User:Sfalken
About Me
Nationality: United States - Current Residence: Seattle, Washington
Since a young age I have had a keen interest in computers and technology. I began using Linux with Softlanding Linux (SLS) and Yggdrasil. Since then I have experimented with many distributions such as Slackware, MkLinux, Yellowdog and Debian. In 2011 I began to use Tumbleweed while it is was still just an addon to OpenSUSE. From that time I have been a project member in various capacities - packager, maintainer, and community mentor in spaces such as IRC, Discord and forums.
Personal Life
My other hobbies/interests include fishing, working on automobiles, a nice cold beer or good whiskey and, good cigars. I love music, in particular Old School/Outlaw Country and Thrash Metal.
Current Projects
openSUSE Projects
- Main Developer for openSUSE Kalpa (KDE Plasma desktop on MicroOS)
- LXQt Maintainer in openSUSE
- Moderator for openSUSE Matrix Instance
- Moderator for the openSUSE Discord
- "Owner" and Moderator for the openSUSE Magazine on kbin.social
- Running the openSUSE Kalpa Mastodon Presence
Other Projects
- Member of the Fedora LXQt SIG
- Developer for Project Greybeard
Prior Contributions and Involvement
Other Projects
- Packager and Maintainer for Fuduntu Linux (Defunct)
- Maintainer and Packager for Solus
2023 Election Platform
Why am I running for a Board position in the openSUSE project?
- I believe we can, and do offer one of the best, if not the best community based linux ecosystems in the world.
- I believe it's important for people that use and develop the distributions to contribute, when able, to help improve the project and community for all.
- I am proud of openSUSE and it's support of marginalized groups and communities, and want to see openSUSE continue to be a welcoming environment for many people that don't feel welcomed, or even threatened elsewhere.
What is it that *I* want to see as a project member, and would focus on as a Board member?
- Communications: We are a large project, with a lot of moving parts, and sometimes our communications efforts aren't as clear as they could be.
- Geeko Foundation: Continue working on the Foundation, to provide even better support and a voice for the community.
- New Contributors: openSUSE has the lowest barrier to entry for contributors, of any distribution I'm aware of. But we can continue to improve this for new potential contributors to lower these barriers further to build the next generation of community members.
- Community and Inclusion: Continue to ensure the openSUSE project is a welcoming and safe place for everybody to contribute to.