
Dear candidates to the openSUSE board, as I need to decide about my vote and carefully read through your introduction. I'm happy that we got some candidates together. I would like to ask you some questions which I guess would highly influence my choice. - What is your pet project at openSUSE - name anything that comes to your mind (e.g. code, wiki, whatever comes to your mind...)? - How would you react to an escalation like this[1] on the mailing list? [1] https://lists.opensuse.org/archives/list/project@lists.opensuse.org/thread/R... - What's your opinion about flagging as welcoming community and inviting everybody to the project? - Can you explain to me, as I really want to get the bigger picture, how the future of legal setup the openSUSE project looks like? What is the status of the Geekos Foundation and what are the goals of the board regarding this matter? Thanks a lot in advance and happy hacking. Best regards -- Thorsten Bro <tbro@opensuse.org> - Member of openSUSE Heroes - https://en.opensuse.org/openSUSE:Heroes - Member of openSUSE VideoTeam - https://en.opensuse.org/openSUSE:Video

See Below On Sun, Jan 19, 2025 at 1:37 PM Thorsten Bro | openSUSE Member < opensuse@bro.li> wrote:
Dear candidates to the openSUSE board,
as I need to decide about my vote and carefully read through your introduction. I'm happy that we got some candidates together.
I would like to ask you some questions which I guess would highly influence my choice.
- What is your pet project at openSUSE - name anything that comes to your mind (e.g. code, wiki, whatever comes to your mind...)?
I am an advocate. I am not a programmer or developer. I have always love to show off openSUSE at LUGS/Work and Expos. I was a member of the Ambassador program when it was around love to see it come back because I felt help get the word out about openSUSE.
- How would you react to an escalation like this[1] on the mailing list? [1]
https://lists.opensuse.org/archives/list/project@lists.opensuse.org/thread/R...
I side with the Code of Conduct that the board came up with. I feel that we need to move past this and accept everyone as humans regardless, if not this will divide and destroy the project. We need to come together as a community to help the project grow.
- What's your opinion about flagging as welcoming community and inviting everybody to the project?
Not sure about what flagging is. Again. We need to accept everyone for what they can bring to the project, regardless. Accept everyone.
- Can you explain to me, as I really want to get the bigger picture, how the future of legal setup the openSUSE project looks like? What is the status of the Geekos Foundation and what are the goals of the board regarding this matter?
I know there was talk back to the Geekos Foundation. I haven't heard much about it lately. If it helps, great. I am about working to do whatever it takes to get an openSUSE project going and great.
Thanks a lot in advance and happy hacking.
Best regards --
Thorsten Bro <tbro@opensuse.org> - Member of openSUSE Heroes - https://en.opensuse.org/openSUSE:Heroes
- Member of openSUSE VideoTeam - https://en.opensuse.org/openSUSE:Video
-- Terror PUP a.k.a Chuck "PUP" Payne ----------------------------------------- Discover it! Enjoy it! Share it! openSUSE Linux. ----------------------------------------- openSUSE -- Terrorpup openSUSE Ambassador/openSUSE Member skype,twiiter,identica,friendfeed -- terrorpup freenode(irc) --terrorpup/lupinstein Register Linux Userid: 155363 openSUSE Community Member since 2008.

Hi Thorsten, Thank you for the questions. Please find my answers in-line.
On 19 Jan 2025, at 22:36, Thorsten Bro | openSUSE Member <opensuse@bro.li> wrote:
- What is your pet project at openSUSE - name anything that comes to your mind (e.g. code, wiki, whatever comes to your mind...)?
openSUSE Mirrors [1] I’ve been a Linux user since 2001 and none of the distributions had a mirror in Mauritius. In 2021, when I received a VM and bandwidth sponsorship from a cloud provider, I set up the first Linux mirror [2] in Mauritius, the very first openSUSE mirror here. I was completely over the moon! Imagine using Linux for 20 years and always longing for faster updates — then finally experiencing lightning-fast updates. :) It was a true delight, and it still is. I also keep an eye on development updates for MirrorCache [3] on GitHub. I could not miss mentioning Andrii and Elisei for the development of MirrorCache when I presented "Building Linux mirrors in Africa" [4] at oSC23.
- How would you react to an escalation like this[1] on the mailing list? [1] https://lists.opensuse.org/archives/list/project@lists.opensuse.org/thread/R...
