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The next generation of contributors is not on IRC

The next generation of contributors is not on IRC

Discussing communication channels for inclusive open source communities.

Matthew (Brender) Broberg

February 02, 2020
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  1. The next generation of contributors is not on IRC. Discussing

    communication channels for inclusive open source communities Matt Broberg @mbbroberg
  2. Hi, I’m Matt Technical Editor for Opensource.com & Student in

    “The Business of Open Source” at Brandeis University @mbbroberg
  3. My impression You 1) Seasoned open source participant 2) Can

    recite the FSF four freedoms 3) Contributed before git was cool 4) Are active on IRC 5) Care about your community GitHub Generation of open source Recently learned FSF & OSI are different See git as the lingua franca of tech Active everywhere but IRC Care about your community Me @mbbroberg
  4. I don’t get IRC What’s with the wizard-like syntax? How

    do I find channel history? What are the fewest commands needed? What’s with the offensive spam? Why does NAMESERV hate me? What clients consistently work? @mbbroberg
  5. My path to open source • Proprietary hardware community •

    Proprietary virtualization community • Joining a proprietary code sharing site • Open source on a proprietary OS • Open core startups • Growing communities on GitHub • Open source communities • Opensource.com • A maturing obsession with licenses My path was not one of open source @mbbroberg
  6. I don’t get IRC What’s with the wizard-like syntax? How

    do I find channel history? What are the fewest commands needed? What’s with the offensive spam? Why does NAMESERV hate me? What clients consistently work? @mbbroberg
  7. “This means that the default behaviors for almost all the

    non-player characters in the game are easier on you than they would be otherwise. The default barriers for completions of quests are lower. Your leveling-up thresholds come more quickly. You automatically gain entry to some parts of the map that others have to work for. The game is easier to play, automatically, and when you need help, by default it’s easier to get.” Straight White Male: The Lowest Difficulty Setting There Is by John Scalzi @mbbroberg
  8. IRC < empty space > < empty space > <

    empty space > < empty space > @mbbroberg
  9. IRC (400k) Slack (12 million) Microsoft Teams (13 million) Google

    Chat (4 million) Riot.im (Matrix) (11 million) @mbbroberg
  10. * Twitter (126 million) Reddit (330 million) Slack (12m) Telegram

    (200 million) Goo g Discord (250 million) GitHub (40 m) @mbbroberg MSFT (13m) Riot (13m)
  11. The bar is higher than ever Modern sign up experience

    Mobile access by default In-app onboarding and guide Accessibility options Shared discussion history Emoji support IRC | Slack | Riot.im @mbbroberg
  12. More importantly 1. Requires always-on participation 2. Difficult to follow

    multiple discussions 3. Sets expectation of immediacy in response 4. Divides participation by time zone 5. No continuation of knowledge @mbbroberg
  13. The 3rd place The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg

    1st place 2nd place 3rd place @mbbroberg
  14. The 3rd place • Neutral ground • A leveling place

    • Conversational • Accessible • The regulars • A low profile • Playful mood • Home away from home Thanks Jory Burson "your third place is where you relax in public, where you encounter familiar faces and make new acquaintances."
  15. Sync For casual, high throughput discussion Async For a definitive,

    recorded answer News To stay informed and empowered F2F To build a formidable bond @mbbroberg
  16. Communication channels matter They imply who is welcome and who

    needs to “try harder” to be welcome. @mbbroberg
  17. * Twitter (126 million) Reddit (330 million) Slack (12m) Telegram

    (200 million) Goo g Discord (250 million) GitHub (40 m) @mbbroberg MSFT (13m) Riot (13m) multi-channel
  18. Thank you And thanks: ◂ To Fosdem and the Community

    Devroom leads! This is such an honor. ◂ To the Mozilla team for inspiring research on this topic. ◂ To Jory Burson for inspiration on the third place. ◂ To the Opensource.com team for their support. If you’re interested in sharing your open source story there, DM me! ◂ Presentation template by Slidesgo, icons by Flaticon. @mbbroberg
  19. 1. Daily publication with over 2.1 million articles read a

    month 2. Publishing articles on anything with a strong open source story 3. Staff available to coach authors on telling great stories 4. Top articles in Linux, Python, Rust, Kubernetes, and open source news 5. An ever-evolving community of active participants Interested in writing with us? Go to Opensource.com/writers (or at me! @mbbroberg)