[Debbits-commit] [debbits] 01/01: add drafts of DPL interviews

Sat Mar 14 19:29:09 UTC 2015

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commit f1a4737fd518b511d3c4a26c3c1519d93e5eef24
Author: Ana Guerrero López <ana at ekaia.org>
Date:   Sat Mar 14 20:27:59 2015 +0100

    add drafts of DPL interviews
---
 content/2015/dpl-interview-algernon.md |  87 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 content/2015/dpl-interview-mehdi.md    | 104 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 content/2015/dpl-interview-neilm.md    |  69 ++++++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 260 insertions(+)

diff --git a/content/2015/dpl-interview-algernon.md b/content/2015/dpl-interview-algernon.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..944af98
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/2015/dpl-interview-algernon.md
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+Title: apt install dpl-candidate: Gergely Nagy
+Slug: dpl-interview-algernon
+Date: 2015-03-14 21:00
+Author: Zlatan Todorić
+Tags: interview, dpl, vote
+Status: draft
+
+**0. Who are you and what's your history with Debian Project?**
+
+I'm a little mouse behind a keyboard, going by the nickname
+"algernon". I used to be a lot of things: a [flaming youth][mbk:youth],
+an [application manager][mbk:am], [package maintainer][mbk:maint],
+upstream, [ftp-assistant][mbk:ftpassist], a student, a
+[mentor][mbk:gsoc], a hacker. In the end, however, I am but a simple,
+albeit [sometimes crazy][mbk:crazy] person.
+
+[mbk:youth]: https://lists.debian.org/debian-newmaint/2001/10/msg00021.html
+[mbk:am]: https://nm.debian.org/public/person/algernon
+[mbk:maint]: https://qa.debian.org/developer.php?login=algernon@madhouse-project.org
+[mbk:ftpassist]: https://ftp-master.debian.org/#ftpteam
+[mbk:gsoc]: https://www.google-melange.com/gsoc/project/details/google/gsoc2013/tichy/5818821692620800
+[mbk:crazy]: https://github.com/algernon/HumpY
+
+I did a number of things within Debian - mostly small and marginal
+things, mind you. With a little break, I've been here for over a decade,
+and am planning to stay for at least another.
+
+**1. What's your most proud moment as Debian Developer?**
+
+At last year's LinuxTag, I was wandering around a stand where they sold
+Raspberry Pis (with cases and other accessories). I had a nice chat with
+one of the staffers there, inquired about the price (including the case,
+of course), and a few other things. He asked a few things back: what
+I'll be using it for, and so on. After it turned out that I'm a Debian
+Developer, and syslog-ng hacker, he went to the back, and emerged a few
+minutes later with a boxed up Pi, and gave it to me as a gift, for
+working on Debian.
+
+This was an incredibly touching moment, in many, many ways.
+
+**2. In your opinion what is the strongest part of Debian Project?**
+
+That's hard to say, to be honest. There are a good number of things
+Debian is incredibly strong at, and it would be hard to arbitrarily pick
+one. Quality, responsibility, safety, predictability are all areas we
+are very good at. But those are the qualities of the OS. As a project,
+we are remarkably well organised, given the volunteer & distributed
+nature of the project.
+
+**3. And what is the weakest part of Debian Project?**
+
+While we can resolve and work with technical issues in a reasonable
+manner, the project as a whole is rather lacking in all other areas. To
+grow beyond being the creators of the Universal OS, we, as a project,
+need to pursue goals beyond the OS.
+
+Being part of GSoC and Outreachy are great steps forward. But we still
+have a lot of internal issues that need to be resolved. Areas such as
+innovation, team work, where we're in dire need of improvement.
+
+**4. How do you intend to resolve the weakest part?**
+
+As explained in my platform, my primary goal is to remove
+roadblocks. The DPL can do very little alone, his time and powers are
+better spent on enabling those who have the required skills and desires,
+to pursue those.
+
+**5. DPL term lasts for one year - what would you challenge during that
+term and what have you learned from previous DPL's?**
+
+The most valuable thing I learned from past DPLs is that the
+expectations are sky-high, yet, a significant portion of what the DPL
+does is very different than what I imagined in past years.
+
+I'd like to challenge the status quo of the DPL being a nearly full-time
+job.
+
+**6. What motivates you to  work in Debian and run for DPL?**
+
+I'm in it for the fame and glory, of course! And because my Tamagotchi
+told me to.
+