I stand by the openSUSE Community Code of Conduct [5]. I understand that there have been many efforts to explain that the pride flag on the site is not just a celebration on specific dates but a broader message of inclusion. Inclusivity cannot be limited to certain dates. In the mailing list thread, I gather that some people may struggle to interpret LGBTQ+ concepts due to their environment, upbringing, or other factors. To them, I recommend exploring the “Inclusive Open Source Community Orientation (LFC102)” course [6] by the Linux Foundation. It provides clear examples and valuable insights into the meaning of inclusiveness and can be very helpful. In fact, the Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) has made the course compulsory for chapter organisers.
- What's your opinion about flagging as welcoming community and inviting everybody to the project?
15 years ago, I sent an email [7] to Andreas Jaeger, who was the openSUSE Chairman at the time, expressing my wish to join the "openSUSE Ambassador" program. Back then, I was self-employed and didn’t know much about system administration. However, I had a strong passion for Linux. The community gave me a warm welcome and played a significant role in my growth. Since 2010, I have delivered countless presentations, workshops, and Linuxfests at universities across Mauritius. Today, I am a Systems Architect at a renowned media company. I’ve built and managed mail servers, I oversee an all-Linux multi-cloud infrastructure, and confidently speak about complex infrastructure - all without a university degree - thanks to the community knowledge and the wonderful friends at openSUSE. The openSUSE community has always been welcoming, and I see no reason to think otherwise. As a Board member, I will strive to uphold this spirit of inclusivity and support. On my campaign page [8], I mentioned that I want to connect with community members that often work in silo. My goal is to empower them to overcome barriers — be it language or otherwise - and contribute upstream to the project.
- Can you explain to me, as I really want to get the bigger picture, how the future of legal setup the openSUSE project looks like? What is the status of the Geekos Foundation and what are the goals of the board regarding this matter?
From local experience, being part of an association that requires legal registration, I know that these processes can be daunting. I deeply appreciate everyone’s efforts in this regard. However, I must honestly admit that, at the time of writing, I do not have complete knowledge of what has been accomplished and what remains pending. I recognise that the Geekos Foundation has been instrumental to manage donations and help with the Travel Support Program. I cannot say what will the future relationship be between openSUSE and the Geekos Foundation. We have a special relationship with SUSE, that cannot be ignored as well. That being said, my vision is for an independent openSUSE that is capable of overcoming the logistical challenges, and operate on its own — and I am committed to work with the Board to achieve this goal. Regards, Ish Sookun [1] https://en.opensuse.org/openSUSE:Mirrors [2] https://mirror.opensuse.mu/ [3] https://github.com/openSUSE/MirrorCache [4] https://youtu.be/abNBhLug2Ls?t=306 [5] https://en.opensuse.org/Code_of_Conduct [6] https://training.linuxfoundation.org/training/inclusive-open-source-communit... [7] https://lists.opensuse.org/archives/list/ambassadors@lists.opensuse.org/thre... [8] https://en.opensuse.org/openSUSE:Board_Election_2024_Platform_Ish_Sookun

Hi Thorsten - I'll go in order. My pet project historically was maintaining the Tumbleweed kernel. I've been hacking on the kernel for coming up on 25 years and just keeping the Tumbleweed kernel rolling was a fun project that kept me up-to-date on the latest upstream developments outside of the subsystems I worked on during the day. These days, like my career in general, it's more big-picture and high-level. I'm interested in governance and the health and growth of the community and project overall. My take on that escalation is that it sounds exactly like every other Reddit moderator story I've ever heard. That said, the entire situation could be avoided if there was an actual policy in place around how long alternate celebratory logos are in use. Then there's no debate about whether the person looking to have that policy followed is being intolerant or not. Even Google Doodles last a day. The project should be welcoming to everyone while also recognizing that the paradox of intolerance is a thing. For the status of the Geekos Foundation, you'd have to ask their board. It's independent and supportive of the openSUSE project but not representative. For that to change, there are a lot of moving parts that would have to be aligned with both the community and SUSE. I'm sure I don't know all of them. There is a big intersection here with my interests described in the first answer, though. I suppose the branding/renaming would play a role here as well. -Jeff On Sun, Jan 19, 2025 at 11:37 AM Thorsten Bro | openSUSE Member <opensuse@bro.li> wrote:
Dear candidates to the openSUSE board,
as I need to decide about my vote and carefully read through your introduction. I'm happy that we got some candidates together.
