New Mentors
Requirements for Mentoring
There are no set rules for who can and cannot be a mentor. There are, however, a few simple guidelines you should meet before trying to become a mentor.
- A strong familiarity with the subjects you will be mentoring in is an obvious must.
- You must be easy to reach and readily available.
You will be contacted with questions, and a timely response is a must. If you are going to be away for a while, you should remove yourself from the Mentors list . You might also consider placing a note on the Vacation page.
- Know how to balance your time and resources.
You may get a large volume of questions from new contributors. We don't want you to get burned out. If you become overwhelmed, try to pass along some of the questions or temporarily remove yourself from the Mentors list .
Becoming a Mentor
There are several steps that anyone interested in being a mentor should take. These steps help you get the information you need and put you in touch with the rest of the mentoring team. They also insure that new contributors can reach you. Some of these steps will require wiki editing privileges. If you need access, see the WikiEditing page.
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- Join the mailing list. The mailing list serves as a communication hub for the Fedora Mentoring Program. Mentoring activities are also reported here. After joining, please introduce yourself.
- Make sure you have provided contact information on your wiki homepage. New contributors will be looking on this page for your basic contact information. What information you provide is up to you. Usually, at least an email address is provided. If you can't be reached, you can't mentor anyone. For examples of wiki homepages, take a look at the wiki homepages of the program leads: PatrickBarnes or MarcWiriadisastra
- Place yourself on the list on the Mentors page. This is the list of Fedora mentors.
Ambassador's Mentors Policies
Nomination
Who can nominate a new mentor:
- A mentor or a FAmSCo member
- A Region
NOTE: Regions need at least 5 +1s and can nominate a new mentor if there is an objective need to have one more.
Where do they file a ticket?
Tickets have to be filed in the FAmA trac, in order to allow mentors voting about other mentors:
- The nominating process starts with a ticket in the FAmA trac, where mentors get asked to give their +1/0/-1 to the nomination. As per lazy consensus, all votes with 0 or -1 have to be explained with a reason. Once the nominee gets at least 3 +1s, his nomination counts as mentor-approved.
- At this point who nominated the new mentor can file a ticket in the FAmSCo trac, adding the FAmA in CC for any notification.
- Final approval is still done by FAmSCo, but there will be no extra voting session.
- FAmSCo will just ask if anyone raises any concerns about the new (and already approved) mentor. If nobody has concerns the new mentor gets appointed and FAmA can take all administrative actions to give him the correct permissions.
- If FAmSCo has a concern, FAmSCo will discuss the reason and make a final votation, as actually. 50% +1 is needed to make this decision, even in trac. (Please note that this proces has two main pros:
- More people can nominate a new mentor and we will not run out of mentors
- Region specific mentors can vote about a new mentor, as they probably have a better view of the problems this region is facing than FAmSCo has. FAmSCo members sometimes are not part oft he specific region a new mentor comes from).
- Finally, the wiki page where mentors are listed for new ambassadors, should be read only and only FAmA should be able to edit it.
Availability
FAmA will check mentor’s availability and/or activity once a year and update the wiki page accordingly. This can be done with a simple survey, where mentors can just flag their actual state. Mentors can also do the active part, by telling FAmA they are not available for some time.
Removal Process
The removal process is the following:
- Asking removal of a mentor can be done by a mentor, a FAmSCo member or by the region, if they have at least 5 +1s.
- Tickets have to be opened in the FAmSCo trac and very clear reasons need to be provided!!!
- Mentors are asked to provide feedback, which again can be region specific and therefor a feedback from a local mentor will help FAmSCo to make a decision.
- FAmSCo votes about the proposal after at least 2 weeks, to give mentors time to provide feedback; if approved, FAmSCo asks FAmA to take action.
Also, a mentor gets removed:
- If he asks to step down, filing a ticket in the FAmA trac (this is just to trac his decision, FAmA can immediately take action)
- If a mentor is set as not available for 12 months, he will get removed by FAmA
All actions made by FAmSCo should probably pass over to FOSCo, and I’d see the FAmA even as an appointed member of this committee.