Bits from the DPL
Dear Debian community,
This is bits from the DPL for June.
The Challenge of Mentoring Newcomers
In June there was an extended discussion about the ongoing challenges around mentoring newcomers in Debian. As many of you know, this is a topic I’ve cared about deeply--long before becoming DPL. In my view, the issue isn’t just a matter of lacking tools or needing to “try harder” to attract contributors. Anyone who followed the discussion will likely agree that it’s more complex than that.
I sometimes wonder whether Debian’s success contributes to the problem. From the outside, things may appear to “just work”, which can lead to the impression: “Debian is doing fine without me--they clearly have everything under control.” But that overlooks how much volunteer effort it takes to keep the project running smoothly.
We should make it clearer that help is always needed--not only in packaging, but also in writing technical documentation, designing web pages, reaching out to upstreams about license issues, finding sponsors, or organising events. (Speaking from experience, I would have appreciated help in patiently explaining Free Software benefits to upstream authors.) Sometimes we think too narrowly about what newcomers can do, and also about which tasks could be offloaded from overcommitted contributors.
In fact, one of the most valuable things a newcomer can contribute is better documentation. Those of us who’ve been around for years may be too used to how things work--or make assumptions about what others already know. A person who just joined the project is often in the best position to document what’s confusing, what’s missing, and what they wish they had known sooner.
In that sense, the recent "random new contributor’s experience" posts might be a useful starting point for further reflection. I think we can learn a lot from positive user stories, like this recent experience of a newcomer adopting the courier package. I'm absolutely convinced that those who just found their way into Debian have valuable perspectives--and that we stand to learn the most from listening to them.
We should also take seriously what Russ Allbery noted in the discussion: "This says bad things about the project's sustainability and I think everyone knows that." Volunteers move on--that’s normal and expected. But it makes it all the more important that we put effort into keeping Debian's contributor base at least stable, if not growing.
Project-wide LLM budget for helping people
Lucas Nussbaum has volunteered to handle the paperwork and submit a request on Debian’s behalf to LLM providers, aiming to secure project-wide access for Debian Developers. If successful, every DD will be free to use this access--or not--according to their own preferences.
Kind regards Andreas.