Oops! I Became an Open Source Maintainer! 😱

I consider myself relatively new to the open source world; my first open source contribution was in summer of 2016. Pretty soon I found myself being given commit rights to other people’s open source projects. Being a new open source maintainer brings a set of unique challenges that I was not fully prepared for. In this talk, I will share my journey and the things I’ve learned along the way, and some advice for other aspiring open source maintainers and contributors.

Transcript

1. 1
   Oops!
   I Became an Open Source Maintainer
   M a r i a t t a W i j a y a
   @mariatta
   

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2. 2
   About Me
   " Python Core Developer
   @mariatta
   

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3. 2
   About Me
   PSF Community Service Award 2018
   " Python Core Developer
   @mariatta
   

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4. 2
   About Me
   PSF Community Service Award 2018
   Google Open Source Peer Bonus Award 2017 and 2020
   " Python Core Developer
   @mariatta
   

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5. 2
   About Me
   PSF Community Service Award 2018
   Google Open Source Peer Bonus Award 2017 and 2020
   GitHub Sponsors Maintainer Spotlight
   " Python Core Developer
   @mariatta
   

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6. 3
   Oops!
   I Became An Open Source Maintainer!
   @mariatta
   

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7. 3
   Oops!
   I Became An Open Source Maintainer!
   Oops! How Did This Happen?
   01
   @mariatta
   

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8. 3
   Oops!
   I Became An Open Source Maintainer!
   Oops! How Did This Happen?
   01
   Oops! The Things I Didn’t Expect!
   02
   @mariatta
   

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9. 3
   Oops!
   I Became An Open Source Maintainer!
   Oops! How Did This Happen?
   01
   Oops! The Things I Didn’t Expect!
   02
   Oops! The Things I Did Wrong!
   03
   @mariatta
   

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10. 3
    Oops!
    I Became An Open Source Maintainer!
    Oops! How Did This Happen?
    01
    Oops! The Things I Didn’t Expect!
    02
    Oops! The Things I Did Wrong!
    03
    Oops! I Did It Again!
    04
    @mariatta
    

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11. 3
    Oops!
    I Became An Open Source Maintainer!
    Oops! How Did This Happen?
    01
    Oops! The Things I Didn’t Expect!
    02
    Oops! The Things I Did Wrong!
    03
    Oops! I Did It Again!
    04
    How You Can Do It Better
    05
    @mariatta
    

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12. Oops! How Did This Happen?
    4
    @mariatta
    

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13. 5
    coala: Oct 2016
    CPython: Jan 2017
    pythondotorg: Dec 2016
    @mariatta
    

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14. What’s the motivation?
    6
    @mariatta
    

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15. What’s the motivation?
    6
    Diversity problem within open source community
    @mariatta
    

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16. What’s the motivation?
    6
    Diversity problem within open source community
    Doing my part to help
    @mariatta
    

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17. Contributing to open source
    7
    @mariatta
    

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18. Contributing to open source
    7
    Focus on modules that interest me
    @mariatta
    

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19. Contributing to open source
    7
    Focus on modules that interest me
    Check out the repo and the contributing guide
    @mariatta
    

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20. Contributing to open source
    7
    Focus on modules that interest me
    Check out the repo and the contributing guide
    Help improve the doc where it’s lacking
    @mariatta
    

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21. Contributing to open source
    7
    Focus on modules that interest me
    Check out the repo and the contributing guide
    Find an issue in the bug tracker
    Help improve the doc where it’s lacking
    @mariatta
    

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22. Contributing to open source
    7
    Focus on modules that interest me
    Check out the repo and the contributing guide
    Find an issue in the bug tracker
    Introduce myself to mailing-list
    Help improve the doc where it’s lacking
    @mariatta
    

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23. Contributing to open source
    8
    Focus on modules that interest me
    @mariatta
    

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24. Contributing to open source
    8
    Focus on modules that interest me
    @mariatta
    

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25. Contributing to open source
    8
    Focus on modules that interest me
    Find projects that I care about, where my existing skills would be useful
    @mariatta
    

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26. Contributing to open source
    8
    Focus on modules that interest me
    Find projects that I care about, where my existing skills would be useful
    Check out the repo and the contributing guide
    @mariatta
    

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27. Contributing to open source
    8
    Focus on modules that interest me
    Find projects that I care about, where my existing skills would be useful
    Check out the repo and the contributing guide
    Help improve the doc where it’s lacking
    @mariatta
    

