Ubuntu Wiki

Ubuntu Open Week - Joining the Ubuntu community - Jono Bacon - Mon, Apr 23, 2007

TZ UTC-4

(11:00:10 AM) jono: hi everyone!
(11:00:41 AM) jono: right lets get this show on the road :)
(11:01:04 AM) jono: I will wait a few more minutes while the last few people come in :)
(11:02:38 AM) jono: lets get this going :)
(11:02:58 AM) jono: so how is everyone doing today?!!
(11:03:22 AM) jono: everyone loving feisty?
(11:04:02 AM) jono: My name is Jono Bacon and I am the Ubuntu Community Manager at Canonical.
(11:04:18 AM) jono: My job is to help run, organise and grow the incredible Ubuntu community. We have in my view, the finest free software community in the world, and this week is all about growing it :)
(11:04:50 AM) jono: Ubuntu Open Week is all about bringing together experts in out amazing community and having them help you folks get started and become part of the Ubuntu community
(11:05:27 AM) jono: this session is intended to introduce the week
(11:05:37 AM) jono: and to introduce the ubuntu community and discuss how you can get involved
(11:05:46 AM) jono: the way ubuntu open week works is pretty simple
(11:06:04 AM) jono: we have a bunch of IRC sessions that are being given by some of our communities finest leaders
(11:06:31 AM) jono: each of these leaders will give their session in this channel, and general discussion and questions happens in #ubuntu-classroom-chat
(11:06:46 AM) jono: keep all chatter and questions to that channel - this channel should only be for the speaker to speak in
(11:06:58 AM) jono: asking a question is simple
(11:07:23 AM) jono: in #ubuntu-classroom-chat just prefix your question with the nick of the speaker and the word QUESTION
(11:07:34 AM) jono: the speaker will then cut out the question and paste in here and answer it
(11:08:00 AM) jono: in this particular session I am going to speak for a short while and then have a Q+A session where I can answer your questions
(11:08:39 AM) jono: so, lets begin
(11:08:43 AM) jono: the ubuntu community is amazing
(11:08:52 AM) jono: really, really frikken amazing!
(11:10:07 AM) jono: woo! :)
(11:10:08 AM) jono: I am a firm believer that the ubuntu community is the finest example of free software community in the world
(11:10:30 AM) jono: we have a hugely diverse range of contributors, spread across the world doing incredible work
(11:10:51 AM) jono: the vast majority of contributors work incredibly well together, and the community is a very warm and welcoming place
(11:11:28 AM) jono: becoming part of our community not only means you get to contribute to an operating system that millions of people use, but you get to hang out and work with some of the kindest, most enthusastic people you will meet
(11:11:59 AM) jono: the community has grown hugely, and in recent years it has become a real force in free software
(11:12:20 AM) jono: just our loco teams as an example are growing at often 2000 new subscribers a amonth
(11:12:48 AM) jono: this week we will be seeing lots of different parts of the community teaching
(11:12:55 AM) jono: this includes teams such as:
(11:13:18 AM) jono: MOTU - the team of ubercool heros who maintain Universe - the thousands of applications synced with Debian
(11:13:35 AM) jono: everyone of those people needs to bought a beer for their incredible work
(11:14:07 AM) jono: so if you like the idea of packaging - you can join MOTU, its a great place to start
(11:14:21 AM) jono: if you like talking to people and spreading the word - loco teams are a great place to start
(11:14:26 AM) jono: our loco teams are doing INCREDIBLE work
(11:14:45 AM) jono: when I fly around, eating terrible airline food and visiting conferences, I meet many of teams, and their work is stunning
(11:15:07 AM) jono: we have a loco in pretty much every country in the world - a worldwide network of cool people who do cool things
(11:15:26 AM) jono: then of course we have Launchpad
(11:15:57 AM) jono: we have a number of sessions on LP this week, dealing with bzr, translations and more
(11:16:30 AM) jono: another interesting session is the ubuntu women session by Belinda
(11:17:02 AM) jono: all of us want a community defined by equality - and I am particularly keen to see the ubuntu women project continue to do their good work
(11:17:52 AM) jono: later today Ben Collins (who looks like Zak Wylde incidentally) will be talking about the kernel team
