[epo-core] new aims/membershgip section for site, proposed

[Mark Keating]

Matt S Trout wrote:
> On Mon, Sep 08, 2008 at 07:52:23PM -0400, Jesse Vincent wrote:
>   
>> A first round of comments:
>>
>>     
>>> Aims of the Englightened Perl Organisation:
>>>
>>> To encourage the usage of the Perl programming language as a modern,  
>>> high-level development platform by working to fund and/or organize:
>>>
>>> - Improvements to the public facing parts of existing perl  
>>> projects, including design and content organisation and  
>>> accessibility, by co-operation with the projects involved to see  
>>> where their volunteer capacity is lacking
>>>       
>> This sounds like "websites"  Is that all you have in mind or is there  
>> "more"?
>>     
>
> I've bootstrapped lists and IRC channels and stuff for people before.
>
> My sort of thought was to mean websites but have it open to other bright
> ideas if we find there are useful ones :)
>  
>   
>>> - Eliciting the creation and/or improvement of tutorials,  
>>> screencasts, and other accessible documentation to make it easier  
>>> for new users to get started with modern perl
>>>       
>> Is it worth specifying reference documentation, books and training  
>> courses in that list?
>>     
>
> Maybe. Thoughts, everybody?
>   

- Eliciting the creation of and/or improvement of tutorials,  
screencasts, training courses, accessible documentation and reference material to make it easier for new users to get started with modern perl

>   
>>> - Encouraging people to blog their experiences of perl development  
>>> both as individuals and as part of corporations in order to raise  
>>> the profile of perl across the blogosphere and social media  
>>> aggregators
>>>
>>>       
>> This is the one item in this list that doesn't seem to have a direct  
>> and easy "throw money/volunteers at it" - is there a cunning plan?
>>     
>
> Yes. Setting up planets, allowing self-registration to them, offering prizes
> of some sort - given the amount of effort people put into trying to talk
> T-shirts out of Mark (and you, I suspect, though I've not seen that as often
> first hand) I suspect merch type stuff will work nicely.
>
>   
>>> - Making installation of common "new wave of CPAN" libraries and  
>>> applications developed using them easier in order to simplify  
>>> experimentation and deployment
>>>       
>> This feels like it may want to be generalized to "simplifying and  
>> streamlining installation and deployment of programs and libraries  
>> written in Perl to encourage innovation and deployment" or something
>>     
>
> Possibly. I don't want to overstretch the aim so much though.
>
>   
>>> - Bounties on specific pieces of code that scratch no developer's  
>>> itch but make corporate and/or hobbyist adoption of enlightened perl  
>>> easier
>>>       
>> +1, though be careful about phrasing it as "bounties" as that may have  
>> tax/nonprofit implications. That's a question for your lawyer and  
>> accountant, though.
>>     
>
> Mark?
>   
We could start by using the phrase "grants" instead of bounties, though 
referencing the grant as a "code bounty" within its description would be 
fine I feel as then the bounty refers to the code and not the money. As 
to the legal/tax ramifications I will check with the accountant. I 
imagine we are going to hit quite a lot of cases of there being vast 
differences from country to country. Places like Australia, US where all 
employed people self declare income will find grants easiest, EU 
countries may need the individual to declare this themselves (in the UK 
you would have to fill out a self assessment form and a -other 
employment- supplementary sheet), if the person is not working or a 
student I think it is easier, they will just declare it. Again I can try 
to find out as much as possible and maybe offer advice to people in the 
form of links/explanations on the website to appropriate legal bodies.
>   
>>> - Production of articles and white papers to provide a CxO level  
>>> view of the advantages of modern perl as a platform for new  
>>> development
>>>       
>> This is one place where you may be able to cajole placement help from  
>> TPF once you have the content and the EPO branding on it.
>>     
>
> Yep. That and the "extended perl core" thing that's slowly being prototyped
> via Task::Kensho I intend to convince TPF and perlbuzz to help us promote.
>
>   
>>> - Getting corporates already using modern perl to speak out about  
>>> their success stories and helping them to get involved with the  
>>> community
>>>       
>> s/corporates/organizations/?
>>     
>
> Good thought.
>  
>   
>>> Why you should join the Enlightened Perl Organisation:
>>>
>>> - As a company, organisation membership gives a clear statement  
>>> that you believe in and support the usage of modern perl for new  
>>> development, making it easier to hire smart perl hackers and get  
>>> help via community channels
>>> - As an individual, organisation membership shows your commitment  
>>> to having modern perl skills that are usable on large, modern  
>>> projects, and an understanding that maintainability and return on  
>>> investment beat cool hacks for commercial work any time
>>> - As either, membership will allow you to get easy access to the  
>>> working groups / special interest groups
>>>       
>> That's the first I've heard about SIGs/WGs. Is the intent that such  
>> things will exist and be open to members only?
>>     
>
> Yes, and not so much only be open to members but that the organization's
> direct support of such things in the form of funds and time would be
> directed by member voting. Or something.
>
>   

-- 
Mark Keating BA (Hons)              |  Writer, Photographer, Cat-Herder
Managing Director                   |  Shadowcat Systems Limited
Director/Secretary                  |  Enlightened Perl Organisation
http://www.shadowcat.co.uk          |  http://www.enlightenedperl.org
http://linkedin.com/in/markkeating  | 'Sufficiently Advanced Technology'