Editor of the Week proposal

[Ben Cotton]

Hi Magazine team,

As discussed in last week's meeting, I've drafted a proposal for the Editor
of the Week:
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/User:Bcotton/Magazine_Editor_of_the_Week

The idea is two-fold:
1. Ensure tasks don't fall through the cracks by having an assigned person
2. Spread the load by rotating the assignee on a weekly basis

FESCo uses a similar model. At the end of each meeting, they select a chair
for the following week's meeting. It's also like how Fedora Infrastructure
(and many other sysadmin teams) handle on call duties.

I explicitly did not address the question of how we promote people to
Editor (or remove inactive Editors), because that's a separate discussion.
For the purposes of this proposal, we have an editorial team that people
become a member of *somehow*.

-- 
Ben Cotton
He / Him / His
Senior Program Manager, Fedora & CentOS Stream
Red Hat
TZ=America/Indiana/Indianapolis

[Gregory Bartholomew]

+1

I especially like the bulleted list at the end. I was never quite sure what
my duties were as an editor. Also, sorry that I haven't been around for a
while. I'll try to volunteer for a week sometime in the near future. Maybe
I'll even find some time to write up a few articles for the Magazine.

On Mon, Jun 8, 2020 at 3:40 PM Ben Cotton <bcotton(a)redhat.com&gt; wrote:

>  Hi Magazine team,
>
>  As discussed in last week's meeting, I've drafted a proposal for the Editor
>  of the Week:
>  https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/User:Bcotton/Magazine_Editor_of_the_Week
>
>  The idea is two-fold:
>  1. Ensure tasks don't fall through the cracks by having an assigned person
>  2. Spread the load by rotating the assignee on a weekly basis
>
>  FESCo uses a similar model. At the end of each meeting, they select a chair
>  for the following week's meeting. It's also like how Fedora Infrastructure
>  (and many other sysadmin teams) handle on call duties.
>
>  I explicitly did not address the question of how we promote people to
>  Editor (or remove inactive Editors), because that's a separate discussion.
>  For the purposes of this proposal, we have an editorial team that people
>  become a member of *somehow*.
>
>  --
>  Ben Cotton
>  He / Him / His
>  Senior Program Manager, Fedora & CentOS Stream
>  Red Hat
>  TZ=America/Indiana/Indianapolis
>  _______________________________________________
>  Fedora Magazine mailing list -- magazine(a)lists.fedoraproject.org
>  To unsubscribe send an email to magazine-leave(a)lists.fedoraproject.org
>  Fedora Code of Conduct:
>  https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/project/code-of-conduct/
>  List Guidelines: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
>  List Archives:
>  https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[e-mail]...
>

Hello Ben,
I took a read through the proposal. It seems very reasonable to me. I
am definitely +1.

Stephen

On Mon, 2020-06-08 at 16:40 -0400, Ben Cotton wrote:
>  Hi Magazine team,
>  
>  As discussed in last week's meeting, I've drafted a proposal for the
>  Editor
>  of the Week:
>  https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/User:Bcotton/Magazine_Editor_of_the_Week
>  
>  The idea is two-fold:
>  1. Ensure tasks don't fall through the cracks by having an assigned
>  person
>  2. Spread the load by rotating the assignee on a weekly basis
>  
>  FESCo uses a similar model. At the end of each meeting, they select a
>  chair
>  for the following week's meeting. It's also like how Fedora
>  Infrastructure
>  (and many other sysadmin teams) handle on call duties.
>  
>  I explicitly did not address the question of how we promote people to
>  Editor (or remove inactive Editors), because that's a separate
>  discussion.
>  For the purposes of this proposal, we have an editorial team that
>  people
>  become a member of *somehow*.
>  
>  -- 
>  Ben Cotton
>  He / Him / His
>  Senior Program Manager, Fedora & CentOS Stream
>  Red Hat
>  TZ=America/Indiana/Indianapolis
>  _______________________________________________
>  Fedora Magazine mailing list -- magazine(a)lists.fedoraproject.org
>  To unsubscribe send an email to 
>  magazine-leave(a)lists.fedoraproject.org
>  Fedora Code of Conduct: 
>  https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/project/code-of-conduct/
>  List Guidelines: 
>  https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
>  List Archives: 
>  https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[e-mail]...

