Ubuntu development - joining...

[Emmet Hikory]

On 11/4/07, Tim Hull wrote:
> Anyway, stemming from the issues I've been having, I've been quite
> interested in becoming involved in Ubuntu development.  However, so far, my
> attempts have seemed futile.  For one thing, I noticed a few bugs several
> weeks before Gutsy release - and posted detailed information (and in one
> case, even a patch) but never got a response.  I keep gathering more
> information and updating said bugs, but they remain unnoticed no matter what
> I do.  Also, from what I gathered, there is no simple way to become a
> *developer* - yes, there is MOTU, but 97% of the issues I'm finding and am
> concerned about deal with the main system, not the universe.  I've also
> looked for any kind of "laptop team" and these seem basically nonexistent
> save for a couple dead mailing lists and a couple contacts that I've had no
> luck with.

    It is an unfortunate fact that there are more bugs than
developers, and some get missed.  Adding the informaiton to the bugs
is a great help towards fixing them, but they also need developer
time.  In terms of joining development, most of the documentation is
focused on contributing to Universe as a first step, but many of the
practices and processes also apply to main packages.  If nothing else,
it is a good way to become familiar with the mechanisms of Ubuntu
development.

> Does anybody have any pointers for me?  Would it be a good idea to try to
> become an "Ubuntu member" and/or join the QA team at this point?  Would this
> make it easier to get my bugs/patches noticed?  I want to become involved,
> but as it stands it seems like I'm piping my efforts to /dev/null :)

    Joining the QA team is a good start, and will give you a better
understanding of various prioritisation procedures.  You might also
want to contact the Desktop team, as many of your bugs seem to be
related to the default end-user experience, which this team follows
closely.

-- 
Emmet HIKORY