Category: Posts

2023-10-25

Managing issue tracker labels

Labels are arbitrary tags that either apply to an issue or not. But how you use them in your project can get very complicated.

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2023-10-18

Directing new contributors to areas of need

If you have a list of what your project needs & empower people to do them, you’ll find newcomers self-direct to the best contributions.

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2023-10-11

Handling bug reports for upstream projects

When a user files a report for a bug that’s actually in an upstream project, how should you handle it?

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2023-10-04

Does your project say “no” enough?

Saying “no” well keeps your project is focused & maintainable. This may put some people off, but it helps your project stay healthy long-term.

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2023-09-27

Preparing for Hacktoberfest contributors

If your project is participating In Hacktoberfest, you’ll want to make sure you’re ready for an influx of new contributors.

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2023-09-20

For companies, community should be “us” not “them”

Referring to the community as “them” as if there’s no overlap encourages treating company & community interests as separate, harming long-term sustainability.

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2023-09-13

What are you optimizing?

If you start optimizing for a process and then discover you’re optimizing for the wrong thing, you’ve wasted time.

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2023-09-06

One approach to AI contributions

All communities will need an AI contribution policy at some point, and the Apache Software Foundation’s example is a good one to follow.

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2023-08-30

Don’t try to guess contributor affiliations

When asked “how many $company employees contribute to this project?” the best answer is “I don’t know and there’s no good way to find out.”

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2023-08-16

Don’t launch a communication tool without a moderation plan

Well-understood and consistent moderation practices go a long way toward reducing hard feelings in your community.

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