Re: How to Increase Contributions from Volunteers
On Wed, 4 Jan 2006 11:39:55 +0100, Andreas Schuldei <andreas@debian.org> said:
> * Manoj Srivastava <srivasta@debian.org> [2006-01-03 22:30:09]:
>> >> They are right: most probably they will find it easier to make
>> >> contributions to other projects.
>>
>> > we need to promote the easy entry points to contributing to
>> > debian more prominently and should hide the "how to become a DD"
>> > in comparison.
>>
>> What on earth for?
> are you asking or do you want to argue a point?
Depends on how you take it, I guess.
> if you are asking: people who want to help/contribute seem to be
> turned away by the burecratic nature of the NM process with it's
> long waiting periodes. People who want to contribute without that
> process need to find a way to do that easily and effectively,
> without spending too much time to find where they can do that.
The NM process has the goal of a) ensuring that people who
can run code as root on myriads of machines of Debian users have
demonstrated a modicum of competence, and b) these people have agreed
to uphold the principles and share the common cause that drives
Debian, c) there is a minimal assurance that one knows who these
people are, and, possibly, d) these people stand up and demosntrate
some dedication to the project, so the trust palced in them is not
misplaced.
People who do not want to undergo that process can just help
out current developers, fix bugs, send patches, etc. But
responsibility can only be given to people who actually demonstrate
the 4 points above; the quality of Debian is at stake.
>> > we should leave that option for the ones that want to contribute
>> > above average.
>>
>> We are trying to build the best distribution of linux on the
>> planet, not the so-so ditribution created by the most number of
>> people. Why do you think that an excellent direbution can come by
>> with contribution of people who are, in your own words, below
>> average?
> Manoj, i think you are trying to polarize the discussion. Please try
> not to do that. it does not help to reach a good conclusion.
So say you. I think you are the one polarizing the discussion
as much as I, proposing that we throw open the Debian project
products to the whole wide world out there. One can just look at Red
Hat contrib areas to see how well that works.
> Please realize that there is a difference between people who want to
> *contribute* above average and *people* below average.
I am not sure I want "below average" contributions, if you are
talking about quality. If you are talking about dilettantes, heck,
the can contribute via patches sent to the BTS. Recognition should be
commensurate with the effort spent; tyros and dilettantes get less
recognition than people who are committed to the project and do the
heavy lifting.
> One such difference could be technical excellent people who want to
> help without spending time on packaging issues (as NM in its current
> form often does) but rather on their field of excellence, which
> could be coding or graphical design or in the legal area.
I have no objection to creating ways apart from the BTS where
such effort can be funneled into the project. I am merely vocing
objections to lowering the bar for people who are responsible for
Debian packages, and can thus run code as root on my machine
> They all could help quicker and more directly if they could be
> routed to the places where they are needed *just now* without a
> detour over NM. Their help would contribute to making debian the
> best distribution.
The "Help Debian" link on the web page is too obscure?
manoj
--
Living on Earth may be expensive, but it includes an annual free trip
around the Sun.
Manoj Srivastava <srivasta@debian.org> <http://www.debian.org/%7Esrivasta/>
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