[Date Prev][Date Next] [Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

Report from the Front desk and DAM sprint



Hello everyone,

I'm happy to tell you that we not only survived a front desk and DAM
meeting a little while ago but also continued on the course we set
there. [1] Thanks to the generous hosting of Credativ in
Mönchengladbach, Germany, we were able to meet and finally start out on
the last bits of work needed to get our new web interface production
ready. [2] Let us give you some insight in what we did there and since
then.


The new new New Members web interface
=====================================

If you've followed what the team, Enrico in particular, has been doing
in the last months, you'll know that there was some intention to replace
the current NM web interface. [3] Due to security concerns that were
brought to public attention just recently [4], we decided that it's time
to actually replace the code.

During the meeting we re-discussed the database layout improving it in
several ways. Using Django, Enrico implemented the models, data
migration and maintenance scripts -- basically the complete backend.
Also a few of the frontend pages had been written during the meeting
already in order to ensure basic stuff works. Together we started a few
test imports from the old database, ldap, and keyrings and were able to
clean up a few inconsistencies. In the meantime the website got a lot of
the functions back that were still missing after the meeting.

There are a few changes that are worth mentioning:

1) The new database holds information not only about DDs (and those who
   want to become one) but also about DMs and guest accounts. The idea
   is to provide a generic interface for guest account requests, DM
   applications, as well as uploading and non-uploading DD applications.

2) While the old database was pretty much living in itself, we're now
   going to start running maintenance scripts on a daily basis that sync
   up with ldap and the keyrings. Since DAM is the actual authority
   about membership, we are exploring the possiblity of using the new
   database as the master membership database, with routine consistency
   cross-checks of LDAP and Keyring contents.

3) Up until now an AM was part of the NM comittee if he/she approved an
   applicant within the last 6 months. Now an AM is part of the comittee
   if DAM approved an applicant processed by that AM within the last 6
   months. The effect is probably marginal but we thought it should be
   publicly known.

4) The new website is using single-sign-on technology provided by the
   Debian SysAdmins, so there is one less password to remember.


Pending and long-outstanding cases
==================================

The front desk and DAM todo queues showed a few applicants for a long
time now. Those applications are in one way or the other difficult to
handle, need way more work than the rest, or a decision simple was
always postponed. We used the opportunity of discussing those cases,
updating everyone on the current status, and in a few cases even made
decisions. Others were properly delegated to be dealt with soon™.


Backlog
=======

Boring but all the more necessary. We worked on the backlog in our
Inboxes and hope to have worked on all pending requests. That means, if
you sent a question to front desk or DAM and didn't get any response by
now, please resend it. It probably got lost then. Sorry.


So, that's what we spent the weekend and the time since then with.
Thanks again to the organizers of the BSP and to Credativ for hosting
our meeting. Thanks for DSA support we got via IRC during the meeting.
Thank you for caring about Debian membership to read all this. And last
but not least, thank you to Enrico, Myon, and Ganneff for a pleasent and
productive meeting!

On behalf of Front Desk and in this case even DAM,
Hauke

[1] http://wiki.debian.org/Sprints/2012/FDDAMSprint
[2] http://wiki.debian.org/BSP/2012/03/de/Moenchengladbach
[3] http://lists.debian.org/20111031144518.GA23426@enricozini.org
[4] http://lists.debian.org/debian-www/2012/02/msg00130.html

-- 
 .''`.   Jan Hauke Rahm <jhr@debian.org>               www.jhr-online.de
: :'  :  Debian Developer                                 www.debian.org
`. `'`   Member of the Linux Foundation                    www.linux.com
  `-     Fellow of the Free Software Foundation Europe      www.fsfe.org

Attachment: signature.asc
Description: Digital signature


Reply to: