Fwd: Mentoring New Ops ( suggestion from recent meeting)

[Cody Somerville]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Cody Somerville <cody.somerville at gmail.com>
Date: Dec 21, 2006 6:18 PM
Subject: Re: Mentoring New Ops ( suggestion from recent meeting)
To: Peter Garrett <peter-garrett at ubuntu.com>

Hey,

 I don't think having any sort of mentorship program in place is required. I
know that if I need/want advice then I just ask in #ubuntu-ops and it works
great. However, I do think it might be a good idea to have a few people
tasked to help boost moral or be available to answer questions for new ops.

Thanks,

Cody A.W. Somerville

On 12/21/06, Peter Garrett <peter-garrett at ubuntu.com> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I'm sending this as a "Request for Comments" ;-)
> [ flames will be accepted with equanimity ]
>
> In the recent meeting, I suggested that it might be an idea to have
> mentors
> for new ops. We have all, to some extent, benefited from informal
> mentoring
> from other ops, but perhaps it's time to have a slightly more formal
> framework. I do  not mean by this that we should have a bullet point wiki
> page about it, or some kind of "quasi legal" document - in my view there's
> already quite enough of that kind of stuff, and in some ways it just
> increases the pressure on people.
>
> There is a possibility that making this too formal would be
> counter-productive, but perhaps we can work out some guidelines for it.
>
> My personal suggestion would be that two people could be mentors for each
> new op, along these lines: -
>
> * Person (1) would be a technical mentor who could point the new op to
> various URLs about "opping" as necessary, and participate in some
> "practice" sessions in another channel ( <kidding> say,  #kickban
> </kidding> )
>
> * Person (2) would be more of a mentor in the sense of encouraging "esprit
> de corps" , how to stop steam coming out of your ears ;-), when to back
> off, when to be firm, and other such rather subjective concerns... Also
> suggestions for general diplomacy with other ops, like not embarrassing
> each other publicly.
>
> I think both aspects are important - to me, aspect (2) is actually more
> important than aspect (1) .
>
> Just as a general observation ( only a personal opinion ), i think it is
> important that we retain a sense of humour, and don't take ourselves too
> seriously. That is not to say that what ops do is unimportant, but a sense
> of perspective is needed. I also feel that we should not be too
> precious about "fun" behaviour. In the two years that I've been on
> #*ubuntu channels I have seen a gradual movement away from a very friendly
> and
> relaxed atmosphere, towards an increasingly serious and perhaps,
> sometimes,
> too rigid interpretation of what an IRC channel should be.
>
> If it isn't fun, people will feel alienated. Remember that most people on
> most channels are there because they  enjoy it. Let's keep it enjoyable.
>
> I haven't been around as much lately on IRC, and therefore have not been
> prominent as an op, but perhaps that gives me some perspective. I used to
> practically *live* in #ubuntu , but the young whippersnappers won't
> remember that ;-) ...  [ some people thought I was a bot ;-) ]
>
> A few suggestions: ( I hope they won't be seen as presumptuous)
>
> * If you get hot and bothered, go afk for a while ( all ops should have a
> punching bag handy for these moments)
>
> * If you feel burnt out, and it starts to feel like a "regular job" and
> ceases to be fun, it's time to take some time off. You can always do
> something *easy* and *relaxing* , like, say, setting up jackd with midi
> *groan*, trying to understand regular expressions, or making esd
> co-operate
> properly with ALSA    ... ;-)  ( these are not recommended for those with
> a
> tendency towards premature grey hair)
>
> * If you disagree with a decision, ask about it privately before
> confronting a fellow op publicly
>
> <thoreauputic> /msg someotherop Why did you ban $LUSER for saying sabdfl
> is
> a space cadet?
>
> ;-)
>
> * A few  sarcastic ops with a rapid-fire style help to keep
> channels on their toes ( Yes, they do!! No they don't!! Yes, they do !!)
>
> * A few softies help to balance the tough guys ;-)  <in-joke>  hobbsee for
> instance..  </in-joke>
>
> This post is intended as a starting point for discussion. Please take it
> as a lighthearted and slightly tongue-in-cheek attempt to help us all
> enjoy
> what we do - but also realise that it's written because I care about the
> atmosphere and function of our irc channels .
>
> If it's merely annoying, see recommendations above, and apply larts as
> needed  :)
>
>
> Peter
>
> ( thoreauputic)
>
> --
> Ubuntu-irc mailing list
> Ubuntu-irc at lists.ubuntu.com
> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-irc
>



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