Report for new developer applicant
Benjamin Seidenberg <astronut@dlgeek.net>
1. Identification & Background
------------------------------
Check with Keyid 0xC34AA484
ID Check passed, Key signed by existing DD Matthew Danish
<mrd@debian.org>
Output from keycheck.sh
-----------------------
Syncing Debian Keyrings with rsync from keyring.debian.org
Receiving and checking key
pub 1024D/C34AA484 2005-06-03
Key fingerprint = D77D 6312 932F A19C F9CD B851 7AFF 4B3A C34A
A484
uid Benjamin Seidenberg <benjamin@dlgeek.net>
sig!3 C34AA484 2005-08-03 Benjamin Seidenberg
<benjamin@dlgeek.net>
uid Benjamin Seidenberg <astronut@gmail.com>
sig! C24B6010 2005-07-29 Matthew Danish <mrd@debian.org>
sig!3 C34AA484 2005-06-03 Benjamin Seidenberg
<benjamin@dlgeek.net>
uid Benjamin Seidenberg <astronut@dlgeek.net>
sig!3 C34AA484 2005-08-03 Benjamin Seidenberg
<benjamin@dlgeek.net>
sub 2048g/28D17C82 2005-06-03
sig! C34AA484 2005-06-03 Benjamin Seidenberg
<benjamin@dlgeek.net>
Let's test if its a version 4 or greater key
Key is ok
Check for key expire stuff
Key has no expiration date set, nothing to check.
Applicant writes:
-----------------
I'm a senior in high school in North Carolina, US, and am 18 years
old. Next year I will be attending Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. I
first installed GNU/Linux (Red Hat 7.3) in the summer after 7th grade (I
was 13). I spent a month downloading the two ISO images over a dial-up
connection. I wanted Linux because it was supposed to be what all the
people who really knew what they were doing used. I now use Linux for
stability and power. I use windows at school and always find myself
missing the command line, many of the tools, the stability, and the
ability to customize the interface. I switched to Debian after a friend
convinced me of the superiority of it's package management tools, and I
haven't looked back.
As I used Debian more, I got more interested in the makings. One of
the biggest draws for me was how responsive the developers were. I
really was amazed that the people who made this listened and interacted
with their users. You just don't see this in the proprietary software
world. I started reading various mailing lists, and following IRC
channels. I decided I wanted to help contribute, but wasn't sure where
to start. A friend of mine is the upstream author of iptstate, and had
released a new version, and the debian maintainer hadn't yet packaged
it. I decided to try to create a package, and followed the New
Maintainer guide. While I was successful, the debian maintainer
obviously continued his own package.
However, once I had convinced myself I could handle the process, I
skimmed the RFP list and found another package (dav-text) that looked
simple and packaged it. I posted an RFS for it on debian-mentors and
Anibal Monsalve Salazar sponsored it. I then found another package,
graphmonkey by hanging out in #debian-mentors. The upstream author came
in and was asking for someone to package his software, so I agreed.
Anibal also sponsored this package. I then decided to apply for NM,
since I decided I wanted to become a DD. I knew I wasn't ready, but I
also knew how long it took to have an AM assigned, and decided to apply
anyway. I decided I should join a team, but I couldn't find one that
seemed to suit me.
At one point, I bought an iRiver H10 mp3 player, having heard of how
great iRiver's Linux support was. Silly me. On Linux, you need a custom
tool, EasyH10, to build the databases. It didn't exist in Debian, so I
now had my third package. This is my most active package, and I have a
good relationship with the upstream author. I've contributed several bug
fixes, and he even used my machine to debug an issue I was having,
finding a file descriptor leak. I also wrote a man page for EasyH10,
which nyaochi then edited and shipped upstream.
A bit after this, my problem with finding a team was solved, as a
team found me. When Sven Muller responded to an email I sent to the
Debian Cyrus Team about their backported version of the Cyrus 2.2
packages, I offered to help and joined the Debian Cyrus team. On the
Cyrus team, I focus on packaging, bug triage, and other debian specific
aspects of the packages. We have recently released 2.2 packages into
unstable, and I'm proud to say I was part of this effort.
During all this time, I of course contributed in other ways to
Debian, I have filled and helped fix bugs, contributed to mailing lists
and more. I tested a woody -> sarge upgrade, and found a fairly large
bug in the process, and have contributed in other ways as well. I look
forward to becoming a full developer, and being able to participate more
fully.
2. Philosophy and Procedures
-----------------------------
Benjamin has a good understanding of Debians Philosophy and Procedures.
He answered the questions about the Social Contract, the DFSG and our
procedures in a good way.
3. Tasks and Skills
-------------------
Benjamin is maintainer of easyh10, graphmonkey and dav-text. These
packages are sponsored by Anibal Monsalve Salzar. He is also a member of
the Cyrus packaging team. He also answered my other Questions regarding
T&S without problems.
4. Recommendation
-----------------
I recommend to accept him as a Debian Developer.
Account: astronut
Forward-Email: astronut@dlgeek.net
--
Zorglub
Clément Stenac
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