[Replicant] Call for a community manager

Sun Dec 13 13:53:46 UTC 2020

Hello,

this is Marius from Berlin (Germany) and I hereby want to apply for the role as Replicant project's community manager.

I’ve been following Replicant and this mailing list as an user and out of interest in Free Software projects for quite some time, although I’m currently using a LineageOS powered Fairphone 3 and my GT-I9100 Replicant is only a seldom used backup. Since ~20 years I’m using and administrating GNU/Linux systems and since then using/observing mobile Free Software and Open Hardware projects such as Openmoko, Neo900, currently Librem 5 or various Android Custom-ROMs.

As I ain’t a developer my knowledge and understanding of Replicant from engineering’s perspective is limited to the documented and discussed design decisions, device choices and general hardware/software flaws of mobile phones on website, wiki and this list. But I have build, installed, upgraded and setup Replicant on several devices for me and others since Replicant 4.0, so I consider myself as experienced (and tenacious) enough to work with others on problems and willing to improve documentation and bug reporting.

Since 2015 I’m working part-time as a system-administrator and accountant for a worker owned and collectively managed courier service[1] called Fahrwerk. Also, on a voluntary basis I’m involved since 2014 in running a self-organised homeless shelter[2]. My communicational contributions to both of the communities aren’t publicly accessible, and likewise the administrating and documentating work at Fahrwerk is organised in a closed gitea instance[3]. But I can provide letters of recommendation (and a CV) upon request to the Steering Committee. Unfortunately my GitHub profile[4] doesn’t show much though.

I am very keen on the opportunity to work and contribute as a non-developer for the Replicant project. After putting my commitment to (digital) political work in the FSFE, CCC and especially AK Vorratsdatenspeicherung (German Working Group against Data Retention) last after finishing studying in 2014, I would be very happy to shape and foster this techno-ethically and -politically important project together with you and enable the developers to focus on their main tasks.

You’re very welcome to ask me questions here or on IRC, if we arrange to meet there.

[1] https://fahrwerk-berlin.de/
[2] http://kaelteschutz-mehringhof.de/
[3] https://vcs.fahrwerk.io/
[4] https://github.com/w1n5l0w/

On 2020-12-01 16:42, Joonas Kylmälä wrote:
> The Replicant project is looking for a community manager.
> 
> The role of the community manager is to fill the gap between
> Replicant developers and users, making sure that users' concerns are
> properly addressed while at the same time freeing the developers from
> the burden of running the community.
> The community manager should also foster collaborations between
> Replicant and other free software projects.
> 
> Tasks:
> ------
> 
> The range of tasks will be very diverse. For instance:
> 
> * Interact with users through our various channels:
>    IRC, forum, mailing list, bug tracker and blog comments.
> * Help users fix common problems by pointing them to the relevant
>    documentation.
> * Help users write proper bug reports.
> * Explain the design decisions that were taken during Replicant's
>    development as well as the philosophical stand of the project.
> * Improve the wiki documentation, specially the end-user part.
> * Reach out to other free software projects in order to share work and
>    reuse code between them and Replicant.
> * Keep an eye on work being done on other free software projects that
>    may benefit Replicant.
> * Represent Replicant at conferences/events and coordinate the
>    organization of such events.
> * Promote Replicant and free software both online and offline, through
>    promotional material, blog posts and likes.
> * Supervise and promote fund-raising activities in collaboration with
>    the FSF.
> * Manage applications for paid development work and help developers
>    with paperwork and bureaucratic fullfilments.
> 
> It will be up to the community manager to decide which tasks to
> prioritize to best help the Replicant project.
> 
> Profile:
> --------
> 
> In order to accomplish these tasks we believe that the community
> manager should be an individual with an extensive knowledge of
> Replicant and free software in general, probably acquired through
> years of usage and research. It should also be someone with good
> communication skills and ability to handle conflicts. Availability to
> travel long-distance in order to represent Replicant at events is also
> taken into account.
> 
> Accountability:
> ---------------
> 
> Tracking each single action is not desirable nor an efficient
> use of time. Therefore, accountability will be mostly handled through
> a newsletter that should be prepared by the community manager.
> The content and periodicity of this newsletter will be up for the
> community manager to decide. It should not be focused on what the
> community manager has been doing, but rather on what is going on in
> the Replicant community and in other relevant free software projects.
> 
> In case any issues arise, the Steering Committee will decide on
> the continuation of the role by taking into account input from
> the developers, users and the community manager.
> 
> Funding:
> --------
> 
> The community manager will engage in a contracting agreement with the
> FSF and be paid from the Replicant funds.
> 
> We expect that the workload will be around 80 hours per
> month. Although, it should be noted that this will be highly
> variable. Some months, like those when conferences take place, may
> require extra hours of work, while others may require much less.
> 
> How to apply:
> -------------
> 
> If you want act as the Replicant project's community manager please
> send your proposal to the public replicant at osuosl.org mailing list and
> tell us shortly (max ~300 words) why you would be the ideal fit for
> this role.
> 
> We can be contacted privately at the Replicant contact address but at
> the end of the day a formal proposal will need to be made publicly on
> the mailing list.
> 
> Please submit your proposal by latest 15th of December 2020,
> 21:00 UTC.
> 
> The Replicant Steering Committee (with help from dllud)
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Replicant mailing list
> Replicant at osuosl.org
> https://lists.osuosl.org/mailman/listinfo/replicant
> 
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