Posted on September 20, 2017
Resigning from Fedora Ambassadors
After a good home run of over 1 year as a Fedora Ambassador and more than that as a contributor, I have decided to resign from Fedora Ambassadors. I’m not going to bore you with stories of the past. However, I’m resigning in good spirit, knowing that the local Fedora Community is in a better place compared to before I joined. Especially with our newest Ambassador, Mariana, I am convinced Fedora Albania will have a solid future.
While I am a bit worried about diversity in the community (I was the only male Ambassador) I look forward to be more on the sidelines and help mentor contributors into other projects at Open Labs Hackerspace. I am convinced that in the same way I have been supported and mentored by fellow contributors, I should give back to the community in a similar way, by allocating more time to that.
I am grateful for the support we had from Fedora and Red Hat, especially during OSCAL and look forward to shape the next edition with an even more solid presence.
Posted on September 8, 2017
Joining OONI Team at The Tor Project as Creative Lead
Last year I applied for a gig at The Tor Project to design their new style guide which would compliment the launch of their recently formed UX Team. Things moved faster than anticipated and I ended up working with the UX team and attending the Tor Meeting in Seattle in late September 2016. There I met with the OONI Team, an inspiring bunch of people aiming to empower decentralized efforts in increasing transparency of internet censorship around the world. OONI develops free and open source software, called ooniprobe, which examines blocking of websites, instant messaging apps, censorship circumvention tools and more. Anyone who runs ooniprobe can collect data that can serve as evidence of internet censorship, since it shows how, when, where, and by whom it is implemented.
While we met again at the next Tor Meeting in Amsterdam and OSCAL in Tirana, I had the chance to exchange more with the OONI folks, especially Arturo and Maria, suggesting various improvements in the Mobile and Web UI of OONI. To fulfill these plans, I am happy to join the OONI Team as Creative Lead, taking care of OONI’s upcoming style guide and UX elements on the various platforms we are present. If you want to have a look of our upcoming design work, check out our GitHub Design repo.
Posted on August 11, 2017
Fedora 26 Release Party at Open Labs Hackerspace
A lot of people like Fedora for its bleeding edge features which is due its rapid 6 month release cycle. Some others might not. But I definitely like it as we have a reason to celebrate a new Fedora release twice a year! With a little bit of delay, Fedora 26 was released beginning of July and as the tradition goes, the Albania community was eager to be part of the global celebrations.
As much as I love cake though, the more I despise the heat in Albania. While I don’t want to go into the global warming debate, I think there are some lessons to learn out of this for the future editions of release parties, as the needs of the community might change while the time passes, so we might want to adapt the format of the Fedora Release Parties.
After having organized dozens of events in the past years, one could think you can plan ahead and estimate the outcome. Sorry to break it for you, but that’s often not the case. We had a great meetup to talk about the latest Fedora news, however we only had 2 newcomers attend the Release Party, while in the Winter release parties we had a great number of new faces joining us in the hackerspace.
This makes me think, maybe we cannot plan the Summer Release Party in the same way we plan the Winter release party. Temperatures in Tirana reach 40’C in Summer, so not many people are going out before night time (if they are not lying on the beach getting tanned already). Maybe we should move the new release party to a more accessible location and keep it more social oriented rather than technical oriented.
Having said that, the event provided me with a lot of context and made me think about what to improve next time. I wouldn’t want to describe everything we do as a great success when there are points in time where we actually have to stop and rethink if we can actually improve and learn something.
This was the case for me. Needless to say I have a clear vision in my head of how to organize the next Fedora Release Party to become a great success and attract new contributors.
Which brings me to the good news; I was happy to see Mariana, a fellow contributor taking on more and more things and being in the process of becoming a Fedora Ambassador! This is huge news for us, as it will allow the community to grow more and decentralize responsibilities. We went on to discuss and present the new features of Fedora 26 and showcase them on our machines. As there were people attending who weren’t at Fedora events before, we showed them how the community works and they can get involved as well.
Until Fedora 27 then! With hopefully friendlier temperatures…
Posted on April 16, 2017
Tor Meeting Amsterdam (Report)
I was happy to be invited to the latest Tor Meeting in Amsterdam, the 2nd meeting Iwas invited to after the Seattle meeting last September. Tor Meetings, similarly to Mozilla All-Hands, are project wide meetings to discuss the current strategy and future goals of the Tor project.
