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On 03/04/2010 14:40, Ben de Groot wrote: |
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> On 3 April 2010 13:33, Richard Freeman<rich0@g.o> wrote: |
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>> I really think that the Gentoo recruitment process needs improvement. Right |
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>> now it seems like a LOT of effort is required both to become a Gentoo dev |
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>> and to help somebody become a Gentoo dev. That means we have great people, |
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>> but not many of them. |
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> |
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> I agree. So what can we do to improve this process? |
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> |
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> I myself am not fond of the quizzes, and from what I've seen most |
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> recruits find them tedious as well. It can be quite demotivating, |
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> maybe because it reminds one too much of highschool or something. |
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> I took a long time myself to finish them, and that wouldn't have |
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> been necessary, as my mentors ensured me I was ready to become a |
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> dev. And I see the same thing happening with some of my own recruits. |
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> They can be ready, but just find the quizzes a chore. |
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> |
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> So I think we need to rethink how to do this. What I have found very |
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> helpful is to have my recruits working on actual ebuilds. The |
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> sunrise project is ideally qualified to mold ebuild editors into |
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> shape. Working on official overlays such as qting-edge and/or doing |
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> proxy maintenance is also very helpful. |
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> |
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> Recruiters (with some additional manpower) could make a list of |
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> technical issues that recruits need to be aware of, and then gather |
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> a number of ebuilds that display these problems and let recruits |
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> correct some of these, under guidance of their mentors. This may |
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> possibly be more fun and closer to the actual work that is required |
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> of developers. |
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> |
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> Of course this doesn't address the organizational side of things, so |
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> we need to come up with something else for that. |
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> |
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> Another problem I see is that our documentation seems to be scattered |
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> all over the place. I propose that we make at least one portal page |
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> for (prospective) developers that will link them to all the resources |
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> they might need. It also means our existing documentation needs to |
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> be brought and kept up to date. |
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> |
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> Are there any other ideas on how to improve our recruitment process? |
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> |
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|
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I suggested a while ago that you should have recruitment drives and |
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recruitment days. Set aside a day where a few devs can answer any |
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questions about what it takes to be a developer - the skills required, |
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the time that needs to be set aside, the behavior expected and goals |
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that developers aspire to. |
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|
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Set up some threads on the forums, a channel on irc, a list like |
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gentoo-recruitment and a FAQ on the front page of the website. |
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|
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Armed with a list of where developers are spread too thinly, a |
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willingness to answer questions (no matter how stupid you believe them |
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to be) and some prior organisation then i see no reason why Gentoo |
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wouldn't get an immediate influx of at least 20 well-qualified |
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developers and more that are willing to give their time and limited |
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knowlege to help out |
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|
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"If you build it, they will come" |
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