So, you want to become an Ubuntu Member.  GREAT! Matthew Helmke has put up a great blog post (Ubuntu Membership-Some Reminders for Those Who Want to Apply) giving some hints on how to go about applying for Ubuntu Membership.  I’d just like to expand on his topic a bit from the standpoint of one who has gone through the process.

I had the good fortune of being “mentored” in the process by my Team leader.  This might be a good place for a prospective member to start, is to find someone who has successfully become a member and has some idea of what the committee is looking for.  My Team leader also didn’t have the feeling that he knew all the answers, and suggested that I see what the applications of others looked like, and how that affected the committee.  In other words, what questions are the committee members apt to ask compared to a particular application?  By covering as many of the types of questions in your application as possible, you reduce the feeling of inadequacy that can result from being questioned by the committee.

Being an Ubuntu Member means being a part of a larger community.  That community is a resource.  There are people in that community that are quite willing to help you.  By getting others to go over your application (your wiki page) and make suggestions, you help to improve yourself.  Grammer, spelling and punctuation can be an important part of the application, too.  Not because they are some arbitrary rules one must follow, but because smoothing the flow of your words can make it easier for others to understand what you are saying.

Matthew, in his article, mentioned that it’s like a job resume.  I agree.  When I retired, my wife was concerned that I’d be bored.  Then she looked at my wiki page (Who Is Craig A. Eddy (Tyche)) and said that it looked like a resume.  Being an Ubuntu Member is, in many ways, a job, although an unusual one in that you define your own job description and choose your own workplace.  So, let the committee know what you can do, by showing them what you have done.  Provide lots of links for them to witness your evolution toward membership.  Those links may be to works you have done, or references of others, or whatever, but they’re important as evidence of your abilities.

Not a programmer?  That REALLY doesn’t matter.  Programmers and developers may be the most visible of niches in the Ubuntu community, but there are other areas that are just as important or even more so in the community.  People to do the background work of establishing, organizing, and recording the community itself.  People who create the graphics, pamphlets, brochures, and etc. that promote the Ubuntu distribution.  People who smooth the flow of community relationships and work toward the elimination of Bug #1.

So, you want to become an Ubuntu Member.  GREAT! Show us.  Show people like Matthew Helmke and the others on the committee who you are and what you can do.  Get ahold of someone who has been through the process and knows how to help present yourself.  In the process of putting it down on the wiki page you may even learn more about yourself.  This is one time when being bold can be helpful, and being too humble can actually hurt.  You have nothing to be ashamed of.  You are a valuable resource, and your abilities and experience can make a difference.  And I wish you luck.