I would like to ask you some questions which I guess would highly influence my choice.
- What is your pet project at openSUSE - name anything that comes to your mind (e.g. code, wiki, whatever comes to your mind...)?
- How would you react to an escalation like this[1] on the mailing list? [1] https://lists.opensuse.org/archives/list/project@lists.opensuse.org/thread/R...
- What's your opinion about flagging as welcoming community and inviting everybody to the project?
- Can you explain to me, as I really want to get the bigger picture, how the future of legal setup the openSUSE project looks like? What is the status of the Geekos Foundation and what are the goals of the board regarding this matter?
Thanks a lot in advance and happy hacking.
Best regards --
Thorsten Bro <tbro@opensuse.org> - Member of openSUSE Heroes - https://en.opensuse.org/openSUSE:Heroes
- Member of openSUSE VideoTeam - https://en.opensuse.org/openSUSE:Video
-- Jeff Mahoney VP Engineering, Linux Systems

- What is your pet project at openSUSE - name anything that comes to your mind (e.g. code, wiki, whatever comes to your mind...)? - How would you react to an escalation like this[1] on the mailing list? [1] https://lists.opensuse.org/archives/list/project@lists.opensuse.org/thread/R... - What's your opinion about flagging as welcoming community and inviting everybody to the project? - Can you explain to me, as I really want to get the bigger picture, how the future of legal setup the openSUSE project looks like? What is the status of the Geekos Foundation and what are the goals of the board regarding this matter? Apologize for the delay in getting this reply out. Life has been busy. I am still looking for the best place I fit in, but one of the things I want to focus on the most is making the community, wiki, and the distributions welcoming to everyone and easy to use for those with accessibility needs. This is a place where Linux is still behind, but I think it’s a worthwhile investment where I can make progress with. This is an interesting thread with which I didn’t interact at the time. Keeping these types of conversations on topic and ensuring those involved are respecting each other is one of the most important things for it to be a worthwhile thing to discuss. Everyone will have their own opinion on a matter, but I would want to ensure that no single person is over-talking others. In this case with this topic, we want to make it clear how decisions such as branding, logos, and promotion of inclusivity. It's an important topic to me personally, but I also can tell that the community is also on board as well. People will often want to bring up their opinion on a topic or say that they want something to change, though as a board member my main purpose is to uphold what the community and the members want. I can tell from this thread that those bringing up the pride flag as an issue are in the minority, and while they are welcome to have their own opinion, that opinion is not actionable and is in disagreement with the majority of members. This is something that is very important to me and something that I want to promote myself as someone who is queer myself. I think many Linux communities have really not done much to show that it's a space for all types of people, and I want openSUSE to be the community that welcomes minorities, and it should be something that we make a big part of our marketing. The Geekos Foundation I know of, and I am open to, though I do want the board and community to get more aligned with the path of the openSUSE and rebranding. I think it's something we have talked about for a long time but have not made many actionable changes on. Ideally I want the community to become more independent and not be seen just as an arm of the corporation. Getting a path set in stone between the board and the community is important, as I feel that many onlookers are unsure about the future and may choose another distro because of that. On 1/19/25 11:36 AM, Thorsten Bro | openSUSE Member wrote:
Dear candidates to the openSUSE board,
as I need to decide about my vote and carefully read through your introduction. I'm happy that we got some candidates together.
I would like to ask you some questions which I guess would highly influence my choice.
- What is your pet project at openSUSE - name anything that comes to your mind (e.g. code, wiki, whatever comes to your mind...)?
- How would you react to an escalation like this[1] on the mailing list? [1] https://lists.opensuse.org/archives/list/project@lists.opensuse.org/thread/R...
- What's your opinion about flagging as welcoming community and inviting everybody to the project?
- Can you explain to me, as I really want to get the bigger picture, how the future of legal setup the openSUSE project looks like? What is the status of the Geekos Foundation and what are the goals of the board regarding this matter?
Thanks a lot in advance and happy hacking.
Best regards
participants (5)
-
Chuck Payne
-
ish@sysadmin-journal.com
-
Jeff Mahoney
-
Rachel Schrader
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Thorsten Bro | openSUSE Member