Ubuntu Open Week - Becoming an Ubuntu Member - Tue, Nov 28, 2006

04:01   jono    hi all, welcome to the session
04:01   jono    the aim of this session is to talk about how exactly someone becomes a 'member' in the Ubuntu community - this will involve a discussion of what membership involves, the process of becoming a member, and other things to think about
04:01   jono    I will talk for a while with the main tuition, and then I will open the session up to Q+A as that is where I think much of the real value in these sessions comes from
04:02   jono    with any large free software project, it is always difficult to identify those contributors who are very good and those who are not so good - this is not about technical prowess, but about reliable, sustained contributions to the project in whatever team - art, marketing, packaging, MOTU etc
04:02   jono    to help try and disguinish this, we have the concept of 'ubuntu members'
04:02   jono    an ubuntu member is someone who has made a "sustained and substantial contribution" to the project, and we like to identify who these users are so we can provide these members with additional access to resources and have confidence in a set of established contributors
04:03   jono    ANYONE is welcome to be an ubuntu member - you don't need to work for Canonical, you don't need to be hugely technical, and you don't need to call your first-born child 'jono'
04:03   jono    although the last bit would be cool :)
04:03   jono    so the first question is, do you meet the criteria for a member? do you believe you have made enough a contribution to Ubuntu that it could be seen as a substantial and sustained contribution?

<Casanova> How do you differentiate between contribution to ubuntu and contribution to upstream packages

• Casanova, contribution to ubuntu is contributing to direct components of the ubuntu system (such as marketing, art, translations, docs) or packaging upstream applications for ubuntu. For those who don't know what upstream is - upstream are the applications developed by the people who make the apps - gimp, xchat, firefox, openoffice are all upstread

  [Casanova] so fixing bugs in launchpad doesnt count?

  • Casanova, yes it does
  Casanova, basically, if you contribute to making ubuntu itself better, you are an ubuntu contributor. If you write fixes for openoffice that live upstream, then you are part of their project

[n8k99] does representing/speaking about Ubuntu at festivals count?

• [jsgotangco] its called advocacy. it does

04:06   jono    ok I am gonna get through my notes and then hit the questions
04:06   jono    you can judge this by determining (a) the amount of time you have spent with the project (naturally six months with the project is a lot more 'sustained' than six minutes) and (b) how much you have contributed to the project
04:07   jono    when figuring out (b), think about what you have done - have you contributed packages, documented things, translated, performed advocacy, built up teams, performed marketing, helped support users? if you have contributed a lot of time to bettered ubuntu it all helps
04:07   jono    if you feel you have performed this "sustained and substantial contribution", becoming an ubuntu member provides access to additional privileges such as an ubuntu.com email address, IRC cloaks, addition to planet ubuntu and importantly identifies you as a key member of the community
04:08   jono    if you want to become a member, you need to go before the Community Council (CC) where they will vote on your application for membership
04:08   jono    the CC regularly hold IRC meetings where they decide on parts of the community, including ubuntu membership
04:08   jono    to do this we recommend that you first prepare a wiki page on wiki.ubuntu.com with a list of your contributions to the ubuntu project - we recommend you reference any online resources such as mailing list archvies, websites that back up this evidence
04:09   jono    this page name should be your name with no spaces and capital letters for the words - so mine would be wiki.ubuntu.com/JonoBacon
04:09   jono    it is important you spend some time getting this page in shape - make sure it is clear, lists all of the key contributions, and we would also recommend having a section called "Future Work" that outlines things you plan on doing
04:10   jono    also list on the page where you can be contacted (email, IRC), which mailing lists you read and which IRC channels you frequent in
04:10   jono    when the page is ready, head to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/CommunityCouncilAgenda and add your name to the agenda - this will mark you down as wanted to be considered for membership at the next CC meeting
04:10   jono    with you added to the CC agenda, it is important you turn up to the CC meeting
04:11   Seveas  jono: that procedure is being changed, remember :)
04:11   jono    Seveas, yep, but not yet :P
04:11   jono    in that meeting, summarise the work you have done and highlight why you believe you should be considered for membership
04:12   jono    it is also recommended that you bring along some people to support your case - people you have worked alongside in the community, people who can demonstrate your work - well respected community members are a wise choice here
04:12   jono    (oh and a quick note, I get daily requests to support someone for membership in the CC meeting, I can;t always do it unfortunatly due to my schedule)(
04:13   jono    when you are at the CC and have put your case foward, the members of the CC will decide upon it
04:13   jono    if you are unsuccessful they will give you the reason why, and it is recommended you go away and try to fix the things they mention
04:14   jono    if you are successful you will be added to the ubuntu members list in Launchpad and can officially be smug in front of your friends
04:14   jono    that is the approximate process for becoming a member
04:14   jono    now, I want to add some tips:
04:15   jono    * REALLY, REALLY don't put yourself forward for membership unless you have contributed a substantial amount to Ubuntu - if you are unsure if you have, ask an existing member or ask in #ubuntu-devel or your team
04:15   jono    * you really should attend the CC meeting, non-attendance is not a good thing in your favour - attend the meeting where you are considered
04:16   jono    * ubuntu membership is not a cast iron process, and we are flexible in how it works-  we are keen to identify people who are good, reliable and will stick around - sometimes this is abundantly clear, sometimes less so
04:17   jono    * get plenty of feedback from existing ubuntu members before you add yourself to the CC agenda to be considered - have people look over the wiki page for yourself and check if anything is missing
04:17   jono    right, gonna open it up to Q+A  - let me go through some of the existing questions first

