From 11258c237aa554ca0e421076582f08445e2ad5d9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Kurt Roeckx Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2024 18:42:43 +0100 Subject: Update platform --- english/vote/2024/platforms/srud.wml | 526 ++++++++++++++++------------------- 1 file changed, 247 insertions(+), 279 deletions(-) diff --git a/english/vote/2024/platforms/srud.wml b/english/vote/2024/platforms/srud.wml index d52fd3f2697..18621b96baa 100644 --- a/english/vote/2024/platforms/srud.wml +++ b/english/vote/2024/platforms/srud.wml @@ -1,282 +1,250 @@ #use wml::debian::template title="Platform for Sruthi Chandran" BARETITLE="true" NOHEADER="true" #include "$(ENGLISHDIR)/vote/style.inc" -DPL -platform 2024 (This -an updated version of my 2021 platform)

-

-Sruthi Chandran

-

srud@d.o

-


- -

-

Who -am I?

-


- -

-

I am a librarian -turned Free Software enthusiast and Debian Developer from India. -

-

Some of my -activities in Debian are:

- -


- -

-

I have been -mentoring people to contribute to Debian for many years now. I am -involved in organizing numerous packaging workshops and other Debian -events throughout India. I am also involved in organizing other free -software events like Free Software -Camp.

-


- -

-

Why -am I contesting?

-


- -

-

Concerned with the -skewed gender ratios within the Free Software community (and Debian) -I am working towards doing whatever I can to better the situation. -How many times did we have a non-(cis)male candidate for DPL? If I am -not wrong, when I contested in 2020, I was the second non-(cis)male -DPL candidate till date. As with my last two rounds of contesting for -DPL (2020 & 2021), this year too my primary goal of contesting is -to bring the diversity issues for discussion. I believe I was -successful in that at-least to a small extend in my previous rounds.

-

I am aware that -Debian is doing things to increase diversity within Debian, but as we -can see, it is not sufficient. I am sad that there are only two women -Debian Developer from a large country like India. I believe diversity -is not something to be discussed only within Debian-women or -Debian-diversity. It should come up for discussion in each and every -aspect of the project.

-

DPL elections is an -important activity in our project and I plan to bring up the topic of -diversity for discussion every election till we have a non-(cis)male -DPL.

-

I feel that one -effective way to encourage diverse people to contribute is to have -more visibility for diversity already within the community. As more -and more women (both cis and trans), trans men, and genderqueer -people who are already part of the project become more visible -instead of staying hidden in some part of the project, more gender -diverse people will feel comfortable joining our community. -Geographic/ethnic diversity are also important areas which need -attention.

-


- -

-

What -are my plans as DPL?

-


- -

-

1. -Diversity

-

-Since diversity is my primary focus, let me start with that. -

-

Diversity -budget

-

-In-spite of spending a good amount of money on diversity, we seem to -not get the expected outcome. My first task as DPL would be to -revisit the existing spending pattern to analyse why and where we are -going wrong. When I say we should focus on diversity, I do not mean -that we should blindly spend money in the name of diversity. I am -personally aware of instances where the diversity budget expenditure -did bad instead of any good.

-

-Another thing I would focus with respect to the diversity budget is -to publicise it more so that people who deserve it get to know about -it so that we do not end up spending it just for the sake of -spending.

-

Diversity -activities

-

-I have heard that Debian-women project did some incredible work in -improving women contributors till it went dormant. Now we have the -Debian-diversity initiative, but this hasn’t gained much momentum -yet. I plan to streamline their activities and if possible have a -delegated team focusing on diversity. The delegated team shall -co-ordinate all the diversity related activities in Debian. This team -will also be involved in the decisions and expenditure of the -diversity budget.

-

Local -activities

-

-Debian-localgroups which was conceptualised by our current DPL is a -great idea to promote geographical diversity. I plan to use the -potential of localgroups to organize more local events and have more -diverse people contribute to Debian.

-

2. -Outreach

-

-My second focus area is -outreach activities. I have been working with the Debian-outreach -team for more than 3 years now. I feel outreach is one important -activity which often does not get its due importance. Our outreach -team end up being just co-ordinators for GSoC and Outreachy. I have a -couple of ideas planned out for outreach.

