Name: Thomas Ward
Launchpad ID: Thomas Ward in Launchpad
Employer: Disclosure not permitted by employment policy.
Employed Job: Network Security Administrator
About Me:
Hello. My name is Thomas Ward.
I wear many hats in the Ubuntu world, from Community Council Member to Developer Membership Board member (for only one more year as I’ve served several terms there), to full Ubuntu Member, and also Ubuntu Core Developer with full upload privileges to the Ubuntu archive.
I’ve been doing Ubuntu stuff since 2014, starting with support on Ask Ubuntu, but then later pushing hard into the development world for Server with helping to pioneer support for NGINX and getting the package maintained, and then with the support of the Server Team, we managed to get NGINX into Main - I also support NGINX as part of the new maintainers team in Debian for it. I’ve since branched out into other packages, in different sections, by supporting the software in Ubuntu but then also taking over support of some packages and newer packages that didn’t exist into Debian (and then accordingly into Ubuntu).
For some time now, I’ve been slightly concerned that the Technical Board is staffed by entirely Canonical employees. With this in mind, I’ve been debating to run for a spot on the Technical Board because of my many hats:
- Community Council Member (oversees the Technical Board)
- Ubuntu Developer Membership Board Member (oversees developer upload rights in Ubuntu, overseen by the Technical Board)
- Ubuntu Core Developer (technical stuff can be overruled by the Technical Board and other teams if necessary)
… and a myriad of other things I do in various flavor teams, mostly overseen by the Technical Board ultimately.
But ultimately, lately, I’ve been considering that it’d be a good idea to have someone who is technical in nature (my main skills are Network Security, Systems Administration, Linux support, and a myriad of other technical skills), not bound by a Canonical employment, but who is well versed in the Technical world of Ubuntu, its processes, etc. to be present on the Technical Board.
While ultimately, it may look like as a community council member is trying to put his hands into the technical side of things, this isn’t really the case. As a Community Council member, I’ve been being the bridge from the Technical and the Community sides, with my primary focus having technical capabilities it helps give that bridge between the technical needs and the community needs. However, it makes sense to extend that technical skill to the Technical Board.
As such, I’m choosing to run for the Technical Board, in order to further help drive the Ubuntu technical decisions and drive the project more from the Technical side. Though I keep my hats with the Community Council and others, I have always compartmentalized my hats and never used them in any way that was disadvantageous or problematic, or was a conflict of interest among my different roles. I will continue to uphold this promise even with my many hats.