[Debconf-discuss] An open request.

["C. Morgan Hamill" <chamill@wesleyan.edu>]

Hello all,

My name is Morgan Hamill; I am an anthropology undergraduate at
Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and attended DebConf
10 in New York City this year. It was my first DebConf and was quite
an experience—I didn't quite expect the week to be so intense, but it
was all the better for it.

I came to DebConf for two reasons: first, because I use Debian on my
personal computer and thought seeing a bit of the Project first hand
would be a lot of fun (I was right); second, because I am writing an
undergraduate thesis on free software and the engagement with concepts
of authorship and ownership in Western society on the part of those
who write and support free software, and in this thesis I would like
to focus on the Debian Project as my primary case study.

While DebConf was invaluable for the purposes of my thesis, I am also
looking to gain a more in-depth understanding of the views,
motivations, opinions, beliefs, and so on, of members of the Debian
Project.

In that spirit, I have an open request:

I am looking to conduct interviews over email over the next few months
with Debian Developers, Maintainers, and other volunteers in order to
deepen the picture I have of the Debian Project. I ask that anyone who
wishes to participate please contact me by replying to this email.

There are no particular requirements for involvement, except some
familiarity with the Debian Project, however formal or informal.
Anyone from a DD to someone who submitted a bug report one time five
years ago is more than welcome; I am looking for a diversity of
perspectives. All participants will remain anonymous unless they wish
to be identified, and all participants will have a chance to review
their quotations included in the final document before it is
finalized—anything which a participant would like removed will be
removed.

If you are at all interested, contact me. I am tremendously grateful
in advance to anyone who chooses to participate. The document I
produce from this research will be made available to the Debian
Project as a whole this coming Spring.

Yours, with gratitude,
C. Morgan Hamill
chamill@wesleyan.edu