Looking for a new idgames maintainer

Due to the unexpected and prolonged absence of Ty Halderman, the gamers.org crew and the DOOM community are looking for a new:

idgames maintainer

Or maybe two, so there is no longer a dependency on a single person.

This is a volunteer position and your responsibility will generally be to keep the idgames archive in good working order: processing uploaded files on a regular basis, staying abreast of developments in the DOOM community and accommodating these in the archive as applicable, and whatever else may be needed.

Ty performed this task most conscientiously for more than 18 years, so these are big shoes to fill. We don't expect this to happen overnight, we're not even looking for a second Ty, but we do have some requirements and wishes:

You:

• are a reasonably experienced Linux user (i.e. know your way around bash)
  
• have the ability to thoroughly check uploaded files (e.g. view or play all uploaded levels)
  
• are in good standing with the DOOM community (we'd like these forums to assist in ascertaining that)
  
• can communicate in English reasonably well
  
• are willing to commit yourself for at least a year
  
• are willing to share your contact details with us
  

It would be a plus if you:

• are familiar with the entire idgames archive structure (not just the levels area)
  
• are familiar with the file submission process (see README.INCOMING) and the criteria for accepting/rejecting uploads
  
• have prior experience in maintaining a files archive that we can check out
  

What you will get from us:

• a user account on gamers.org, accessible via ssh
  
• any support we can provide to help you set up and perform the work
  
• the satisfaction of becoming a pillar of the DOOM community
  
• our appreciation for keeping idgames going :-)
  
• a beer or two should we ever have the pleasure of meeting you ;-)
  

I'll handle the official idgames mirrors, so you won't need to worry about that.

This is not expected to be a daily, time-consuming "job" (after you get the hang of it, it shouldn't take more than a few hours per week) but it is an important one for the DOOM community, and we don't hand out gamers.org accounts lightly. Hence this somewhat formal looking "job opening" post.

Applications can be sent to ftpadmin -at- gamers -dot- org, or posted here (if you don't mind the public scrutiny).

Thank for your attention,
Frans

So Ty still haven't show a sign of life? Anyone knows if he's okay or something?

SFoZ911 said:

So Ty still haven't show a sign of life? Anyone knows if he's okay or something?

Please keep such posts in that other thread, which already contains your answers, and limit this one to the discussion about a new maintainer. Thanks.

Would it be possible to delegate specific archival tasks to numerous people? I don't run a Linux system but I'd still be able to do tasks such as processing uploads and suchlike. The fact that Ty did so much work for 18 years is certainly a testament to his tremendous commitment, but nowdays it might be a better idea to have a dedicated team to maintain the archives.

Also I'd recommend getting this moved to the News subforum: this is definitely important enough for the front page.

I have a few questions, which I will ask here as I'd imagine a few others will have the same questions too:

• You mention users must "know their way around bash". How in depth must said knowledge of bash be?
  
• What is policy like towards absences, planned or otherwise (such as a week-long holiday, or urgent family matter)?
  
• If given a job, will there be some sort of induction to ease the new maintainer(s) into their new role?
  

Thanks for your time, and for reaching out to the community.

Xymph said:

Please keep such posts in that other thread, which already contains your answers, and limit this one to the discussion about a new maintainer. Thanks.

That thread contains zero answers but okay.

All I can say is whoever steps in better be as impartial as Ty. Those are tough shoes to fill.

Obsidian said:

Would it be possible to delegate specific archival tasks to numerous people?

If numerous means 'more than two', that is neither practical nor desirable.

Obsidian said:

I don't run a Linux system

The new maintainer(s) don't have to run a Linux system, but need to be able to use one remotely. Checking uploads may require tools (e.g. map and texture editors) that may be available only on Windows, but that's the main part of Ty's work that I'm not familiar with.

Obsidian said:

it might be a better idea to have a dedicated team to maintain the archives.

That team would be one or two new maintainers, and me. The work isn't voluminous enough for more people.

Obsidian said:

Also I'd recommend getting this moved to the News subforum: this is definitely important enough for the front page.

That's not up to me, but might help indeed.

SFoZ911 said:

That thread contains zero answers but okay.

The fact that no actual news is posted there is an obvious answer of 'no' to your question whether 'anyone knows...'. ;)

Yes please.

We do need all the help we can get.

Hope to upload more often too since once more, I hardly upload stuff :P

hex11 said:

All I can say is whoever steps in better be as impartial as Ty. Those are tough shoes to fill.

I agree

Would time spent with Cygwin count as Linux experience?

Altazimuth said:

What is policy like towards absences, planned or otherwise (such as a week-long holiday, or urgent family matter)?

That's probably why they're considering recruiting two maintainers.

Altazimuth said:

* You mention users must "know their way around bash". How in depth must said knowledge of bash be?

Basic Linux skills like knowing how to securely copy files to your own system to check them, how to move them around the archive hierarchy, [edit: understanding file/directory permissions,] knowing basic bash scripting so you can adopt Ty's tools, adding jobs to your crontab - that should suffice.

Altazimuth said:

* What is policy like towards absences, planned or otherwise (such as a week-long holiday, or urgent family matter)?

