News project/Interview checklist
In order for the interview to go smoothly, developers who are scheduled to be interviewed should prepare properly. It is the desire of the News project to exclusively use open source software for the interview process. This is not a hard requirement, but we want to showcase the strengths of Gentoo and open source in general. It is also nice to say the production was made possible exclusively by open source software.
Audio interviews
Gentoo developer checklist
Before the interview
1. Install and configure Mumble - This is what you'll be using to communicate with the interview's host.
- Set Mumble to use the highest bit rate possible (Configure -> Settings -> Audio Input -> Compression -> Quality). Set this to the highest possible value (most likely
96 kb/s). - In order for the interview to sound natural, it is best to not use the push-to-talk feature. Make sure Transmit (Configure -> Settings -> Audio Input -> Transmission -> Transmit) is set to
Voice Activity. Select theAmplituderadio button, and adjust the sliders so the highlighted bar is in the green region when you speak. This is the most tricky part of the configuration. - Use the best sounding microphone available.
- Use headphones. Mumble is a great tool, however sometimes there can be feedback issues. Feedback can be almost entirely eliminated by using headphones.
- Set Mumble to use the highest bit rate possible (Configure -> Settings -> Audio Input -> Compression -> Quality). Set this to the highest possible value (most likely
2. Make sure you're in a quiet environment
- Stay away from anything that could make loud noises during the interview. Including, but not limited, to:
- Humans (especially baby humans)
- Animals
- Cats
- Automobiles
- Airports
3. Schedule out a decent block of time for the interview.
- There is no hard limit on the amount of time an interview should be, so slow down and enjoy it. It is also not necessary to do the interview all in one sitting, although doing it all at once means it can get released sooner.
4. If you have a slow interview connection, be aware of any applications or cron jobs that might zap away bandwidth during the interview. Most do not have to be concerned about this.
5. Be familiar with the questions and what you're going to say before the interview begins
- The interview is really an opportunity for you to make yourself available to the community (both users and other developers), talk about what you're interested in, and to have fun. In order to make the best use of the time, interviewees should be somewhat familiar with how the interview will go.
During the interview
1. Please keep the language/content of conversation clean.
- Audience of all ages will be listening to the interview, so refrain from using profanity.
2. Be you.
- The point of the interview is you. We (the host, Gentoo developers, and members of the Gentoo community) actually want to get to know you and what you enjoy. We don't want some other portrayal of you.
- Rule of thumb: have fun!
- Feel free to bring up topics or things that you're interested in. Topics are not only limited to Gentoo; they can be a range of things. Hobbies, personal interests, your faith, your day job, talks you've given (and where to find them) are all good things.
- Do try, to the best of your ability, to be honest and accurate with any facts that you present.
- Don't use the interview to start flame wars or to troll other developers. Correlating with the point above this, feel free to express your opinion, but to do respectfully and considerately.
After the interview
1. Feel free to share your interview with your friends and family.
- This may or may not help others learn more about the 'computer stuff' you do, but it does show that there are real people who are interested in and impacted by what you do during your hobby hours.
2. Try your best to be available to members of the community.
- There are many ways of being involved in the Gentoo community (IRC, forums, and mailing lists, etc). After your interview interest in what you talk about might be peculated. Perhaps you mentioned a new project or a design idea and someone wants to contact you about it.
3. Tune-in to other interviews.
- Submit questions that you'd like answered by a certain developer.
Video interviews
- Use Jitsi?