Log for US Teams Meeting on January 13th 2010

22:00 < pleia2> ok folks, hello!
22:00 < pleia2> who all is here for the US Teams meeting? :)
22:01 < pleia2> we've got an agenda up here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/USTeams/Meetings
22:02 < pleia2> dantalizing, johnc4510, pak33m - you guys about?
22:02 < pleia2> welcome cprofitt
22:03 < cprofitt> I found you guys...
22:03 < pleia2> just getting started :)
22:03 < cprofitt> sorry I am a bit late
22:04 < pleia2> so it looks like our current mentors couldn't make it out
22:04 < pleia2> paultag: you still interested in being a team mentor?
22:04 < paultag> pleia2, yes ma'am
22:04 < cprofitt> I am interested in doing that as well pleia2
22:04 < pleia2> ok great, I'll follow up in email after the meeting with both of you
22:05 < cprofitt> as you guys advised I waited until my team was approved
22:05 < paultag> pleia2, awesome, thanks :)
22:05 < pleia2> I'd love to see you both as mentors, but our process requires dantalizing or johnc4510 to +1 it too :)
22:05 < paultag> pleia2, it's no problem. I'm going nowhere
22:06 < pleia2> so, lets look at the agenda
22:06 < pleia2> 1. swap some mentoring tips (and struggles)
22:06 < dantalizing> sorry i'm late
22:06 < pleia2> well, I'm the only one who is here, but I'm sure other people have helped out other teams
22:06 < pleia2> I'm thinking of putting a sub-page to https://wiki.ubuntu.com/USTeams/Mentors with some tips
22:06 < paultag> s pimp
22:06 < paultag> Whups! Sorry ya'll
22:06 < paultag> Pidgin closed :)
22:07 < pleia2> some of the things I have learned in this past year of mentoring (some of which I learned the hard way, oops):
22:08 < pleia2>  - make sure you frame your involvement as a "helper" there at the request of the team, not there to impose anything
22:08 < akgraner> sorry I am late
22:08 < pleia2> welcome akgraner
22:08 < dantalizing> copy cat akgraner
22:08 < pleia2>  - ...along the same lines, don't push too hard for approval goals, some teams don't care about CDs and approval
22:09 < pleia2> it's cool to tell them of the benefits, but forcing it is no good
22:09 < pleia2>  - find some way to associate with the team so you don't seem like a total outsider, maybe you've traveled in the state, or met some of the members in real life, or grew up there, or have family there...
22:09 < pleia2> my most successful mentorships have had *something* for which I could relate to
22:10 < pleia2> meeting the texas folks at UDS was awesome, heading up to NY for their release party was a blast :)
22:11 < pleia2> dantalizing: any tips you can offer up?
22:11 < dantalizing> i think the biggest thing is what yo said earlier ... local teams are ultimately only going to do as much as they want .. you cant push .. just be available and encouraging
22:12 < cprofitt> 0/
22:12 < pleia2> cprofitt: feel free to jump in
22:12 < cprofitt> I agree that they will only do what they 'want' or more accurately 'feel' that they can do...
22:12 < cprofitt> so I would love to see them 'inspired' that they can do things
22:13 < cprofitt> I know we have a blueprint for LoCo stories
22:13 < cprofitt> I hope that provides a positive 'you can do it' message
22:13 < pleia2> good point, a lot of the time when I start working with a team they feel like they are building from the ground up trying to think of "things to do"
22:14 < Zelut> sorry I'm late.
22:14 < pleia2> evening Zelut
22:14 < cprofitt> the other thing is that the 'people who want to do it' have to understand that all it takes is one motivated person to get the ball rolling'
22:15 < paultag> By the same token, you can't have a one person LoCo
22:15 < paultag> Build community first :)
22:15 < pleia2> yeah, it's a balance that can be hard to strike when you get started
22:15 < pleia2> welcome andrew
22:16 < MutantTurkey> evening andrew
22:16 < andrew> Hi ubuntu-us-pa peeps who greeted me
22:16 < pleia2> excellent start, I'll toss together a page with these tips :) thanks everyone
22:17 < MutantTurkey> I know I'm just a noob :) but how many Loco teams are there in the us?
22:17 < pleia2> MutantTurkey: 47ish
22:17 < pleia2> there are only a few states without teams
22:17 < pleia2> not all of those are active though
22:17 < paultag> pleia2, does that count more then one loco in a state?
