I, Rik Mills, apply for MOTU upload rights.

Who I am

I am a long time Kubuntu (and other flavour) user who decided several years ago to step up to help the distribution/flavour that has been of such benefit to me over the years.

• Kubuntu Membership Application

• Kubuntu Developer Application

Why am I applying?

I am applying because:

The template suggested reasons do of course apply in my case, as in:

• I'd like to eliminate delays in getting my work sponsored.
• I'd like to reduce the burden on my sponsors.

However additional factors and nuances are:

• Being able to upload new source packages to NEW queue in development releases. KDE development is fast moving and relentless, and does not wait for Debian. This applies both to KDE components and any new dependencies they may require. These would of course be subject to review, and would be taken with careful consideration and consultation, as has been the case in previous sponsored cases.
• Helping with transitions. KDE packages have large range of dependencies across the archive, and as such often get entangled more than most packagesets in ongoing transitions. As such, and in a spirit of helping generally, it would be highly beneficial if I could myself do no-change rebuilds, clear fixes, retries of autopkgtests where appropriate, across the breadth of Universe and Multiverse. I already do as much as I practically can in this regard (Qt/poppler transitions etc), but am at times hampered.
• In general be able to give back a bit more in terms of general work on Ubuntu and flavours. I (and Kubuntu) already receive a lot of generous help from Core Developers, existing MOTU, and other flavours. MOTU would enable me to give more back in return.

My K/Ubuntu story

• January 2016 - Starting helping the Kubuntu team with QA/testing etc via IRC, moving on to helping with packaging fixes.
• July 2017 - Became a member of Kubuntu Ninjas team. Git access to packaging branches and team PPAs.
• October 2017 - Became a Kubuntu Member.
• February 2017 - Became a Kubuntu Developer.
• September 2017 - Elected to Kubuntu Council.

My involvement

Examples of my work / Things I'm proud of

• My uploaded packages can be found HERE.

• A list of my sponsored packages can be found HERE

Areas of work

Non exhaustively:

Packaging

• New releases of KDE Applications, Frameworks, Plasma and misc other packages. Uploading myself, or reviewing/sponsoring for other team members.
• Debian merges for Kubuntu packages.
• Passing/taking fixes and collaborating with other projects/teams. e.g. debian Qt-KDE team and KDE Neon project with whom we also share a common packaging base.
• Preparing and uploading SRUs against stable releases, and helping prepare some security updates.
• Backporting Kubuntu packages to our PPAs to enable our users, where practical, to benefit via opt in from new upstream releases.
• Administering Kubuntu CI, and doing resultant packaging fixes in our stable/unstable git branches.
• Assisting with transitions and proposed migration where permissions permit. For example new Qt versions,

Testing & bug reports

• Running the development version of Kubuntu in order to test and understand the evolution of the user experience, and investigate issues.
• Reporting, confirming and testing for bug reports; both in Kubuntu and upstream to KDE.

• Testing on PC, laptop and various virtual machines newly staged versions of Frameworks, Plasma & Applications, and then continuing to test and report issues once these reach the landing ppas.

• Testing of daily ISOs for function and install.
• Testing of candidate ISOs for milestone releases and final releases.

Things I could do better

• My base coding skills could be polished. C++/Python namely
• Try to work better with, and contribute more to, other projects. For example KDE (including Neon), and Debian.

Plans for the future

General

• Continue with K/Ubuntu development, and improve the skills and resources I have to assist this.

Comments

If you'd like to comment, but are not the applicant or a sponsor, do it here. Don't forget to sign with @SIG@.

So happy to see Rik stepping up to MOTU. Since he first started helping out, he's become an increasingly important part of the team. At this point, he's the lead in the project, because he works so well and is so effective in his work. Attaining MOTU will mean increasing his output which will help all of Ubuntu. -- valorie-zimmerman 2019-03-20 21:21:34

As a relative newcomer to the Ubuntu community, I was actually surprised to see that Rik wasn't already a MOTU. His knowledge and involvement is becoming of the veteran that he is. I believe he would benefit the entire Ubuntu community as a MOTU, and especially the Kubuntu team. I have seen countless packages with his name in the changelog or as uploader, so there's no doubt in my mind that he knows his stuff. -- eeickmeyer 2019-03-20 21:21:34

Endorsements

As a sponsor, just copy the template below, fill it out and add it to this section.

