[Mageia-dev] proposal regarding (packager) mentoring program coordinator

[andre999]

proposal regarding mentoring program coordinator

In various parts of the proposal I assume that users with a Mageia account can 
receive email redirected to them from pseudo at mageia.org, to the address they 
give on the Mageia account.  (pseudo being their mageia account name.)
(Stormi : it should work for all packagers, but not for new users I think)
(Which explains why it doesn't work for my account, as I'm not yet officially a 
packager.) (but it would be good to activate that for everyone.)

That way, just knowing their pseudo will be enough to know a contact email 
address.  This also means one less field to enter in the various tables used for 
packagers and others on Mageia.

1) Reorganize the packages_mentoring wiki page as the central point for coordination
1a) regroup 1st 3 sections into intro
     elaborate current content somewhat (max 1-2 paragraphes)

1b) add section 2 : "so you want to be a Mageia packager"
     brief intro, with examples of useful experiences
     importance of Mageia account, mailing list subscriptions, forums
     documentation to read (packaging, etc)
     how to contact a potential mentor
     (asking on irc, leaving name below, asking on mailing list)
     table of those wanting a mentor (with lines)
     - includes fields for pseudo/name, time zone, interests/skills/comments
         (including language(s) if not English)
     - date of registration (to see how long waiting)
     - could add mentor assigned, date training started (Ubuntu has this)

1c) elaborate "mentoring team" section (which becomes 3rd section)
     starts with "registored mentors" subsection
     make into table (with lines)
     currently name (pseudo) ; email ; what can do (how many, focus)

     add fields for :
     -time zone
     -langages spoken (useful for apprentices a little challenged in English)
     -focus/interest (in place of "what can do")
     -can take more apprentices (yes/no/maybe)
     -preferred means of contact with apprentices (initial ; during mentoring)
     (email, IRC, leave name in list, via coordinator ; email, IRC)
     (could be included with focus/interest = focus/interests/comments)

     if pseudo at mageia.org is automatically redirected, could drop email field

1d) mentoring team / mentoring in progress subsection
     make into table (with lines)
     keep current organisation :
         - subsection by mentor id
           - one line per apprentice = pseudo + free-form comments.

1e) The mentoring coordinator team is responsible for maintaining all sections 
of this page.
If they wish :
- Would-be apprentices can add their own name to apprentice table
- mentors can continue to update their mentor tables.

In maintaining the page, the team should have regular contact with mentors on 
availability to take new apprentices and the status of current apprentices.

2) Mentoring coordinating team
An informal group which works with the coordinator, to accomplish required tasks.
For the moment we have myself (andre999), Daniel Kreuter and magnus.


3) The mentoring coordinator team will monitoring IRC, mailing lists and forums, 
for those interested in becoming a packager.
Those considering becoming packagers will often be hesitant, and we need to 
encourage them.  So let's try to maintain contact with those who show an interest.
(It looks like we are already off to a good start.)

We would like to have an email address for the team, which would direct messages 
to all team members.
It could be mentoring at mageia.org or similar (suggested by Daniel).
Maybe a restricted mailing list ?
That way anyone with an interest, so finding someone with an interest, will have 
a way of letting everyone in the team know at once.

When the wiki mentoring page is updated, we can direct them there.  (It will 
have links to all the documentation.)
If they already have a Mageia account (which is their pseudo), we could also 
inscribe them in the (yet to be created) table for potential packagers on the 
mentoring page.

The mentoring team will monitor IRC.  Others noting interest could refer them to 
the packages_mentoring page or to the mentoring team.  If not interested in 
mentoring them, that is.

The team will also monitor the mailing lists and forums, for anyone showing an 
interest in contributing.
Includes those in other languages.
I intend to monitor MLO (in French), for example.
It is useful look at external forums that talk about Mageia.  (We frequently 
find references in the lists.)  Our positive responses can draw new users and 
contributors.  Some of which will eventually become packagers.
We have already been doing some of that.

Note that if someone shows an interest in getting involved with Mageia, we don't 
have to focus only on packaging.  We need all sorts of contributions, and it 
would be useful to packagers to have other experiences, such as bug triaging and 
QA.  So far, it seems everyone it the team is taking such an approach.

4) Miscelaneous suggestions
- Currently apprentices are promoted to full packagers by their mentor, once the 
mentor is satisfied with the competence of the apprentice.
It has been suggested that apprentices become full packagers by vote.
Since this is a skill position, this would be presumably be a vote by mentors or 
packagers.  Something to consider.

- standard email with important info and links to send to potential apprentices. 
  (This info is to be put in the potential packager section of the wiki page, so 
maybe we just send a link to that page.)

- Make list of new package requests, which are simple enough for apprentices to 
train with.

- Gather feedback on mentoring process, from mentors and apprentices

- Encourage new full packagers to in turn become mentors, using their experience 
in the mentoring process.


Note that many of these ideas come from Daniel, magnus, Stormi and many others. 
  Any suggestions are welcome.
----

We will start implementing the wiki page changes right away, but any input is 
still very welcome.

-- 
André