openSUSE:Board election 2013 platform anditosan
Platform
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Introduction and Biography
I am Andres (Andy) Betts. I was born and raised in Chile until 2003 when I moved to the United States. Most people know me by "Anditosan," as I am no nick named on IRC. I am by definition a creative. I have tried to learn out of curiosity anything that comes my way. I have been a drawing artist, painter, comic book artist, singer, historian, technology enthusiast and a Linux fan. I am almost at my 30s (Party announcement coming soon!) and have been a participant of the openSUSE Community for about 3-4 years. I currently work as a web hosting specialist and I enjoy it thoroughly!
Major Issues
Communication
I believe it is important for the Board, and also the project as a whole, to have the best means of communication amongst each other. There is a strong bond that unites the openSUSE project, which other teams wish they had, yet we still need a stronger push for more communication from within our team. While there are standards of communication within our team--IRC, Email Lists, Conferences-- I believe there is still room for improvement. By that I mean to have a strong camaraderie between us. One that is welcoming and heartfelt. It is time for us to interact as friends in the project and not as unknowns. As a board member I will be ready to help new members and contributors to channel their passion for Linux through our project and welcome them to enjoy the wonderful opportunity that it is to be an openSUSE member.
Determination
While most of us would not like to discuss this, as in any project, we face challenges. Working with a worldwide community is not easy, neither is it to steer the project in meaningful ways. Many times we would like to think that the project needs to let itself be, yet because of this lack of determination into steering the project, we lose on code, or other kinds of contributions, given to the project that we forget or pass unnoticed. There are many of us who would like to see our project be a beacon for new heights in technology advancement and for that we must work harder to find those interested in making our project a leader and boost their contributions. openSUSE is an excellent harness of those looking to enhance the project. We welcome you!
Vision
Our team prides itself in the wide focus of our project. We welcome everyone who is interested in our project to participate with no specific technical requirements. We welcome everyone to make a contribution and solidify Linux's position as a technology leader in the world. Wonderful new developments in mobile and even gaming are coming to our solid project. This huge influx of new development venues should stir our project into making stronger commitments to the advancement of technology and no let the opportunity of a strong project and a leader pass us by. As a board member I will strive to work hand to hand with my fellow board members to gather elements that will give our project a vision for the future. We cannot think only of our next release, we must think of our impact as a worldwide technological community.
Minor Issues
openSUSE Advocate Program
Our ambassador program was recently revamped and designed to work with our contributors around the world in more effective ways. Now we will have "Advocates," contributors looking to pass the word about our project in their local communities. Always looking to find a person to person contact that can better and strengthen our project. I believe this program needs further push for it to happen by actively looking for those willing to become an openSUSE Advocate. As a board member I will take on such task and strengthen the Advocate program.
Wiki Updates
Our team has recently voiced their concerns for lack of updates to our wiki pages. I have myself experienced lack of newer or more understandable information and have recently started a project of my own to help our Artwork wiki pages to reflect nuances in our project. However, artwork wiki pages are not the only ones in need of a revamp. For that I will dedicate time to identify and work on wiki pages that need updating. Bettering the wiki is a must. Long time contributors as well as new ones, rely heavily on our wiki pages to find useful information that can help them work on their individual projects.
Role of the board
Active
Our Board has alway been a stronghold of community building and management. A place where coordination and vision for the project is harnessed and strengthened. I believe that as a member of the board I will help enhance the board's message and work for our community. I will push for a Board that is actively engaged with the community and it's developments. Caring not only for problems of dissension which may arise, but also boosting positive action that can help our community grow.
Resourceful
Our community looks up to the Board for guidance and valuable input. As such, I believe, it is the task of the Board to be a source of information for our members in explaining community rules and traditions and also helping our members route their efforts into making effective contributions to the project.
Why you should vote for me?
Aims/Goals
I believe in Linux as a force of good in the world. I view our project as a leader in this technology advancements. We produce quality software for free, and as radical as that may sound, we do it passionately and selflessly. With such high stakes, I intend to provide the Board with a strong collaborator into making our project a solid one. I intend to strengthen our vision and new changes coming to our project. I intend to work with our members caring for their needs and aspirations.
Endorsements
Room for your supporters to leave a word about you
Alan Clark
It's great to see that Andi is seeking a position on the Board. He brings a unique perspective to the board, is a diligent community member and a positive influence to the community. He will be a great asset to the Board. -AlanClark
Marguerite Su
Andy is the most productive artist I see. You know, artists for a distribution has many limits. One of the most anti-human things is: You can't just design when ideas push you to. Andy's ideas are infinite and instinctive. They come out just the time you say "oh we need an idea". I hope this characteristic can spread to every corner of our community. We just never stop being creative!
And I think currently our board are just "in one direction": Developers. No matter what you're known for, you must have developer background to reach there. I hope Andy's nomination can diversify our board a little bit, eg: We may need a marketing people keep tracking down the "trends", and a designer to improve our usability (Usability improvement can never reach an end) as well as look and feel. Andy is just that type of people.
MargueriteSu (talk) 04:23, 3 December 2013 (UTC)
Drew Adams
I consider Andy a great friend, fun collaborator, and an all around great person! His contributions, involvement and leadership have helped the project in countless ways. He is the finest mix of determined passion, creativity, and skill. I am constantly impressed with Andy's abilities as a servant-leader. He is perfect for the Board... Vote for Andy and have a lot of fun!!
--Drew Adams (aka Druonysus) openSUSE Member & Ambassador
Jos Poortvliet
Andi has shown tremendous growth in his role in openSUSE, from an outsider sharing ideas to a team player and now team builder. He shows he's not giving up easily and open for learning. He gets stuff done, in a fun, collaborative and friendly way. Awesome. -- jospoortvliet
CarlosRibeiro
Working in a partnership and in a collaboration way with Andy for a while I got the opportunity to see how much he has growing during this years showing lots of commitment with the openSUSE Project and also with the people involved inside the project, not only in artwork field, but also has contributed with other areas like news and marketing too. He is a nice person that is pretty easily to work with as he have lots of experience and good creative mind. Last but not least he has proven many times that is a good teamplayer to have around or inside the Board as I understand and recommend it -- CarlosRibeiro