"What I like least in Ubuntu"

[Jeremy Bicha]

On 26 July 2011 03:27, Andrew Starr-Bochicchio <a.starr.b at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, Jul 25, 2011 at 10:58 PM, Jeremy Bicha <jeremy at bicha.net> wrote:
>>
>> I disagree with your recommendation. I recently got my Ubuntu
>> membership through the Regional Boards and it turns out I was a good
>> candidate for the Ubuntu Contributing Developer (UCD) route which I
>> had actually not heard of yet. UCD provides no extra privileges or
>> status, and there's no point in anybody who is already a Ubuntu Member
>> getting UCD status before applying for MOTU or core-dev.
>
> Getting your Ubuntu membership granted through the IRC Council doesn't
> grant you any special rights either, why can the IRC Council bestow
> membership? It's not necessarily about the rights which you can
> receive; it's more about the who is best fit to evaluate your
> contribution.

Yes, I agree that UCD would have been a more precise fit to evaluate
my contributions but UCD had not been advertised or announced on the
Planet or wherever enough for me to have heard of it. It's also not
really on the Membership wikipage which I read multiple times to
self-evaluate and prepare for my membership application.

> Though it must be said that the Ubuntu Contributing Developer (UCD)
> route has never been very well defined or particularly compelling. In
> retrospect, I probably first applied to the UCD more out of my own
> insecurities about applying directly to the MOTU then any desire to
> necessarily become a UCD. There are currently only 24 direct members
> of ~universe-contributors. [0] Some have probably let their direct
> membership expire after obtaining membership in motu or core-dev, but
> the fact remains that many more people have become members ~ubuntu-dev
> without going through UCD. At the same time, even more people upload
> to Ubuntu each development cycle than ever become MOTU, core-devs or
> UCDs. UCD status could potentially play a role in retaining those
> contributors and increasing their involvement. The more connections
> someone has with a project the more likely they will continue to
> contribute and increase their level of commitment.

I don't see how gaining this extra title encourages additional
involvement. Maybe if the title meant something...

> Perhaps lowering the bar to becoming an UCD but at the same time
> increasing the social pressure to become one before becoming a MOTU,
> core-dev, or even a PPU might help create this atmosphere.

Why should I go through the bother of becoming an UCD as a
prerequisite to further development privileges and responsibility if
I'm already a Ubuntu Member?

Jeremy Bicha