ocean

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I'm currently applying for Operator in the #ubuntu channel. Why!? Currently I'm an OP in #ubuntu (officially in the probation period, actually). Below is from when I applied

I'm
applying for Operator in the #ubuntu channel. Why!?

About ocean

Here in the Netherlands (Holland is only part of that, mind you) we stubbornly live well below sealevel without fear of the ocean. Our ancestors spent the the better part of their lives fighting the sea, gaining new land metre by metre (yes, we use the metric system) - so that we simply cannot believe that the ocean will ever try to invade again. Still there is huge respect for oceans and seas with their brute force and an almost imaginable world somewhere below.

However, the reason I chose the nick 'ocean', is just because I liked the cleverness and cunning of Ocean's Eleven crew (and Twelve, Thirteen not so much)

Contact

Likes

Books. I read a wide variety of books; most recent titles (a re-read of) On the Beach and Alas Babylon. Currently reading 'The Slap'. Oh, the books of James Frey make me laugh, unbelievable that there was so much controversy about him making up (large) parts of his 'memoirs'

Music. This I need, sometimes even crave; Be it blues(rock), alternative pop or (prog/hard)rock, as long as there are violently thrashing guitars or gently weeping ones - I'm probably happy. I hardly ever listen to 'mainstream' radio, it makes me feel sad but I like to explore new tunes, so I think it's really sad that certain restrictions (licensing constraints) prevent me from accessing services like Pandora.

Linux

About 12 years ago I started out as a junior Unix system admin in an Oracle environment. As soon as Oracle certified their database on Linux, a colleague and I started our campaign on running Linux-as-a-database-platform for businesscritical processes.

Have had a few jobs since, but never seemed to be able to shake the Linux/Oracle thing. Now, for a large government department I'm a teamlead of Linux sysadmins - thankfully not dba's :p

Ubuntu

I'm not someone that easily switches distro's - yes, every now and then I try to see if the neighbour's grass is any greener, but once I make a choice I like to commit to that. So I started out with SuSE and then tried Fedora before turning to Ubuntu (with Feisty).

To people (including family and friends) that are used to Windows, I find it hard to explain why it would be such a relief to work with a Linux desktop. I'd rather let it speak for itself, so whenever I have the change I like to show them that, yes, there *is* an alternative.

Sometimes I find it hard to believe that it is only two years ago that I registered to Freenode's services. Almost literally a new world opened for me, since I had been on IRC only a few times before. It did not take long to see how valuable the help offered in this way was. That's also when I learned more and more about the community, its merits and values.

I'm still an #ubuntu regular, though I can spend less time there then I wish I could - I try to make up for this somewhat in weekends. Oh, I also like to hang out in #ubuntu-offtopic, there's a nice and friendly atmosphere (well, mostly)

OP in #ubuntu

Currently I'm an OP in #ubuntu (officially in the probation period, actually). Below is from when I applied

I'm applying for Operator in the #ubuntu channel. Why!?

Once I found my way to #ubuntu, I found it almost thrilling to be able to help someone, since I reckoned it was not only the issue at hand I was helping with, but also with a general understanding (and acceptance) of his/her new operating system. The offtopic channel

I'm not much of a multimedia- or hardware type of guy, nor am I ever using latest/bleeding edge version (of anything really). So the areas for which I could offer help were limited. I soon noticed that I could contribute in an other way. Instead of just idling I've tried to be a little bit of (what I think Freenode calls) a catalyst: trying to resolve misunderstandings, pointing out channel's policies or a little nudge to move someone to more appropriate behavior et cetera.

Since I started to understand (and appreciate) the atmosphere in both #ubuntu and #ubuntu-offtopic channels I have looked for ways to become more involved, and the possibility of becoming OP crossed my mind before. Now there is this opportunity for OPs, and after a little nudge from LjL, I would like to step up and take my responsibility a bit further from an innocent bystander to a helpful and just operator.

If you like to express that you think I'm up for this task, feel free to add some comments.

  • He lies, he helps in #ubuntu concretely as well as resolving misunderstandings etc. He's a balanced head, has been from the start when I begun noticing him around in #ubuntu. He might not be the most 24/7 dedicated helper among the ones I've seen (real life must get in the way of those who have one, sometimes!), but what I've seen was quality, and maybe that'll just mean a burn-out will take longer to happen. LjL

ocean (last edited 2012-03-06 19:55:38 by 52482396)