===== Slide 1 ===== Hi! I'm edunham, and I'm here to talk to you about not contributing to open source ===== Slide 2 ===== When we talk about open source software communities, it's natural to pay a lot of attention to the people who're already involved. I've looked at why people pass up opportunities to get involved with free and open source software communities, and they often make a certain category of excuses: ===== Slide 3 ===== These lines of thought probably sound familiar, either from your own experience or that of the people you've collaborated with. ===== Slide 4 ===== The technical term for this kind of self doubt is *impostor syndrome*. You'll hear a lot about it from diversity advocates, because looking different can create an added sense that you don't measure up, but ===== Slide 5 ===== Studies have shown that 70% of all people experience impostor syndrome, not just minorities. Yes, 70% of EVERYBODY will at some point feel like they shouldn't even try, because they just don't measure up. And when you're new to a project, it can be especially daunting. ===== Slide 6 ===== Impostor syndrome tells you that you don't know enough to make a big, important contribution. You can't just dash up the mountain and slay all their dragons right away. And when you're new to a project, there's the added inconvenience that in this case the impostor syndrome is probably right. ===== Slide 7 ===== I'm here to tell you that there's an important task which every project needs total novices for. It's something that someone who's never heard of the project can do BETTER than its original author and core contributors. ===== Slide 8 ===== It's something that's kind of broken about a lot of projects. The problem is that most projects have a really hard time making a good first impression. Expert contributors try their best to write clear docs, but being an expert means they're a long way from remembering what it was like to be new to the project. ===== Slide 9 ===== That experience of forming a first impression is something that nobody gets more than once. Your first impression of a project is valuable, and it's the very first thing you get. ===== Slide 10 ===== Let's give that impostor syndrome the benefit of the doubt and suppose that you, the novice, are totally incapable of adding a big feature or fixing a hard bug in the project. At the start, it doesn't seem like you have a chance of fixing everything yourself. ===== Slide 11 ===== You feel like you can't contribute to the project, but that's okay, because Someone Else will. Someone Else will come along after you, and their code will be GREAT! ===== Slide 12 ===== But what if Someone Else comes along and the site is still broken and the docs are still missing a bunch of content and the installation guide is still a mess? Even ninja rockstar super-coders only have 24 hours in a day, and all those little hinderances will add up to keep them from getting very far. ===== Slide 13 ===== So what I want you, the novice, to do is simple: Pay attention to what it's like to be new, and SPEAK UP. I've got some magic words for you now, which will transform any seemingly stupid question into a thoughtful, valuable contribution: ===== Slide 14 ===== "I noticed that a newbie might have trouble finding the information on..." etc. ===== Slide 15 ===== What I'm asking you to do is the next time you see a neat project, try it out, and then give them your first impression. Blog or tweet about 1 thing you liked or disliked about using it. Don't be a jerk about it, but share your first impression somehow; there's a finite quantity of them available so it's stealing a potential improvement from the project if you keep it to yourself. ===== Slide 16 ===== Because if everyone who interfaces with a project does something to help it improve its first impression, to help it become a better place for newbies, the experience of being involved with the project will improve for everyone. ===== Slide 17 ===== What you as a project leader can do is welcome new contributors. Publish contribution guidelines and a clear code of conduct, leave some breadcrumbs about what forums are most appropriate for requesting help. ===== Slide 18 ===== Empower recently-new contributors so they can make a useful contribution, and so that questions from newbies aren't blocked on waiting for a core contributor. Empower the entire community to help with most issues, so newbies don't have to be afraid of wasting a busy expert's time. ===== Slide 19 ===== And you can't know what contributing to a given project will be like until you've tried it. On one project you might just pave the way for somebody who's a better fit, but on another, the next core contributor might be you! ===== Slide 20 ===== Thank you! I'm edunham; my contact info is on the OSCON site. I wrote the words, @remeranAuthor drew the pictures. And by the way, if you didn't know yet, this year's OSCON badges have an RFID tracking chip in them.