openSUSE:Board election 2010 platform warlordfff
Platform
Introduction and Biography
About Me
My name is Kostas Koudaras and I am from Thessaloniki, Greece. I am 30 years old and I work as a seasonal Forest Firefighter. I have enough experience of interaction in communities. I was an active member of the underground music community in my city during the end of the 90's and the start of the 00's, organizing gigs and various party. I was one of the founders of my local area youth community council where we created places for young people to go and spend quality time, playing and creating and stay away from drugs and stuff. I quit all that when I went to serve in the army for 18 months. After that I was a member and administrator in a forum of motorcyclists where I was responsible and organized various events like speeches about safety driving and speedway races, also I organized the 3rd summer camp of the forum. I quit all that after an accident I had and my motorcycle was destroyed (thank God I had received safety driving lessons, helped me stay alive). I still ride a motorcycle, but nothing fast enough,for now ;-) . I am a seasonal firefighter in the hiker section of the Greek unit of handling disasters for 8 years. I also owned 'Vavel' rock bar back on 2007 until 2008. I took a Sailing Certificate on 2008 and I have licenses to drive any vehicle from a bicycle to a truck
Me and FOSS
"I am into FOSS for a couple of years now but I am a man of action so
I do most of the things I plan and do not stay in plans. I was until recently
the event manager of Association of Greek Users and Friends of FOSS (GREEKLUG) and among other events I was responsible for organizing the host and
speech of Richard Stallman here in Thessaloniki, which was a huge
success. I spent four days with him and I learned many things about
the meaning of Free Software, among other things, and got deeply
effected and motivated by his words.
Me and openSUSE
I started working with openSUSE almost a year ago and I became ambassador that summer. Since I became ambassador I have done quite a few things about it, as I said I am a man of the action. I, along with Stathis 'Diamond_gr' Iosifidis, organized the Greek openSUSE community from scratch. Some of the things I did, organized and participated for the Greek Community:
- We made a call for all Greek Geekos to gather and establish a community, although at that time (a few months ago) almost every 'expert' told us that it would end up a great failure, we never stopped fighting and finally we proved them wrong.
- We re-activated the Greek IRC channel which was almost dead.
- We started the http://amb.opensuse.gr so that the world can see our actions as ambassadors. We were the openSUSE team at the 75th International Trade Fair of Thessaloniki.
- I started translating the openSUSE Weekly news and I am responsible for gathering and checking the translation. We started re-organizing and translating the Greek wiki.
- We went to Athens(500 km from home) where we actually met suseRocks and spoke with him about several matters about the community and the project.
- I went to several city’s all over Greece in order to meet in person people of the Greek community because I strongly believe that face to face communication builds actual trust and I do whatever is possible to prove people that I truly deserve their trust.
- Greek ambassador team trusted me to be the one communicating with the board if needed in order to separate jobs inside the Greek community.
- I participated in several innovating events for openSUSE like the Xariseto Free festivals.
- I worked closely with Carl Fletcher in order to create the Greek sub-forum at openSUSE forums
- I represented openSUSE to an event at primary school in Thessaloniki for celebrating Software Freedom Day 2010.
- Along with Carlos Ribeiro we moderated the Ambassadors Collaboration day.
You can read more about my actions either in the Greek Ambassadors Blog or in my personal Blog or even at the Ambassador Events where you will find out that the Greek Community made almost 20% of the registered events for the openSUSE Project globally at 2010, although it is the newest formed community until today.
Beyond the Greek community I participate actively in the marketing and the ambassador teams and I am trying to do the same at other teams too. Andreas Jaeger recently trusted me to be the one of three at the Ambassador Welcome Team, along with Carlos Ribeiro and Manu Gupta.
Major Issues
I believe that there are several major issues.The top and hottest four under my opinion are:
- First of all I believe that we need to organize a bit more the community and to create and give motives to all, both simple users and developers, to participate at the openSUSE Project.
- There is also the openSUSE Organization issue, I think that we can make it happen and for that we need the help and energy of everyone in the community so that we finally create a solid and alive openSUSE Organization that will be the mirror of us all, the openSUSE people.
- We also have to built our 'philosophical' profile in the FOSS community, we need to make everyone understand that openSUSE is a community product, made by FOSS people for the FOSS community. People have to learn to trust the openSUSE again
- In our try to make things better we have to be very careful not to ruin the legacy that other people left us. Evolve things, not destroy them
Minor Issues
I don't really believe that there is such thing as a minor issue in any community, but I could recognize something as not a top priority. Such things are:
- The organizing of openSUSE Project local communities so that people that don't speak English will also participate and help however they can. I can do that due to my previous experience on the Greek openSUSE community and the other communities I participated in the past
- Help Ambassadors around the world to recognize more opportunities for events and for informing people about the openSUSE project. Ambassadors often think that you have to be in a technological event or so in order to find people that would be interesting in learning about openSUSE. I have experience of proving it due to participation on globally innovating events like xariseto bazaar.
Role of the board
I think that the board under my tenure will not change too much, I believe it will just become a bit more sharp. I believe that all the people who passed from the board acted with the right way and made almost every right move. The challenge for me is to continue this way and and I will try with all of my powers to make things even better
Why you should vote for me?
You should vote for me because...
- I am a truly active member of the openSUSE community
- I co-operate well with people
- I think out of the box
- I don't believe in unsolved problems
- I am devoted to what I do
Aims/Goals
My 3 top goals for the openSUSE Project and distribution are:
- To enlarge and strengthen the community around them.
- Finally to take the place it deserves among the other, less innovating from openSUSE, distributions and Projects.
- For people to know openSUSE distribution as an easy, practical but yet idiot-proof distribution.
Endorsements
Room for your supporters to leave a word about you
From all I've seen of warlordfff, he is energetic and very active. He really communicates what I consider the "RIGHT" attitude of FOSS, namely that the PROJECT is #1 by the community for the community. I think he will really push that community-centered vision. - Polycarp
Kostas Koudaras have created,organized and managed, with big success, the openSUSE Greek Community the last 4 months. He is able to motivate people getting involved in FOSS and openSUSE Community. Furthermore Kostas Koudaras was the reason that I installed openSUSE in my pc and interact as well with the Greek Community.- Athanasios-Helias Rousinopoulos (Zoumpis)
I lived with Kostas the organization of the Greek community (we still work on it). We talk on the phone almost everyday and from what I understand he spends a lot of time and energy both on Greek and International community. I think he's the right person for the right position on the board. The community can use his energy to achieve higher goals. - Efstathios (diamond_gr) Iosifidis
The man is awesome. He runs the greek community and since the beginning of it he still has lots of energy to spend on it. He never gives up or gets tired. We talk on the phone almost every day. Not only he has great ideas but also he implements them. With a vision for the future of free software he is a true idealist and motivating. He is definitely the right man for the job. - Efstathios Agrapidis (efagra)
The last few months i entered openSUSE greek community. I saw the work that is done by the members and how Kostas Koudaras cooperates with the others. I liked that so i joined forces. He spends a lot of time on the community and openSUSE, he motivates us to work, give us the energy to do things and generally evolve our community. Last but not least one thing i like is that he always implements all his ideas and work with all the community to achieve many things. He is definately the right man for the board as his prototype ideas and his energy can help everyone achieve many things. - George Bratsos (Etern4L)