There's no strict policy, maintenance can easily be skipped a few days (Ty did too) or more. Even after 6+ weeks of no maintenance, the incoming directory contains only 45 .zip files, so that's one upload per day on average. If uploaders have to wait a week before a file is processed, I don't think anyone would consider that a problem (except the impatient uploader ;-) ) given the volunteer nature of it all. For things like multi-week vacations (more common in Europe than in the USA, I believe), having two maintainers would indeed prevent most maintenance gaps.

So, if the new maintainer(s) communicate a long(er) absence with me (as I will to him/her/them), it should be fine.

Altazimuth said:

* If given a job, will there be some sort of induction to ease the new maintainer(s) into their new role?

Yes of course, I will show them everything I know about it, this can be done via email, chat and/or Skype. For someone with sufficient Linux and DOOM skills, the learning curve shouldn't be very steep.

I could actually resume idgames maintenance myself, but then that would truly be a single-person dependency, plus my DOOM skills are lacking (especially in all the source ports). So I'm here to facilitate the maintenance, rather than do it myself.

Good questions, thanks.

Hey,

This is becoming increasingly worrying about Ty. I hope he shows up soon. I might be a good candidate for someone to temporarily take over.

Xymph said:

are a reasonably experienced Linux user (i.e. know your way around bash)

I have >15 years of experience with Linux now, in my professional job I work as a software engineer / system administrator (SRE at Google)

have the ability to thoroughly check uploaded files (e.g. view or play all uploaded levels)

I guess.

are in good standing with the DOOM community (we'd like these forums to assist in ascertaining that)

I'm a mod here and an admin at the Doom wiki.

can communicate in English reasonably well

I am English.

are willing to commit yourself for at least a year

I guess.

are willing to share your contact details with us

Yes.

are familiar with the entire idgames archive structure (not just the levels area)

I believe so.

are familiar with the file submission process (see README.INCOMING) and the criteria for accepting/rejecting uploads

Yes.

have prior experience in maintaining a files archive that we can check out

Best analogy is probably Freedoom where I was the original maintainer, and I'm still involved in handling new submissions.

If possible I'd prefer to share maintainership with someone else.

When I saw this thread, I immediately thought of GreyGhost. He would be just the right person for the "job": reliable, very charitable (not sure if the right word but I mean like willing to help people for nothing in return), knowledgeable in Doom and various tools, used to performing kinda tedious tasks (compiling various wads, removing unused textures, etc). But maybe it would be kind of shameful of the community to again make an old man do all the hard work. Unless he doesn't mind.

Yeah, for the reasons already listed, some really good candidates for the responsibility who have posted in this thread are greyghost and fraggle.

Fraggle has shown a clear desire to destroy the doom community, just look as far as chocolate doom - its lack of advanced features keeps modders in the stone age.

Do not trust his lies! This is all part of an elaborate plot to shift the balance of power in the doom community into the hands of the british imperials

This is the mail system at host va1.abydos.com.

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Should I re-send my message?

For as much as I love Doom and its surrounding community, id really love to show my gratitude by volunteering but I'm afraid I don't meet the qualifications. I too can think of some people I think would make good candidates, but it seems unfair to take a vote to volunteer someone who may feel uninterested in the job.

Thank you xymph once again for taking responsibility for the matter though.

Vorpal said:

Do not trust his lies! This is all part of an elaborate plot to shift the balance of power in the doom community into the hands of the british imperials

Uhm, is trolling common in these forums? Or did you merely forget a smiley?

Bloodshedder said:

Should I re-send my message?

Oops, that was unexpected. Fixed and tested, please try again.

It was a joke, fraggle is one of the biggest contributors to the entire community

However, to inspect every wad and map that gets uploaded will make me worry for the long term mental health of anyone accepting this position ;-P

Don't forget to post this on every existing Doom or videogames forum.

However, to inspect every wad and map that gets uploaded will make me worry for the long term mental health of anyone accepting this position ;-P

Which is why I think the load should be shared among a handful of people. The burden of responsibility for something so many people depend on can be quite overwhelming if it's just one or two people.

I personally think Never_again and Esselfortium should maintain the archive. Glad to see something's finally being done about the situation.

I cast my lot for fraggle, if that matters.

I'd throw my hat in for Bloodshedder if he is expressing interest. I have yet to meet a more consistently present webmaster; I can usually get a hold of him at 3 in the morning on a holiday weekend :P

I should further clarify that if at all possible I'd prefer that someone else take this on as I do feel like I have more than enough responsibilities already in the Doom community and this might overstretch me. But I'll take it on if there's nobody else suitable, or if you need a second maintainer to share the load I'd be happy to serve as backup.

Quasar said:

I'd throw my hat in for Bloodshedder if he is expressing interest. I have yet to meet a more consistently present webmaster; I can usually get a hold of him at 3 in the morning on a holiday weekend :P

Bloodshedder would really be the most logical choice, especially as he's already been working with Ty on things related to maintaining the archive.

Fraggle is probably the best choice.

I agree that Bloodshedder would also be an excellent choice but I am a little worried about the potential politics of a Doomworld admin also running the /idgames archive. It could easily be seen as some sort of power consolidation which might rub some people the wrong way, especially given the "retrograde vanilla purist zealot" reputation that Doomworld has apparently gained in some corners. Maybe this is really overthinking it though.

Do the opinions of those people really deserve serious consideration

No.