+But on a more serious tone, my main motivation to work on Debian is
+because contributing makes me happy. It satisfies my hunger for doing
+useful work. Debian is - in my opinion - the perfect platform to give
+back to the wider Free Software community. Similarly, my motivation to
+run for DPL is to allow Debian to be a stronger member of that greater
diff --git a/content/2015/dpl-interview-mehdi.md b/content/2015/dpl-interview-mehdi.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c1288ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/2015/dpl-interview-mehdi.md
@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+Title: apt install dpl-candidate: Mehdi Dogguy
+Slug: dpl-interview-mehdi
+Date: 2015-03-14 21:00
+Author: Zlatan Todorić
+Tags: interview, dpl, vote
+Status: draft
+
+**0. Who are you and what is your history with Debian Project?**
+
+I guess this part is well covered in my [platform].
+
+[platform]: https://www.debian.org/vote/2015/platforms/mehdi
+
+**1. What is your most proud moment as Debian Developer?**
+
+I am pretty proud of having been part of the few who implemented
+the first automatic dependency resolver for OCaml programs and
+libraries in Debian packages. It was really the first one in the
+OCaml community and we were quite proud of it. But that was done
+_before_ I become a Debian Developer.
+
+As a DD, I have to admit I am quite proud to be part of the Release
+Team. It is a fantastic team where there is so much to do. Helping
+the team means something to me, and I invested a considerable amount
+of time (a few months) working on reviewing patches for Squeeze and
+helping to get it ready by our standards. My best moment was Squeeze's
+release, my first Debian release as Release Team member.
+
+**2. In your opinion what is the strongest part of Debian Project?**
+
+I am not sure we can identify one single strength of the Debian project.
+But, when I think about your question, I remember something I've heard
+many times: “Debian is about people”. I have to admit that I didn't
+realize it myself until I heard it for the first time and I completely
+share the idea! For me, all the technical side of the project comes
+after the community. With time, I think we managed to build a strong
+community. Many contributors became friends with time. We are seeing
+many Developers having babies and bringing them to Debian events. I find
+that really amazing.
+
+**3. And what is the weakest part of Debian Project?**
+
+Our strength is somehow also our weakness. We are humans and make
+mistakes. We have feelings and some discussions get heated sometimes.
+It is not easy to keep everyone calm and focused. We have seen the
+damage that was caused to our core community last year with all the
+flamewars. Many people lost their motivation and we have seen some of
+them stepping down. We are also having troubles on-boarding new
+contributors, which is a problem today because some teams are
+under-staffed and could become an even bigger issue on the longer term.
+
+**4. How do you intend to resolve the weakest part?**
+
+An effort has already been made on this front. We can mention the
+introduction of the Code of Conduct and the diversity statement, for
+example. Both are important and make us a more welcoming and caring
+community.
+
+In my platform, I mentioned some ideas about recruitment and change
+management. I believe that both sides will help us to get a stronger
+community. Moreover, a DPL should act as a mediator to help some situation
+get through. This is one of the DPL tasks that is not formally identified
+and is usually under-estimated.
+
+**5. DPL term lasts for one year - what would you challenge during
+that term and what have you learned from previous DPL's?**
+
+Personally, the main thing I have learned from past DPLs is that
+communication is very important. A DPL should dedicate time to
+communicate about ongoing actions and achievements. It is also important
+to remind a few things even if it may sound repetitive or trivial:
+
+- Why such action/subject is important.
+- What actions have been tried/done in the past.
+- What progress has been made since last time.
+- What is possibly the next step.
+
+If the communication is only about listing some actions, many people
+will miss its essence and its goals. It is even more important when we
+know that some actions may take years (thus, several DPL terms) to
+complete.
+
+If I am elected as DPL, I'd really like to help the project to publish
+a roadmap. I think it is very important to set goals to the project to
+better explain our philosophy and approach in the Free Software world.