(11:18:13 AM) jono: hardware support in ubuntu is pretty incredible, but the team needs help and Ben is the dude to talk to - be there if kernels do your thing
(11:18:44 AM) jono: if you again like spreading the word, Jenda is doing some Marketing sessions - not only about marketing inside the Ubuntu community, but also outside the community
(11:19:09 AM) jono: I am really keen to see our teams work together so for example we can feed the marketing team cool loco stories to push out to the wider world
(11:19:33 AM) jono: if you don't use Ubuntu but use Kubuntu, Edubuntu or Xubuntu, we also have sessions on these distros too
(11:20:00 AM) jono: we have seen huge amounts of interest in these derivatives, and long may they continue to kick arse and take names :)
(11:20:35 AM) jono: and of course, there are many other sessions on an intro to packaging, patching packages, ubuntu studio and much more
(11:20:56 AM) jono: its going to be a pretty incredible week and a great opportunity for everyone to become part of the rollercoaster that is th eubuntu community
(11:21:21 AM) jono: just before I get to the questions, I am going to talk a little about my own work and the bigger community picture
(11:21:51 AM) jono: since I started back in September, I have always been keen to be completely open about my work in the community and to always be an approachable person in the community
(11:22:21 AM) jono: I always want to be someone you guys and girls can come to with any issues, questions or problems, and I am always keen to gather feedback on my work, both good and bad
(11:22:52 AM) jono: I have a simple goal with my work:
(11:23:03 AM) jono: make Ubuntu the finest example of free software community
(11:23:13 AM) jono: and this is a much easier goal with such incredible people to work with
(11:23:33 AM) jono: despite the good stuff, we do face challenges, problems and issues in the community
(11:23:42 AM) jono: there are fights, arguments and quarrels
(11:23:54 AM) jono: there are vicious rumours spread about bottle dancing and duck fetishes
(11:24:30 AM) jono: to help with this we have some governance processes such as the community council and the code of conduct
(11:24:42 AM) jono: and increasingly we are creating team councils such as the forums council and the IRC council
(11:25:12 AM) jono: the goal here is to create good, sane processes that help everyone do their work easily and effectively
(11:25:47 AM) jono: part of this challenge is scaling the community up
(11:26:10 AM) jono: we are growing VERY quickly, and as we grow, existing systems and processes will be outgrown and need to be rethought
(11:26:17 AM) jono: to achieve this we need to work together
(11:26:21 AM) jono: a good example is the loco project
(11:26:32 AM) jono: when I started with the loco project there were certain problems:
(11:26:35 AM) jono:  * lack of documentation
(11:26:47 AM) jono:  * disorganised information, scattered all over the place
(11:27:07 AM) jono:  * some chunks of the world (such as the USA an Africa) woefully sparse with LoCo teams
(11:27:13 AM) jono:  * no real direction
(11:27:27 AM) jono: to resolve these issues the community worked together:
(11:27:41 AM) jono:  * regular docs days to write new doc and better organise them
(11:28:02 AM) jono:  * the USTeams project working to grow and mentor new US teams
(11:28:11 AM) jono:  * regular meetings
(11:28:27 AM) jono:  * real leaders in the community helping to regularly run and organise community activities
(11:28:38 AM) jono: and now we have a very solid loco community that is working better than every
(11:28:40 AM) jono: ever
(11:29:03 AM) jono: my role is really to help put these processes in place - not to tell you all what to do, but to help us all work together to solve problems
(11:29:41 AM) jono: the key thing is 'working together' - community is not the power of a singular but the combined power of the many, and to achieve this we need good, clear communication and a strong direction
(11:30:39 AM) jono: so, we are at exciting times
(11:30:55 AM) jono: there is still lots to do, and long road to travel, but together we can all do amazing things
(11:31:24 AM) jono: if any of you are ever unsure, concerned or otherwise want to get in touch - my door is always open on IRC, and you can mail me at jono AT ubuntu DOT com
(11:31:56 AM) jono: I also organise regular monthly community Q+A IRC sessions in which we can have open discussion about certain issues
(11:32:19 AM) jono: right lets get on with questions :)

