Re: Need Leadership

["natan yellin" <aantny gmail com>]

One thing I'd like to add on to my last reply:

On Fri, Jun 27, 2008 at 2:56 PM, natan yellin <aantny gmail com> wrote:

On Fri, Jun 27, 2008 at 2:29 PM, Thomas H.P. Andersen <phomes gmail com> wrote:

On Wed, Jun 25, 2008 at 2:00 PM, Rodrigo Moya <rodrigo gnome-db org> wrote:
> On Tue, 2008-06-24 at 12:27 +0300, natan yellin wrote:
>> 1. Host an annual developer awards contest. Apple does it, and there's
>> really no reason why we shouldn't as well. The system would have to be
>> adapted a bit, but it _is_ doable. Like it or not, shiny prizes and
>> recognition help attract developers.
>>
> this sounds good to me, if the Foundation has money, we could have every
> year a contest for the "coolest GNOME project of the year". GSoC gets us
> new developers mainly because of the prizes, so it is a good idea I
> think to have something similar

I don't think money has to be involved at all. Recognition is all that
matters. I remember seeing a talk by Leslie Hawthorn where she said
that what the students in google's soc primarily cared about was the
t-shirt. The money was just a nice extra.

The money is also a way for people to justify their effort. Even if they care about the t-shirt more, they wont spend their time trying to get it.

That's a bit of an exaggeration, but there is something to what Leslie said. Personally, I felt that in the case of GHOP, the grand prize was more important to most people than the money or the t-shirt.

Wearing a soc t-shirt gets you recognition from your fellow hackers.
Having a "diploma" from google in your CV gets you recognition from a
future employer.

It's a bit early to focus on specifics, but don't use the word diploma. Something like "First Place 2009 GNOME Design Winner" sounds better even if it's more verbose.

Could we do something like that? A t-shirt for mvp hacker(s) of the
year? Perhaps by vote from foundation members or the like? An official
looking pretty printed/printable "diploma" summarizing ones
contribution to gnome?

That _does_ sound a bit lame, but perhaps thats just me. I think a better approach would be to have an awards ceremony at GUADEC (formal events make a much better impression), pay for the winner's flight, and give them a cash prize, no matter how small and insignificant it is. It's not necessary, but giving them a nice and shiny trophy like Apple does would also be a good idea.

Another advantage of the above ceremony would simply be the fact that new hackers who've shown potential would attend GUADEC, which they most likely wouldn't do otherwise.

It might help bring in more contributors if we can convince e.g.
students that contributing is a good future career move. It's a nice
way of showing your skills, experience and also knowledge of tools
like vcs, bug-trackers, etc.

If people think it is a good idea I'd love to help get it set up.

- Thomas H.P. Andersen

-Natan