24.05 Call for Release Manager & Editor

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For the upcoming NixOS 24.05 we are looking for a new release manager, as well as a new release editor. Both roles are described on the release manual and require at least a few hours each week, and likely more in the weeks directly leading up to the final release.

Both roles are fulfilled in tandem, meaning you get paired with an experienced partner, who already filled the role during the previous release.

I am @figsoda, for this release, I was helped by @RaitoBezarius, @alejandrosame, and @riotbib. :wave:
A big thank you to our predecessors, and people that helped behind the scenes.

Responsibilities

Release Manager

The release managers first and foremost shape the roadmap that leads up to the release.

They are in a central position that allows them to keep track of the overall progress and requires them to communicate with the wider nixpkgs community here on Discourse, but also over on GitHub and the Release Management Matrix room.

They track blocking issues, participate in reviews and organize the Zero Hydra Failures bug-squashing effort.

They have the chance to interact with various infrastructure repositories (infra, homepage, search), that most Nixpkgs contributors don’t interact much with.

They need to perform a number of release management tasks, which are outlined in the manual.

They need to test the final release, and make sure the basics work as intended.

Overall I think that the strength in the release manager role comes from enabling your fellow community members to do what needs to be done.

The release manual and your partner are there to help you along the way.

Release Editor

The release editors improve the legibility of the final release communication, which includes the release announcement and the release notes.

While the release announcement may primarily need proofreading, the release notes require some additional effort to make them an enjoyable reading experience.

Since the release editor role is rather new, it would be appreciated if the role would also receive some additional documentation regarding scope and opportunities on the release manual.

Requirements

Both roles require a certain time commitment over the next two months.

The release managers require commit access to the Nixpkgs repository, but this isn’t strictly required for the release editors.

The release editors should be proficient in the English language and have great writing skills.

Reach out!

If you’re interested in this community position, please reach out to us! We’d love to hear from you and work together to make NixOS 24.05 the best possible release it can be.

Should you have any questions, feel free to reach out here on the thread or on Matrix or DM me personally.

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a small copy & paste error from the text, but I assume we want to make a great 24.05 release (it’s saying 23.11 in the last section) :slightly_smiling_face:

& Thx in advance for all the work invested into a wonderful 24.05!

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Thanks, I fixed it :sweat_smile:

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Hey all, I’d like to throw my hat in the ring for the Release Editor position for this release. I spoke with @RaitoBezarius about this last month and I feel I could be a good fit here.

Please let me know if there are any additional steps I should take, or if there’s anything else you need from me. Thanks!

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Following the suggestion I received on matrix, I’m posting here to express my interest in the Release Editor role.

I have been dabbling with Nix since 2019. More specifically, throughout this time I have been using NixOS as my daily driver and I have been trying to promote the use of Nix for reproducible development environments in the context of my work in software development for scientific research. Unfortunately, as the amount of time I could afford to dedicate to Nix was always limited, my knowledge is far patchier than I would like it to be.

I have spent a significant part of my career teaching programming and explaining technical issues to others, largely because I get great satisfaction from helping people gain better understanding and also because I seem to be fairly good at it. Here is an example of me explaining something in depth on this forum.

The combination of

  • being able to explain things well
  • not being too intimately familiar with the whole Nix ecosystem to appreciate the difficulties that less experienced people might experience

could be a good fit in the role of Release Editor.

As I have recently decided to actively seek professional roles which offer more opportunity to use Nix (and/or Rust … I’d be very interested to hear about relevant job openings ) I am keen to contribute more actively to the Nix community and would be able to afford to set aside some time for this role.

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I would like to contribute as a release manager.

I am maintaining services-flake for the past 8 months. Additionally, I have made a few contributions to nixpkgs, and would love to help more.

I use NixOS in my daily life for development at work and to manage my home server. It’s my go-to choice everywhere, and soon, also on my phone.

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I’m afraid you’d need the commit bit on nixpkgs to apply, as stated on https://nixos.github.io/release-wiki/Release-Managers.html.

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Similar to 20.09, I’ll submit myself as a backup release manager.

For the health of the community, I think it would be good for fresh blood to take the lead. But if figsoda would like to rotate out, I’ll happily take over.

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Also add myself as a backup release manager candidate!

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Hi all,

I’d like to be considered for the Release Editor role. I started to learn NixOS after hearing about it through the Linux Unplugged podcast and was excited to hear about this opportunity from them this morning.

I have an M.A. in English and taught composition at an R1 university for ~3 years. Alongside this, I worked as an English tutor at a community college and as a freelance editor for ~5 years. My editing work primarily dealt with academic papers ranging from undergraduate works to dissertations and professional journal articles. The majority of writers I worked with as a tutor and editor were non-native English speakers, so I am adept at navigating language barriers in a context where concision and clarity are essential to communicating complex ideas.

I recently finished my B.S. in Computer Science and am entering my first professional role as a Junior Software Engineer. I’ve admired the FOSS community and projects for a long time, and have been searching for a good way to start my own contribution journey.

Please let me know if I can provide any other information to help the decision-making process.

Best,
Kirby

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I can’t help on this one as I’m a bit busy but I’d love to help out for a future release. :+1:

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I like to apply for the role of the release manager.

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Great thanks for this decision @Mic92 !

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