A PerlMonks mentoring list

[dragonchild]

Update: It appears that the consensus of those I was hoping would be part of this list is that the list is a "Bad Idea"(tm). I therefore withdraw the idea. Downvote this node, if you like, but please note that I now would not support this idea. It, like so many other ideas, looked good on paper. But, as always, the devil is in the details.

Now, I know that this topic was discussed a few years back, but I also know nothing came of it. So, I'd like to propose the following system:

1. (Where "monk" appears below, that means any member of PM of level 2 or higher.)
2. For a monk to become a mentor, that monk must be nominated by one monk and seconded by another.
3. The nomination will be for a specific field of expertise. Some example fields of expertise (with an example monk I would nominate in that category):
   • Perl on Windows - BrowserUk
   • Perl as CGI - merlyn
   • Regexes - japhy
   • Algorithms - Abigail-II
   • Functional programming - tilly
4. That monk is now available to be voted on. Once that monk receives five other votes, then that monk is offered the opportunity to become a mentor.
5. That monk must then accept. (This is because some monks may not want their name advertised as an expert in some field.)
6. This list would be maintained in PM. The page would be accessible from the following places:
   • The links section
   • Q & A
   • SOPW
7. The list of categories would be relatively static. Anyone can propose a change to the categories and the change would occur by popular acclamation.
8. The voting could either be something built within PM or by /msg to a group of volunteers. I, of course, volunteer for this duty. (I'm not going to talk without being willing to walk.)
9. At any time, a monk can choose to remove themselves from any mentoring list.
10. At any time, a monk can be recalled. The recall process is identical to the process of making a monk into a mentor.

I would propose the initial list of categories to be:

• Basic Perl (This is the list of really really patient people who don't mind repeating themselves.)
• CGI / Web development
• Secure programming
• DBI / Data storage
• Unix administration
• Windows development
• Windows administration
• Other OSes (Mac, VMS, etc)
• Basic Regular Expressions
• Advanced Regular Expressions
• Tk / Other GUI programs
• Module experts (For example, mpeppler would be the Sybase::* expert.)
• Algorithms in Perl
• OO programming
• Functional programming / other styles