Define common set of roles and responsibilities based on goals and needs of projects

[gusaus]

One of our primary goals is to support open source projects in the broadcasting/media/music verticals. To do this we need to get a better sense of the goals and needs of each project.

Based on that we can

• define a set of common roles and responsibilities and find people interested/able to work across multiple projects
• help w/ strategies to fundraise and sustain

Roles

Starting with just a boilerplate, these roles will evolve based on feedback from projects.

• Community management/support
• Fundraiser
• Product/Project management
• Technical writer
• Technical Lead/Architect
• Themer/Front end
• Developer

Projects

We'll refine this section as project leads provide input regarding goals and needs in the comments.

• Budget should first and foremost support existing leads & core contributors
• The availability of funds will obviously be a factor for filling out needed roles and committing a set amount of time

AzuraCast

• Budget goal -
• Core team
  • Buster "Silver Eagle" Neece (SlvrEagle23) - creator and maintainer
  • Vaalyn (Vaalyn) - organising, categorising and answering GH issues as well as contributing bug fixes, docs and improving processes
  • Mitch (SC2Mitch) - documentation and deal with bug reports, triage stuff, refer critical issues back to devs
• People needs
  • Community management/support folks to triage tickets, serve as the front-line for technical questions, etc.
  • Producers - Contributors to help coordinate and produce video tutorials of the most common functions of the application and publish them on YouTube, etc
  • Technical writers and documentation contributors - to expand our documentation, particularly in the subject of "power user" functionality for advanced use-cases
  • Fundraiser - Additional ideas and personnel supporting our existing donation-based fundraising project
  • Project/product managers to assist in coordinating development efforts across the entire project
  • Frontend developers to assist in our transition to Vue-based, API-driven components for a majority of our web application

LibreTime

• Budget goal -
• Core team
  • Robb Ebright (robbt) - core development / community
  • Lucas Bickel (hairmare) - core development / community
  • Kyle Robbertze (paddatrapper) - core development / community
  • Gus Austin (gusaus) - Biz dev, marketing, outreach
• People needs
  • Community management/support (10-20 hr/mo)
  • Product/Project management (10-20 hr/mo)
  • Fundraiser (10-20 hr/mo)
  • Technical writer (10-20 hr/mo)

OpenProducer platform

• Budget goal -
• Core team
  • Gus Austin (gusaus) - Biz dev, marketing, outreach; Acting product owner
• People needs
  • Lead developer/maintainer (10-20 hr/mo)
  • Product/Project management (10-20 hr/mo)
  • Community management/support (10-20 hr/mo)
  • Fundraiser (10-20 hr/mo)
  • Technical writer (10-20 hr/mo)

Radio Station plugin

• Budget goal -
• Core team
  • Tony Zeoli (tonyzeoli) - Product owner/manager
  • Tony Hayes (majick777) - Lead developer
  • Gus Austin (gusaus) - Biz dev, marketing, outreach
• People needs
  • Community management/support (10-20 hr/mo)
  • Fundraiser (10-20 hr/mo)
  • Technical writer (10-20 hr/mo)

[tonyzeoli]

Okay @gusaus , I'm following this post. How should I proceed here? What do you need from me?

[tonyzeoli]

@gusaus The budget goal for API integrations with LibreTime and AzuraCast is probably between $5K and $7,500 per project. Without formal requirements, it's hard to say with certainty, but that's my estimation, based on what I know today. It could change given variables that are yet unseen.

[tonyzeoli]

@gusaus, for the OpenProducer platform where it's an install package that includes Radio Station and its assorted features, we'll have to speak with @majick777 about how that rolls out. Of course, the free version will be included in OpenProducer, but we need to ascertain how something like JetPack works, where it's a plugin with multiple plugins that install as dependencies. I see this is themes, where the theme has dependant plugins that need to be installed. So, if OpenProducer is a "theme" per se, with it's dependant plugins to be included, that's certainly a doable scenario. I've just never had reason to do it before, but it can be done. All these themes you buy on ThemeForest have dependency plugins that are installed with the package. They just have to be activated from the dependant plugin panel. @majick777 probably knows how that works.

By the way, you'll have to learn how to commit OpenProducer to the WordPress repo via SVN or some other method. I can help you with that. There is a way to link Git rep to the WordPress repo. I've sort of set it up, but have never used it. I still commit via SVN by deleting what's up on WordPress now and replacing it with a new package using Versions for the Mac. I think you're PC, so they probably have one for PC too.

it's probably important for you to think about releasing this as a theme and not a plugin, since the theme will be what you're offering along with the installed dependant packages unless @majick777 might advise differently.

oir, you could release a separate theme and then have your companion plugin. So, you would have the OpenProducder Theme in the theme directory and the OpenProducer plugin in the plugin directory.

You'lre going to have to develop around this, so your budget is going to need to be in place and/or you get contributors to help you with coding this up and making it function correctly on install.

[paddatrapper]

For LibreTime we need developers or paid contributions from existing developers. I can't speak for the other core contributors, but even if I was paid, I don't have the time outside my day job to do more than an hour or so a week. I suspect that if LibreTime paid for contributions, it would need to find contributors to pay too

[gusaus]

@tonyzeoli Really appreciate you circling back to this. First I think we can spin-off some of your comments into existing issues and discussions.

For API integrations #4 (comment), I think we can follow up with requirements for AzuraCast OpenProducer/newspack-platform#8 and LibreTime OpenProducer/newspack-platform#9 when you're at a point to move forward.

