Adulting

Mon, 11 Sep 2023 12:30:00 -0000
pdo, debian, eng, talk

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Talk page (including video)

Abstract

Although Debian has just turned 30, in my experience it has not yet fully turned adult: we sometimes squabble like boys in puberty, like children we assume that someone takes care of paying the bills and bringing out the trash, we procrastinate on our responsibilities and hope nobody notices.

At the same time, we cannot assume that people have the energy and motivation to do what is needed to keep the house clean and the boat afloat: Debian is based on people volunteering, and people have diverse and changing reasons to be with us, and private lives, loved ones and families, bills to be paid.

I want to start figuring out how to address practical issues around the sustainability of the Debian community, in a way that fits the needs and peculiarities of the Debian community.

The end does not justify the means: really, the means define what the end will be. I want to talk about the means: how to be sustainable, how to be interesting, how to be fun, how to have a community worth caring for, how to last for centuries