On 08/09/2014 03:27 PM, Gilles Dubuc wrote:
This is an idea I've had for a while, and I'd like to see if there's any interest, or on the contrary concerns, about it. I would like to explore (and if I have official blessing, champion) the idea of asking corporations with software engineering staff if they would be willing to let their employees volunteer their expertise and time to mediawiki while ideally still being on their employer's payroll. I mean engineering in the wide sense of the term, including Ops, QA, etc. and maybe even UX.
This is an idea I (of course) support.
Last June, WikimediaCH has participated for the first time to the Google serve day in Zurich. Although the "first time" effect, a small dozen of bugs were fixed an feature implemented, mainly in Kiwix (in particular Kiwix for Android) but a few one in Mediawiki too.
The experience was positive for both sides (Google and WikimediaCH). Thus, we will do it again next year and plan to provide a way for non-swiss located Google engineers to participate to the effort.
Emmanuel