22:17 < MutantTurkey> north dakota? alaska? hawaii?
22:17 < paultag> pleia2, al-la texas?
22:18 < pleia2> paultag: not really, we lump them all together now
22:18 < paultag> pleia2, cool
22:18 < pleia2> nixternal: is -chicago it's own loco still?
22:18 < dantalizing> nixternal is his own loco
22:18 < MutantTurkey> but isn't pa kind of two grouped? philly and pittsburg, meetings wise?
22:18 < pleia2> lol
22:18 < pleia2> MutantTurkey: yeah, most states have different regions
22:19 < Zelut> I agree nixternal is his own kind of LoCo ;)
22:19 < MutantTurkey> not delaware. :)
22:19 < pleia2> delaware doesn't have a loco :(
22:19 < pleia2> they DE people come in the PA channel to hang out
22:19 < pleia2> (because we are That Cool)
22:19 < pleia2> hey rww
22:19 < pleia2> aaanyway, agenda items
22:19 < rww> o/
22:19 < pleia2> I will mix this up a bit
22:20 < pleia2> 3. determine whether there are still teams out there looking for mentoring
22:20 < pleia2> (will come back to 2 and do it with #4)
22:20  * akgraner wants to hang out with the PA team (just cause you all are cool like that :-P )
22:20 < pleia2> is there anyone here looking for a mentor? Or know of a team who has expressed interest?
22:21 < pleia2> akgraner: haha
22:21 < pleia2> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/USTeams/Mentors shows our semi-current assignments for each mentor
22:21 < Zelut> I haven't heard of any, but then again I've been out of the game for a year+
22:21 < paultag> pleia2, MTeck-engaged -- North Dakota, did you want a Mentor ?
22:21 < paultag> Erm, South Dakota *
22:21 < MTeck-engaged> hm?
22:22 < dantalizing> same place
22:22 < pleia2> haha
22:22 < pleia2> thems fighting words
22:22 < dantalizing> :)
22:22  * MTeck-engaged just saw hilight and was on his way out
22:22 < pleia2> MTeck-engaged: are you looking for a mentor for your work in SD?
22:23 < MTeck-engaged> I don't know what kind of time I have available, senior in college now - but I would like one when I push on things again in a month or two
22:23 < pleia2> MTeck-engaged: ok, noted :)
22:24 < pleia2> alright, well we are able to mentor more teams at the moment so if you do find a team who needs it, you know where to find us ;)
22:24 < pleia2> next agenda item...
22:24 < pleia2> 2. check in with everyone to see how they're doing
22:24 < pleia2> so I'm mentoring texas and tennessee, things are chugging along ok, after my move (to invade Flannel's loco!) I'll probably have time for another too
22:25 < pleia2> dantalizing: how are things looking with you?
22:25 < Zelut> my team is pretty stagnant, but I'm hoping to pick things back up.
22:25 < Flannel> pleia2: We're hoping we have all the big earthquakes before you get here, so you'll be able to live in the second island state.
22:25 < dantalizing> my right index finger hurts, but otherwise i'm good
22:25 < pleia2> Flannel: haha
22:26 < cprofitt> Wow...
22:26 < cprofitt> bad time to mention Earth Quakes
22:26 < pleia2> alright, things seem like they're going well then
22:26 < dantalizing> -id and -ne need inspiration
22:27 < cprofitt> http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/01/13/haiti.earthquake/index.html
22:27 < pleia2> cprofitt: haiti aside, SF has had a couple in the past week
22:27 < dantalizing> -nc has many inspiring people
22:27 < cprofitt> id = idaho?
