MOTU application for Jonathan Thomas (JontheEchidna)

[Jonathan]

Dear MOTU Council,

Please accept this as my application for MOTU status in Ubuntu.

  * My Launchpad: https://edge.launchpad.net/~echidnaman
  * My Wiki Page: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Jonathan265

My involvement with Kubuntu started shortly before Hardy was released. I was 
testing the beta or release candidate of Kubuntu Hardy Heron, the KDE4 
edition, when I noticed some implementation details I didn't like. I found 
#kubuntu-kde4 on IRC and voiced my opinions. The kind people in #kubuntu-kde4 
then invited me to join #kubuntu-devel to make sure my concerns got heard. 
After that, I sorta hung around until I started getting more and more 
involved. In July I became a (K)Ubuntu member. Nowadays I am very active in a 
lot of aspects of Kubuntu, and would like to become an MOTU.

I started off by doing things like fixing trivial packaging bugs. Fueled by my 
love of KDE4, eventually I began wanting packages for some of my favorite 
plasmoids on kde-look. One weekend I plopped down with the handy-dandy 
packaging guide and packaged my very first plasmoid. Unfortunately, since the 
plasmoid was never updated for KDE 4.1 it never got uploaded to Intrepid. But 
that was just the beginning. Since then I have packaged 9 plasmoids and a 
couple other packages for universe. On the packaging front I have also done 
quite a few package updates and bugfixes for universe. All in all I have done 
right around 60 uploads to Ubuntu (both main and universe) in Intrepid, with a 
dozen or so already in Jaunty.

I am also heavily involved with KDE releases. I have been doing KDE4 releases 
since the first release candidate of KDE 4.1. (4.0.98 or so) Working with KDE 
is one of my favorite parts about Ubuntu, since it allows me to directly 
contribute to the quality of the KDE we provide to the world. Working with 
Ubuntu allowed me to do nifty things like this: 
https://wiki.kubuntu.org/KubuntuIntrepidDesktopDefaults 
Following that spec, I got to include a plasmoid (whose package I had babied 
from non-existence) into the default Kubuntu install, integrating it into a 
polished environment.

Also on the KDE front, I lead the packaging effort for the first beta of KDE 4.2 
2 weeks ago. I was in charge of organizing the whole thing and 
reviewing/testbuilding the KDE packagers as our wonderful team of ninjas 
produced them. Harald can attest to how good of a job I did leading KDE 4.2 
beta1 packaging.

On the non-motu front, I have actively been triaging bugs for half a year. 
Anybody whose email inbox I have flooded can attest to this. (and they have 
been known to complain before :P) I am a firm believer in getting bugs 
upstream. They just usually don't get fixed otherwise. In fact, last Ubuntu 
Open Week I gave a talk on how the Kubuntu bug team does upstreaming. That was 
fun; but man, I didn't know I would almost run out of time like that! Time 
sure flies when you are typing. I have also made coding contributions to the 
KDE frontends of the software-properties and jockey utilities, giving both 
PyQt4 -> PyKDE4 ports.

I am requesting to become an MOTU to aid me in my universe work. (Maintaining 
plasmoids and KDE universe packages in general, Kubuntu always needs more 
motus) I believe I have the necessary qualifications. I know how to make new 
packages, maintain existing packages, update packages, merge packages with, 
file Main Inclusion Reports, request for package removals when necessary, 
freeze exceptions, and all that good stuff. All of the above I have done. In 
the immediate future I plan to keep on packaging KDE and maintaining the 
plasmoids I have packaged, along with any other KDE universe work that comes 
up. Once we get the Jaunty specs finalised I plan to work on those too, since 
everybody will have a very full plate this time around. I can't imagine life 
without Kubuntu, and I plan to stick around for a while. Maybe one day I'll go 
for core-dev, who knows...

I am CCing some of my sponsors and a bunch of good friends with whom I work. 
(I would consider all my sponsors to fall under the latter category, too. :))  
I would also like to thank everybody for helping me develop my skills and for 
including me in the Kubuntu family.

Sponsors:
  - Jonathan Riddell (riddell, like you needed his IRC nick :P)
  - Harald Sitter (apachelogger)
  - Scott Kitterman (ScottK)
  - Steven Stalcup (vorian)

MOTU/Core-dev/(K/X)Ubuntu contributors:
  - Guillaume Matres (smarter)
  - Richard Birnie (Arby)
  - Yuriy Kozlov (yuriy)
  - Michael Casadevall (NCommander)
  - Roderick Greening (rgreening)
  - Richard Johnson (nixternal, the pointy-click vista lover)

Shouts to the following people too:
  - Everybody in #kubuntu-devel
  - Jonathan Jesse (jjesse)
  - Lydia Pintscher (nightrose)
  - Jussio
  - Sayak (glade88)
  - Michael Vogt (mvo, he sponsored/merged my software-property-kde port in 
bzr)
  - Martin Pitt (pitti, sponsored/merged by pykde4 port of jockey-kde in bzr)