The notes from the summit discussion were not detailed around the 6-month switch plan (though we had a fairly complex discussion about it), so I checked with a couple of reps to see how they remembered it before writing this up. Please read it over and comment if it sounds right to you or if you remember it differently. I’ll be posting a version of the post below to each of the contributor group blogs tomorrow, with an appropriate addendum about the current team reps and any expected changes. Per the summit chat, we’ll close voting December 14, so teams will have just over a week to chat if needed.
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Earlier this year, we took a stab at creating a structure for contributor group communication, based on identifying working groups and letting each group elect team reps. All the teams were represented at the community summit at the end of October, which was a huge step forward in recognizing contributors in areas other than coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress.. That said, once all the reps were together, one of the things we talked about was the idea of team reps, responsibilities, and expectations. As a result, it’s time for a bit of an update there.
Moving forward, each contributor group will have two team reps. We’ll have voting to choose team reps every six months. The idea is that one person will take the lead for the first half of the term with the other person acting as a backup rep, then about halfway through, they’ll swap roles. This way, there’s always someone ramping up with more responsibility, and someone who’s been there still around to lend a guiding hand, without anyone having to make too significant of a time commitment. If one new person takes on team repTeam Rep A Team Rep is a person who represents the Make WordPress team to the rest of the project, make sure issues are raised and addressed as needed, and coordinates cross-team efforts. responsibilities with each election, then it will be a constant cycle of mentoring people into more responsible roles, which is better for the project long-term than keeping all the responsibility in the hands of a few indefinitely.
It’s important to understand that “team rep” is a role that handles communication (namely contributor wrangling and posting weekly updates on the team’s activity and plans); it is not called “team lead” for a reason. While the people elected as team reps will generally come from the pool of folks that people think of as the experienced leaders, remember that the team rep role is designed to change hands regularly. For example, if in 6 months Ipstenu was ready to step back from being the support team rep, that would not reduce her leadership role on the support team, it would just mean she wasn’t responsible for team rep duties anymore.
[Insert team-specific bit about their team reps here.]
[Insert election poll (write-in format) here.]