+This may also help to attract new contributors which may be interested
+by one or some items. Of course, I will not work on that subject only.
+I invite you to read the rest of my platform to see the other ideas.
+
+**6. What motivates you to work in Debian and run for DPL?**
+
+Many many things. And more importantly, many many people
+
+As many of us, I like programming and socializing. It feels nice to
+be part of such a big project and where you can do many different
+things. I contribute to Debian because I find it fun and let me meet
+people I will not have been able to meet elsewhere.
+
+In my platform, I tried to identify ideas I'd like to see implemented,
+or at least started. Since Debian is a do-ocracy, I thought I could
+try to get them implemented by myself. I think that those ideas are
+important for the Debian community and will help us moving forward.
+Running for DPL is also another way of contributing to Debian and I'd
+feel honored to represent Debian.
diff --git a/content/2015/dpl-interview-neilm.md b/content/2015/dpl-interview-neilm.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..901dfc4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/content/2015/dpl-interview-neilm.md
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+Title: apt install dpl-candidate: Neil McGovern
+Slug: dpl-interview-neilm
+Date: 2015-03-14 21:00
+Author: Zlatan Todorić
+Tags: interview, dpl, vote
+Status: draft
+
+**0. Who are you and what's your history with Debian Project?**
+
+My name's Neil, I've been involved with Debian for over 10 years now.
+I've held a variety of roles, from the SPI board, writing policy and
+secure testing team, to being one of the Release Managers for Squeeze
+and Wheezy.
+
+**1. What's your most proud moment as Debian Developer?**
+
+Probably the release of Squeeze, my first as RM. It was the end of a
+great effort to get the release out. I particularly remember at the end
+of DebConf 10 in New York going to the local Disney store and buying
+every single small squeeze plush toy they had, so I could send a thank
+you gift to the rest of the release team!
+Another perhaps was when I first got my Debian kilt.
+
+**2. In your opinion what is the strongest part of Debian Project?**
+
+I think this is our social contract. It guides us, and is what we all
+agree on. This is our promise to ourselves, to the wider open source
+community and to our users.
+
+**3. And what is the weakest part of Debian Project?**
+
+At a push, I'd say it's the variety of packages we have in the archive.
+I'm not sure it's weakness, but it's certainly a challenge. It becomes
+exponentially harder to ensure that everything integrates well as you
+add more packages. To have made it do so this far is quite impressive.
+
+**4. How do you intend to resolve the weakest part?**
+
+Well, see the section in my platform on PPAs, and modernising our build
+and infrastructure system  Wouldn't it be great if you could stage a
+package against all of stable, testing and unstable, and see what fails
+to build and where, with live build logs on all architectures?
+
+**5. DPL term lasts for one year - what would you challenge during
+that term and what have you learned from previous DPL's?**
+
+I think my primary role as DPL for 2015 would be to get a great start of
+development for Stretch. The start of a new release cycle is the exact
+time to implement wide changes that are potentially disruptive. Every
+couple of years we seem to relax after the release, rather than get
+geared up for the next one, and then time passes, and plans slip, and
+before we know it, the freeze is fast approaching. If we start planning
+/now/, then we can hopefully enter the freeze with fewer RC bugs, which
+should be great news for everyone!
+For the second part, I've talked to a lot of the previous DPLs, and
+worked with them in one role or another. The main thing I was told was
+that I shouldn't try and do everything I planned on. It's hard work, and
+all sorts of things pop up that derail your original plans.
+
+**6. What motivates you to  work in Debian and run for DPL?**
+
+The people involved. I've met and worked with some of my greatest
+friends due to the project. The work, dedication and commitment of those
+over the years is outstanding. Most of these people are still with us,
+and unfortunately, a few are not.
+Whenever I'm feeling disheartened or annoyed, usually due to a giant
+flame-war then I simply remember that what we're doing is truly
+remarkable, and the effort that everyone has put in over the years isn't
+something that should be taken for granted.

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