your ideas to make sure those teams keep running? This is a similar question to Marc Haber's one in <20100315103039.ga15...@torres.zugschlus.de>. To quote from my response to that question: But I believe the problem is wider than just the core infrastructure; it is about the project as a whole facing competition for attracting distribution developers by the fact that there are several other community-based distributions out there today than there were about a decade ago. I think that also applies here: lack of manpower is not a problem that is specific to our core teams, but instead is a general problem within Debian. To solve it long-term, we need to make Debian more attractive for contributors. This is a difficult problem to solve, however. -- The biometric identification system at the gates of the CIA headquarters works because there's a guard with a large gun making sure no one is trying to fool the system. http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2009/01/biometrics.html signature.asc Description: Digital signature
Re: Getting more people involved in "core" teams.
On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 7:25 PM, Kurt Roeckx wrote: > I think that one of issues we have is that there is alot of work > to be done by some teams, some of them even regularaly mail that > they need more members, but they seem to have a hard time keeping > the numbers up, burning the other team members out. As has been said in this thread and others, Debian is currently suffering from lack of involved people in almost all areas, not only in specific teams. And thus we need to reach out and get more people involved, in general, not only for the core teams. But I'll answer about core teams in particular. > What are your ideas to make sure those teams keep running? I'd like to have two "Teams that need your help" pages, clearly listing the teams that need help and what is needed in order to help them. One of these pages would be contributor oriented, and the other one developer oriented. If a team has tasks that anybody can do, and tasks that require DD access, it can be listed in both pages, if you only can help by being a DD, then it can be listed in the developer page only. I also think that sometimes people get burned out when working in the core teams, because most of their work goes unnoticed. I'd like to raise awareness of the work done by these core teams, so that they could get more credit for what they do, and thus feel a bit more respected by the project as a whole. Zack's idea of mentioning the teams that need help in the "Bits from the DPL" message, is also another way of reminding potential team members that their help is needed. I'd do that too. -- Besos, Marga -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-vote-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/e8bbf0361003241250x56fa6269wf6910fe6482cc...@mail.gmail.com
Re: Getting more people involved in "core" teams.
On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 11:25:39PM +0100, Kurt Roeckx wrote:
> I think that one of issues we have is that there is alot of work
> to be done by some teams, some of them even regularaly mail that
> they need more members, but they seem to have a hard time keeping
> the numbers up, burning the other team members out.
>
> What are your ideas to make sure those teams keep running?
In general, I believe that the lack of manpower in "core" teams is just
a representation "in the small" of the general lack of manpower we
suffer in the project. Having a better ability to attract new
contributors will most likely fix also the lack of manpower in specific
teams. How to attract more contributors has been discussed extensively
already in other threads and in most of candidate's platforms.
Now, assuming the current amount of manpower as stable, the point is how
to have more people "migrate" to become part of "core" teams. First of
all, as you observe, "some" of those teams regularly call for help and
(my addition) publish guidelines to become part of the team. This is
very good (as I've discussed elsewhere) but should be the rule for all
of the core teams (for some definition of "core"), not only some of
them.
About how, more specifically, the DPL can help in re-staffing core
teams, I've already voiced my opinion and plans in [1], here is the
quote that I found most appropriate from there:
> Something I'd like to try if elected DPL is to keep a list of teams
> "in need of help" [2]. Then, periodically and at worst in my monthly
> "bits from ..." posts, I intend to have a section which kind of makes
> a "focus on" the specific team which is looking for new people. It is
> probably nothing and won't change much, but it is a worthwhile
> attempt.
>
> I also consider a responsibility of the DPL to prod specific people to
> join core teams which are understaffed, as I believe has pretty much
> always happened with past DPLs, but that can be no more than
> invitations, in agreement with the involved team. (And no, that's no
> excuse to lack transparent join rules for the team, it is just a way
> to have "team staffing" going in both directions: passive and active.)
Cheers.
[1] http://lists.debian.org/debian-vote/2010/03/msg00104.html
[2] yes, that list probably equates the overall list of Debian teams,
but managing priorities is something a DPL is expected to do
--
Stefano Zacchiroli -o- PhD in Computer Science \ PostDoc @ Univ. Paris 7
z...@{upsilon.cc,pps.jussieu.fr,debian.org} -<>- http://upsilon.cc/zack/
Dietro un grande uomo c'è ..| . |. Et ne m'en veux pas si je te tutoie
sempre uno zaino ...| ..: | Je dis tu à tous ceux que j'aime
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