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#use wml::debian::template title="Step 3: Philosophy and Procedures" NOHEADER="true"
#include "$(ENGLISHDIR)/devel/join/nm-steps.inc"
#use wml::debian::translation-check translation="517d7a4f999561b8f28e207214a40990fdc3da49" maintainer="galaxico"
<p>The information on this page, while public, will primarily
be of interest to future Debian Developers.</p>
<h2>Step 3: Philosophy and Procedures</h2>
<h3>Philosophy</h3>
<p>
The <a href="./newmaint#Applicant">Applicant</a> is expected to fit
into the Debian community, which is built around the philosophy of
Free Software. What Debian understands as "free" and how this is
applied is explained in the <a href="$(HOME)/social_contract">Social
Contract</a> and the <a href="$(HOME)/social_contract#guidelines">Debian
Free Software Guidelines</a>.
<br />
Prospective Developers need to understand these documents well enough to
express the ideas and ideals described there in their own words. Just
exactly how this understanding is accomplished and communicated is left
up to the Applicant and their manager to determine. The following methods
are only intended as a suggestion, not as a requirement, but they are
examples of ways to complete this step of the process. Several
opportunities will be provided for the Applicant to show understanding in
these areas.
</p>
<p>Note: Though we require Applicants to agree with the Debian philosophy,
this is limited to work done for Debian. We understand that people need
to earn their living and are sometimes required to work on non-free
projects for their employer or customer.</p>
<p>Debian makes no attempt to control what the Applicant thinks about these
subjects, but it is important to the stability of such a large and amorphous
project that all participants work within the same set of basic principles
and beliefs.</p>
<p>The <a href="./newmaint#AppMan">Application Manager</a> (AM) will
decide when the criteria for each step have been satisfied. The following
guidelines only try to provide useful examples. In most cases, a mix
of all of them will be used.
<br>
The AM and the <a href="./newmaint#Applicant">Applicant</a> may decide
on other tasks than the ones specified here. Those tasks must be
documented clearly in the final report to the <a href="./newmaint#DAM">\
Debian Account Manager</a>.</p>
<dl>
<dt>1. The <a href="$(HOME)/social_contract">Social Contract</a></dt>
<dd><p>
The Social Contract declares Debian's goals and aspirations. It
also tries to express our self-imposed responsibilities to the rest
of the community.
<br />
A proper understanding of the priorities we give to these various
responsibilities and agreement with them is essential for any
Applicant.
</p>
<p>The understanding can be documented in various ways:</p>
<ul>
<li>A discussion with the AM about the various terms in the Social
Contract, expressing how they relate to each other and Debian's
organization.</li>
<li>A discussion about the Applicant's personal goals for Debian,
how they fit in with the Social Contract can in some cases
be enough.</li>
<li>The Applicant can put the Social Contract in their own words,
explaining some of the more complex parts and how Debian
strives to comply to them.<br />
Note: This is the usually chosen way.
</li>
</ul>
<br>
</dd>
<dt>2. The <a href="$(HOME)/social_contract#guidelines">Debian Free
Software Guidelines</a></dt>
<dd>
<p>These principles act as guidelines for determining the freedom
delivered by a particular license.</p>
<p>Although most Applicants aren't lawyers, every one should be
able to express and use the understanding of the basic principles
set forth in these guidelines.</p>
<p>The understanding can be documented in various ways:</p>
<ul>
<li>The Applicant discusses several licenses and tries to show
if they're free or not. In this process, the AM can point out
special cases and ask further questions regarding the DFSG.<br>
Note: This is the usually chosen way.
</li>
<li>The Applicant compares the Debian Free Software Guidelines
#FIXME: "statements" is so wrong, but I already used guidelines...
to other statements about Free Software and points out
similarities and differences.
</li>
</ul>
</dd>
</dl>
<p>Whatever method is used, the Applicant must agree with these
principles, as well as show an understanding of their meaning and
content.</p>
<p>
Failure to agree with these terms will terminate the application process.
</p>
<h3>Procedures</h3>
<p>The standard procedures and policies that have evolved in the creation
of the Debian system are very important to manage the distributed work
of volunteers. They ensure the overall quality of Debian and often help
to prevent problems between Developers by providing a set of guidelines
for the interaction in special cases.</p>
<p>How the <a href="./newmaint#Applicant">Applicant</a> has to show
their understanding is up to the <a href="./newmaint#AppMan">Application
Manager</a>, but there are some essentials that should always be covered.
The following list documents what is a must for the Procedures checks:</p>
<ul>
<li><h4>Working with the Bug Tracking System</h4>
Debian uses the <a href="https://bugs.debian.org/">Bug Tracking System</a>
(BTS) not only to keep track of bugs in packages, but also to gather
requests about the infrastructure and manage the work-needing and
prospective packages.
<br />
Prospective Developers need to be able to control the BTS and explain
how it can be used to represent all available data about problems.
</li>
<li><h4>The Debian release process</h4>
Debian's release process is the base for its stability and security,
so prospective Developers need to understand how it works, why it
is structured as it is and what exceptions are possible.
</li>
<li><h4>Debian's internationalisation and localisation efforts</h4>
Considering that only a small part of the world speaks English
natively, Developers and Translators invest a significant amount
of time to make Debian useable for everybody. There are a lot of
specific tools and rules and prospective Developers should be aware
of them.
</li>
</ul>
<p>There are of course many other topics that can be covered by
the New Member checks, but the AM should only choose those
that are relevant for the area the Applicants wants to work in.
The most important quality is that prospective Developers know
where to look for information concerning them.</p>
<p><a href="./newmaint#Applicant">Applicants</a> should also read
<a href="$(DEVEL)/dmup">the Debian Machine Usage Policy (DMUP)</a>
and agree to abide by it.</p>
<hr />
#include "$(ENGLISHDIR)/devel/join/nm-steps.inc"
|
