From owner-freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org Mon Apr 26 20:33:41 2021 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-hackers@mailman.nyi.freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2610:1c1:1:606c::19:1]) by mailman.nyi.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 479325EF78B for ; Mon, 26 Apr 2021 20:33:41 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from lwhsu@freebsd.org) Received: from smtp.freebsd.org (smtp.freebsd.org [IPv6:2610:1c1:1:606c::24b:4]) (using TLSv1.3 with cipher TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 (256/256 bits) key-exchange X25519 server-signature RSA-PSS (4096 bits) server-digest SHA256 client-signature RSA-PSS (4096 bits) client-digest SHA256) (Client CN "smtp.freebsd.org", Issuer "R3" (verified OK)) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 4FTc6s1b56z4Yh7 for ; Mon, 26 Apr 2021 20:33:41 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from lwhsu@freebsd.org) Received: from mail-yb1-f182.google.com (mail-yb1-f182.google.com [209.85.219.182]) (using TLSv1.2 with cipher ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 (128/128 bits)) (Client CN "smtp.gmail.com", Issuer "GTS CA 1O1" (verified OK)) (Authenticated sender: lwhsu/mail) by smtp.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTPSA id 22FD323D4A for ; Mon, 26 Apr 2021 20:33:41 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from lwhsu@freebsd.org) Received: by mail-yb1-f182.google.com with SMTP id p202so22879851ybg.8 for ; Mon, 26 Apr 2021 13:33:41 -0700 (PDT) X-Gm-Message-State: AOAM531Po77eIklkk5r1CEYlHUOdC+I4+1aF65QwwPt1BERfUsTb4Z5q XxelE12mXzoTHpKwrCFDhuPXYEs2iLir9Yk1v08= X-Google-Smtp-Source: ABdhPJyCRa1MEfAvEyTePC9df8QkHDFtMWpNc0D4azRx/tqDrTTp3G4eG7ykSSrhFgpHtDvdCdMz3Int/XUjUm3kHLs= X-Received: by 2002:a25:3c01:: with SMTP id j1mr28682664yba.176.1619469220707; Mon, 26 Apr 2021 13:33:40 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 References: <20210425185831.GS18217@blisses.org> <1866645852.215610.1619467279581@privateemail.com> In-Reply-To: <1866645852.215610.1619467279581@privateemail.com> From: Li-Wen Hsu Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2021 04:33:29 +0800 X-Gmail-Original-Message-ID: Message-ID: Subject: Re: Mentoring framework? To: "linimon@portsmon.org linimon@portsmon.org" Cc: Mason Loring Bliss , FreeBSD Hackers Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" X-BeenThere: freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.34 Precedence: list List-Id: Technical discussions relating to FreeBSD List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2021 20:33:41 -0000 On Tue, Apr 27, 2021 at 4:01 AM linimon@portsmon.org linimon@portsmon.org wrote: > > > > On 04/25/2021 1:58 PM Mason Loring Bliss wrote: > > I'd like to contribute, and something that occurs to me is the notion of > > formal mentoring. > > Here are my observations: email is a pretty slow way of doing this kind of > thing. Yes, us old-timers are quite used to it, but it kind of lacks a > "collaborative" feel. > > A lot of time this kind of work gets done on various IRC channels. They at > least (usually) give quicker feedback. > > But koobs@ has been putting a lot of effort into getting Discord to be a first- > class interactivity space for FreeBSD. So, let me suggest trying out one of > the channels there, as see if it's more like what you are looking for. > > (disclaimer: I am not saying "this will solve all our problems". I'm saying that > right now it has momentum and seems worth supporting.) Yes there is no silver bullet, and IRC and discord are great tools for fast respon time. But please remember, they are not very good to keep things permanent, to let knowledge accumulated. So, my suggestion is, trying to use mailing list as possible, because the archived mails can also help others, not just two or few people, it can maximize the impact of the people who answer the questions. I like to use IRC, but sometimes I found that the "right people" are not always available, and it is more difficult when it comes to time zone issues. If it happens to find the right person, and get the issue resolved. It is awesome and it will be good to have those experiences be kept. For that purpose, the document is still the best thing, I think in the open source world, things are more in an asynchronized way, and documents can solve the issue that the mentor and mentee can't be in the same time and space. And I believe that's also a good way to make contributions. In short, the "mentoring program" begins when you send a mail to a mailing list, you just need to describe your issues more clear, and be a bit patient to wait for others to reply. And once the issue has been resolved, sort it and put it to the official documents, we have docs.freebsd.org, wiki.freebsd.org, and man pages, all for different (and may overlap) purposes. Best, Li-Wen