MissionStatement

This is the discussion page of the Australian LoCo team for proposed changes to the Mission Statement.

Proposal by -- fabricator4 2011-06-19 00:21:48

Australian LoCo team: Mission Statement

Reasons for having a mission statement

When a new or proposed member first looks at the Australian LoCo team it is not clear what the team does or how it operates. Although there are some general comments in the introduction they do not stand out as a being a "Mission Statement" as such. Although the comments talk about "distributing, advertising and demonstrating Ubuntu" and "team projects", it's still unclear what the Australian team does and how it operates. From a personal point of view, it was only through lurking on the mailing list that I was able to glean more information. Having something specifically under the title of "Mission Statement" and stating mission specifics would be a lot less ambiguous.
From the point of view of Official re-approval a fresh Mission Statement should demonstrate our commitment to moving forward.

Where to put the mission statement

The team wiki would appear to be the most logical place to put the Mission Statement. I believe it should be up front and easily found even by someone who is not specifically looking for it. My suggestion is to put a link to it in the title block, immediately under the "Australian Team Home" link. This would make it almost the first thing that a visitor will click on.
It would also be appropriate to link to this mission statement from the team web page.

What should be in the mission statement

While the previous two questions are obvious to me, as a newcomer I have to admit that the long term membership has to drive this one. Basing my own thoughts on the details of the welcome comments:

Promoting Ubuntu.
- Members take opportunities to promote Ubuntu and the concept of FOSS
Distribution
- We have our very own Australian "shipit" program
Projects
- Australian LoCo team members further the efforts of other teams include developers and Canonical by engaging in projects that have real and positive results.
Advertising
- the Australian LoCo team should take advantage of any opportunities to advertise Ubuntu and the presence of the team
Who we help
- The concept of helping home users, schools, and business is good. Do we need more detail?

This obviously needs fleshing out - I've done a rough point form only.

Periodic Revision

The focus of the group and its goal may change over a long period of time. The Mission Statement should not be allowed to become so stale that it is no longer relevant to what we do.

The mission statement should be reviewed annually to see if needs to be updated.

Discussion

Please sign your comments with the text @ S I G @ (without the spaces). This will be replaced by your WikiName and the date when saved.

There has been some discussion on this on the Ubuntu-AU forum. I personally like the one formed for the New York Ubuntu Team and I quote:

The New York State Ubuntu Local Community Team is a group of volunteers and activists united by a commitment to Ubuntu. We advocate digital rights and freedom, and promote Ubuntu as a step towards achieving this. The team is a decentralised team that empowers local groups to hold events. We provide a common hub to share ideas, resources and experiences.

I believe this is a short, succinct statement that pretty much sums our team up well. -- jarednorris 2011-06-25 04:44:42

Hi Jared, I agree that the statement from the wiki of the New York State LoCo seems particularly appropriate to the Australian LoCo team. If you throw in some of the existing wording such as "The Australian team focuses on distributing, advertising and demonstrating Ubuntu within Australia." then I think we would really have something.

-- fabricator4 2011-06-25 23:26:31

The Australian Ubuntu Local Community Team is a group of Ubuntu users united by a commitment to the philosophy of Ubuntu and FOSS (Free and Open Source Software).

We therefore advocate freedom from proprietary constraints, being empowered to make choices according to our computing requirements and to promote Ubuntu as a step towards achieving this.

The team is a decentralised team that empowers local groups to distribute, advertise and demonstrate Ubuntu throughout Australia. We provide a common hub to share ideas, resources and experiences.

-- kyphi 2011-06-28 00:52:15

Consolidation

After the July Ubuntu-AU Team meeting it was decided to try and consolidate the different ideas and seek approval from the team as a whole. My attempt at consolidation follows, please feel free to discuss this on the team mailing lists so no one gets left out.

Version 1

The Australian Ubuntu Team (Ubuntu-AU) is a group of volunteers united by an interest in and commitment to promoting Ubuntu in Australia. We advocate the philosophy of Ubuntu and FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) as a step towards allowing people the freedom of choice. The Ubuntu-AU Team is a decentralised team that empowers local groups to distribute, advertise and demonstrate Ubuntu throughout Australia by holding events, sharing ideas and pooling resources.

-- jarednorris 2011-08-13 20:31:14

Comments

1. It seems to me that the sentence regarding the philosophy (the cause) should come before the sentence regarding the commitment (the effect).

2. "Holding events" could be more specific. Perhaps a relocation to put it before "distribute, advertise and demonstrate" would suffice.

-- kyphi 2011-08-13 22:06:49

Version 2

The Australian Ubuntu Team (Ubuntu-AU) is a group of volunteers who advocate the philosophy of Ubuntu and FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) in Australia. We are a group of volunteers united by an interest in and commitment to promoting Ubuntu in Australia as a step towards allowing people the freedom of choice. The Ubuntu-AU Team is a decentralised team that empowers local groups to hold events to distribute, advertise and demonstrate Ubuntu throughout Australia by sharing ideas and pooling resources.

Updated to reflect comments made - sounding any better? -- jarednorris 2011-08-16 10:11:06

The Australian Ubuntu Team (Ubuntu-AU) is a group of volunteers who advocate the philosophy of Ubuntu and FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) in Australia, united by an interest in and commitment to promoting Ubuntu as a step towards allowing Australians the freedom of choice. The Ubuntu-AU Team is a decentralised team that empowers local groups to hold events to distribute, advertise and demonstrate Ubuntu throughout Australia by sharing ideas and pooling resources.

Note: Above is my tweaked version of Version 2 slightly in an attempt to make it more succinct. -- somethinginteres 2011-08-16 14:46:00

Further Comments: The expression "freedom of choice" means "freedom of choice to do what?" Please specify. Is stating that we are volunteers essential? Cramming the whole statement into one or two long sentences does not make for easy reading. Encouraging the formation of localised groups is important and should be mentioned. Is being a decentralised team important enough to be included in a mission statement?

I submit the following as a meaningful mission statement:

<bold>The Australian Ubuntu Team (Ubuntu-AU) is united by a commitment to the philosophy of Ubuntu and FOSS (Free and Open Source Software).

We therefore advocate freedom from the constraints of proprietary software and enjoy the power to make our own choices to meet our computing needs.

The Team encourages the formation of localised groups to distribute, advertise, promote and demonstrate Ubuntu throughout Australia.

Ubuntu-AU provides a common hub to share ideas, resources and experiences.</bold>

We welcome you.

-- kyphi 2011-08-17 09:08:04

Version 3

This has been based upon some collaboration between Andre and Jared

The Australian Ubuntu Team (Ubuntu-AU) is united by a commitment to the philosophy of Ubuntu and FOSS (Free and Open Source Software).