Volunteers make open source projects go. This talk discusses how to attract volunteers, what to do once you have, and how to keep them happy once you've got them.
4. About Me
Kat Toomajian (MissKat, zarhooie)
Dreamwidth Studios, LLC
Community & Volunteer Support
Experience
15+ years Non-Profit
5+ years Non-Profit Management
4+ years OSS
5. Why This Talk
General Perceptions about OSS
− Little diversity
− Hostile community
− Need to already have experience
− Interview process
6. Why This Talk
Breaking it down
− Half the people on the planet aren't male
10-30% of tech professionals are female
Only 1.5-5% of OSS developers are female
− Everyone's a newcomer
− Experience is a catch-22
− Your vol interviews you, not the other way around
9. Your Project is Not A Special Snowflake
Lots of projects out there
− Your potential volunteers have choices
− Make yourself competitive in the market
Potential volunteers look for
− Culture
− Environment
− Other people
− ???? (can be literally anything else)
10. STEP ZERO:
How Do I People???
Be nice.
− Keep your IRC channel PG-13
− Community standards, enforced adequately, will
self-enforce
Peer pressure works both ways
− Combative vs Collaborative development
It's ok to argue about stuff
It's not ok to argue in a way that ends with people
leaving the project
11. Four Letter Words
Woman is not a four letter word.
Neither is diversity.
− Don't make assumptions or jokes based around
racism, ableism, sexism, or any other -isms
− These jokes aren't funny, and will drive volunteers
away from your project.
If you hurt someone's feelings...
− Apologize. Don't tell them to get thicker skin.
13. Be Welcoming
Lower the entry barrier
Have a welcome wagon
− Links to:
Jargon page
Culture wiki
Development wiki
Lower entry barrier = more developers = less
work for you in the long run
15. STEP ONE:
Follow the Yellow Brick Code
Wanted: awesome people!
− Not everyone has experience, but...
Lots of people want experience
Let them get that experience by coding for you!
A → B → C
Give people a job to do.
Make mentors available.
16.
17. STEP TWO:
What Can You Doo-OO-oo... with a
Newbie Dev?
Training and mentoring your developers
Clear path from user to leader to management
− User to developer to leadership
Developer development is a lifestyle choice
− Takes effort, but it's totally worth it
− DW brought 14 devs and staff to YAPC for
development. The return will justify the means.
18. Invest in Your Community
Common Fears of OSS Projects
− They don't know enough to be useful
− I'm too busy to handle their question
− If they have a question, they'll ask
− I had to do it the hard way/that's not how I learned
19.
20. Invest in Your Community
Rebuttals
− Knowledge is an acquired thing, not innate
− Mentoring is the most important thing you can do.
− Technology advances. So should teaching
techniques
− Don't ridicule those who ask for help
21. What is a Newbie Dev?
Specific term for someone new to a project or
development in general
You don't have to go through the mentoring if
you don't want to
Many of our devs started out knowing nothing
about coding at all, let alone how to code
22. So What CAN They Do?
Let them work on tiny bugs
− Makes you look good
− You don't have to untrain bad habits!
− Can point to it and say I DID THAT
Motivational tool
Retention tool
23.
24. STEP THREE:
?????????
Every project and developer has special
requirements
− THIS IS OK.
Look to your project's culture to find out what
these needs are
− Adjust accordingly.
25. Be Encouraging!
Give credit where credit's due
− News posts
− “merit badges”
− Bribes can be a good motivational tool
Write references
Impostor Syndrome 101
27. There's a Place for (almost) Everyone
Don't allow people who are violating
community standards to keep doing that.
Non-Development Positions
− Cheerleaders
− Documentation
End-User
Project
Culture
− End-User Support
End-User Support is a gateway drug to development
28. STEP FOUR:
Profit!
Mentoring = Long-Term Project Survival
− More invested = will bring their friends
Next to having dev custom built, it's the best
All your tiny stuff gets fixed
No bad habits to train out
They will learn what you want them to learn
how you want them to learn it.
29. LET'S RECAP!
Be Nice. Learn how to people.
Lower your entry barriers.
Mentor your developers.
Project-specific goals
Ensure the long-term survival of your project
30. How Can I Do This In My Project?
You can do them all, but start with one.
− Pick one.
Probably be nice/welcoming
− Master it.
− Move on to the next one.
Learning how to newcomers takes time.
− Be patient.
− Ask for help.
− perldoc friendlymentor (not really, I made this up)