Support for Drupal 7 is ending on 5 January 2025—it’s time to migrate to Drupal 10! Learn about the many benefits of Drupal 10 and find migration tools in our resource center.What does building community mean to you?
Community means help each other, it means healthy competition, innovation, it means care.
To me it is the part that makes working with technology really worth it. Drupal, and many other technologies would be nothing, without the community helping each other on issues, on solving problems, on agreeing on the future and direction of their respective technologies.
Community is the glue that keeps all the elements together in technology. Without community, there would be no open source, no documentation to know how to do things, no tutorials, no howtos, no READMEs, no forums or slacks to find and give help.
The amazing thing about our community is that we end up knowing each other. Drupal is a small island. And sometimes, just sometimes, that is a good thing.
What does advocating for Drupal mean to you?
Advocating for Drupal means bringing Drupal to places where it is not yet known, or even in places where there are misconceptions about what it is, how it works, strengths and weakness, etc
But it also means finding sustainable ways of doing it. There are several problems facing us, not just the Drupal community but the open source community at large. Some of those are:
- Sustainability
- Security
- Burn out
- Business models (Do they work? Are there better ideas out there?)
- Community models (makers and talkers)
- Contributions (from individuals and companies)
We need to first acknowledge that the problems are there. They may not be affecting us immediately, but they will become more and more of a problem to even put at risk the whole open source project.
If we at lest do that first step, acknowledge them, solutions will come. We have proved that with the Swag shop. There was a problem, I reach out there to discuss possible ideas. Then some people like Will Huggins quick started and lead. I understand concerns raised about the shop, even about this year model of elections...
However leadership is not just about pointing at the cracks, but offering solutions or enabling others to try to find those solutions. Listen, plan, execute. That is what I think a non profit organisation should do, and this is why I think I am a good candidate for the Board.
What is your favourite Drupal moment or memory?
I've been in the Drupal arena for more than a decade, so I have so many memories that I would struggle to chose just one. However the most important to me is about the people I've met in the road, be it events or place work. It's about meeting old friends and making new new friends, learning what everyone is been up to, finding where you can help, opportunities (for you and others), etc
Drupal camp London has a special place to me as I've been local since the same year started. Manchester unconference is great as well, so much energy and willing to share and learn. And of course the latest Drupalcon in Amsterdam, one of my favourite cities running one of the most important events of the year, some local friends that were able to show us around... What's not to love.
And for sure, Drupalcamp Spain last year in Conil, that was amazing. Surf, good food, Drupal, a beautiful scenery in one of the most gorgeous areas of Spain, in the beautiful Andalucia.
Board Skills & Strengths (indicate those that apply to your experience)
Marketing/Public Relations, Strategic Planning, Product Development, Open Source Industry Knowledge, Community Building/Understanding of Community Needs, Talent Development
What best describes your personal style? (select all that describe you)
Motivator, Inspirer, Helper, Supporter
Do you have experience as a board member? If yes, what organisation(s)?
I have helped on other associations, founded my old university Linux User Group (GLUEM) that I think it's still somehow active (nearly 2 decades later), and now I am involved as well on creating the DEW (Drupal England and Wales) Association for which I am a candidate as well.
Region Represented
Europe
Comments
About the Drupal Association's mission
Excuse me if I make no sense in my questions. I am no lawyer either, and the U.S. is not my home country. My questions are framed around legal figures, however I only intend to get a sense of what your values are as a potential director are.
The Drupal Association (DrupalCon Inc.) currently declares itself as a 501(c)(3) (as per 2018's tax filing). According to the IRS website:
(emphasis of my own)
I sense a lot of effort in promoting business using Drupal in what the Drupal association does (my perception might be wrong). From my limited understanding, this is typical from 501(c)(6) organizations (Business leagues, Chambers of commerce, Boards of trade, ...). For context, the Linux Foundation declares itself as 501(c)(6) (as per 2018's tax filing).
My questions are:
My questions are geared towards: how will you position yourself in the balance between promoting the common good vs. fostering healthy business using Drupal? But I would love to get specific answers to the two questions above.
About mission and survivability
Thanks for your question, and sorry I could not come to this before.
Something I've been promoting for some time (see Drupal camp London 2019 and coming Drupalcon Barcelona's round table about open source sustainability) is that Open Source is at a key point. There are a lot of pressures which could potentially put at risk the whole community. Failure by success as I like to call it.
On that context, and regarding the article, to me the law is clear, there must not be benefit for private or particular interest.
That however is not incompatible with running certain activities inside the association that could raise benefits and help the association and the community. All benefits should be for the association and for the benefit of the community, again, that is 100% clear.
A good example of that is the swag shop. The swag shop was the result of an initiative that I quick started a few months back, and other people like Will Huggings and Surabhi who helped proposing and pushing for a solution that made sense for the DA. This was a first iteration and I from here we need feedback and understand the numbers to be able to decide what would be the next sensible step.
I understand that not everyone may be in favour of it, in part or as a whole. That is completely fine, we must now understand the concerns, discuss solutions and agree them as a community as next iterations of this initiative.
Drupalcons on themselves are a commercial activity (an event to raise money). Are they bad or against the spirit of the association? I don't think so as long as, again, their purpose is to help the Association and the community. If we look closer to the Drupalcon, it turns that the purpose is not just raising money, but bringing people and community together as well. So commercial activities are not necessarily good or bad on themselves.
This year there was a big hole in the finances because (as per my understanding) Drupalcon was not going to happen. That quickstarted lots of fund raising activities, from companies and individuals. That is amazing and speaks volumes about the people and companies that shape the Drupal community.
However I would like to see a Drupal association more strong, more independent from companies and individual contributions. A Drupal association that do not rely on charity to survive, and that can focus its energy on the ultimate goals of the association, instead of its own survival.
Thanks again for your question, I hope my answer makes sense.
Alejandro's Candidate chat on
Alejandro's Candidate chat on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spNypXBR0hs