Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2011 08:33:15 GMT From: Chris Rees <utisoft@gmail.com> To: FreeBSD-gnats-submit@FreeBSD.org Subject: docs/155513: New chapter for Committer's Guide: Mentor Guidelines from portmgr Message-ID: <201103130833.p2D8XFEW027930@zeus.bayofrum.net> Resent-Message-ID: <201103130910.p2D9A8eP091734@freefall.freebsd.org>
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>Number: 155513 >Category: docs >Synopsis: New chapter for Committer's Guide: Mentor Guidelines from portmgr >Confidential: no >Severity: non-critical >Priority: low >Responsible: freebsd-doc >State: open >Quarter: >Keywords: >Date-Required: >Class: change-request >Submitter-Id: current-users >Arrival-Date: Sun Mar 13 09:10:07 UTC 2011 >Closed-Date: >Last-Modified: >Originator: Chris Rees >Release: FreeBSD 8.2-RELEASE i386 >Organization: >Environment: System: FreeBSD zeus.bayofrum.net 8.2-RELEASE FreeBSD 8.2-RELEASE #1: Sun Feb 27 22:19:51 UTC 2011 root@zeus.bayofrum.net:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/ZEUS i386 >Description: - SGMLise Mentor/Mentee Guidelines and add to Committer's Guide. Proposed by: tabthorpe Submitted by: Chris Rees (utisoft_at_gmail.com) >How-To-Repeat: >Fix: The SMGL is rendered at: http://www.bayofrum.net/~crees/comm.html#MENTOR.GUIDELINES --- mentor_mentee_guidelines.diff begins here --- Index: article.sgml =================================================================== RCS file: /exports/cvsroot-freebsd/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/articles/committers-guide/article.sgml,v retrieving revision 1.293 diff -u -r1.293 article.sgml --- article.sgml 22 Feb 2011 10:27:25 -0000 1.293 +++ article.sgml 13 Mar 2011 08:26:11 -0000 @@ -1230,6 +1230,216 @@ </sect2> </sect1> + <sect1 id="mentor.guidelines"> + <title>Guideline for Mentor/Mentee relationships</title> + + <para>This section is intended to help demystify the + mentoring process, as well as a way to openly promote a + constructive discussion to adapt and grow the guidelines. + In our lives we have too many rules; we are not a + government organisation that inflicts regulation, + but rather a collective of like minded individuals + working toward a common goal, maintaining the quality + assurance of the product we call the Ports Tree.</para> + + <sect2 id="why.mentor"> + <title>Why mentor?</title> + + <itemizedlist> + <listitem> + <para>For most of us, we were mentored into the + Project, so return the favor by offering to mentor + somebody else in.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>You have an irresistible urge to inflict knowledge + on others.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>The usual punishment applies because you are sick and + tired of committing somebody else's good work!</para> + </listitem> + </itemizedlist> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="mentor.comentor"> + <title>Mentor/Co-Mentor</title> + + <para>Reasons for a co-mentorship:</para> + + <itemizedlist> + <listitem> + <para>Significant timezone differential. + Accessible, interactive mentor(s) available via + IM is extremely helpful!</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Potential language barrier. Yes, &os; is very + English oriented, as is most software development, + however, having a mentor who can speak a native language + can be very useful.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>ENOTIME! Until there is a 30 hour day, and an 8 day + week, some of us only have so much time to give. + Sharing the load with somebody else will make + it easier.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>A rookie mentor can benefit from the experience of a + senior committer/mentor.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>Two heads are better than one.</para> + </listitem> + </itemizedlist> + + <para>Reasons for sole mentorship:</para> + + <itemizedlist> + <listitem> + <para>You do not play nicely with others.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>You prefer to have a one-on-one relationship.</para> + </listitem> + + <listitem> + <para>The reasons for co-mentorship do not apply + to you.</para> + </listitem> + </itemizedlist> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="mentor.expectations"> + <title>Expectations</title> + + <para>We expect mentors to review and test-build all proposed + patches, at least for an initial period lasting more than a + week or two.</para> + + <para>We expect that mentors should take responsibility for + the actions of their mentee. A mentor should follow up with + all commits the mentee makes, both approved + and implicit.</para> + + <para>We expect mentors to make sure their mentees read the + <ulink url="&url.books.porters-handbook;">Porter's Handbook</ulink>, + the <ulink url="&url.articles.pr-guidelines">PR handling guide</ulink>, + and the <link linkend="admin">Committer's Guide</link>. While + it's not necessary to memorize all the details, every committer + needs to have an overview of these things to be an effective part + of the community (and avoid as many rookie mistakes as + possible.)