Loudmouthman

So here we are, several days later, and the last item on the Ubuntu Code of Conduct and most appropriately it relates to how you exit from a project or group.

Step down considerately
Developers on every project come and go and Ubuntu is no different. When you leave or disengage from the project, in whole or in part, we ask that you do so in a way that minimises disruption to the project. This means you should tell people you are leaving and take the proper steps to ensure that others can pick up where you leave off.

Until this posting I would say I have no experience of seeing or hearing about a project which requires handing off. Although as I type I am reminded of the ezPDF lib project which I have applied to manage and had no response to. Clearly if they had planned on how to exit from the project then I would be able to contact the current maintainers. With so many great ideas produced it is easy to believe that many projects will lie fallow and unclaimed do to the lack of interest or the difficulty in accessing the relevant source code and websites.

Linux User Groups certainly suffer from this since Lugmasters come and go but mechanisms to ensure smooth transition require foresight and agreement. More than ever it is as important to consider how an idea will be handled and developed, as it will to consider how well it will be accepted. I imagine also that concerns over appropriate licensing for now and the future will have an impact on how a developer, maintainer or member will manage their own exit from the project. Its hard enough to launch a new idea, or a amendment to an existing one, within our community harder still is ensuring a smooth transition of a good idea from one person to the next and I commend the Ubuntu Code of Conduct for putting this requirement into terms which should bring it to the mind of those involved.

So there we go , the various points of the Code of Conduct discussed as they relate to me. My next blog post will cover signing and agreeing to the conduct.

Thanks for reading.

Almost there and before I end my reading of the Ubuntu Code of Conduct we touch on uncertainties and how to ask better questions.

When you are unsure, ask for help.
Nobody knows everything, and nobody is expected to be perfect in the Ubuntu community (except of course the SABDFL). Asking questions avoids many problems down the road, and so questions are encouraged. Those who are asked should be responsive and helpful. However, when asking a question, care must be taken to do so in an appropriate forum. Off-topic questions, such as requests for help on a development mailing list, detract from productive discussion.

To date I have found little in the code that makes me question its stance, so you can guess from the opening of this sentence that this one section has me feeling that it is still a work in progress. It is important to know your limitations and to understand how to resolve or limit them through communication and sharing of a problem. I wonder though how many new developers will join the community only to be put of by the responses they can receive from existing community members.

This section in the code might in fact be two parts, the first as we see it here and the second should encourage people to “Be Helpful”. To ensure that your responses are useful to those whom have asked. I cannot count the amount of times I have approached the community to ask a question and been rejected out of hand. Ive taken my time, done my research and ensured that I have asked my question in the right place and with the right people, only to be torn to shreds for my idea. Responses which do not engender a desire to communicate and share new ideas lead to people leaving , not joining , a community. Some of my concerns in regards to “Be Helpful” are covered in “Be Respectful” but that evoked a different thought in me when I read it. So I guess for myself I am unsure about this part of the code and it leads me to wonder who wrote the code and whom oversees the selection of content that goes into it, but thats a thought for another blog entry. This however does not stop me from agreeing with the sentiment of the code.

So….

Thanks for reading.