We need to figure out ownership https://github.com/OpenProducer/internal/issues/8 before determining how to implement OpenProducer platform. That can be worked out in https://github.com/OpenProducer/openproducer-platform

In this issue we're trying to get a better sense for what and who is needed to sustain each project listed in the description #4. So for Radio Station (free and PRO) - are there a certain amount of hours you and @majick777 would like or need to work on Radio Station per week? Are there certain areas (docs, marketing, fundraising, PM, frontline support, etc.) where you could use help?

We can discuss all the ways to sustain each project (donations, sponsorship. services, premium/pro versions, etc.) in a separate issue.

In this one we're trying to determine the goals and needs for each project.

This discussion should provide some additional context as well as examples https://github.com/orgs/OpenProducer/teams/projects/discussions/1

[gusaus]

Quick overview of my current motivations and goals...

Firstly I'm hoping Netmix will take product ownership (in an open-source sorta way) of the WordPress/Newspack powered radio platform so that OpenProducer could position itself as a service #3 beginning with these projects -

• AzuraCast
• LibreTime
• OpenProducer platform (and indirectly Newspack since it's building on top)
• Radio Station plugin

I'm also hoping Netmix will become a primary 'customer facing' service provider for all of the above. Services is something we've all been talking about in various discussions and again warrants a separate discussion here.

Personally, I'd like to spend around 5hrs/wk on each of these projects (in my hybrid open-source biz dev/community/outreach/sustainer type of role) - very similar to what I'm currently doing (to a smaller extent) but I'd like to invoice for this work.

Obviously, this will require each project have an adequate budget in their collective after key team members (all of you) are paid what you need (or want).

To do that we'd need a good chunk of funds flowing into each collective - I do think the combo of customer-facing + open-source services (including sponsorship, donations, bounties, grants, etc) can get us there.

I think the main need for all these projects are non-developer roles such as PM/scrum manager, fundraising, and customer/client support.

[gusaus]

@paddatrapper @SlvrEagle23 Take a few minutes when you have a moment to skim through the short (at least at this point) convo I've been having w/ Ben from OBS. It's from #communitymedia in https://opencollective.slack.com/ if you're unable to access via this link -
https://opencollective.slack.com/archives/CE56L3S1W/p1619558985096800

Reason I'm referencing you both, is I see parallels to the needs of LibreTime & AzuraCast (mainly funding lead developers time) and think the fundraising platform(s) and calls to action could serve as a model.

As lead developers yourselves, it would be great if you could share your views on your project's goals and needs (thanks @paddatrapper for your perspective #4 (comment)). Then we can work together on messaging. For that, we could probably use this discussion as a jumping-off point AzuraCast/AzuraCast#3994 (comment)

[gusaus]

@paddatrapper My takeaway from Robb's comment was consensus that LibreTime, at minimum, needed consistent developer time/contributions to maintain https://discourse.libretime.org/t/libretime-development-priorities/51/14

If the current maintainers don't have consistent availability, I think we need to put the call out for additional developers.

On top of that, we need to identify and set budget goals for other essential roles needed to sustain #4 (comment)

[paddatrapper]

Reason I'm referencing you both, is I see parallels to the needs of LibreTime & AzuraCast (mainly funding lead developers time) and think the fundraising platform(s) and calls to action could serve as a model.

I'm not sure there is much here that isn't already done or at least a pipe dream for LT. We have OpenCollective set up and call-to-actions can happen once we have a spending framework set up (not much point asking people for money when we don't know what we are doing with it). Further, having defined funding goals would help make those calls more real (e.g. we need $XXX to fund a developer to implement Y feature).

@paddatrapper My takeaway from Robb's comment was consensus that LibreTime, at minimum, needed consistent developer time/contributions to maintain https://discourse.libretime.org/t/libretime-development-priorities/51/14

Yup, we are in agreement there. I don't have any additional time that paid contribution would help with. I am as active as I can be, but work still takes preference. Money would not be a motivating factor for me to change jobs. The other maintainers aren't as active at the moment, but may be open to paid contributions to LT....

On top of that, we need to identify and set budget goals for other essential roles needed to sustain #4 (comment)

Whatever market rates for those positions and hours are I would guess. I don't actually know what is reasonable

[gusaus]

We have OpenCollective set up and call-to-actions can happen once we have a spending framework set up (not much point asking people for money when we don't know what we are doing with it)

@paddatrapper I think steps 3-6 in this development priorities discussion would still help LibreTime determine goal and needs -
https://discourse.libretime.org/t/libretime-development-priorities/51/8

With regards to the overall call to action... in the simplest terms "your funds will enable a continuously updated and maintained version of AirTime broadcasters can depend on"... which seemed to be one of the main motivations for the fork. https://forum.sourcefabric.org/discussion/18302/libretime-a-fork-of-airtime-due-to-stalled-development/p1

Formalizing the governance and spending plan will be helpful, but I'm not sure its essential for paying folks for ongoing time. This is again something I brought up in this comment -
https://discourse.libretime.org/t/libretime-development-priorities/51/13

Developing new features via a bounty or fundraising campaign should be treated separately. The overall call to action should be simple.

Look at OBS (https://obsproject.com/contribute) again for a good example - we're talking to those folks in Open Collective's Slack about how they've been able to generate enough funds to pay key team members.

All of the projects here can do a variation of the same.