What is a staffer:

Running a Linux distribution has multiple aspects and many of them aren't
directly connected to coding. Every distrubution needs people to run its
servers, help its community, provide documentation, handle project's finances
and legal issues and serve many other tasks. Their contributions are as
important as code contributions. This kind of people are called staffers in
Gentoo.

What kinds of staffers Gentoo recruits

- Gentoo Infrastructure project members
- Gentoo Documentation editors and translators
- Gentoo Monthly Newsletter editors and translators
- Gentoo Forums global moderators and administrators
- Gentoo Developer Relations members
- Gentoo User Relations members
- Gentoo Foundation officers

How is staffer access different from ebuild developer access:

Since staffers have different area of responsibility than ebuild developers,
staffer access is different too. As a staffer you get basic gear like
@gentoo.org mail, shell access, basic rights to edit gentoo.org contents (like
project pages) plus any other access you might need to perform your daily
staffer duties. For example root access to infrastructure servers you will be
maintaining or write access to the documentation directory. The biggest
difference between staffers and ebuild developers is that the former have no
write access to the ebuild tree (gentoo-x86 repository).

How can I become a Gentoo staffer?

You have to work with members of the project you wish to help. You are invited
to the team when your level of contributions and expertise justify you becoming
a developer in that project. It may take time and may also require passing
internal recruitment procedures within that project first. Those procedures are
in place to ensure you know what your future function within Gentoo involves,
they are created and maintained by the project itself.

When you are ready, you will be assigned a mentor and a recruitment bug will be
filed for you.

You will have to pass staffing quiz afterwards and also pass a review session
with one of our recruiters before you can become a member of the Gentoo team.

As a staffer who isn't going to work on ebuilds, you won't be asked technical
questions about them. All that will be required from you at this stage of your
recruitment is good understanding of Gentoo internals.

I would like to be recruited as a staffer but also plan joining other projects
in future

Every member of Gentoo team can join any projects he wishes if developers of
that project agree with that. Before you can start contributing to the ebuild
tree though, you will have to pass all ebuild quizzes and review sessions you
weren't asked to pass when you were being recruited as a staffer. Those
policies are in place to ensure high quality of contributions to the tree and
prevent any possible breakages coming from newly recruited ebuild developers.

How is retirement handled for staffers?

You have to either remain active within the project you've joined or move to
other projects. If there are no projects within Gentoo you're active in, you
are a subject for retirement via Gentoo Undertakers procedures.