ARTICLE

2008, Year Of The MOTU

by | Fri 11 Jan 2008

A bunch of people have been asking me since I got back to work what I would like to see in the Ubuntu community in 2008. As you can imagine, I have a big list of things I would like to achieve, but there is one major desire that I have – **make it easy, fun and rewarding to get involved as a developer**.

Our developer community is incredible. All of that juicy software that delicately slides into your Ubuntu system so seamlessly is the result of the good work of this group of angels. They go by the name of [MOTU](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU) and core-dev, and they kick arse finer than Herman Derriere, the gold-medal winner who set the world record for arse kicking in the International Arse Kicking Games of 1948.

…as you can see…they kick arse. 🙂

To make this happen, we have been working to get lots of bits and pieces in place. This includes:

* Re-organising and improving the [MOTU wiki](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU) pages. They are now leaner, meaner, and filled with more content.
* Better [Packaging Guide](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PackagingGuide/Complete) – Daniel has worked his very small German backside off to update the Packaging Guide, and to also modularise it so we can easily make more customised guides for specific people – I can imagine additional content being added for derivatives, specific packaging tasks and more. *The guide is easier and more expansive than ever*!
* We also have lots of events happening in the MOTU world. You can find all the details [here](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/Events) and we have MOTU meetings in which the community can meet together and discuss the project, monthly Packaging 101 sessions which teach how to get started with packaging, weekly Q+A sessions to answer your problems and special events. There is plenty of help out there, and plenty of opportunities to hang with other MOTU fans.
* Speaking of help, there are bags of people to help you when you get stuck – there is `#ubuntu-motu` on Freenode, the [ubuntu-motu mailing list](https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-motu) and the [Packaging Forum](https://ubuntuforums.org/forumdisplay.php?f=44) on the Ubuntu Forums.
* Not only that but there are lots of local events going on to. I spent some time getting the [Packaging Jams](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/Events#head-0b587b8dcae65e8f16b8ff7d15690989bbb658c6) framework up and running, and [this guide](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/RunningPackagingJam) explains how to run one. More and more LoCo teams and LUGs are running packaging jams.

So, with better documentation, packaging guides, more events than ever, plenty of help resources and even local events teaching how to get involved, there has never been a better time to [Get Started](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/GettingStarted).

Thats right, click on the [Getting Started](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/GettingStarted) link.

Not done it?

[Getting Started](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/GettingStarted) <------ click on that. Go on, its good for you. You won't be alone, people across the world and the community are getting involved and making a difference to Ubuntu; an Operating System and ethos that is changing lives and making technology accessible, easy to use and within the ethos of being human to each other. Be a part of the revolution, and [become a MOTU](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MOTU/GettingStarted). 🙂 Oh, and do keep me updated with how you get on. 🙂

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