proposal for meeting on the state of #ubuntu-au

[Cefiar]

On Tuesday 20 June 2006 02:29, Joel Stanley wrote:
> * absences of the two Ops
>   * reflects on the effectiveness of the group
>   * IRC topic not updated/readily updatable

Having a channel op around is one of those things that isn't always 
necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes can be no problem. It depends on the 
timing and conditions.

In this case, with things like updating the topic, possibly protecting the 
channel from spam bots, possibly kicking people who are participating in 
aberrant behaviour; having someone else around is something that must be 
considered.

When I checked yesterday, #ubuntu-au had only have 3 people who have channel 
ops through ChanServ (Fujitsu, YukiCuss, and jdub), so it might be wise to 
add a few more, particularly those that have experience maintaining channels 
(currently or in the past, preferably on freenode), or at least someone with 
some proficiency with IRC. Start off by giving people basic access so they 
can maintain a few things (like the topic) if you're worried about things.

BTW: If for some reason people look at me, I've got experience running #kernel 
and #luv (a lug channel) on freenode (both currently), and a few other 
channels on other networks (previously). I'm willing to take care off odd 
jobs from time to time, like updating the topic as necessary, but don't 
expect me to set policies, etc.

> * missing out on some vital information
>  * lead to the making of misinformed decisions.
>  * no one around who knows what's going on

I'm sort of wondering what information is being missed, to see wether it's a 
problem of access, a problem of commitment or even a problem of 
misinformation (eg: not knowing where to get the info). Admittedly I'm not 
exactly that involved, but I'm obviously missing something. *grin*

> Basically, I think
> there is a need for those currently with the passwords and knowledge
> to either re-affirm their commitment to the code of conduct, or to
> pass the baton to someone who has the time, energy and spelling
> skills* to keep things running smoothly.

As mentioned, there is not necessarily a need to pass the baton, so much as to 
ensure there are backups. People willing to do small but regular jobs, wether 
it's taking care of some part of something or following up with people to do 
it, all reduces the load on people who are stressed for time or are 
unavailable due to other commitments.

And you don't want just one backup, you want many. With people, the one thing 
you should never really rely on is one backup. In our case, this has been 
proven with Fujitsu and YukiCuss both being busy at the same time.

Everyone gets busy from time to time. It's a matter of knowing how to deal 
with them being busy, and who else will take care of things when they are.

-- 
 Stuart Young - aka Cefiar - cef at optus.net