[Ben Cotton]

I want to follow up on the proposal:
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/User:Bcotton/Magazine_Editor_of_the_Week

First, an open question: How would we track who the Editor of the Week
is? Just in the meeting minutes? On a wiki page? In the docs? With an
IRC command (similar to the .oncall command that the infra team uses)?
Generally, we should encourage the use of public channels (mailing
list/discourse and IRC channel), but there may be a time when it's
necessary to contact a person directly.

Secondly, someone in last week's meeting (I forget who) expressed
concern that it would lead to overburdening and burnout. I can't say
that it won't, but the intent is to do the opposite. By defining what
the tasks are and assigning them to someone, we give a clear set of
responsibility and change the person tasked with that responsibility
on a regular basis. Is a week too long? Maybe. It's certainly the most
convenient length of time, since the meetings give us a clear handoff
point.

I don't expect that the load would be too overwhelming to do for a
month, particularly because there's an understanding that this is best
effort. We could also split it into "first half of the week" and
"second half of the week" where the "halfway" point is the meeting.
But I think that overcomplicates it. Having spent years on pager duty
(including with a physical pager, which was fun), I'm sensitive to the
concern, but I think the proposal is a good starting point. We can
always adjust (having co-editors of the week with separated
responsibilities, shortening it to Editor of the Half Week, etc) if it
turns out to be a problem.

The other side of the coin is the writers and potential. Burnout isn't
the right word here, but something like discouragement. Right now,
proposals can sometimes sit for weeks without reply, which discourages
writers.  By making sure we're actively engaging with new writers and
the comments section, we can help keep the community vibrant and
healthy.


Thanks,
BC

--
Ben Cotton
He / Him / His
Senior Program Manager, Fedora & CentOS Stream
Red Hat
TZ=America/Indiana/Indianapolis

On Tue, 2020-06-16 at 10:15 -0400, Ben Cotton wrote:
>  I want to follow up on the proposal:
>  https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/User:Bcotton/Magazine_Editor_of_the_Week
>  
>  First, an open question: How would we track who the Editor of the
>  Week
>  is? Just in the meeting minutes? On a wiki page? In the docs? With an
>  IRC command (similar to the .oncall command that the infra team
>  uses)?
>  Generally, we should encourage the use of public channels (mailing
>  list/discourse and IRC channel), but there may be a time when it's
>  necessary to contact a person directly. 
This is a good question. Though I think IRC
is likely the best option,
for me it would require more use of it, which isn't an issue just a
comment.
>  
>  Secondly, someone in last week's meeting (I forget who) expressed
>  concern that it would lead to overburdening and burnout. I can't say
>  that it won't, but the intent is to do the opposite. By defining what
>  the tasks are and assigning them to someone, we give a clear set of
>  responsibility and change the person tasked with that responsibility
>  on a regular basis. Is a week too long? Maybe. It's certainly the
>  most
>  convenient length of time, since the meetings give us a clear handoff
>  point.
>  
>  I don't expect that the load would be too overwhelming to do for a
>  month, particularly because there's an understanding that this is
>  best
>  effort. We could also split it into "first half of the week" and
>  "second half of the week" where the "halfway" point is the meeting.
>  But I think that overcomplicates it. Having spent years on pager duty
>  (including with a physical pager, which was fun), I'm sensitive to
>  the
>  concern, but I think the proposal is a good starting point. We can
>  always adjust (having co-editors of the week with separated
>  responsibilities, shortening it to Editor of the Half Week, etc) if
>  it
>  turns out to be a problem. 
The length is likely too short for it to become a
burnout issue. Some
have been more active than others as editors, and I include myself in
the others group. For my part, it often came down to two basic points
of friction WRT editing duties...
   1)- Unfamiliarity with the process and the tools to use
   2)- Not a high enough user right level to actually do some tasks
Point 1 is improved with efforts from Adam and Paul that clarified the
process. Point 2 was improved (Taiga Board being one area), but a bit
of point 1 as I have become more familiar with the tools chosen.
>  The other side of the coin is the writers and potential. Burnout
>  isn't
>  the right word here, but something like discouragement. Right now,
>  proposals can sometimes sit for weeks without reply, which
>  discourages
>  writers.  By making sure we're actively engaging with new writers and
>  the comments section, we can help keep the community vibrant and
>  healthy.
>   
The Editorial Board has grown in the recent past, and this is a good
thing for it shows the community is engaged. This is also a good thing
for the EofW proposal, though I would have gone with Editor in Chief
just 'cause. Anyway, a month is also a good length, but a month is a
hard thing to commit to with my other obligations in life, which I
suspect is similar for all contributors. My point being that with more
Editors on the board, we have more ability to address the contribution
bottleneck through editorial diligence. This should in turn help the
writers who are feeling like their idea/article has been languishing in
obscurity. 

