[vac] emails using iCalendar?
I'm wondering if [vac] emails could be semi-automated, maybe some
combination of the following:
- people who already publish a public iCalendar file over HTTP could add
a link to it in Debian LDAP. Other public systems could eventually use it.
- people who maintain a private iCalendar file could also put the URL in
some additional field in Debian LDAP. People doing this would
potentially protect their URL with a requirement for TLS client
authentication.
- for people who don't maintain an iCalendar file and don't want to,
maybe some portal for defining vacation periods could be added
somewhere. I suspect that asking DSA to host a full groupware suite
would be a big ask but maybe something like DAViCal would be viable.
In addition to vacations, people could also use iCalendar feeds like
this to post details of public activities they do involving Debian and
free software. Eventually we could build reports around these so people
can see Debian activities and beersigning opportunities in their own
city/country or places that they are visiting for the weeks ahead.
These things could also have benefit for other teams like security as
they would be able to see at a glance if somebody is on vacation.
Harsh already did some work around iCalendar data as part of GSoC
2015[1] and in 2016 we could look for a student to continue that work,
maybe doing some of the data aggregation and reporting suggested in this
email. Before starting that, there would need to be some agreement
about having the fields in LDAP (or some alternative) to provide data
for a student to do meaningful work with.
1.
http://danielpocock.com/aggregating-tasks-multiple-issue-trackers-gsoc-2015-summary
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