November 7th, 2024, Advisory Committee with CS&S

[Martin]

@tfmorris

I don't know if there's a separate thread about this, but, if not, I'd suggest that one be created to draw people's attention to an important topic, rather than having it solely buried in minutes.

Here it is Seeking Input on New Developer Role for OpenRefine

@tfmorris

At the CZI meeting in Boston, I offered to Martin that I'd be willing to help interview candidates.

thank you for the help in the technical assessment of the candidate.

@tfmorris

• Can that person can merge PR? Because this is an important part of Antonin's role today.

Sure, once they get approved but that won't happen on the day they sign their employment contract unless they already have commit rights.

I think we are all in agreement on this point.

@tfmorris

The role should be structured so that any community manager / developer advocate is not only bringing in newbies, but also moving existing contributors up the ladder so that they can mentor newbies, review PRs, etc. We should strive for a pyramid of talent with a diversity of levels in addition to all the other types of diversity that we strive for.

Ideally, the new hire would not only help develop the community, but provide a role model for how to grow into and contribute to the community. As Antonin's recent monthly report highlighted, we're below critical mass on core contributors who review PRs.

Thank this is helpful in refining the position description.

@tfmorris

Albin and I previously stated that we thought there were just a handful of contributors which Martin disputed saying that there were dozens. We need to get these dozens to come out of the shadows and contribute in a way that moves the project forward. If they are a mirage, then we should bootstrap with the new hire and our existing core.

When I mentioned a dozen more contributors, I included the trainers, documentation, and support provided on the forum. Regarding code contributors, this is only a handful indeed and we should plan accordingly.