This is the last of the questions asked in the Question and Answer sessions for the Drupal Association elections. There were only two new questions that were asked during that time. Here are my thoughts.

1) valthebald: What threats to the Drupal community do you see, which are not handled by DA? How CAN they be handled?

The biggest threat to Drupal and the Drupal community not handled by the the Association is competition. This competition manifests itself in both other opensource projects and from the closed communities. At the end of the day, most looking for a platform or a CMS seek something that:

1. is cost effective
2. reflects the client's brand and aesthetic
3. scales to the traffic they need it to scale to
4. is easy to use

In general, we can eke out reasonable results on 1-3. There is still work to be done - but the fact is folks looking for the CMS do not...

The following are the new questions that emerged from Session 3 of the DA Elections "Meet the Candidates". I didn't attend that session but thought a few short answers would be good to share. If you want to go back, you can read my original answers.

Share this post across your social networks and VOTE. I need your help to be elected to the board and I very much want to serve. Thanks for your support!

1) simesy_: I'm interested in what the other candidates think about Narayan as a candidate who will fill the gap of having infrastructure representation on the board.

I know Narayan quite well from the Examiner.com days. He brings a thoughtfulness and intelligence to every project, conversation, and challenge he faces. I said in Session 2's questions:

The board can include anybody who is active in the community and has a desire to serve. It isn't a matter of should or should not, it is a matter of interest in furthering the mission of the Drupal Association and wishes to engage in good governance. I do think having a presence either on the board and/or the advisory board is attractive.

Narayan would fill the current gap nicely and would be easy to work with.

This is the first in a series of posts I'm going to write leading up to the Drupal Association elections. I've put my hat into the ring because I feel like I can make a substantiative contribution to all of you through helping with good governance of the Drupal Association. I want to encourage others to do the same!

A friend in the community asked, "Why on earth would you want to do this? It'll eat your time and what will you get back for doing it???" This is pretty simple to answer.

I believe in contributing value back to supportive communities. I am grateful to the men and women who have made Drupal successful. When one views the world through a filter of gratitude, it has the effect of increasing a person's desire to contribute and help nurture those who are also participatory. You genuinely care about the people who are also involved in that community and they genuinely care about you. For me, this belief has borne itself within the Drupal community so many times that it is hard to express how thankful I am for you all.

While I started experimenting with Drupal in 2006 it really became the way I've earn my living in 2007. When I started participating in the community, first by attending meetups but later by making presentations, evangelizing, contributing a bit to documentation, engaging in governance discussions for the community, and helping organize events, what I gave came back double. This deepened my commitment to the community as a whole. When I've had challenges, suggestions and help are only as far away as an IRC client.