[UbuntuWomen] Introduction

[Maia Kozheva]

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Since it seems to be customary here, I might as well roll with the tradition.

I'm Maia (not my legal name, but the one I feel comfortable with), I'm from
Russia, and I'm 22. I'm into FOSS primarily for ideological reasons, as a
convinced Stallmanite - so I like introducing and hopefully converting people to
Ubuntu and FOSS in general.

I'm a Java programmer by occupation, and your stereotypical glasses-wearing
geek, although not of the hardcore mold that only recognize the console and vim.
The gender disparity in computing frustrates me (and particularly #u-w's status
as a de facto refuge), although I feel there's little I can do besides doing
what I already am, and watching it slowly even out on its own.

I've been using Linux since 2004 (trying then-outdated Debian Woody, then
ASPLinux and Fedora), first as a secondary OS that I rarely booted into. Then in
late 2005, I tried Ubuntu 5.10 and never looked at any other distributions
since. In early 2007, I deleted Windows XP, using Ubuntu as my only OS from that
point onwards.

I started contributing to Ubuntu in August 2007, during gutsy development,
seeking to update some outdated software I used myself - committing a lot of
blunders at first, but quickly learning about packaging and working with Debian
and upstream. In February 2008, I became a MOTU. (It still saddens me to see my
bulb on the ~ubuntu-members map standing alone in all of Russia.) Now I focus
primarily on Java packages, some software of personal interest to me (mostly
multimedia players and encoders), and REVU - nobody should wait for package
reviews as long as I did back in my time!

I'd like to thank Mackenzie Morgan for pointing me to u-w and linuxchix,
resparking my interest in the larger Ubuntu community - which I found, some
*cough* rare exceptions notwithstanding, to be a surprisingly friendly and
pluralistic embodiment of the ubuntu spirit.
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