How To Hire Great Open Source Developers?

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How To Hire Great Open Source Developers?

Posted by simoniker on Thursday March 4, 2004 @12:34AM from the low-uid-always-attractive dept.

An anonymous reader writes "This is the first article I've ever read specifically about hiring open source developers, and how to judge their ability not just to code but to work with others. It's reprinted over at ITMJ [part of OSDN, as this site is] from a book by Martin Fink, the General Manager for HP's Linux Systems Division. Brings up a lot of good points, including how you need to make sure your open source people are developing things (on company time) that do the company some good, not just scratching their own itches. Fun quote: 'Discover what pseudonyms your candidate uses online. Look at the archives at SlashDot and other online locales. Does your candidate hide behind secret pseudonyms to trash other individuals? Is there passion without condemnation?'"

29 of 246 comments (clear)

Easy..... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-03-04 00:35 · Score: 2, Funny

Entice them with prostitutes!
Search Slashdot for their posting behavior? by ObviousGuy · 2004-03-04 00:35 · Score: 5, Funny

Oh shit.

--
I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
1. Re:Search Slashdot for their posting behavior? by ObviousGuy · 2004-03-04 00:39 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Maybe you should have posted that AC.
  
  Idiot.
  
  --
  I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
2. Re:Search Slashdot for their posting behavior? by kj0rn · 2004-03-04 00:49 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  It's OK, I simply told them my nick is CleverNickName
  
  we're due to start filming next week :-)
3. Re:Search Slashdot for their posting behavior? by no+longer+myself · 2004-03-04 01:20 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I've told people at work what my user name is:
  "Hey, do you ever post comments on Slashdot?"
  "Why yes, I'm 'no longer myself'."
  
  And fortunately no one ever seems to figure it out... ;-)
  Obviously, my coworkers think I'm weird...
  But they like me anyway. :-)
job offers for all! by SinaSa · 2004-03-04 00:41 · Score: 4, Funny

It's articles like these that make me want to hop onto Seek and put up a job offer for OSS developers everywhere!

And then I remember I don't run a business :(.

--
--
The last digit of pi is four.
What not to do by tankdilla · 2004-03-04 00:41 · Score: 5, Funny

How to not get hired for an open source project:
Boss: What's your Slashdot screen name?
Employee: Anonymous Coward.

--
-Look lively. LOOK LIVELY!!! --Mr. Shmallow
1. Re:What not to do by The+Famous+Brett+Wat · 2004-03-04 01:41 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  How to not get hired for an open source project:
  Boss: What's your Slashdot screen name?
  Employee: The correct Slashdot term is "nickname", you ignorant AOLer!
  
  --
  proof, n. A demonstration that a conclusion is implied by certain premises and axioms.
2. Re:What not to do by Anonymous Coward · 2004-03-04 02:45 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  Prospective employer:
  
  "What are your Slashdot nicknames?"
  
  Answers:
  
  "Stupid Idiot (4693344)."
  "Arab Terrorist (6382712)."
  "Major BodyOdor (3858443)."
  "Lick Bush in 2004 (7482844)."
  
  Choose your nickname carefully. What seems funny now may not seem funny later.
3. Re:What not to do by Marijuana+al-Shehi · 2004-03-04 04:41 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  You're right about that! After I registered this nick I found out that the TSA was recruiting air marshals with a starting salary of something like $80K/year. Looking back on the situation I should have applied anyway, if for nothing but the challenge of convincing humorless bureacrats to let me board large jetliners while carrying a gummint-issued pistol despite my nick being a takeoff on the name of a 9/11 pilot. Shee-it, I live for irony anyway. They wouldn't even have to pay me!
  
  --
  "I think all foreigners should stop interfering in the internal affairs of Iraq"
  -- Paul Wolfowitz, 7/21/2003
Doomed!! by Anonymous Coward · 2004-03-04 00:43 · Score: 4, Funny

"Discover what pseudonyms your candidate uses online. Look at the archives at SlashDot and other online locales. Does your candidate hide behind secret pseudonyms to trash other individuals? Is there passion without condemnation?"
Oh bugger that's me screwed then, he knows I always post anonymously on Slashdot!!!
Animal Psychology by beware1000 · 2004-03-04 00:43 · Score: 5, Funny

Culturally, your engineers will struggle between their loyalty to the community and their loyalty to the company.

haha! they make them sounds like confused pets or something.