-

Debian -camp

-

Debian -camp is a concept that I borrowed from Free -Software Camp for -which I was one of the core organizers. Basically the concept is to -have 3-4 months long -online mentorship program. The advantage of a Debian specific -mentorship program is that we can tailor the program according to our -specific needs.

-

There -will be two parts for the program. In the first part, the primary -focus will be on the philosophy of Debian (and free software) and why -one should contribute to Debian etc. We can have common sessions on -these topics -for -the mentees. In the second part, the mentees will work with mentors -on the projects of their choice.

-

-In this activity, I plan to -have the Debian-outreach team as the co-ordinators/facilitators who -work in collaboration with Debian-diversity, Debian-localgroups, -Debian Academy etc. The Debian-outreach team will be doing the -back-end activities of organizing, scheduling etc. while other teams -will be helping out with resource persons/mentors/projects etc. I -specifically intend to have Debian-localgroups involved so that we -can have localised activities and not just in English.

-

-The question of whether to pay -stipend or not could be discussed later and decided (we did not have -stipend for the Free Software Camp and still it was a success).

-

DebConf -Boot-camp

-

-This is an in person camp -which can happen during the DebCamp (this is an idea I borrowed from -mollydb). I believe that there is nothing like in-person mentoring.

-

-Often we have new people who -attend the DebConf are confused on what and how to start -contributing. This bootstrapping activity can help them to find -directions. I do believe that we have a lot of people interested to -help out with this. Exact plan to have this worked out can be -discussed and decided later.

-

Review -of current activities

-

-A thorough review of current -outreach activities is long overdue. We need to examine the -effectiveness of our GSoC and Outreachy participations, what we can -do better and what we can do new.

-

3. -Community

-

-Debian community is a great -community. But that does not mean we are perfect. Some points I would -be interested to take up as DPL are:

-

Welcoming

-

Even -when we say we are a welcoming community, for an outsider it might -not appear so. There are a lot of reasons for this. The main reason -being that online communication often leads to miscommunication and -unintended flame wars. As a community, we -need to work towards making Debian more welcoming to all – new -comers and old timers alike. I am very keen on facilitating -discussions on this as a DPL. -

-

Change -embracing

-

-It is often observed that -Debian as a community is reluctant to change most of the time. As a -DPL, I would like to develop a culture of embracing change. I would -encourage and facilitate people proposing new ideas and processes for -improvement of Debian.

-

4. -Debian as an organisation

-

-Debian -Foundation (?)

-

-In some of the previous years’ -DPL campaigns, having Debian as a registered organisation has come -up. In 2020, Brian Gupta’s platform focused on forming Debian -Foundation and in 2022, Jonathan Carter mentioned about formal -registration of Debian as an organisation. While organising -DebConf23, I had to face some issues because Debian is not a -registered organisation, That is when I started thinking about this -concept seriously.

-

-So, as a DPL, I would be -definitely interested in exploring the possibilities, advantages and -disadvantages of having Debian registered. I am not saying that this -is my main agenda, but it will definitely be brought up if I am -elected.

-

-Trusted organisations

-

-As one of the main -responsibilities of DPL is financial management, I would like to -revisit our relationship with the existing trusted organisations, -fund management procedure and if needed, explore the possibilities of -having more TOs to reduce dependency on one or two. During DebConf23 -organising, we had to face numerous fund distribution issues. Some of -it definitely was specific to Indian scenario, but still I could -think of a lot of improvement that can be done with respect to fund -distribution through TOs. -

-

5. -Financial

-

-Accounting

-

-From previous DPLs, I have -heard that the current process of accounting of Debian assets is very -complicated. As DPL, I would like to put some focus on streamlining -and automating the accounting process across different TOs. I am -thinking about having some process set up by which we can have a -transparent and upto date asset information available. -

-

6. -Miscellaneous

-

-DPL helpers -(DPL committee?)

