Reflecting On Our Membership Proceedures

[Jono Bacon]

Hi Everyone,

Recently there has been some controversy surrounding some elements of 
how we are reviewing and assessing contributors for Ubuntu Membership 
and approval as an Ubuntu Developer. I kicked off some discussion a few 
weeks about this, and my apologies for not being more actively in touch; 
it was idiotic of me to kick of a thread and then be on the road with 
conference travel.

 From some of the conversations back then, I came to a few key conclusions:

  * We need more data from the people who have experienced these
    processes - the applicants. While I have had some folks share their
    experiences with me both publicly and in private, I don't feel we
    have a sufficient take on the quality of the experience that folks
    who apply to be either a member or  an approved developer have. I
    believe more data will provide a more representative view of what
    works well and what works less well.
  * I can't solve this problem: I believe I can assist in gathering more
    data and helping to move the conversation along, but if additional
    data identifies there are problems, we need the CC and TB to help
    drive forward solutions in tandem with the membership boards and the
    DMB.

To be clear, every one of our governance boards has good intentions in 
carrying out their work. These issues are not about pointing fingers, 
but improving the Ubuntu experience for everyone involved.

As such, I am working on a survey to gather more data. This survey will 
be sent to everyone who has applied to be a member or a developer in the 
last two years. The survey will ask for feedback on the quality of the 
experience, and specifically around the structure of the process, the 
quality of our supporting documentation and mentoring, the way the 
meeting was handled, and how welcome and empowered the applicant feels. 
To be clear, the survey will ask for what works well and what works less 
well.

I believe this data will provide a better view on what challenges, if 
any, we face, and I think now is a good time to get this visibility - 
our governance boards have been working well, and getting some better 
insight into these experiences will continue to help us deliver a fun, 
productive, and accessible community.

My goal is to have the survey completed over the next few months so we 
can discuss these outcomes at UDS and make any appropriate changes in 
that setting which is optimized for these kinds of discussions.

     Jono

-- 
Jono Bacon
Ubuntu Community Manager
www.ubuntu.com / www.jonobacon.org
www.identi.ca/jonobacon www.twitter.com/jonobacon