Bits from the DPL (November 2017)
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Greetings from a chilly London…
Compared to last month, I've had a little bit less to deal with which
has made for some welcome "variation" (!), but here's what I've been
getting up to as your DPL during November 2017:
GitLab
======
I had been involved in inter-project discussions regarding GitLab [0]
and their Contributor License Agreement (CLA); the consensus view being
that it was a blocker to more-widespread adoption by Debian.
However, I was pleased to collaborate with GitLab in the announcement
that they have moved from the CLA model to a Developer's Certificate of
Origin (CDO) [1].
This is excellent news for Debian as we plan to utilise GitLab et al. in
the replacement of the current FusionForge-based infrastructure [2].
[0] https://about.gitlab.com/
[1] https://about.gitlab.com/2017/11/01/gitlab-switches-to-dco-license/
[2] https://wiki.debian.org/Alioth
FTP master delegation
=====================
As part of Debian Constitution §8 I was delighted to update the
delegation for the FTP master team [3], adding Thorsten Alteholz
(alteholz) and Luke Faraone (lfaraone) as "FTP masters" who oversee and
maintain the well-being of Debian's package repositories.
You can read more about the FTP team on the Debian Wiki [4].
[3] https://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2017/11/msg00001.html
[4] https://wiki.debian.org/Teams/FTPMaster
Finances
========
I pre-approved, evaluated and/or answered queries on a number of travel,
conference and general financial enquiries requests this month,
including:
* debian.ch reimbursement requests.
* Fielding a query regarding resources for OpenStack [5] package
development.
* Handling reimbursement requests for the Debian Cloud Sprint. [6]
* Requesting a status update on the status of the DebConf 15 e.V.
Trusted Organisation.
* Providing a general pre-approval / go-ahead for a "Secure Boot"
sprint.
* Forwarding some reimbursement enquiries regarding the recent
Reproducible Builds summit. [7]
* Answering some questions on a potential hardware update of the
"Loongson" MIPS machines.
* Following-up a some missing reimbursements.
[5] https://www.openstack.org/
[6] https://wiki.debian.org/Sprints/2017/DebianCloudOct2017
[7] https://reproducible-builds.org/events/berlin2017/
Events
======
I met with the Debian JP local group [8] in Yokohama for their monthly
meeting and answered their questions on Debian's technical and social
processes, as well as where I see Debian in the future.
I was impressed by their preparation and the extensive documentation
work that they do and ncouraged them to publicise these efforts more
widely.
I also presented at the Open Compliance Summit [9] in Yokohama and had a
large number of follow-up conversations regarding the use of Debian as a
way of ensuring the long-term sustainability of civil infrastructure
utilising — in particular — the efforts of the Debian LTS and
reproducible builds sub-projects.
Two MiniDebConfs took place during November; the first in Tolouse,
France [10] and the second in Cambridge, United Kingdom [11].
Due to prior engagements I was unable to attend either of them. Alas,
nobody has yet claimed the small token of appreciation if they managed
to attend both events...
[8] http://www.debian.or.jp/community/
[9] http://events.linuxfoundation.org/events/open-compliance-summit
[10] https://wiki.debian.org/DebianEvents/fr/2017/Toulouse
[11] https://wiki.debian.org/DebianEvents/gb/2017/MiniDebConfCambridge
BSP Reimbursements
==================
As usual, Debian is willing to reimburse up to USD 100 (or equivalent in
your currency) for travel/accommodation expenses to attend Bug Squashing
Parties (BSP) [12]. If there are no BSPs near to you (see [13]), please help
organise one!
Reimbursement requests must meet the following conditions:
* The requester should agree to communicate about their activities
during the BSP (in blog post or similar). The goal here being to
increase the visibility of such work.
* The requester must be a Debian contributor or have demonstrated an
ability to contribute to that kind of work.
[12] https://wiki.debian.org/Teams/DPL/Reimbursement
[13] https://wiki.debian.org/BSPPlanning
Other
=====
In addition to the above, I spent time on:
* Replying promptly to a (still in-progress) DMCA [14] takedown request.
* Being interviewed by Hideki Yamane for a Japanese technical magazine.
* Briefly discussing with the Software Freedom Conservancy regarding
their relationship with Debian with respect to the recent trademark
dispute. [15]
* Engaging in conversations in the anti-harrassment "space", not only
in terms of responding to specific ongoing issues but moreover in
engaging others and soliciting advice re. interpretation from an
outsider's point of view.
* Administrative work on Debian becoming a supported operating system
on the "Windows Subsystem for Linux" [16] platform.
* Sending a number of follow-ups ensuring people posted updates to
Planet Debian if they attended a conference using Debian funds.
* Redirecting private support queries sent to the leader@ alias to a
more suitable venue. I also fielded even more requests to remove
emails from our bug tracking system and responded to feedback from my
previous "Bits From The DPL" email.
* Moderating and contributing to the /r/debian subreddit [17].
[14] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act
[15] https://lwn.net/Articles/738046/
[16] https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/wsl/
[17] https://reddit.com/r/debian
Feedback
========
I would like to repeat the request I made last month for any feedback on
my activities as your Project Leader, as well as how I could communicate
them more effectively or transparently to you.
Any other questions or concerns about the Project that would be
inappropriate or difficult to bring up elsewhere, etc. are always
welcome. Please address your mails to <leader@debian.org>.
Lastly, just in case you missed it, don't forget to check out the Debian
Project News from November 9th [18].
[18] https://www.debian.org/News/weekly/2017/04/
See you all next month… :)
- --
,''`.
: :' : Chris Lamb
`. `'` lamby@debian.org / chris-lamb.co.uk
`-
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