22:27 < dantalizing> -sc is working at it
22:27 < dantalizing> cprofitt: yes
22:27 < cprofitt> k
22:27 < akgraner> dantalizing, it's b/c we have an awesome mentor
22:27 < pleia2> mostly it's because they have akgraner
22:28 < paultag> ahhh, thats right I knew akgraner is NC :)
22:28 < akgraner> :-P
22:28  * dantalizing sprinkles a little akgraner in -id and -ne
22:28 < pleia2> hehe
22:28 < akgraner> it's all dantalizing fault
22:28 < dantalizing> ok we've made everyone vomit now
22:28 < pleia2> actually we've got _marx_ working on UserDays too
22:29 < pleia2> so yeah, NC has some great contributors
22:29 < pleia2> alright, well, dantalizing is here so we can do some mentor approvals
22:30 < pleia2> paultag is from approved ohio, signed the CoC (is an ubuntu member)
22:30 < pleia2> +1 from me
22:30 < paultag> o/
22:31 < paultag> Let the interrogation begin >:)
22:31 < pleia2> I never know if BT people are waving or raising their hands
22:31 < paultag> pleia2, hehe, that was me waving :)
22:31 < pleia2> hehe
22:31 < dantalizing> hmm
22:31 < paultag> dantalizing, I've got a second -- fire questions away :)
22:32 < dantalizing> +1 from me on paultag
22:32 < paultag> Well shucks :)
22:33 < paultag> thanks :)
22:33 < pleia2> :)
22:33 < pleia2> ok, now cprofitt - same story, NY is approved and he's an ubuntu member who I had the pleasure of meeting a few months back
22:33 < dantalizing> yeah i know he's the difficult one
22:33 < pleia2> lol
22:34 < pleia2> +1 from me!
22:34 < cprofitt> I prefer recalcitrant dantalizing
22:34 < cprofitt> :-)
22:34 < dantalizing> +1 from me as well
22:34 < pleia2> welcome cprofitt!
22:34  * pleia2 updates the Mentors page
22:34  * cprofitt smiles - thanks guys
22:34 < dantalizing> I'm glad to see more people helping to inspire the US teams
22:34 < pleia2> so, our last agenda item: do any mentors need teams to mentor? :)
22:35 < cprofitt> Yes, I would be in need of a team.
22:35 < paultag> o/ ( that is a raised hand )
22:36 < pleia2> dantalizing: is your mentor team workload ok? or are you interested in transferring one?
22:36 < dantalizing> -id?
22:37 < cprofitt> We need to get Idaho a sub-forum
22:38 < dantalizing> we need someone to moderate it
22:38 < cprofitt> I can not fly there.... but would be willing take on helping them
22:38 < pleia2> that's easy enough, a loco contact just needs to ask joe454
22:38 < cprofitt> let me moderate it until we find another
22:38  * pleia2 grabs the link for the process
22:38 < pleia2> we just got texas' set up a couple months back
22:39 < pleia2> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=290685
22:40 < pleia2> there we go
22:41 < paultag> pleia2, I gave joe a ping, he is AFK. He'll poke cprofitt back about it :)
22:41 < dantalizing> so cprofitt takes -id and paultag takes -ne?
22:41 < pleia2> so I've also approached locos cold
22:41 < paultag> dantalizing, I'll take NE
22:41 < pleia2> Maine was one of those, I grew up there so I tried to help them
22:41 < pleia2> didn't quite work out because it turned out there just wasn't enough activity, but it's worth a shot if you have a particular interest in some state
22:42 < pleia2> "hey I noticed you had a loco but things are kinda quiet, I'm from the us mentoring team - can I offer some help?"
22:42 < dantalizing> i'm gonna try florida
22:42 < paultag> I noticed NH went out, the lead moved out of the state
22:42 < paultag> IIRC
22:42 < paultag> I was trying to find locos around me :)
22:42 < pleia2> dantalizing: yeah, florida needs all the help they can get!
22:42 < dantalizing> cool
22:42 < pleia2> paultag: yeah, all the core people moved away, to approved states!
22:43 < pleia2> 2 to NY, another to DC
22:43 < paultag> Ah
22:43 < paultag> cjohnston, is FL IIRC
22:43 < paultag> cjohnston, ya' there mate?
22:43 < dantalizing> yes he is
22:44 < cjohnston> yo
22:44 < dantalizing> he's a constant thorn in our side ..
22:44 < dantalizing> always doing stuff
22:44 < dantalizing> we hate it
22:44 < cjohnston> ouch
22:44 < cjohnston> note to self.. dont send announcement in 5 minutes to dantalizing
22:44  * dantalizing is being sarcastic tonight
22:45 < pleia2> :)
22:45 < cjohnston> what are we pinging cjohnston for?
22:45 < pleia2> alright, I think we're about ready to wrap up the meeting, I just updated USTeams/Mentors with our new mentors and assignments
22:46 < dantalizing> we're just agreening that you're in -fl cjohnston
22:46 < pleia2> well, as soon as the save finishes in 20 minutes
22:46  * pleia2 bonks the wiki
22:46 < cjohnston> why did i even come up?