-

-I have heard from the previous -DPLs that the workload is too huge to be completed by a single -person. During my last round of contesting, someone suggested the -concept of having helpers for DPL. I agree with the thought process -and I intend to have 1-2 people to do some work that can be offloaded -from the DPL workload. This would help in reducing revert time and -increaing efficiency.

-


- -

-

Time -commitment

-

One advantage I have -over most of the previous and present DPL candidates is the amount of -time I will be able to commit for my DPL activities. My work setup is -such that I get to decide when and how much time I work. This means -that I can give good priority to the DPL activities.

+
+

DPL platform 2024

(This an updated version of my 2021 platform) +

Sruthi Chandran

+ srud@d.o +

Who am I?

+

+ I am a librarian turned Free Software enthusiast and Debian Developer + from India. +

+

Some of my activities in Debian are:

+ +

+ I have been mentoring people to contribute to Debian for many years + now. I am involved in organizing numerous packaging workshops and + other Debian events throughout India. I am also involved in + organizing other free software events like + Free Software Camp. +

+

Why am I contesting?

+

+ Concerned with the skewed gender ratios within the Free Software + community (and Debian) I am working towards doing whatever I can + to better the situation. How many times did we have a non-(cis)male + candidate for DPL? If I am not wrong, when I contested in 2020, I was + the second non-(cis)male DPL candidate till date. As with my last two + rounds of contesting for DPL (2020 & 2021), this year too my primary + goal of contesting is to bring the diversity issues for discussion. + I believe I was successful in that at-least to a small extend in my + previous rounds. +

+

+ I am aware that Debian is doing things to increase diversity within + Debian, but as we can see, it is not sufficient. I am sad that there + are only two women Debian Developer from a large country like India. + I believe diversity is not something to be discussed only within + Debian-women or Debian-diversity. It should come up for discussion + in each and every aspect of the project. +

+

+ DPL elections is an important activity in our project and I plan to + bring up the topic of diversity for discussion every election till + we have a non-(cis)male DPL. +

+

+ I feel that one effective way to encourage diverse people to + contribute is to have more visibility for diversity already within + the community. As more and more women (both cis and trans), trans + men, and genderqueer people who are already part of the project become + more visible instead of staying hidden in some part of the project, + more gender diverse people will feel comfortable joining our + community. Geographic/ethnic diversity are also important areas + which need attention. +

+

What are my plans as DPL

+

1. Diversity

+

+ Since diversity is my primary focus, let me start with that. +

+

Diversity budget

+

+ In-spite of spending a good amount of money on diversity, we seem to + not get the expected outcome. My first task as DPL would be to + revisit the existing spending pattern to analyse why and where we + are going wrong. When I say we should focus on diversity, I do not + mean that we should blindly spend money in the name of diversity. + I am personally aware of instances where the diversity budget + expenditure did bad instead of any good. +

+

+ Another thing I would focus with respect to the diversity budget is + to publicise it more so that people who deserve it get to know about + it so that we do not end up spending it just for the sake of spending. +

+

Diversity activities

+

+ I have heard that Debian-women project did some incredible work in + improving women contributors till it went dormant. Now we have the + Debian-diversity initiative, but this hasn’t gained much momentum + yet. I plan to streamline their activities and if possible have a + delegated team focusing on diversity. The delegated team shall + co-ordinate all the diversity related activities in Debian. This + team will also be involved in the decisions and expenditure of the + diversity budget. +

+

Local activities

+

+ Debian-localgroups which was conceptualised by our current DPL is a + great idea to promote geographical diversity. I plan to use the + potential of localgroups to organize more local events and have more + diverse people contribute to Debian. +

+

2. Outreach

+

+ My second focus area is outreach activities. I have been working with + the Debian-outreach team for more than 3 years now. I feel outreach + is one important activity which often does not get its due importance. + Our outreach team end up being just co-ordinators for GSoC and Outreachy. + I have a couple of ideas planned out for outreach. +

+

Debian camp

+

+ Debian camp is a concept that I borrowed from + Free Software Camp for which I was + one of the core organizers. Basically the concept is to have 3-4 + months long online mentorship program. The advantage of a Debian + specific mentorship program is that we can tailor the program according + to our specific needs. +

