[maemo-community] Election: September 2009 - Questions for Candidates

[From: Stephen Gadsby]

> 1. Care to share a little history about yourself and why you want to
> serve on the council?

For the past eleven years, I've worked in higher education information
technology, where I enjoy assisting users, identifying and customizing
technological solutions to meet their needs. I'm adaptable, and over
time as needs have changed, my job responsibilities have shifted
through a wide range of IT areas. Additionally, I often provide a
bridge, "translating" between other information technology staff
members and end users and bringing people together for collaboration.

I enjoy doing similar activities in the Maemo community. With my bug
jars, I try to make a growing sea of information hidden away in a
complex rapidly and easily accessible to the community, and I'm
looking at ways to achieve similar goals in other areas.

This community keeps giving, and I keep benefiting from it. I want to give back.

> 2. Is there any particular experience or event that helped you decide
> to run?

Not particularly. It's something I'd thought about, and encouragement
from several community members convinced me to throw my hat in the
ring.

> 3. What do you believe qualifies you to serve on the council?

I'm an active member of the community who wants to do more.

> 4. Where would you like to see the Maemo Community in 6 months?

Growing--in size, strength, and cohesiveness.

> 5. Do you have any specific ideas about how to get us there?

Growth in size isn't in question. Maemo 5 and the N900 are making sure
of that. They're not even released yet, and we're already seeing an
influx of new community members, which means new skills and talent.

The release of past Maemo devices also brought new community members,
of course. However, the degree will be sharply different this time.

Anytime a group sees a flood of new members, there's a period of
adjustment and cultural shift, and some signs of friction from that
are already appearing. I'm interested in working to reduce that
friction so our community continues to grow stronger, avoiding speed
bumps.

> 6. What do you believe to be the biggest problem facing the Maemo
> Community today?

Please see my answer to #5 above.

> 7. What role do you envision for the community council you would serve
> on?

Coordination. Collaboration. Information collection and dissemination.
Encouragement.

> 8. Finally, you suckers have _no_ idea what you're getting into.
> Ehehehe. *eg*

That's not a question; that's an ominous declarative statement, that
is! Who let you in here, anyway?

> 9. On another note, will any of the candidates be present at the
> Maemo Summit in Amsterdam next month, and if so, what will be
> your main focus, and/or presentations if you have any.

I will be attending the Summit, though I will not be presenting this
year. My goal will be to attend sessions, talk to people, learn,
convey information to the greater community who couldn't attend, and
help bring people together for collaboration.

> 10. (was 9.) What do you think of the maemo.org sprint process? Have you
> ever attended one of the IRC meetings? If so, what did you think?
> How could the process be improved?

Unfortunately, I've had to miss a few sprint meetings due to
scheduling conflicts, but I attend as many as possible. Though I
haven't been on the Council, and I haven't had sprint tasks, I still
enjoy attending the meetings as doing so has helped me learn the
process and follow the status of projects.

During the past months, there's been a great deal of exploration of
reporting methods in search of a process that maximizes the quality
and frequency of status reports to the community while minimizing
those reports' impact on "real work" by the reporters. I don't think
we've found an ideal method yet, and I don't have one to suggest. I
simply support the exploration process and want to see continued
improvements come from it.