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28. Contributing to open source
    9
    Focus on modules that interest me
    Find projects that I care about, where my existing skills would be useful
    Check out the repo and the contributing guide
    Find an issue in the bug tracker
    Help improve the doc where it’s lacking
    @mariatta
    

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29. Contributing to open source
    9
    Focus on modules that interest me
    Find projects that I care about, where my existing skills would be useful
    Check out the repo and the contributing guide
    Find an issue in the bug tracker
    Help improve the doc where it’s lacking
    @mariatta
    

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30. Contributing to open source
    9
    Focus on modules that interest me
    Find projects that I care about, where my existing skills would be useful
    Check out the repo and the contributing guide
    Find an issue in the bug tracker
    Help improve the doc where it’s lacking
    Wait for an issue that I can help with
    @mariatta
    

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31. Contributing to open source
    9
    Focus on modules that interest me
    Find projects that I care about, where my existing skills would be useful
    Check out the repo and the contributing guide
    Find an issue in the bug tracker
    Help improve the doc where it’s lacking
    Wait for an issue that I can help with
    @mariatta
    Introduce myself (when possible)
    

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32. Contributing to open source
    10
    It’s like starting a new job
    @mariatta
    

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33. Contributing to open source
    10
    It’s like starting a new job
    No assigned mentor, no formal “onboarding” session
    @mariatta
    

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34. Contributing to open source
    10
    It’s like starting a new job
    No assigned mentor, no formal “onboarding” session
    Takes time
    @mariatta
    

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35. Contributing to open source
    10
    It’s like starting a new job
    No assigned mentor, no formal “onboarding” session
    Takes time
    It’s not just about code
    @mariatta
    

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36. 11
    Oops! The Things I Didn’t Expect!
    Lots of emails and notifications
    Making decisions
    Issue Triaging
    100s emails/day
    @mariatta
    

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37. 12
    Oops! The Things I Didn’t Expect!
    Lots of emails and notifications
    Making decisions
    Issue Triaging
    Handling CoC cases
    Moderating communication channels
    “Representing”
    100s emails/day
    @mariatta
    

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38. 13
    Making My Own Decisions
    without consulting the other maintainers
    Not Managing My Time Wisely
    lead to burnout and depression
    Oops! The Things I Did Wrong!
    Not Communicating Decisions
    with the other maintainers
    @mariatta
    

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39. Oops! I Did It Again!
    14
    @mariatta
    

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40. Oops! I Did It Again!
    14
    I really do care
    @mariatta
    

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41. Oops! I Did It Again!
    15
    Growth and learning opportunities
    @mariatta
    

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42. Oops! I Did It Again!
    16
    “In open source, the more you give, the more you get back.”,
    - Peter Wang’s PyCon DE Keynote
    @mariatta
    

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43. Oops! I Did It Again!
    17
    Acceptance and sense of belonging
    @mariatta
    

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44. 18
    How You Can Do It Better
    @mariatta
    

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45. 19
    How You Can Do It Better
    Clarify the Expectations
    00
    @mariatta
    

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46. 20
    Have a Maintenance Guide
    01
    How You Can Do It Better
    Clarify the Expectations
    00
    @mariatta
    

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47. 21
    Have a Maintenance Guide
    01
    Have a Succesion Plan in place
    02
    How You Can Do It Better
    Clarify the Expectations
    00
    @mariatta
    

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48. 22
    Have a Maintenance Guide
    01
    Organize an Annual Sprint
    03
    Have a Succesion Plan in place
    02
    How You Can Do It Better
    Clarify the Expectations
    00
    @mariatta
    

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49. 23
    Have a Maintenance Guide
    01
    Organize an Annual Sprint
    03
    Have a Succesion Plan in place
    02
    Get Funding!
    04
    How You Can Do It Better
    Clarify the Expectations
    00
    @mariatta
    

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50. 24
    Have a Maintenance Guide
    01
    Organize an Annual Sprint
    03
    Have a Succesion Plan in place
    02
    Get Funding!
    04
    Take Care of Yourself
    05
    How You Can Do It Better
    Clarify the Expectations
    00
    @mariatta
    

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51. THANK
    YOU
    @mariatta
    Sponsor me on GitHub: https://github.com/sponsors/Mariatta
    

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52. THANK
    YOU
    @mariatta
    Sponsor me on GitHub: https://github.com/sponsors/Mariatta
    

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