Proposals, discussions and announcements

Paul Tagliamonte | 10 Mar 2013 22:56

to DPL candidates: How do you plan to represent Debian externally?

I'd ask the DPL candidates to speak a bit about how they intend to
represent Debian externally -- both in terms out downstream outreach, as
well as upstream (or even side-stream) relations.

What sort of plans do you have to collaborate with other F/OSS
communities? Other distros?

Realtedly, what sort of messaging (on this topic) can we expect
from the future DPL?

headers

Lucas Nussbaum | 10 Mar 2013 23:56

Re: to DPL candidates: How do you plan to represent Debian externally?

Hi,

On 10/03/13 at 17:56 -0400, Paul Tagliamonte wrote:
> I'd ask the DPL candidates to speak a bit about how they intend to
> represent Debian externally -- both in terms out downstream outreach, as
> well as upstream (or even side-stream) relations.
> 
> What sort of plans do you have to collaborate with other F/OSS
> communities? Other distros?
> 
> Realtedly, what sort of messaging (on this topic) can we expect
> from the future DPL?

I have some information about that in my platform, so I'll just
copy/paste for context, and then provide more details. Feel free to ask
further questions.

   What should Debian be in 5 years?

   Debian should aim at reinforcing its position in the center of the
   Free Software ecosystem. It should be the main active intermediary
   between upstream projects and final users. Of course, providing a
   good basis for derivatives is important, because derivatives users
   are Debian users, even if some of them do not acknowledge that. But
   we should also aim at reinforcing the visibility and the impact of
   Debian itself, because the extremely important values we fight for as
   a project are often neglected by our derivatives.

   Yes, that means working on getting some of the cool stuff done by
   derivatives back in Debian, and creating more Debian products.[..]

(Continue reading)

headers

Moray Allan | 11 Mar 2013 17:05

Re: to DPL candidates: How do you plan to represent Debian externally?

On 2013-03-11 00:56, Paul Tagliamonte wrote:
> I'd ask the DPL candidates to speak a bit about how they intend to
> represent Debian externally

A few points:

I see the DPL as a kind of "chair" position rather than a "do 
everything" one.  For some aspects of external relations it may be 
useful to show commitment by having the DPL speak/write/visit, but this 
should be part of a wider approach which tries to connect Debian 
contributors directly with people doing relevant work in external 
organisations.  Therefore I will answer your questions in a wider way 
than by only focusing on the DPL's own representative role -- that role 
should be used as a tool to bring about wider goals.

> both in terms out downstream outreach

We should show our downstream users that we value them, including by 
actively seeking good relationships with downstream distributions.  It 
would be appropriate for a new DPL to reach out to them, and in a more 
personal way for larger ones.

It is normal that downstream distributions have different goals and 
views from us, or they would be working in Debian.  (In some other cases 
people just don't realise they could do the same work within Debian, 
which is a different issue.)  While being firm on our own principles, we 
should be make it clear to our downstream users that we are glad for 
them to use our work in this way -- even if in many cases our long-term 
hope is that their contributors shift to working directly in Debian.

(Continue reading)

headers

Gergely Nagy | 19 Mar 2013 16:47

Re: to DPL candidates: How do you plan to represent Debian externally?

Paul Tagliamonte <paultag <at> debian.org> writes:

> I'd ask the DPL candidates to speak a bit about how they intend to
> represent Debian externally -- both in terms out downstream outreach, as
> well as upstream (or even side-stream) relations.

Like I expressed earlier, elsewhere, I believe that representing Debian
is a task that can - and often should - be given to those most
appropriate for the task. Who and why is most appropriate, depends on a
lot of things, like availability, familiarity with the topic or
audience, requirements coming from the organisers, and so on and so
forth.

That is to say, if elected, I will not be able to represent Debian on
every front, nor do I feel that this should be expected from the DPL.

What I would like to have, however, is sending the best people to
represent Debian to events where they can do that best, no matter
whether that event is downstream, upstream or even side-stream.

(Of course, this does not mean I plan to hide behind a curtain, I do
love the sound of my own voice, and I'm not afraid to use it either,
when it is appropriate to do so.)

> What sort of plans do you have to collaborate with other F/OSS
> communities? Other distros?

We, as a project, need to be more visible, more approachable. We also
have a lot of people who do upstream work. These two things should be
used to further our cause, to strengthen the bond between Debian and

(Continue reading)