Logistics
The thing is, Amsterdam is famous for exactly that what you think it is. Lots of bicycles, bridges and certain “herbs” which are popular not only among vegetarians. I was actually surprised by the great number of locals who spoke fluent English, even outside the tourist areas. I’m generally a lazy person, so I was happy to see that this time’s Tor Meeting was held at the same hotel we stayed in. As you can imagine, that was pretty helpful, as one could easily retreat and take a nap in their room if needed.
The “Hotel Arena“, which was conveniently located in a park, was built on top (and around) an abandoned church, creating an interesting mix of classic west European architecture and modern minimalist design interior. To our amusement, the main hall of the meeting was right under the chapel, offering some of the best meeting environments I ever had (after the meetings by the shore we had in Hawaii I guess). Just imagine talking about anonymous networks while looking at church murals over you, definitely a unique experience.
Photo rights belong to Hotel Arena
The Hotel was on the fancier side, which I can appreciate, however becomes a bit out of place during coffee breaks and lunch, as waiters are slowly hunting to take your dirty plates. With a bunch of hackers and anarchists it’s pretty safe to assume that a buffet and self-service drinks might be the best choice. I might appreciate that style of high/class service at certain events, but Tor Meetings are not part of that. Then again, this is nitpicking, but nonetheless something which I thought was worth mentioning.
Content
While I can’t help but compare meetings like this with Mozilla events I attended in the past, I must say that Tor meetings are quite special in that regard: They are relaxed, slow paced and mostly verbal. Of course the comparison might be a bit unfair, as the Tor Meeting welcomes around 120 attendees, while Mozilla’s All-Hands meeting goes over 1300. Interestingly, less than 10% of Mozilla All-Hands attendees are volunteers, while at the Tor meeting it’s more than 60%. I’d be happy to see Mozilla doing better next All-Hands in this regard. Furthermore, I appreciated the lack of extensive use of sticky notes, so popular among many community brainstorming meetings. It seems to work for many people, but it’s not my cup of tea I guess.
We had several breakout sessions during the days, which was helpful to gain insights into the work Tor was doing, regardless if technical, political or financial. Among them were:
- New Tor Website Planning
- OONI & Tor Metrics Insights
- Implementing Tor features in upcoming Firefox releases
- Improving the Useability tickets process
- Improving UX in TAILS
Needless to say that some of the most interesting conversations were held on the hallway track as well, where bumping into other people sparked some great exchanges. The sunny terrace with a beautiful view of the park’s lake helped in that regard.
On a more social side, I’d have hoped to see more centrally planned evening activities, as these greatly bring people together who don’t necessarily have much in common which is greatly refreshing I believe. Sometimes I feel like there are a number of groups within Tor which tend to stick on their own as they were used to in the past. I believe that shaking this up a bit would benefit Tor’s inclusivity. I understand though that this is hard for some people, as Tor is not the average open source project, but has rather large political, legal and privacy related implications. It would be great seeing more mingling in going, but this might just be my inner introvert talking here.
It was great hanging out with the folks at OONI, who are a lot of fun, yet take their job very seriously. Their mission belongs to one of the most critical ones in the Hacktivism world, specifically measuring internet censorship in over 180 countries throughout time. It’s projects like OONI which amaze me, as their mission is a critical one which greatly benefits to the internet age nowadays.
UX Team
It was great to take part in many Design related meetings and discussions as well. We finally launched the updated Tor Brand assets, including a refreshed Tor Logo, Buttons, Banners and so much more. You can grab them on our GitHub repo.
I was grateful to be part of the Amsterdam experience with fellow members at Tor. Looking forward to the next Meeting in Montreal, Canada in Autumn!
Posted on April 7, 2017
Pse problemi i aktitiveteve është konfirmimi i pjesëmarrjes
Kam shkruar dhe vjet rreth skenës së sipërmarrjes në Shqipëri që mendoj që është bërë akoma më e panavigueshme (mëgjithëse kanë dalë dhe disa iniciativa premtuese gjithashtu). Gjithë këto faktorë kanë çuar në një fenomen që po e quaj “Ngopje Aktivitetesh” këtu. Ka aq shumë aktivitete në Tiranë rreth teknologjisë, sipërmarrjes dhe fusha të afërta, sa që njerëzit kanë filluar të hutohen çfarë duhet të ndjekin dhe çfarë jo. Sidomos me rryma të reja në teknologji ku ka mungesë informacioni dhe nuk nxjerr dot një konkluzion për përmbajtjen e aktiviteteve pa e provuar vetë njëherë.