<atoponce> is advocation enough, or should i be doing more?

• advocacy is a perfectly legitimate form of contribution, if do a lot of it and it is good, do apply [Seveas] advocacy is fine, but make sure it's traceable. we have one unfortunate member candidate who is advocating a lot, but it's all undocumented/untracable

<snail> is there a requirement to participate in the GPG web of trust, as there is for debian?

• we do ask for a GPG key, but it is mainly used for signing packages [gnomefreak] and the coc

<Cillian> How much counts as significant?

• good question - and there is no single answer - we are looking for contributions beyond a quick fling interest with ubuntu that are sustained over a period of time. We are keen to identify people who have a prolonged interest in the project.

<neuro_> It's obviously a discussion all in itself, but how easy is it to get into packaging for Ubuntu? ISTR Debian is quite strict about how it admits packagers, for example.

• fairly simple, not sure how it compares to Debian - I recommend joining the Packaging 101 and MOTU sessions this week [Amaranth] Contribute some packages, get member status, apply for MOTU status, then you can upload packages on your own

<kalon33> Do you take care of the karma to do this appreciation ?

• do you mean, do we consider karma when evaluating a user?

  [kalon33] yes, Is it a part of your evaluation, and what part ? I think it may be considered, I am not on the CC, so I am not sure - but experience is the main thing [Seveas] (jono: it's looked at as an activity measure) Seveas, sure, but it is an inexact science

<GazzaK> Can we vote/put forward people for membership, ie like a reference?

• the person you recommend needs to put themselves forward for membership - you should encourage them to do so, and support them in their CC meeting

<gnomefreak> jono isnt the wiki on the person a must not really recommended?

• sorry yes, you need to provide a wiki page for your membership application

<daxelrod> What do you mean by "name" for the wiki page? Full name? Username?

• like wiki.ubuntu.com/JonoBacon for me

<Nop> [...]so much bureaucracy! if i have an upstream application of mine -- how can i add it to ubuntu repository in few minutes ?

• hehe, its not bureaucracy as you don;t have to be a member, and although it could be easier (which we are working on) its a fairly simple process - write an application and show up to the CC meeting - as for upstream app in Ubuntu, talk to the packagers

<jonh_wendell> when will happen next CC?

• we are hoping to have one this week or next week - see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/CommunityCouncilAgenda for the next date. CC meetings are also added to the fridge calendar. [Seveas] or you can look in the topic of #ubuntu-meeting

<popey> In what way is the procedure for becoming an ubuntu member changing?

• we are looking at ways to scale up the process - right now the CC is bottlenecking with requests - we are considering team councils (such as a forums or kubuntu council) having the power to approve ubuntu membership. this will help the process scale, nothing is cast in stone yet.

  [popey] ok, any timescale on when that will happen?

  • no idea. when its ready

  it won't get harder - it will just get more scalable. it won't be easier to be a member, it will be easier to get your application looked at

<Jucato> does Ubuntu Membership also cover Kubuntu and Xubuntu? Or is there a separate Kubuntu Membership, separate CC, and a separate process? (there's a kubuntu-members team in Launchpad)

• Jucato, good question, I am not 100% sure, I think Ubuntu membership is for all of us [Amaranth] Ubuntu membership covers every part of Ubuntu. That includes Kubuntu, Xubuntu, the forums, etc. We're setting up subcouncils for the different groups to reduce the bottleneck on the Community Council. Becoming a member of one of those groups automatically makes you an Ubuntu member. [gnomefreak] Ubuntu-membership is ubuntu and kubuntu xubuntu related. as a member of one you have say in all meetings (not sure about edubuntu) but to get email for kubuntu.org you have to apply for kubuntu memebership as well

  [apokryphos] it's just easier for a Kubuntu council to see activity in Kubuntu, and hence make decisions on members when their work involves Kubuntu

<popey> What proportion of people fail to get ubuntu membership?

