On Wednesday, December 4, 2024 2:30:05 PM MST Richard Lewis wrote: > Soren Stoutner <so...@debian.org> writes: > > 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. > > I dont disagree with anything you wrote, but i think people are looking > at "Needs a DD to make the process work" and assuming that the only > solution is to increase the number of DDs. But the process itself can > also be changed. > > at least some of the feedback so far is that people want to contribute > without having to be a DD
That is true. Not everyone who wants to contribute to Debian would like to become a Debian Maintainer or a Debian Developer. And we want to make sure that we always have a welcoming environment for such contributions. But my personal experience working with people making contributions to Debian Mentors is that more than half of them do have interest in becoming a Debian Maintainer or a Debian Developer, but are stymied in the process along the way. When thinking about increasing the number of Debian Developers, I consider these people to be the low-hanging fruit. They have already expressed a desire to contribute to Debian. They have already put forth enough effort to do some level of packaging and upload it to mentors.debian.net. They often need some further technical guidance (I certainly did). But it would take a lot less effort to get them over the hump than it would to start fresh with someone who has no exposure to Debian, which is where it seems that the majority of our recruitment efforts focus. -- Soren Stoutner so...@debian.org
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