Call for nominations to the LoCo Council

By Pablo Rubianes | Published: September 18, 2014

Hello All,

As you may know the LoCo council members are set with a two years term, due this situation we are facing the difficult task of replacing Bhavani. A special thanks to Bhavani for all of the great contributions he had made while serving with us on the LoCo Council.

So with that in mind, we are writing this to ask for volunteers to step forward and nominate themselves or another contributor for the three open positions. The LoCo Council is defined on our wiki page.

Wiki: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoCouncil

Team Agenda: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoCouncilAgenda

Typically, we meet up once a month in IRC to go through items on the team agenda also we started to have Google Hangouts too (The time for hangouts may vary depending the availability of the members time). This involves approving new LoCo Teams, Re-approval of Approved LoCo Teams, resolving issues within Teams, approving LoCo Team mailing list requests, and anything else that comes along.

We have the following requirements for Nominees:

Be an Ubuntu member

Be available during typical meeting times of the council

Insight into the culture(s) and typical activities within teams is a plus

Here is a description of the current LoCo Council:

They are current Ubuntu Members with a proven track record of activity in the community. They have shown themselves over time to be able to work well with others, and display the positive aspects of the Ubuntu Code of Conduct. They should be people who can judge contribution quality without emotion while engaging in an interview/discussion that communicates interest, a welcoming atmosphere, and which is marked by humanity, gentleness, and kindness.

If this sounds like you, or a person you know, please e-mail the LoCo Council with your nomination(s) using the following e-mail address: loco-council<at>lists.ubuntu.com.

Please include a few lines about yourself, or whom you’re nominating, so we can get a good idea of why you/they’d like to join the council, and why you feel that you/they should be considered. If you plan on nominating another person, please let them know, so they are aware.

We welcome nominations from anywhere in the world, and from any LoCo team. Nominees do not need to be a LoCo Team Contact to be nominated for this post. We are however looking for people who are active in their LoCo Team.

The time frame for this process is as follows:

Nominations will open: September 18th, 2014

Nominations will close: October 2nd, 2014

We will then forward the nominations to the CC, Requesting they take the following their next meeting to make their selections.

New SubLoCo Policy

By Pablo Rubianes | Published: September 16, 2014

Hi, after a lot of work, thinking and talking about the problem of the LoCo Organization and the SubLoCos, we came up with the following policy:

  • Each team will be a country (or state in the United States). We will call this a ‘LoCo’.
  • Each LoCo can have sub-teams. This sub-teams will be created at the will and need of each LoCo.
  • A LoCo may have sub-teams or not have sub-teams.
  • In the event a LoCo does have sub-teams, a Team Council needs to be created.
  • A Team Council is conformed by at least one member of each sub-team.
  • The members that will be part of the Team Council will be chosen by other current members of the team.
  • The Team Council will have the power to make decisions regarding to the LoCo.
  •  The Team Council will also have the power to request partner items, such as conference and DVD packs.
  • The LoCo Council will only recognize one team per country (or state in the United States). This is the team that will be in the ~locoteams team in Launchpad.
  • In the event a LoCo wants to go through the verification process, the LoCo will go through it, and not individual sub-teams.
  • LoCos not meeting the criteria of country/state teams will be denied verification.
  • In the event what is considered a sub-team wants to be considered a LoCo, it will need to present a request to the LoCo Council.
  • The LoCo Council will provide a response, which is, in no way, related to verification. The LoCo will still have to apply for verification if wanted.

We encourage the LoCo teams to see if this new form of organization is fits for you, if so please start forming subteams as you find useful. If a team needs help with this or anything else contact us, we are here to help!

Want to get your DVD Pack first? Pre-order now!

By José Antonio Rey Cama | Published: April 3, 2014

We have just received news from Canonical that all verified LoCo Teams contacts who have pre-ordered a 14.04 DVD pack will receive it from the first shipment. This will only apply for those who register until April 8th, 2014. So, if you are the contact for a verified team and have not pre-ordered your DVDs for 14.04, make sure you do it as soon as possible!