Të kujtohet para disa vitesh kur mezi prisje një aktivitet në fundjavë? Kam përshtypjen që shumë pak njerëz kanë atë ndjesi sot, pasi ka ndonjë aktivitet diku thuajse çdo ditë. Mendoj që kjo është pjesë e procesit dhe duhet kaluar (mëgjithëse do jetë një flluskë që do shpërthëjë në një moment them). Më kujtohet kur në Open Labs organizonim aktivitete dhe nga regjistrimet mund të kishim pak a shumë një ide sa shumë veta mund të vinin. Nëse për shembull në Facebook 25 veta kanë konfirmuar pjesëmarrjen, ngjasat ishin që 15-20 veta do vinin. Ka qenë një avantazh që kanë patur të gjitha komunitetet në atë kohë, gjë që kam filluar të vlerësojë vetëm kohët e fundit. Sot ama, nuk janë të rralla rastet ku nën 50% e atyre që konfirmuan pjesëmarrjen, realisht marrin pjesë në aktivitet. Pse ndodh kjo? Kam ndjesinë që shumë njerëz konfirmojnë pjesëmarrjen në sa më shumë aktivitete për t’u siguruar që nuk humbin gjë, duke mbivlerësuar veten tejet shumë.
Por kam një thirrje këtu: Të lutem të lutem duhet evituar konfirmimi në një aktivitet nëse nuk ke realisht ndërmend të marrësh pjesë. Të organizosh aktivitete është punë tëpër e madhe dhe nuk është thjesht një lënie orari për t’u takuar në filan vend. Gjëja minimale për organizuesit është që të thoni nëse nuk vini dot. Sidomos kur aktivitetet janë komplet pa pagesë dhe kërkojnë buxhet për t’u organizuar (p.sh. për pije, ushqim dhe udhëtimin e folësve jashtë qytetit/shtetit).
Ka dhe një gjë tjetër të keqe kjo: Në raste kur një aktivitet ka më të vertëtë shumë interes, të vjen si surprizë se “Ehaa, gjysma do vijë gjithsesi në fund” dhe kur në fakt vijnë aq sa konfirmuan. Kjo duhet të ishte norma, por fatkeqësisht nuk është.
Se t’i bie shkurt; mos konfirmoni pjesëmarrjen në aktivitete kur nuk merrni pjesë. Supozohet të jetë e vetëkuptueshme kjo, por me sa duket nuk është. Morali është i thjeshtë.
Posted on April 2, 2017
Joining the Mozilla Creative Team
A day after April Fool’s, it seems like the right time to announce the news: I’m joining the Mozilla Creative Team as a design contractor starting tomorrow.
This is a major step and honor for me to work among one of the most influential design teams in the open source industry, closely involved with community and one which strives to be as decentralized as possible, in a world where latter seems unthinkable to do. When I started contributing to Mozilla 4 years ago, I missed any opportunities to get involved on a design level within the community, regardless if Branding, UI or UX. I’m happy that nowadays the landscape is more inclusive towards community designers, where I’d like to note the major open rebranding process we undertook last year, and the launch of the Open Design repo for communities to process design requests and have monthly meetings.
With the new Mozilla brand being launched 2 months ago, a great amount of work still lies before us. Apart from applying the new visual language across Mozilla’s websites and communication channels, we have to figure out how Communities are involved with the new identity, to make it feel consistent, yet flexible and inclusive for a wide range of communities.
With the Creative Team at the All-Hands Work Week in Hawaii last year.
My work will encompass exactly this and work closer with the community to strengthen the bridge between Staff and Contributors and offer ways for design contributors to get involved in a similar manner as developers in open source. With Mozilla being one of the leading forces of diverse contributor backgrounds in open source, it completely makes sense to make this the next step.
My work will be closely tied with values we share at Ura Design and Open Source Design, which have taught me invaluable lessons in the past. I look forward to turning them into practice and update you soon on the actual projects we are working on.
