Re: [Linux-aus] LCA HOWTO Grant

[Kim Oldfield <luv@oldfield.wattle.id.au>]

On 15 Jun 2005, Anthony Towns typed:
] For the past few years, there's been talk of putting together a HOWTO 
] document on running linux.conf.au,

Great idea.

] Fixed payment of $2000 to Alison Russell for the work. (An estimated 
] rate of $130/day)

Fixed payment (possibly in instalments) sounds good - predictable and easy
to administer.

] Are there any comments on the payment? Is the community happy for the 
] committee to just decide on the level of review, and whether payment 
] should be in advance or arrears; or do people think that some or all of 
] the payment should be withheld until completion as a matter of course?

I feel that as a general principal for LA grants which produce produce
software or documentation, at least some of the payment should be withheld
until completion of the project.

This suggestion is designed to discourage future grant applications from
people who may (for any reason) not finish the grant work, and make sure
that all grant work is completed. In other words, make sure LA (and the
community) gets the full value from grant money.  This is not meant to imply
that Alison would not finish this HOWTO.

] I 
] would expect that our informal "ghosts of conference past" will advise 
] the committee whether they're satisfied with the document or it needs 
] more work

Such a document will never be truly finished. As each conference evolves,
and produces updated experiences and statistics the HOWTO should be updated.
For the purposes of this grant we will need a reasonable definition of
finished - probably including details from LCA 2005 and earlier only.

To keep the HOWTO up to date long term we should consider either having a
maintainer (to collate patches), or making it generally updateable, eg in a
WIKI, or use one of the many version control systems.
 
] Is there any reason to worry that the
] people who will probably be contributing to the document will be judging
] when it's finished?

Given that they aren't being paid to produce it, and they are the people who
can best understand how useful such a HOWTO will be, I don't see it as a
problem.

Regards,
Kim