On Monday, December 2, 2024 9:32:27 AM MST Andreas Tille wrote: > Attracting newcomers > -------------------- > > In my own talk[mt3], I regret not leaving enough time for questions--my > apologies for this. However, I want to revisit the sole question raised, > which essentially asked: Is the documentation for newcomers sufficient > to attract new contributors? My immediate response was that this > question is best directed to new contributors themselves, as they are in > the best position to identify gaps and suggest improvements that could > make the documentation more helpful. > > That said, I'm personally convinced that our challenges extend beyond > just documentation. I don't get the impression that newcomers are lining > up to join Debian only to be deterred by inadequate documentation. The > issue might be more about fostering interest and engagement in the first > place.
I think one of the best things we could do to attract new contributors, and to encourage those who are currently Sponsored Maintainers to become Debian Maintainers, and those who are current Debian Maintainers to become Debian Developers would be to create an official DPL Mentors Delegation. This would build on the excellent work Phil Wyett is currently doing as the unofficial Mentors Triage. Too many contributors prepare a Debian package, submit it to Mentors, and then never have it reviewed and sponsored by a Debian Developer. This can be highly demotivating for the contributor. I think that having a team of Debian Developers dedicated to reviewing every package submitted to Mentors would do more to encourage more contributions to Debian, and more people becoming Debian Maintainers and Debian Developers, than anything else I could name. In my own case, I was lucky enough that my first contribution to Mentors caught the eye of a Debian Developer who responded in a timely fashion and mentored me through the process of getting the package into shape for sponsorship. At the time, I assumed such a response was common for every submission. It was only later that I discovered that my experience was the exception. Shortly after becoming a Debian Developer, I tried to make a contribution to Guix. With each submission, there was a long delay without any response. Each person who did eventually respond suggested some change, which was quickly made. However, the person making the suggestion then didn’t respond, and much time passed before a different person responded with a different suggestion. Eventually, I just gave up and the submission was never merged. Unfortunately, I think that many contributor’s experiences with Debian are closer to what I experienced with Guix than what I experienced with Debian. If we can change that, I think we would see an influx of contributions to the project. -- Soren Stoutner so...@debian.org
signature.asc
Description: This is a digitally signed message part.