</para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="mentees"> + <title>Selecting a mentee</title> + + <para>There is no defined rule for what makes a candidate ready; it can be + a combination of number of PRs they have + submitted to <application>GNATS</application>, the number + of ports maintained, frequency of ports updates and/or level of + participation in a particular area of interest, e.g. + <application>GNOME</application>, <application>KDE</application>, + <application>Gecko</application> or others.</para> + + <para>A candidate should have almost no timeouts, be responsive to requests, + and generally helpful in supporting their ports.</para> + + <para>There must be a history of commitment, as it is widely understood + that training a committer requires time and effort. + If somebody has been around longer, and spent the time observing how + things are done, there is some anticipation of accumulated knowledge. + All too often we have seen a maintainer submit a few PRs, show up in + IRC and ask when they will be given a commit bit.</para> + + <para>Being subscribed to, and following the mailing lists is very + beneficial. There is no real expectation that submitting posts on + the lists will make somebody a committer, but it demonstrates a + commitment. Some mails offer insights into the knowledge of a + candidate as well how they interact with others. + Similarly participating in IRC can give somebody a + higher profile.</para> + + <para>Ask six different committers how many PRs a maintainer should submit + prior to being nominated, and you will get six different answers. Ask + those same individuals how long somebody should have been participating, + same dilemma. How many ports should they have at a minimum? Now we have + a bikeshed! Some things are just hard to quantify, a mentor will just + have to use their best judgement, and hope that + portmgr agrees.</para> + + </sect2> + <sect2 id="mentorship.duration"> + <title>Mentorship duration</title> + + <para>As the trust level develops and grows, the mentee may be granted + <quote>implicits</quote> commit rights. This can include trivial + changes to a <filename>Makefile</filename>, + <filename>pkg-descr</filename> etc. Similarly, it may include + <makevar>PORTVERSION</makevar> updates that do not include + <makevar>plist</makevar> changes. Other circumstances + may be formulated at the discretion of the Mentor. However, during the + period of mentorship, a port version bump that affects dependent ports + should be checked by a mentor.</para> + + <para>Just as we are all varied individuals, each mentee has different learning + curves, time commitments, and other influencing factors that will + contribute to the time required before they can <quote>fly solo</quote>. + Empirically, a mentee should be observed for at least 3 months. + 90-100 commits is another target that a mentor could use before releasing + a mentee. Other factors to consider prior releasing a mentee are the + number of mistakes they may have made, QATs received etc. + If they are still making rookie mistakes, they still + require mentor guidance.</para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="mentor.comentor.debate"> + <title>Mentor/Co-Mentor debate</title> + + <para>When a request gets to portmgr, it usually reads as, + <quote>I propose 'foo' for a ports commit bit, I will co-mentor with + 'bar'</quote>. Proposal received, voted, and carried.</para> + + <para>The mentor is the primary point of contact or the + <quote>first among equals</quote>, the co-mentor is the backup.</para> + + <para>Some reprobate, whose name shall be withheld, made the + <ulink url="http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/cvs-ports/2007-September/134614.html">; + first recorded co-mentor commit</ulink>. + Similar co-mentor commits have also been spotted in + the src tree. Does this make it right? Does this make it wrong? + It seems to be part of the evolution of how things are done.</para> + </sect2> + + <sect2 id="mentee.expectations"> + <title>Expectations</title> + + <para>We expect mentees to be prepared for constructive criticism from the + community. There's still a lot of <quote>lore</quote> that isn't + written down. Responding well to constructive criticism is what we + hope we are selecting for by first reviewing their existing + contributions on IRC and mailing lists.</para> + + <para>We warn mentees that some of the criticism they receive may be + less <quote>constructive</quote> than others, (whether through + language communication problems, or excessive nit-picking), and that + dealing with this gracefully is just part of being in a large community. + In case of specific problems with specific people, or any questions, we + hope that they will approach a portmgr member + on IRC or by email.</para> + + </sect2> + </sect1> + <sect1 id="pref-license"> <title>Preferred License for New Files</title> --- mentor_mentee_guidelines.diff ends here --- >Release-Note: >Audit-Trail: >Unformatted:
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