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Re: Coordinator Expectations



Nadim Shaikli wrote:

I'm rather disappointed to hear your view point and reaction.  As
the subject noted, what was/is outlined is what is expected from
all coordinators.  Let me note first and foremost - Merriam-Webster
defines "coordinator" as,

 1 : to put in the same order or rank
 2 : to bring into a common action, movement, or condition : HARMONIZE
 3 : to attach so as to form a coordination complex

 Intransitive Senses
 1 : to be or become coordinate especially so as to act together
     in a smooth concerted way
 2 : to combine by means of a coordinate bond

As such the coordinator title is _not_ simply a name or a license to
make decisions its a function and there are responsibilities associated
with it.  Isam did all those things (except for mailing his status to
'doc' as we used to hear it and document it in our weekly 'core'
meetings - all of which are available on arabeyes' CVS).  Isam has noted
his plan as well as prioritizes and brain-stormed with me and others
on how to improve the process and how to bring forth more results, etc
(check the 'doc' archives to see them if in doubt).

Please re-read the email, there's no invitation to discussion but
thing that MUST be done.

I don't think there were contentious points noted. If you feel that what was noted is not reasonable or is illogical, by all means let us know.

To quote Mohammed:
"
Salam Hicham,

First of all, welcome aboard ;) For the second time of course, but this time
you will be playing a very crucial role in the Arabeyes project. While Isam
will fill you in on the details of how we have always done things, there are a
few other things you might want to know.


+ External communication
Whenever you are communicating with anyone outside of Arabeyes regardig
Arabeyes projects, it must be Bcc'd to 'arch at arabeyes dot org'. This is very
important to make sure that we are all aware of what is going on (we have
often ended up replying to the same person or asking about the same thing --
so this is one way to avoid it). It is also important to keep a record of
all your activities. This is specially important when dealing with KDE
coordinators.


+ Shell account
Although not many people have shell access on arabeyes.org, you will
probably find it useful -- and will make your life much easier. I will send
you now (after this email) your account information. There are no rules
except, it's only for Arabeyes related work.


+ Web account
Your web account is already there (you may not have your password set
properly). Put 'amaoui' under 'Login' and click on the 'Forgot Password'
button. This should email you a newly generated password. Login once you get
it and change your password. Also, update your personal information if need
be. You will also notice that you have the ability to change things on the
KDE-i18n project page (there will be an extra section at the bottom).


Make sure you add log updates whenever something happens (use previous logs
as a guide on what should be there.) You are essentially responsible for
maintaining the KDE-i18n project page.


You will also have a few responsibilities that will require a lot of
communication. Things such as recruitment of translators, motivation of
existing translators, dividing responsibilities, mentoring new translators,
etc. In other words, you are in charge of the entire project. However, things
that affect both Gnome and KDE translations will still be determined by Isam
Bayazidi.
"
As you see there's no mention to any 'monthly status report'. So if responsibilities change, don't you think that I have a say,
perhaps I don't agree anymore to do this job ?



Here's what I think. I announced that I'll try to finish kdelibs and kdebase. I don't want to assign tasks, because I prefer poeple to start translating aplications they love and they use regularly, and because everybody have a different meaning for 'important', I consider for example kdeedu or games to be very important.
So just announce on what files you're working so that there's no overlap, and stick to a file until it's finished.

That doesn't feel like a coordinated attempt at attaining a set goal. Having people work on what "they feel is important" is chaotic at best and should not be encouraged - that's why the translation effort requires and is opting to have a coordinator -- to take care of things and to organize various individual efforts. What's needed is a means to orchestrate what needs to happen and what should be tackled first, etc not from a personal opinion, but from what is most beneficial to most users out there.

Just start translating then :-)

Again, without a list of priorities and without a semi-solid schedule on when things need to be done, saying 'go and translate something' hasn't gotten us anywhere.

If you read the emails, you should know that I proposed to stick with kde 3.1.x branch for one month then go to 3.2.
Now to ask people 'go translate this or that', I'm sorry, I can't do that. I believe this's a voluntary project, poeple work on what they like.
I suggest you subscribe to some free software mailing lists to see how things work in real world, or read
http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/, it's a must.



--- Mohammed Yousif <mhdyousif gmx net> wrote:
This was NOT nadim's personal opinion, but it's Arabeyes decision,
so if you are a member of Arabeyes you should take it.

Its true that its not my opinion that is driving this and its true
that its Arabeyes' 'core' collective decision, but we are always open
to rational, constructive, goal-oriented discussion. I simply didn't
see a need for it here, there was/is nothing controversial that is
being presented.


I see, there's a core that take decisions and we should follow. I'm again sorry, this's not how I was expecting the project to evolve.

There are three core members who make decisions and _dictate_ what
must be done to better accomplish Arabeyes mission.

Personally I don't view these guidelines as dictation of how things
must be done. These guidelines and expectations are what has evolved
over the years to how best to manage certain aspects of this metaproject.
For instance, I know that Mr. Elzubeir is working on a guideline on how
to structure coding projects (release numbering, mandatory files, etc),
not because we like it that way, but because it will ease life for users
over the long run. We've all seen what works and what doesn't and we
have all formulated means and ideas on how best to bring forth progress.
Putting those ideas on a piece of paper as a guideline is very logical.


The only guideline I've seen is doc/howto/kde-i18n-maintain.en.sgml and Mohammed email's

Remember, we are all part of a team and we all have to do abit of what
might not seem worthy of our times, but when you are in a team and
are being asked to lead or coordinate a portion of it - focus, direction,
leadership, planning and assessment are a necessary part of one's duties.


It's not a team if a 'core' member ask me to do things and I must send a report back to him

Thanks all for your replies !!

Salam.

- Nadim



Hicham