Re: [gentoo-dev] Re: Training points for users interested in helping out with ebuild development

[Richard Freeman]

Thomas Anderson wrote:
> It seems to me you're on a irc-hate rampage. There are many devs who
> rarely, if ever, go on irc. The _only_ requirement is that  you conduct
> a real-time interview with a recruiter.

I have to agree with this sentiment - I have nothing against IRC but it 
is a bit too realtime for me to be on it routinely.  However, I didn't 
have any trouble spending time with my mentor on IRC as it is a much 
more productive way to learn the ropes.  Sure, lots of time was spent 
reading docs/etc, and doing ebuild exercises/etc.  However, the direct 
conversations were also an invaluable part of the process (even if it is 
hard to schedule an hour just sitting at the keyboard with family/etc).

Plus, it is essential that there be some kind of interviewing process to 
become a dev.  A gentoo dev potentially has the power to hose the 
systems of everybody running gentoo - so we owe it to ourselves and our 
user communities to vet any candidate for this position.  Sure, we want 
to know that they know how to write ebuilds, but we also want to know 
that they have a good attitude and some common sense as well.  We count 
on devs to understand their own limitations and to not try to 
singlehandedly revamp baselayout/etc without careful coordination with 
the rest of the community.

I also echo what has been said about projects like Sunrise and overlays 
as being good gateways into gentoo.

Oh, I'm not sure I agree that new devs should be grilled to the n'th 
degree on obscure ebuild knowledge.  It is more important that they know 
where to go and have demonstrated the ability to use this knowledge than 
it is for them to have this memorized.  If it takes a dev 28 hours of 
tinkering to get an ebuild right I could care less as long as it is 
right on the first actual commit.  When it comes to package management 
being careful is generally more important than being quick.  It is also 
critical that devs be able to interact in a professional manner and 
relate well to our user community as well.