Links
Mozilla Open Design Blog
Mozilla Open Design Repo
Mozilla New Brand Principles
Posted on February 14, 2017
FOSDEM 2017 in Brussels, Belgium – Report
It feels like yesterday when I had my first FOSDEM, Yet more than 3 years passed and my 4th edition of FOSDEM is behind me as well. Throughout all 4 years I have been part of the Mozilla presence, regardless if as a Mozilla Rep, l10n contributor or Tech Speaker. I can only appreciate the great moments we shared with fellow attendees at FOSDEM. It has been a rollercoaster of emotions, sobriety, hangoverness and swag every year, and this year has been no different.
Open Source Design Group Photo at FOSDEM 2017
Unlike the other years, 10 people from our local Open Labs Hackerspace attended FOSDEM 2017. That’s 10 Albanians too much already.
As part of the Open Source Design collective, I have been helping out with the organization of the Open Source Design (dev)room this year at FOSDEM. I was happy to give a talk about Mozilla Open Design and the new branding of Mozilla introduced just a few weeks ago.
The lovely Tech Speakers present at #mozdem. We’re going to be around #fosdem tomorrow, ask us anything about @mozilla pic.twitter.com/2Cpk3pjxiS
— Mozilla TechSpeakers (@mozTechSpeakers) February 4, 2017
@elioqoshi explaining the open process behind the new #Mozilla visual identity in the open source design room. #Mozdem #Fosdem #fullHouse pic.twitter.com/Ub0N17JM8K
— Redon Skikuli (@rskikuli) February 5, 2017
.@KristiProgri talking about #Diversity in #OpenSource and her experiences at @outreachy at #FOSDEM #mozdem pic.twitter.com/ETizeghS5a
— Elio Qoshi (@elioqoshi) February 4, 2017
In the past year, I have been trying to not break my routine too much while traveling. Conferences are great and inspiring but it can be pretty demanding to fully emerge yourself into the conference experience if you travel frequently. As a part-time introvert, I tend to relax in my hotel for quite a few hours, at least every 2 days, something which has worked for me quite well in the past. Not at FOSDEM however.
#Mozdem info booth team at #Fosdem. Join us at building K
pic.twitter.com/A4i6cmeR9v
— Redon Skikuli (@rskikuli) February 4, 2017
There are way too many people you want to catch up with and way too much going on as well. With FOSDEM fringe there is also a great number of events which happen before and after FOSDEM, due to so many different projects already having presence during that week, making it easier to meet in person. I failed to meet with several people I wanted to catch up with, but it’s kind of expected at such a large event as FOSDEM.
During peak times, it was reported that 18000 devices were connected to the WiFi network. It’s a good estimate of the number of attendees at the event. Crazy indeed. The proportions of FOSDEM are immense.
There is a Survival Guide by Paul Adams I highly recommend however. If you think of attending FOSDEM next year, be prepared. It’s pretty demanding physically and emotionally, especially if you can’t get used to the feeling of “missing out”. Let me clarify it for you here:
You will miss out a lot of things at FOSDEM. You can not do much about it. Embrace it and you will enjoy it even more.
What I really dislike at FOSDEM is the lack of any relaxing zones and the limited selection of (junk) food. It is very demanding for your mind and body to not have proper food, hydration and sleep. Be prepared for that. If you plan to attend FOSDEM, try to stay an additional night in Brussels (or depart late on Monday) because you need the energy to refuel. If you think you are thick-skinned however, you should be doing quite fine.
(from left to right) me, Stefan Krastev, Matija Šuklje, Redon Skikuli, Gijs Hillenius, Giannis Konstantinidis
The day after FOSDEM, we met with some of the key players for Free and Open Source Software in the European Parliament & Commision. We had a great time talking about our experience with our local public administrations and their status regarding Free Software. We are looking forward to continue this discussions at OSCAL’17 which happens in May.
Posted on January 24, 2017
SitePoint Albania Hackathon #1 (Report)
When I started writing for SitePoint in May 2014 I never suspected it to be much more than an ongoing gig to write technical articles for developers and designers. While that itself was a quite important factor to me (being involved in more technical matters was something I lacked as a community builder involved in technical communities), I became much more involved with the SitePoint community on different levels throughout the years. Read More
