Facilitating contributions by newcomers
The first steps in contributing to Debian are usually the hardest.
Normally, new contributors are pointed to the standard docs [eg:
1,2,3,4,5], but processing such an amount of information is often a
daunting task, and not a very fun one either.
On the other hand, we have quite a few mentors who would like to help,
but often do not have the bandwidth to walk a mentee through the entire
process of, say, packaging a new software, or to mentor someone
responding to a RFH.
The WNPP list in itself is useful, but when looking at it again
recently, I distinctly recalled how foreign most of the packages were to
me when I first started contributing -- not a great motivator into
getting involved with something. And I recognized a number of RFHs that
have received numerous replies over the time, but couldn't be followed
up upon with because RFHs are frequently the result of a lack of time in
the first place (openldap anyone?).
With the recent gamification of just-about-everything, I was wondering
whether following such an achievement-oriented approach, with
opportunities for contribution formulated as a list of specific tasks,
instead of general avenues, would be helpful in overcoming this initial
difficulty. (This would be in addition to mentors.debian.net and other
established avenues for entry to Debian, not a replacement).
Tasks
=====
I see a task having, at least, the following properties:
* A specific objective (bug fix, enhancement, debugging, cleanup,
documentation, translation, ...). This should probably be tied to a
Debian bug number.
* A description of the required skills (packaging, debugging, C, ...)
* A difficulty rating (1:low to 5:very high)
* An estimation for the amount of work to be done (hours, days)
* An urgency (influenced by severity, popcon, ...)
* A list of one or more mentors will to help.
Benefits for Mentees
====================
For mentees, this would:
* Provide a much simpler entry point into contributing to Debian.
Mentees would be able to start with smallish tasks fitting their
skill and interest profile. They could start contributing without
becoming overwhelmed with dozens of pages of dense documentation.
* I expect that would to eventually lead to a better understanding
of Debian technically, and to closer personal contacts to the
community.
* Later on, they could progress to the more difficult tasks, in
preparation towards eventual DM or DD status.
Benefits for Mentors
====================
For mentors, I believe the benefits are even greater:
* Mentors willing to help but lacking time for full mentorship could
still help with smaller tasks. Every little bit counts.
* A new avenue for getting things fixed in Debian (QA). Instead of
having ancient O, RFA, and RFH bugs, some of which have been
proven to be insurmountable, the relevant packages can be improved
step-by-step.
* In a similar vein, regular Maintainers could off-load some of
their work to mentees. I've seen enough bugs in packages where the
only blocker seems to be "lack of time".
* Mentors could get another perspective on the history of a mentee's
work within Debian.
Costs
=====
All in all, I think the additional cost to mentors wouldn't be that
great. It should be easy to write up the tasks: that does not require
time, only a lot of experience.
I'd appreciate feedback on the idea; and if this turns out to be
worthwhile I'll look into an implementation.
Christian
[1] https://www.debian.org/doc/debian-policy/
[2] https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/maint-guide/
[3] https://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/developers-reference/
[4] http://mentors.debian.net/
[5] Package how-can-i-help
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