Re: Facilitating contributions by newcomers
I agree, it is sometimes difficult to get someone to actually upload
your package.
Perhaps to encourage mentors, they too could get accomplishments for
sponsoring packages. There could even be a small prize for the DD who
sponsors the most packages in a given year.
On 11/11/14 08:12, Roger Light wrote:
> Hi there,
>
> I think this is a worthwhile idea, but would like to suggest that if
> you're going to go down the approach of badges/accomplishments then it
> would be good to consider how to encourage existing DDs to become
> active in mentoring.
>
> My experience is that making the package is the easy bit - the tricky
> bit is getting someone to take notice, provide feedback and eventually
> upload the package.
>
> Regards,
>
> Roger
>
>
> On Sun, Nov 9, 2014 at 7:20 PM, Christian Kastner <debian@kvr.at> wrote:
>> 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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>
>
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