<Smegzor> QUESTION: I'm interested in contributing as a programmer and will soon be upgrading to a new PC. Will my ability to contribute be harmed if I decide to use ubuntu 64bit over 32bit

• Not at all, the arch specific bits are often kernel level - but it depends what you want to hack on - most applications (such as GUI apps) are largely unaffected by arch.

<LoneShadow> QUESTION: Are basic GUI config programs packaged in Feisty for migrating users from windows. It will definitely help people who are uncomfortable in modifying xorg.conf

• I believe so - there is a migration tool in the feisty install, and there was work on a windows tool for migration too. I don't know much more than that, unfortunatly.

<alum> QUESTION: Sorry for my english first :-(. I would like to be a new contributing programmer. I have knowledge of C and Perl and I'd like to help the great Ubuntu community. How can I start? I am interested in improving the GNOME for example.

• A great place to start is hacking on ubuntu specific applications and frontends - many of these apps are written in Python though. You could you your C skills for patching applications in Ubuntu and helping with packaging. I recommend you ask on the developer mailing list and in #ubuntu-devel

<harrisony> QUESTION: is Xubuntu officially supported (like kubuntu and edubuntu)

• It is certainly officially recognised as a project. Afaik it is not supported by the canonical support office.

<Smegzor> QUESTION: I've heard lots of FUD from Microsoft about patent infringement in Linux. Should we even care? How hard is it to list all the patents MS have and check to see if Linux violate any?

• This is a big subject, and I am not a lawyer. Software patents are bad and bad for free software but remember a few things:
  • only some countries recognise software patents

  • if software patents face a risk it is in upstream applications (such as the kernel, gnome, kde, firefox, openoffice.org etc) - and we have many companies who have invested in these applications and would no doubt defend a patent claim

  Software patents are always a risk for everyone, both closed and open, which is why the are bad, so support the anti software patent movement Personally I don't think we are going to face too many issues from Microsoft, they have a lot to lose for being "the most interoperable software company in the world."

<alum> QUESTION: And finally I am interested in providing local support for Ubuntu in my country (Czech Republic/Europe), because there isn't any commercial support until now. How can I start in this way?

• if you want to provide commercial support, I recommend you join the Ubuntu Marketplace - see http://www.ubuntu.com for details

<Rytmis> Wait, how can Jono make this the finest community if it already is the finest? :Þ

• Heh, we can always make fine things finer

<luigi1015> QUESTION: I'm a CS Masters degree graduate looking to do some programming on the side for Ubuntu, light work at first, what should I do? how should I start (considering i'm in the US but not near a loco)?

• <imbrandon> *cough* https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU *cough* I also recommend you contact the develop mailing list and ask how you can help - working on ubuntu frontend tools and patching packages is useful work too. Yeah, speak to our friend and yours imbrandon about MOTU. The MOTU folks are screaming for new help - and they are officially "hella cool."

<dabaR> QUESTION: Did you write that whole speech thing you just gave us previously, or did you come up with it as you went

• Heh, no thats just me and the way I talk. None of this was prepared.

<spr0k3t> QUESTION: With MS listed as owner to the internationally hated operating system, what will happen to the first Distribution that steals the market control from the monopoly? If *buntu becomes as popular as such, what ways can I help curb the kneejerk reactions by the populous?

• We have a long way to go to unseat MS, and it won't happen overnight - the general populous will gradually get used to seeing Linux as a normality but we all need to contribute and work together to unseat the beast.

<davmor2> QUESTION: with more and more users do you generally find you get more devs to cope with the increasing packages the new users demand? Or is there just more pressure on the available devs?

• The community tends to grow in all directions - we get more users and more developers - all of our developers are overworked - no doubt there, but also remember that the strain is not particularly on developers (aside from bugfixing) but also on support - this is why loco teams, #ubuntu and the ubuntuforums also need help from contributors.

<chuckf> QUESTION: In setting up the Maryland group I've had trouble getting resources...maryland.ubuntu-us.org and lists.ubuntu.org addresses in particular. What is being done to resolve things like that for new loco teams?

• I am working on this at the moment, I will be dealing with loco list requests and also working on ways to speed up domain registration, rest assured, I am onto it

<therealnanotube> QUESTION: about a year ago, the "answerer to questioner" ratio on the ubuntu forums was much higher than it is today. it seems that nowadays a lot more threads go by without getting resolved. this is of course due to the growth in the number of new ubuntu users. but how would we deal with this and maintain the quality of help on the forums?

• I think we need to encourage more people to join the forums community - answering questions is a great way to contribute to ubuntu - I think it would be good to have a campaign to encourage more forums contributors.

<Belutz> QUESTION: is it necessary for one to be an ubuntu member? what if there are some people in loco who contribute a lot but never sign the CoC and never apply for ubuntu member

• Nope, membership is particularly useful for developers who need access to certain machines - for locos its less essential

<Monika|K> QUESTION: Some members of our team (Loco team in development) see no use in signing the CoC. What would you answer them?

• I would encourage everyone to at least understand and read the CoC if they don't sign it - signing it is a formality - the message behind it is the key thing.