"Don't be too quick to introduce your Engineer to it's new environment, Engineers are not well known for adapting quickly to change!"
1. Re:Animal Psychology by Anonymous Coward · 2004-03-04 01:01 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  You have no idea how long it took to get well house-trained coders. We stepped down our requirements from "civilized" to "doesn't spray their scent around the server room TOO often" and I think we've reached a happy medium.
...not just scratching their own itches. by burgburgburg · 2004-03-04 00:44 · Score: 2, Funny

you need to make sure your open source people are developing things (on company time) that do the company some good, not just scratching their own itches.
And after I've paid so much money for DVDs of women primarily scratching ...,uh, now that I think about it, that's in a slightly different context. Never mind.
thank-god for... by ylikone · 2004-03-04 00:44 · Score: 0, Funny

the option of posting as anonymous coward!

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Meh.
Re:Of course by CaptainBaz · 2004-03-04 00:55 · Score: 4, Funny

Thank you, Captain Obvious!

+1 Insightful? Wow...
Slashdot by Zog+The+Undeniable · 2004-03-04 00:56 · Score: 2, Funny

Does your candidate hide behind secret pseudonyms to trash other individuals?
Only when I get mod points, duh. ;-)

--
When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
Re:Good article, but one thing irritates me by Chip+Salzenberg · 2004-03-04 01:00 · Score: 3, Funny

You're mistaken. Lots of open source people did have that expectation, back in the day. Of course they were usually disappointed.
PS: potential employers, check out the low uid. :-)
Re:Good article, but one thing irritates me by Anonymous Coward · 2004-03-04 01:17 · Score: 1, Funny

A low UID, but only 49 replies? Get writing if you want the job.
Re:Good article, but one thing irritates me by bsartist · 2004-03-04 01:32 · Score: 5, Funny

Being an open source developer is not a religion.

You must be new here...

--
Lost: Sig, white with black letters. No collar. Reward if found!
Re:Open Source projects as a career stepping-stone by 4of12 · 2004-03-04 01:33 · Score: 1, Funny

His current employers saw his work and hired him on the spot...

Uh, am I the only one that found this statement funny?

[Reminds me of the old joke, boss commenting to another boss, "Yes, Bob's retired. The only problem is he forgot to tell us about it."]

--
"Provided by the management for your protection."
Re:Personal Time by The+Famous+Brett+Wat · 2004-03-04 01:51 · Score: 2, Funny

I am not employee #3877643 away from the office...
Right on! Away from the office you are Slashdot user #323026, and post comments like #8461887. Or... hang on... are you posting from work? Now I'm confused.

--
proof, n. A demonstration that a conclusion is implied by certain premises and axioms.
Re:Good article, but one thing irritates me by OhHellWithIt · 2004-03-04 01:54 · Score: 3, Funny

> Being an open source developer is not a religion.
Anything can be a religion. Just because you have a life doesn't mean everyone does.

--
"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." -- George Orwell
No need to be employed by Maljin+Jolt · 2004-03-04 01:55 · Score: 3, Funny

Became a landlord of flathouse. Then your tenants will keep you living while you work on open source. At least, it works for me. Actually, I spent more time on playing games than on coding for past eight years, in-between fixing kitchen sinks and replacing light bulbs. The best effect is I got free 512k internet connection throught one of my tenant, just by allowing them to place a microwave antenna on the roof "for free".
And how to become a landlord? Get an excellent karma in real world first.

--
There you are, staring at me again.
Re:Personal Time by mccalli · 2004-03-04 01:57 · Score: 2, Funny

Right on! Away from the office you are Slashdot user #323026, and post comments like #8461887. Or... hang on... are you posting from work? Now I'm confused.
Want to be more confused? I'm posting from home. Via an SSH connection from work... :-)
Cheers,
Ian
Re:Research me! by 110010001000 · 2004-03-04 03:46 · Score: 2, Funny

From your web page:

"I want to shoot whoever designed them."
Prone to violence.

"He (and I highly doubt it's a "she") seems to be under the impression that the job of a phone ring is to force you to pay attention to the phone."

Sexist!

"Just now as I write, I looked and the phone doesn't even have a "Do Not Disturb" button that would force the call into voice mail"

Anti-social.

Also a Python programmer.

Recommendation: No hire. :-))
Re:Research me! by 110010001000 · 2004-03-04 05:24 · Score: 2, Funny

I was just joking. Except for the part about not hiring you because you program in Python.
HP's way to do this by RomulusNR · 2004-03-04 06:22 · Score: 1, Funny

Being that the document is written by someone at HP, I expect the first steps go something like this:

1. Build an office building in India.
2. Hire an Indian.

(Yes, I'm bitter. I need a good hit to my karma once in a while... [No pun intended.])

--
Terrorists can attack freedom, but only Congress can destroy it.
First fire the mediocre and bad ones by Anonymous Coward · 2004-03-04 06:47 · Score: 1, Funny

Then hire me.

Dumb shits.