+

+ There will be two parts for the program. In the first part, the primary + focus will be on the philosophy of Debian (and free software) and why + one should contribute to Debian etc. We can have common sessions on + these topics for the mentees. In the second part, the mentees will work + with mentors on the projects of their choice. +

+

+ In this activity, I plan to have the Debian-outreach team as the + co-ordinators/facilitators who work in collaboration with + Debian-diversity, Debian-localgroups, Debian Academy etc. The + Debian-outreach team will be doing the back-end activities of + organizing, scheduling etc. while other teams will be helping out with + resource persons/mentors/projects etc. I specifically intend to have + Debian-localgroups involved so that we can have localised activities + and not just in English. +

+

+ The question of whether to pay stipend or not could be discussed later + and decided (we did not have stipend for the Free Software Camp and + still it was a success). +

+

DebConf Boot-camp

+

+ This is an in person camp which can happen during the DebCamp (this + is an idea I borrowed from mollydb). I believe that there is nothing + like in-person mentoring. +

+

+ Often we have new people who attend the DebConf are confused on what + and how to start contributing. This bootstrapping activity can help + them to find directions. I do believe that we have a lot of people + interested to help out with this. Exact plan to have this worked out + can be discussed and decided later. +

+

Review of current activities

+

+ A thorough review of current outreach activities is long overdue. We + need to examine the effectiveness of our GSoC and Outreachy + participations, what we can do better and what we can do new. +

+

3. Community

+

+ Debian community is a great community. But that does not mean we are + perfect. Some points I would be interested to take up as DPL are: +

+

Welcoming

+

+ Even when we say we are a welcoming community, for an outsider it + might not appear so. There are a lot of reasons for this. The main + reason being that online communication often leads to miscommunication + and unintended flame wars. As a community, we need to work towards + making Debian more welcoming to all – new comers and old timers alike. + I am very keen on facilitating discussions on this as a DPL. +

+

Change embracing

+

+ It is often observed that Debian as a community is reluctant to change + most of the time. As a DPL, I would like to develop a culture of + embracing change. I would encourage and facilitate people proposing + new ideas and processes for improvement of Debian. +

+

4. Debian as an organisation

+

Debian Foundation (?)

+

+ In some of the previous years’ DPL campaigns, having Debian as a + registered organisation has come up. In 2020, Brian Gupta’s platform + focused on forming Debian Foundation and in 2022, Jonathan Carter + mentioned about formal registration of Debian as an organisation. + While organising DebConf23, I had to face some issues because Debian + is not a registered organisation, That is when I started thinking + about this concept seriously. +

+

+ So, as a DPL, I would be definitely interested in exploring the + possibilities, advantages and disadvantages of having Debian + registered. I am not saying that this is my main agenda, but it will + definitely be brought up if I am elected. +

+

Trusted organisations

+

+ As one of the main responsibilities of DPL is financial management, + I would like to revisit our relationship with the existing trusted + organisations, fund management procedure and if needed, explore the + possibilities of having more TOs to reduce dependency on one or two. + During DebConf23 organising, we had to face numerous fund distribution + issues. Some of it definitely was specific to Indian scenario, but still + I could think of a lot of improvement that can be done with respect to + fund distribution through TOs. +

+

5. Financial

+

Accounting

+

+ From previous DPLs, I have heard that the current process of accounting + of Debian assets is very complicated. As DPL, I would like to put some + focus on streamlining and automating the accounting process across + different TOs. I am thinking about having some process set up by which + we can have a transparent and upto date asset information available. +

+

6. Miscellaneous

+

DPL helpers (DPL committee?)

+

+ I have heard from the previous DPLs that the workload is too huge to be + completed by a single person. During my last round of contesting, + someone suggested the concept of having helpers for DPL. I agree with + the thought process and I intend to have 1-2 people to do some work that + can be offloaded from the DPL workload. This would help in reducing + revert time and increasing efficiency. +

+

Time commitment

+

+ One advantage I have over most of the previous and present DPL + candidates is the amount of time I will be able to commit for my DPL + activities. My work setup is such that I get to decide when and how + much time I work. This means that I can give good priority to the DPL + activities. +

+
+
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