<Demon012> QUESTION: Where should you start looking when you want to starting helping development with ubuntu besides https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UbuntuDevelopers

• Look to the teams you are interested in contributing, ask in #ubuntu-devel in #ubuntu and ask on the ubuntu forums - if all else fails, mail me.

<adamant1988> QUESTION: I think a lot of us are really hoping to become Ubuntu members, but the page concerning membership is very vague as to what is needed to be a member. Could you provide a clarification?

• To become a member you just need a track record of doing "good stuff" - if you have worked in the community, have participated in discussions, done real work, you can become a member - I do think the docs for membership do need improving though to help resolve these uncertainties.

<Demon012> QUESTION: Which is the preferred programming language for development for Ubuntu?

• We love Python.

<airlo> QUESTION : When developers cross from another distro to Ubuntu, does this create tensions within the wider Linux community? How can existing developers help out with Ubuntu, without making it appear that they've become "disloyal" to other distros (and without making it appear that Ubuntu is headhunting/'stealing' talent away from other projects)?

• This is the difference between distro level and upsteam work - upstream hackers can work on software that any distro can use, when developers move to a new distro and hack on it, generally there is no tension - its just a choice of project to work on.

<jayteeuk> QUESTION What work has been/is being done with companies such as IBM, Oracle to encourage them to help improve Ubuntu and also certify their products for use on Ubuntu?

• Our business dept is working with those companies, I have no idea - I just do community stuff

<deniz_ogut> QUESTION: What can you say about the relation of Ubuntu community with other related bodies? For example if I want to translate some gnome application this counts for both Ubuntu and GNOME circles in my country. Or software patents are a proslem of both Ubuntu and gnu.org... and so on. what are the coordination mechanisms and which addresss do you advice to apply in such scenarios: something having to do with both Ubuntu and other circles

• I am hoping to improve relations between ubuntu and other communities - we need to remember we are all on the same team - but some things naturally compete on the same team - this is a big question and one that I am looking to solve in different ways - better communication being the main solution.

<kNo`> QUESTION: do you often dream about killing cats you wanted to herd?

• Hah, no, I love cats, and love herding them

<jussi01> Question: whats happening on the CNR front?

• I am not working on that, but I think its planned for gutsy.

<Rytmis> QUESTION Are there any plans to lower the threshold for contributing, ie. writing instructions on how to get started with, say, fixing a bug?

• Always, things such as bitesize tasks in motu are helping with this, the key thing here is better docs, better websites and regular meetings - I am encouraging all teams to do this. MOTU are doing a good job here

<chuckf> QUESTION How productive is it to spend time bashing MS rather than simply advancing Ubuntu/Linux/FreeSoftware?

• Not productive at all - FUD is bad, no matter who is comes from. Just say no!

<chuckf> QUESTION How can unapproved teams get resources such as CDs from Shipit?

• Right now only approved teams can get feisty CDs - so the solution is to get approved

<elkjaer> QUESTION: Do you have any people working on the GPL java code in Ubuntu? Not just packaging the stuff. I see several things that could be improved. For instance sound playback where the java VM currently hijacks your sound device.

• Canonical does not pay developers to work on upstream code, so I doubt it - not sure if community work is going on though.

<Demon012> QUESTION: What documentation should you produce when developing software for Ubuntu and where should it be posted? (Examples of documentation: Pseudo Code, UML Diagrams)

• You should fully document the use of your app, well commented code is nice and structural diagrams are nice too - its best to ask a developer this question.

<pbx> QUESTION: Ubuntu has had a remarkable rise over the past couple years. What possibilities do you see in its future for unifying the fragmented world of "competing" Linux distros

• Ubuntu will continue to grow and expand and I think we will continue to lead our community forward - I hope distros can unite on upstream levels particularly. Its a tough question though, and no simple answer. Its a competitive world in which we share too. Right.

<nealmcb> QUESTION: when will launchpad karma include wiki work, forum posts, etc?

• ask mrevell that

(11:59:44 AM) jono: ok thats abut it
(11:59:46 AM) jono: about it
(11:59:55 AM) jono: sorry I could not answer all the questions in time
(12:00:00 PM) jono: two things to remember:
(12:00:25 PM) jono:  * I am running a community Q+A session at 3pm UTC on wednesday - thats a full hour of Q+A - come and ask your questions there
(12:00:44 PM) jono:  * also, see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/TheFunkyFeistyCompetition - lets get some cool photos in the competition :)
(12:00:53 PM) jono: thanks everyone!! have a great week!! :)