• most people get membership

<LjL> What privileges would becoming an Ubuntu Member bring, besides the ones you mentioned - email, cloak, Planet Ubuntu access? I mean privileges that directly impact your ability to contribute, rather than "prestige" privileges.

• there are no major perks for contribution - just these additional benefits, and for packagers being an Ubuntu Member *may* provide access to Personal Package Archives but I don't know about it

<Yawner> Can regular users attend the CC sessions? Or is this reserved?

• all are welcome to CC sessions

<rrittenhouse> Could you tell us how we can contribute?

• there are lots of ways of contributing, look at your skills and think of what you would like to do, and then join one of the teams. see http://www.ubuntu.com/community/participate [gnomefreak] https://wiki.ubuntu.com/NewMemberHowto will also help

<antihec> whom does the Community Council consist of? how is it formed?

• it consists of core community members who are nominated and voted on - right now it consists of Benjamin Hill, Mark Shuttleworth, Colin Watson, and James Troup

<Jucato> does sustained user support in the forums and/or IRC also count as substantial?

• sure, its a valid contribution to the community

<snail> in your opinion jono, which projects / packages / teams are most in need of entry level members with a few programming skills? where can we find these projects / packages / teams? is there a list someplace?

• I think we REALLY need people to help with the Bug Squad - and Simon Law is providing sessions on the bug squad this week - the team deal with categorising and organising bug reports also marketing and docs

<Seeker`> Can you bring along people to the CC that aren't already members to support your application?

• sure - everyone is welcome

<Panzerboy> does the CC have a wiki page? if yes, which one is it?

• https://wiki.ubuntu.com/CommunityCouncilAgenda

<Chris> would people who contributed to the Linux kernel, not neccesarily Ubuntu, be good people to support your application?

• we really look for people in the Ubuntu community to support your application, but do bring people over who can support your technical expertise

<irvin> do ubuntu membership expire? if yes, what's the process involved in getting it back?

• right now, I don't think it does - there was some discussion of it at UDS [Seveas] they do -- after 2 years

<atoponce> can a respected member tell me how i am currently doing, and what i could do to improve?

• sure, and we always recommend that community members help other community members with their application process. feedback is key here

<davmor2> Does answering questions on forums, irc etc add towards membership

• yes, it is valid contribution to our communityu

<whowe_> Ok, what are the guidelines for the documentation? The documentation for external marketing and advocacy? How do they want it documented?

• you would need to speak to those teams about that. docs is critical in the community and different teams approach it in different ways

<popey> Do you get to choose your @ubuntu.com email address? Can I have jono_is_my_dad@ubuntu.com?

• you can choose, although we recommend serious terms - although I would love to jono_is_a_rock_god@ubuntu.com. [gnomefreak] i think it goes on your LP name

04:45   jono    just a few final words
04:45   jono    community is critical to ubuntu
04:45   jono    it is the glue that holds us all together
04:45   jono    part of the reason we have this membership process is to identify good people
04:46   jono    traditionally in free software it is a case of licking your finger and putting it in the wind
04:46   jono    part of my job is to identify good people, but we also want to have processes that make sense to identify good people too
04:46   jono    personally, I hate beurocracy and I am always concious of it when we decide on governance, so don't worry to much about it

<neuro_> are there any sysadmin tasks / roles available for community members, as opposed to Canonical staff?

• good question, I would speak to the sysadmin team - its fairly centrally managed here by our IS team, but there are some thing which need doing, such as LoCo related stuff

<_jmk_> There was a question about how programmers not currently in open source can get started? Like people at University that study programming. Not sure I saw an answer to that...

• just write code, break it, fix it and learn - Ubuntu is a great platform for learning to code - Python and GTK are your friends. see http://learningpython.com/ [Amaranth] The easiest answer to that is to simply find something interesting, write some code (or a patch for an existing project), and go from there.

<ailean> does the possibility of employment by Canonical exist through this process?

• Canonical hire good people who prove themselves - if you prove to be a good person for Ubuntu, you will be noticed - we cannot promise anything, but we look for good people - we also sponsor good people to come to summits and such

04:50   jono    just before we finish up
04:50   jono    I just want to make a few things clear
04:51   jono    my role at Canonical and as part of the community is to make our community kick arse - and I am always keen to get good solid feedback
04:51   jono    I want to hear about the great things you folks are doing, and I also want to hear about the problems you see
04:51   jono    I cannot guarantee I can solve everything, but my door is open
04:51   jono    the free software landscale is *all* changeable - and we can always make things better
04:52   jono jono AT ubuntu DOT com

<theller> is the jobs list on http://www.ubuntu.com/employment up to date?

• yes

<Fritti> how do we reach you best? IRC / email?

Fritti, bigger issues I prefer email, quick questions and comments, IRC me}}}