[fedora-india] Student not allowed for Ambassadorship?

[Rahul Sundaram]

On 06/05/2010 06:06 AM, Tejas Dinkar wrote:
> I agree strongly that people with no FOSS experience should be
> discouraged from taking up the role of and ambassador (thanks to a late
> night rant I subjected mether to).
>   

I would phrase it differently.  I want them to pursue their desire to be
play the role of a ambassador by seeking areas where they can apply
their interest and skills to actively contribute and broaden their
understanding of the nature of the project enough to know that this is
truly something they want to be an ambassador of and that takes time and
effort.  If you sign up to be an ambassador and you cannot make the case
strongly for the values that Fedora as a project and as a community
espouses, then you just need more time.   The typical refrain that I am
not a programmer doesn't even apply because there is enough areas
including documentation, infrastructure and marketing that requires zero
programming knowledge of any kind and can be a burden even because the
mindset required is different. 

> I think I understand the sentiment behind susmit's response. But I think
> we should be more careful to word our responses such that it is clear
> that someone is being considered for the position primarily on their
> merits as a (Fedora/FOSS) contributor.
>   

I agree with that concern.  While individual mentors might take
different points of view and I do know that they do,  at a project
level,  I don't think we want a blanket rule against anyone becoming
ambassadors.  The desire to redirect students into other areas of the
project comes from a general consensus that students with the time and
skillset they typically do are better suited to task oriented activities
rather than people skills which takes time but there will always be
different personalities who are exceptionally good at being a people
representative while being students.  I would welcome them to marketing
as a platform to try their hand first.  On a more personal note,  I find
it more rewarding to mentor people that I am familiar with to some
extend and if I happen to know that they are strong contributors to some
sub communities within Fedora,  I can work with them easier than if they
are complete strangers. 

Rahul