I think that what Adam has proposed for trying to improve the work
process, and if the test proves successful, should dovetail well with
the Editor of the Week concept. 

Stephen

>  Thanks,
>  BC
>  
>  --
>  Ben Cotton
>  He / Him / His
>  Senior Program Manager, Fedora & CentOS Stream
>  Red Hat
>  TZ=America/Indiana/Indianapolis
>  _______________________________________________
>  Fedora Magazine mailing list -- magazine(a)lists.fedoraproject.org
>  To unsubscribe send an email to 
>  magazine-leave(a)lists.fedoraproject.org
>  Fedora Code of Conduct: 
>  https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/project/code-of-conduct/
>  List Guidelines: 
>  https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
>  List Archives: 
>  https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[e-mail]...

[Adam Samalik]

I like this proposal. I see it as a backup solution to prevent proposals
sitting
there for days or weeks, discouraging our writers.

When things work well and we keep being responsive, this duty will
be very little work. But it makes sure that in times we're not that
responsive
as a whole, there is someone who won't let our writers down. I like it.

And I think a week is a reasonable length. Both from the length perspective
itself, and also from the organizational point of view. Maybe meeting to
meeting?
Or Monday to Friday, set during the meeting the week before?

But I'm generally +1


On Tue, Jun 16, 2020 at 4:53 PM <s40w5s(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote:

>  On Tue, 2020-06-16 at 10:15 -0400, Ben Cotton wrote:
>  > I want to follow up on the proposal:
>  > https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/User:Bcotton/Magazine_Editor_of_the_Week
>  >
>  > First, an open question: How would we track who the Editor of the
>  > Week
>  > is? Just in the meeting minutes? On a wiki page? In the docs? With an
>  > IRC command (similar to the .oncall command that the infra team
>  > uses)?
>  > Generally, we should encourage the use of public channels (mailing
>  > list/discourse and IRC channel), but there may be a time when it's
>  > necessary to contact a person directly.
>  This is a good question. Though I think IRC is likely the best option,
>  for me it would require more use of it, which isn't an issue just a
>  comment.
>  >
>  > Secondly, someone in last week's meeting (I forget who) expressed
>  > concern that it would lead to overburdening and burnout. I can't say
>  > that it won't, but the intent is to do the opposite. By defining what
>  > the tasks are and assigning them to someone, we give a clear set of
>  > responsibility and change the person tasked with that responsibility
>  > on a regular basis. Is a week too long? Maybe. It's certainly the
>  > most
>  > convenient length of time, since the meetings give us a clear handoff
>  > point.
>  >
>  > I don't expect that the load would be too overwhelming to do for a
>  > month, particularly because there's an understanding that this is
>  > best
>  > effort. We could also split it into "first half of the week" and
>  > "second half of the week" where the "halfway" point is the
> meeting.
>  > But I think that overcomplicates it. Having spent years on pager duty
>  > (including with a physical pager, which was fun), I'm sensitive to
>  > the
>  > concern, but I think the proposal is a good starting point. We can
>  > always adjust (having co-editors of the week with separated
>  > responsibilities, shortening it to Editor of the Half Week, etc) if
>  > it
>  > turns out to be a problem.
>  The length is likely too short for it to become a burnout issue. Some
>  have been more active than others as editors, and I include myself in
>  the others group. For my part, it often came down to two basic points
>  of friction WRT editing duties...
>     1)- Unfamiliarity with the process and the tools to use
>     2)- Not a high enough user right level to actually do some tasks
>  Point 1 is improved with efforts from Adam and Paul that clarified the
>  process. Point 2 was improved (Taiga Board being one area), but a bit
>  of point 1 as I have become more familiar with the tools chosen.
>  > The other side of the coin is the writers and potential. Burnout
>  > isn't
>  > the right word here, but something like discouragement. Right now,
>  > proposals can sometimes sit for weeks without reply, which
>  > discourages
>  > writers.  By making sure we're actively engaging with new writers and
>  > the comments section, we can help keep the community vibrant and
>  > healthy.
>  >
>  The Editorial Board has grown in the recent past, and this is a good
>  thing for it shows the community is engaged. This is also a good thing
>  for the EofW proposal, though I would have gone with Editor in Chief
>  just 'cause. Anyway, a month is also a good length, but a month is a
>  hard thing to commit to with my other obligations in life, which I
>  suspect is similar for all contributors. My point being that with more
>  Editors on the board, we have more ability to address the contribution
>  bottleneck through editorial diligence. This should in turn help the
>  writers who are feeling like their idea/article has been languishing in
>  obscurity.
>
>  I think that what Adam has proposed for trying to improve the work
>  process, and if the test proves successful, should dovetail well with
>  the Editor of the Week concept. 

