Team Member Participation

[Craig A. Eddy]

Neil,
    With regard to the Zimbabwe Team's enthusiasm, this is something I
think most teams experience.  I know that we, in Arizona, have had to
face it.  Our first Release party was extremely small.  The next one was
larger, due to our own experience and due to the enthusiasm we could
generate in others.  The install fest that followed it was even bigger,
in part because we were able to interest one of the local LUGS to join
us.  Recently, we held an Open Source Conference that was even more
successful.

    The key to it all is enthusiasm.  Those of us that ARE active
members of the team try to stay active in the IRC channel, too, to keep
the sense of community high, and to generate a sense of social
connection between members.  We cannot help those who will not
participate.  They may not have really participated no matter what we
do.  We can only reach those that choose to reach back.  And we do. 
Sometimes it's just through kidding around with each other.  Other times
it's in being helpful with everything from small things to large.  That
participation in the IRC channel becomes the core of the team.  For
example, for the OSS conference, we had people come in from all over the
state of Arizona, and for some it meant a trip of 4 or 5 hours just to
get there.  But it was successful because of planning, because of the
sense of community, and because of the sense of friends just met -
people that we'd interacted with that we finally got to meet in person.

We don't worry about the inactive members.  Anyone can join the team. 
Our goal is more subtle than that.  We want to see the core members
achieve Ubuntu membership.  We work toward that goal without explicitly
outlining it.  That goal, and the IRC connection are the heart of what
we do.  As for the inactive members - well, if they have signed up for
the Team newsletter, then they have an idea of what the team is doing,
and where it is going, and have the opportunity to become more active if
they choose.

Craig
Tyche