CoffeeTalk Wiki

Hey folks, we had another CoffeeTalk this Sunday. There was a lot of ground covered, but still more than we had time for. So we were thinking that it would be good for people to chime in about the topics they would like to discuss in future meetings, as well as follow-up for this past talk. Once we get the topic(s) sorted out on the page, we can then use it fill out important notes about what is discussed live during the CoffeeTalk. If any of the discussions warrant their own thread afterwards they can just be copied in to a new page of their own. So PLEASE CHIME IN!

Topics discussed at February 25th, 2007 CoffeeTalk

1. Come up with a list of Dojo tasks and finding/assigning volunteers
   1. Review and edit daily #drupal-dojo IRC transcripts (not the lessons but normal traffic in the channel)

      It's essential for the dojii to realize that while IRC chatter may be going on all day long, its not important to get logs of all that talk posted to the g.d.o site. If we did that, we'd have waay too much information to digest. We're aiming for succinct ideas resulting from all that IRC ascii.

      Generalize it. Distill it. Sometimes an hour of IRC chit-chat can be boiled down into six sentences that capture the feel and flow of the entire conversation. Encourage the idlers in #drupal-dojo to read a conversation and then come directly to this group website and post a summary of what they've just read.

      Having a post created by someone who was not in on the conversation is the best thing that could ever happen to a thought process. It shows the group what's happening in the back-channels without having to wade through 6000 lines of IRC bot log every bloody day. If the poster is regurgitating the subject matter correctly, then it proves the thought was voiced correctly in IRC. If a posted summary is not true to the original thought or convo, and that's rarely the case, posting it accomplishes two things. First, it shows the idea makers that they were not fully understood. Second, it allows for a series of follow-up comments that can really solidify the intent or direction.

      The simple act of posting a summary is something that becomes invaluable to the group, since nobody's going to revisit an IRC convo from two hours ago, let alone yesterday. Dojii, please post summaries of what you see happening in the sub-channels of our group! Do not be afraid of somehow being "wrong". If you don't do this, the group will fragment. This g.d.o site is the only method we have of keeping everyone practicing the same kata. Post summaries!

   2. Document (on g.d.o./d.o.) pertinent activity occurring on external dojo sites
   3. [02-25-2007] Editing of weekly lesson wikis will now be vickorkane assisted by dmitrig01
2. Process for having new projects added to drupaldojo.org (refer to http://groups.drupal.org/node/2832#comment-8107 for the start of this conversation)
   1. Set up some guidelines regarding what would or wouldn't be a good project to allow on the drupaldojo.org.
   • [Senpai] I think that until we get a few projects in the works, we won't know what is good for the site and what is not beneficial. For instance, non-profits with intentions to create a product that could help our community should be given a green light. A single developer who wishes to band together with a few other dojii and concoct something that helps the mothership site on drupal.org better itself should be granted a thumbs-up. I definitely feel that any dojo members soliciting a spot on dd.org for a paying client's project, even if that project would benefit the community as a whole, must be given no leeway in regards to server resources, special module treatment, or emergency tech support, if they are even allowed a project domain in the first place.
3. Figure out how and who would be making these sorts of decisions. Majority vote? A committee or something?
4. Would any of these projects previously posted fit the bill?

Topics to cover at the next CoffeeTalk

1. Evaluate how the Dojo has gone so far.
   1. How have things evolved since you introduced yourself?
   2. What would you like to learn that you haven't already?
   3. Any ideas regarding additional forums for learning (i.e. real world/project-centric situations, podcasts/videocasts, one on one mentorships with developers and/or companies)
   4. What are some of the ways the Dojo has contributed to Drupal and what else can we do?
   5. How have we been doing in terms of adhering to the Drupal ideal?
2. Look for better ways to organize, structure, and interconnect dojo related groups, sites, and rooms. Utilize different methods to capture, document, and summarize important Dojo activity.
   1. Standardized tags and taxonomy across all sites and groups (if possible)
   2. RSS and aggregation on all sites (including g.d.o.)
   3. Create podcasts and/or write articles
3. Talk about how to recruit other teachers into the process.
   1. What other 'drupal beneficial' projects would open up developer time and/or provide incentives for them to teach.
   2. Could we collaborate with other working/project oriented groups (and bring in some experts to provide guidance/teach).