22:46 < dantalizing> cjohnston: i was mkaing a joke about mentoring the -fl team
22:46 < dantalizing> because we're so inactive
22:46 < cjohnston> theres no mentoring me
22:46 < cjohnston> we are
22:46 < cjohnston> horribly
22:46 < cjohnston> expecially me
22:47 < dantalizing> +1
22:47 < pleia2> :P
22:47 < cjohnston> pleia2: gets annoyed by me cause i dont bug her enough
22:47 < paultag> dantalizing, do you mind sending an email to the NE lead and CC me about the change? I don't want him / her to feel ditched :)
22:47 < pleia2> ok paultag and cprofitt - if you guys have any questions about getting things started, or need some help or inspiration, you know where to find us :)
22:47 < pleia2> mentoring can be terribly discouraging sometimes
22:47 < paultag> pleia2, you got it, thanks :)
22:47 < dantalizing> paultag: i will ... and for -id too cprofitt
22:47 < cprofitt> yes, thanks
22:48 < paultag> pleia2, I know ;)
22:48 < paultag> dantalizing, thanks :)
22:48 < pleia2> and finding the point between "mentoring" and "doing everything for some states that are lazy" is frustrating too
22:48 < dantalizing> thank you both!
22:48 < pleia2> (especially for me, I just want to fix everything)
22:48 < paultag> dantalizing, sure thing
22:48 < pleia2> yes, thanks for helping out the team!
22:48 < pleia2> unless anyone has anything else, I think we can wrap up this meeting
22:48 < akgraner> oh pleia2 got any ideas for articles?
22:48 < akgraner> for the website
22:49 < cprofitt> are we all set pleia2 -- for the meeting?
22:49 < pleia2> akgraner: oh, good one!
22:49 < pleia2> we have a website, with articles: http://ubuntu-us.org/
22:49 < pleia2> last one was published last month, any ideas for the next one?
22:50 < pleia2> remember: they can either be full articles like ones there now, or just "hey, check out this awesome LoCo wiki page everyone forgets about, this is why it's awesome" posts
22:50 < akgraner> wanna showcase the approved teams
22:50 < akgraner> one a month or something
22:50 < pleia2> akgraner: that's a good idea :)
22:50 < akgraner> we can do a few interviews and stuff
22:50 < pleia2> cool
22:51 < akgraner> sorta like the UW FCM stuff but for loco teams
22:51 < paultag> akgraner, I love it
22:51  * pleia2 nods
22:51 < paultag> akgraner, I'd love to help you if we decide to go down that route
22:51 < cprofitt> will that match up with the current plan to do LoCo event stories?
22:51 < akgraner> oh sorry UW FCM =Ubuntu Women Full Circle Magaizine
22:52 < akgraner> well it will be a little different
22:52 < pleia2> oh and our site is in drupal, so if you want a login to be one of our article writers (rather than me posting them for you) just let you know and I'll get you an account and give you a tour of the workflow
22:52 < akgraner> this will focus on the team and the process they went through there challenges etc (well that is what I was thinking)
22:52 < pleia2> (gee, I almost sounded like I knew what I was doing with drupal there!)
22:53 < paultag> pleia2, I have a login as ohio.ubuntu-us, will that carry out?
22:53 < dantalizing> lol
22:53 < akgraner> lol
22:53 < cprofitt> akgraner: sounds good... that sounds like the suggestion I had for them... to provide a 'blue print'
22:53 < pleia2> paultag: nope
22:53 < paultag> pleia2, OK
22:53 < pleia2> ubuntu-us.org used to be canonical hosted but that... meh
22:53 < pleia2> so it's on the pennsylvania box for now
22:55 < pleia2> akgraner: can you drop a note to the ubuntu-us list with this team spotlight idea so we can continue discussing there?
22:55 < akgraner> yeppers
22:55 < pleia2> thanks :)
22:57 < pleia2> ok, we can wrap this meeting up now
22:57 < pleia2> thanks for coming everyone :)
22:57 < MutantTurkey> it was fun listening! :D
22:57 < cprofitt> thanks everyone...
22:57 < cprofitt> night
22:57 < akgraner> thanks! pleia2
22:57 < dantalizing> gn all
22:57 < paultag> night
22:57 < akgraner> night