If you are not a verified team, please l apply for the process in order to get a pack for the cycle.

Remember, only team contacts from verified teams can request them!

Make sure to get your orders in before the 8th!

Get involved with App Development during Global Jams!

By Bhavani Shankar | Published: March 26, 2014

Calling all Local Community teams!

Do you wanted to know what App Development in Ubuntu and Ubuntu touch is all about? Then read on…

Daniel and David from the Canonical Community Team have put together some materials on App Development in Ubuntu and they are planning sessions to help you also to contribute to the Ubuntu Touch through Global Jam events.

Seems interesting? Read on the original blog post by Daniel Holbach here.

Get involved and get your hands dirty with Ubuntu Touch!

Happy learning and happy hacking!

14.04 DVDs/CDs: Pre-Orders now open for verified LoCo Teams!

By José Antonio Rey Cama | Published: March 13, 2014

Hello, everyone!

As you read it, pre-orders for 14.04 DVDs/CDs are now open for verified LoCo Teams. Only the team contacts should request this DVD/CD pack, which will be sent to the address they specify. These packs contain 150 Desktop DVDs and 25 Server CDs. Packs will start shipping when available, which is estimated to be two (2) weeks after release.

In order to put an order, the team contact needs to go here and place their pre-order.

If you have any questions, please write to us at loco-council@lists.ubuntu.com.

LoCo Teams Update On Air!

By José Antonio Rey Cama | Published: February 28, 2014

As you read it. From now on, Philip Ballew, Nathan Haines, Pablo Rubianes and I (José Antonio Rey) will be hosting a monthly LoCo Teams Update session at Ubuntu on Air!.

For these to be a success, we need your help. The updates will have news from the LoCo Council, and will also highlight what LoCo Teams are doing around the world! That means, if your LoCo Team is having an event or wants to be mentioned on the show for something they are going to do or have already done, you need to tell us so we can feature it.

All LoCo Teams are welcome to send their news to us so they can be featured on the show. Just send an email to onair@ubuntu.com, and make sure to start the subject with [LoCo Update]. An example of a subject would be “[LoCo Update] Release party hosted!” (don’t forget to mention which LoCo Team this is coming from!)

You can send text so we can read, but you can also send us your pictures and photos of the event, so we can show them to the world on this show. These sessions are all about you and your LoCo Team, so we are totally welcome to suggestions about what can be done in the future to improve the show. We may even start having some guests from LoCo Teams! Also, we will be using the #ubuntu-on-air channel on irc.freenode.net (Click here to join from your browser) to host discussion about the session. Anyone is welcome to come!

Our first session is going to be on Saturday, March 22nd, at 19 UTC. From that point on, we will be having sessions on the fourth Saturday each month, at the same time. You will be able to see the sessions at the Ubuntu on Air! calendar.

We hope to see you there, and expect to receive many news to be featured on the show!

Interim Report on 2014 Census Effort

By Stephen Michael Kellat | Published: February 16, 2014

With regards to the recent census effort by the LoCo Council, it is necessary to provide an interim report as to our results.

Out of the 161 teams that could potentially be contacted, members of the Council were able to send messages to 156. Five teams were not contacted: New Zealand, Yemen, Panama, Idaho, South Dakota. Out of the 156 teams contacted, the council only received responses from 53 teams. This results in a 1 in 2.94 hit rate for successful contact.

Far too many of our contacts resulted in replies noting that the teams existed as mere shells on Launchpad waiting for either new life or for reconfiguration perhaps. This was evident in replies received from teams in the United States of America alone, though. Others noted waning interest/lack of available time on the part of people for participating. Some teams may have incorrect contacts listed or have never updated contacts on Launchpad.