>  Stephen
>
>  > Thanks,
>  > BC
>  >
>  > --
>  > Ben Cotton
>  > He / Him / His
>  > Senior Program Manager, Fedora & CentOS Stream
>  > Red Hat
>  > TZ=America/Indiana/Indianapolis
>  > _______________________________________________
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>  > To unsubscribe send an email to
>  > magazine-leave(a)lists.fedoraproject.org
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>  > https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/project/code-of-conduct/
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>  

-- 

Adam Šamalík
---------------------------
Senior Software Engineer
Red Hat

[Ben Cotton]

On Wed, Jun 17, 2020 at 7:35 AM Adam Samalik <asamalik(a)redhat.com&gt; wrote:
>  And I think a week is a reasonable length. Both from the length perspective
>  itself, and also from the organizational point of view. Maybe meeting to
>  meeting?
>  Or Monday to Friday, set during the meeting the week before?
>  
I wrote meeting-to-meeting in the proposal because it seemed like a
natural handoff point. But thinking about it, there are two problems:

1. It's not a natural handoff point for people who can't attend the meetings
2. It takes people out for two weeks if they're out for a given week.

So I think Monday-to-Friday, set during the preceding week's meeting
is a better way to go. I'll update the proposal to reflect that.


-- 
Ben Cotton
He / Him / His
Senior Program Manager, Fedora & CentOS Stream
Red Hat
TZ=America/Indiana/Indianapolis

[Ben Cotton]

Okay, it seems like we're generally in favor of giving this a try. I
opened a pull request[1] to update the docs. If another editor would
please give it a check to make sure it looks right and merge it, I'd
appreciate it. Let's select our first Editor of the Week in tomorrow's
meeting.

[1] https://pagure.io/fedora-magazine/pull-request/9

-- 
Ben Cotton
He / Him / His
Senior Program Manager, Fedora & CentOS Stream
Red Hat
TZ=America/Indiana/Indianapolis

Done
Stephen

On Tue, 2020-06-23 at 10:44 -0400, Ben Cotton wrote:
>  Okay, it seems like we're generally in favor of giving this a
> try. I
>  opened a pull request[1] to update the docs. If another editor would
>  please give it a check to make sure it looks right and merge it, I'd
>  appreciate it. Let's select our first Editor of the Week in
>  tomorrow's
>  meeting.
>  
>  [1] https://pagure.io/fedora-magazine/pull-request/9
>  
>  -- 
>  Ben Cotton
>  He / Him / His
>  Senior Program Manager, Fedora & CentOS Stream
>  Red Hat
>  TZ=America/Indiana/Indianapolis
>  _______________________________________________
>  Fedora Magazine mailing list -- magazine(a)lists.fedoraproject.org
>  To unsubscribe send an email to 
>  magazine-leave(a)lists.fedoraproject.org
>  Fedora Code of Conduct: 
>  https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/project/code-of-conduct/
>  List Guidelines: 
>  https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Mailing_list_guidelines
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