A presentation at React India in in Goa, India by Jason Lengstorf
YOU BELONG HERE WE CAN MAKE OPEN SOURCE MORE OPEN by Jason Lengstorf @jlengstorf · jason@lengstorf.com Slides: git.io/you-belong-here
👋 HI! I’M JASON. I like to learn I like to teach Formerly: Gatsby, IBM Portland, OR
OPEN SOURCE IS AWESOME
OPEN SOURCE IS EVERYWHERE A huge portion of the web is powered by Open Source: WordPress, React, Drupal, Angular, jQuery, Bootstrap, and thousands of other projects.
OPEN SOURCE IS GOOD BUSINESS Access thousands of developers’ collective skill Reduce development and maintenance costs Build good will with the community Improve your ability to attract and retain talent
OPEN SOURCE IS EMPOWERING Create a body of work that looks great on a CV Build a referral network for paid work Turn it into a sustainable source of income
BUT…
OPEN SOURCE IS DAUNTING
OPEN SOURCE IS UNFRIENDLY
OPEN SOURCE IS INTIMIDATING Thousands of lines of code Tons of required context and history
OPEN SOURCE IS CHALLENGING Credit: Dangit, git!
OPEN SOURCE IS CONFUSING
NOT TO MENTION THE AWKWARD SOCIAL DYNAMICS
Jules Glegg @heyjulesfern Imposter syndrome: I am surrounded by beings of impossible, cosmic intelligence Also imposter syndrome: I, an incompetent, have tricked them all 12.2K 9:28 AM - Jan 30, 2019 3,889 people are talking about this
Frank de Jonge @frankdejonge · Jan 24, 2018 Pro-Tip for OSS maintainers: When somebody helps out and you feel like something can be improved, don’t let your feedback just be “YOU’RE WRONG”. It puts people off from contributing. Jeff Smith @jspoker I have first hand experience with this. I spent a few hours working on my first PR a few years ago. The maintainer was rude while giving a short “wrong” answer with no explanation and closed it. Now, unfortunately I rarely contribute to any OSS because of that interaction. 1 7:37 AM - Jan 24, 2018 See Jeff Smith’s other Tweets
OPEN SOURCE IS AN EXPENSE NOT EVERYONE CAN AFFORD We may not have free time to work on open source Our jobs may not support contributing as part of our workload
MANY PEOPLE DON’T SEE THEMSELVES REPRESENTED IN OPEN SOURCE
IS OPEN SOURCE ACTUALLY OPEN?
THE OPEN SOURCE COMMUNITY IS EVERYTHING WE NEED TO MAKE SURE IT’S HEALTHY
WE NEED TO BE PROACTIVE IN CREATING COMMUNITY Actively reach out and welcome new contributors Remember how steep the learning curve can be Invest in community as a primary success metric
IF WE DON’T, WE LOSE We lose so many brilliant people who have so much to contribute We lose an opportunity to spread out the maintenance burden We lose the opportunity to build support networks
YOU BELONG HERE
TO FOSTER BELONGING OUR COMMUNITIES NEED TO BE WELCOMING COMPASSIONATE AND SAFE.
HOLD UP! WE CAN’T JUST SAY THIS STUFF.
Photo: Ryoji Iwata
COMMUNITY IS LIKE A CAMPFIRE KEEP IT ALIVE AND IT WILL KEEP US ALL WARM & WELCOME
IT’S NOT ENOUGH TO SAY “OUR COMMUNITY IS WELCOMING.” WE NEED TO ACTIVELY WELCOME PEOPLE INTO THE GROUP
ACTIVELY WELCOMING PEOPLE MEANS: Investing in onboarding for new contributors Putting your money where your mouth is with representation and inclusion Showing gratitude in meaningful ways Building trust and safety
INVEST IN ONBOARDING FOR NEW CONTRIBUTORS Write docs for rst-time contributors Label issues that are beginner-friendly O er pair programming and/or mentorship
PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS WITH REPRESENTATION Appoint leadership that looks like your community Hold yourself publicly accountable to the groups that need representation Actually do the work to meet these commitments
SHOW GRATITUDE IN MEANINGFUL WAYS Every contributor is noticed and thanked Businesses: send swag and/or donate in each contributor’s name
Gatsby’s swag store gives free swag to contributors.
BUILD TRUST & SAFETY Invite contributors to your GitHub organization Default to transparency Create clear channels for feedback De ne clear processes for handling problems Make space for quiet voices
Read The Culture Code.
Read April Wensel’s work on Compassionate Coding.
REMEMBER: YOU BELONG HERE
LET’S MAKE OPEN SOURCE MORE OPEN TOGETHER
Photo: Kimson Doan
THANKS! Jason Lengstorf Follow me on Twitter: @jlengstorf lengstorf.com · learnwithjason.dev
Done well, open source is one of the highest-value targets for businesses these days. Companies like Facebook and Airbnb leverage OSS as a source of brand equity and recruiting, among other advantages. However, OSS is still uncomfortable for many companies — and even if they do open source their tools, these projects often fail to launch — because they’re missing the most important (and best) part of OSS: the community.
Projects that survive in today’s landscape have thriving communities that care deeply about the quality and advancement of open source and the people using it. But open source can also be intimidating to newcomers, and occasionally unwelcoming. In this talk, learn how popular open source framework Gatsby has doubled down on community, including:
Learn how you can borrow our strategies to create a healthy, welcoming community for your open source projects, starting today!
The following resources were mentioned during the presentation or are useful additional information.
for free. You
can too.