Gianfranco Costamagna <locutusofborg>

General feedback

I sponsored only 4 packages for Rik, but I remember I looked at a lot of other stuff he gave me, but unfortunately the stuff was already sponsored due to my slow reactivity. I mostly never had to even nitpick on his work, I find it of an high quality, and I really like his contributions. He should really upload alone his work, as he already do for Kubuntu packages! thanks for your great work!

costamagnagianfranco

RICK TIMMIS

General feedback

I have worked closely with Rik Mills in the Kubuntu community for the last 2 to 3 years, and he has been consistent and accessible throughout. Rik is a fundamental pillar of our community, and the project would be significantly degraded without his valuable and continuous contributions

Specific Experiences of working together

Rik and I have worked together on the Kubuntu Council, and also with initiatives such as the Kubuntu Podcast, Kafe, and Ninja Dojo.

Areas of Improvement

Rik is very humble, and often under represents himself and his capabilities. This humility is welcome, but often Riks position in our community is more understated than it should be. Rik should consider himself a senior member of the team, and a leader in Kubuntu development.

A MOTU endorsement would lift his sense of capability, and enable him to drive Kubuntu more actively

rick-timmis

Dmitry Shachnev

General feedback

I know Rik Mills for several years and I fully support his MOTU application. He already contributes a lot to packages in universe, but with MOTU rights he will be able to do even more uploads.

In particular, he has been helping with the Qt transitions, but the help was limited (to Git commits and advices on IRC) because he did not have upload rights for Qt packages.

Specific Experiences of working together

• https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/qtwebview-opensource-src/+bug/1721191

• https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/drkonqi/5.12.0-0ubuntu1

• https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/plasma-vault/5.12.0-0ubuntu1

• https://salsa.debian.org/qt-kde-team/qt/qtbase/merge_requests/3

mitya57

Simon Quigley

General Feedback

I have known Rik ever since my introduction into the Ubuntu Development community. He had arrived a month or so before I did in the Kubuntu community, and alongside Clive (who has since departed the project), we were a great team.

Since then, Rik has taken on the role of doing most of the packaging work within Kubuntu. His great attention to detail and overall technical excellence has made him a role model within the Ubuntu Development community.

Examples of Working Together

Finding specific examples of working with Rik is difficult, not because they are a rarity, but because finding the best examples of work I have done with him is a difficult task. Rik improves all the time, seeking regular feedback from myself and other Ubuntu Developers, and knows to ask for help when he is unsure. To name some specific examples of times where I have worked with him:

• Transitions in the archive, either Kubuntu-specific or at an archive-wide scale.
• Packaging Qt and ensuring the highest quality Qt stack.
• Solving miscellaneous build failures within the Ubuntu archive.

Most of the work I do with Rik is iterating on a package via IRC or Telegram, where my role in producing the result is not always public.

Areas of Improvement

Sometimes Rik can be too conservative in his technical decisions, and while caution when he is unsure is absolutely welcome as well as a deep sense of humility, Rik should aim to be more confident in his abilities.

Thanks for your work, Rik! -- tsimonq2 2019-03-22 03:52:15

TEMPLATE

== <SPONSORS NAME> ==
=== General feedback ===
## Please fill us in on your shared experience. (How many packages did you sponsor? How would you judge the quality? How would you describe the improvements? Do you trust the applicant?)

=== Specific Experiences of working together ===
''Please add good examples of your work together, but also cases that could have handled better.''
## Full list of sponsored packages can be generated here:
##  https://udd.debian.org/cgi-bin/ubuntu-sponsorships.cgi
=== Areas of Improvement ===