The initial view from what we’ve received is that we have some distinct “powerhouse” communities where there is activity and the rest of the surface of Earth where we need to reassess matters. Currently only 47 teams across the face of this planet are slated to be eligible for disc distributions of the 14.04 LTS we’re about two months away from release on.  Those teams are mostly grouped in Europe. Only 6 out of 50 states in the United States of America have teams eligible for discs. Australia will be able to receive discs but across the Tasman the New Zealand team has been unresponsive to the council even when we have tried to simply say hello.

This is an interim report. Teams that have not replied to us are encouraged to write to the LoCo Council at loco-council@lists.ubuntu.com to at least show us signs of life. Notwithstanding any coding/development initiatives launched by Canonical Community Team we are deeply concerned about the health of our communities and worry about deeper yet more fundamental issues that may need to be addressed.

Team Check-Ins, coming soon to your LoCo Team!

By José Antonio Rey Cama | Published: January 25, 2014

Hello again!

This time we would like to announce that we have just started a process of team check-ins. Most team contacts should get an email from any of the members of the LoCo Council with some questions, so please make sure to respond to it as soon as you have time to. This will help us to improve how we manage things, as well as how we support teams. If you are a team contact and have not been contacted until February the 2nd, then please send us an email to loco-council@lists.ubuntu.com. If you are not a team contact you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.

Thanks for all your help! Make sure to stay tuned, as we will be posting some more news soon.

Defining Bug Status for the ubuntu-locoteams Project

By José Antonio Rey Cama | Published: January 13, 2014

And as promised, more news from us are coming in. We are starting this year with new plans, new ideas, and trying to refresh some things.

The ubuntu-locoteams Project on Launchpad is where issues against LoCo Teams can be filed, but is mostly used by the LoCo Council to keep track of the (re-)verification processes that are taking place. If you are a team contact or admin you may already know that we use bugs for that purpose. Personally, I like them as they are versatile, and give an option to have a (re-)verification done if the team contact cannot be present on a meeting. But sometimes team contacts, or even we, may be confused about what each bug status means on this pseudo-project. This is why we thought about it, and have created a definition for each bug status, that will be applied when a bug is set on the ubuntu-locoteams project on Launchpad.

We have created a wiki page which explains the following bug statuses:

  • New: Bug has been just filed, no response from the contact/person in charge yet.
  • Incomplete: Cycle has ended and a (re-)verification application is not on file. OR Team has expired and a re-verification application is not on file.
  • Opinion: Everything that is not a (re-)verification.
  • Invalid: Bug is not valid (can be a duplicate or something really invalid).
  • Won’t fix: Team doesn’t exist / bug has been created in vain / team existed but is now closed.
  • Confirmed: Bug has been just filed and the contact/person in charge has replied.
  • Triaged: (Re-)verification will be discussed on a meeting.
  • In Progress: (Re-)verification voting procedure is currently open and the process is being followed on the bug, not on a meeting.
  • Fix Committed: Team is (re-)verificated, but its membership to ~locoteams-verified needs to be (re)set.
  • Fix Released: Everything has been done and team has been added to ~locoteams-verified, process is done.

We hope that this definitions can make the (re-)verification process and its stages more clear, and help everyone understand it better. If you or your team have any enquiries about the (re-)verification process, make sure to send us an email to loco-council@lists.ubuntu.com, or drop by the #ubuntu-locoteams channel on irc.freenode.net (click here to access via a web client). Again, expect more from us soon!

New Logos Announced!

By José Antonio Rey Cama | Published: January 11, 2014

As many of you know, we opened a contest to find the new logos for the LoCo Teams and LoCo Council. After a while, we have finally decided that the winner is…

Sam Hewitt!

You should be seeing the new logos in place in a couple minutes on the ~locoteams and ~ubuntu-locouncil teams on Launchpad. You can check the logo set on SVG format here. We should remind you that the set is licensed under a CC-BY-SA 3.0 License. Thanks to all people who participated with their logos, and make sure to expect more news from us soon!