Mailinglist Archive: opensuse-project (930 mails)

["Bryen M. Yunashko" <suserocks@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Mon, 2010-06-21 at 18:03 +0200, DenverD wrote:
> Pascal Bleser wrote:
> > One thing I would definitely _not_ agree with, though, is to lower the bar. 
> > That would be unfair, and it's pointless to target a large number of 
> > members 
> > just for the sake of it if that membership doesn't reflect anything.
>
> thanks for your enlightening answer
>
> if i wrote "lower the bar" it was a mistake, i agree that numbers for
> the sake of numbers is not what we need (ask the forum guys how much i
> kick when they wanna count 40K+ members, when everyone knows a big
> percentage of those posters come once, get an answer and are never
> heard from again, ever)..
>
> i say "lower the bar" but instead was asking if "the bar" is in an
> established (ie written) guideline..
>
> dd

I can see where they come up with a number like "40K+ members" and
people do interpret the term "member" quite differently.  In my opinion,
in its most generic form, everyone is a member of the community of
openSUSE that ranges from actual contributions down to even just users.

There has long been a loose debate about the term "Member" for our
membership roster. And we've never really come up with a truly better
and definitive term.  Membership means different things to different
projects.  If you're a member of openSUSE or a member of GNOME
Foundation, it means you've demonstrated real contributions to the
project.  If you're a member of Linux Foundation, it means you paid $99
for membership dues.

And it has always pained me to have to reject those who apply for
membership and say "I am applying because I want to contribute" because
they haven't figured out yet that you don't have to be an openSUSE
member in order to be a community member and thus contribute.  (See how
I used member in two different contexts within our Project?)

So for us, we have two real challenges:  1)  Keep the term "Member" or
come up with something better?  We're always open to suggestions.  and
2) Turn up the volume on Henne's beloved "Just do it!" mantra and get
people to really get it into their heads that if you want to contribute,
just do it.  You do not need our approval of membership to be a
contributor.  And if you find an obstacle that prevents you from
contributing let us know.  But membership in and of itself is in no way
an obstacle to contribution.

Bryen M Yunashko
openSUSE Board Member

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