What does it mean to be welcoming?
On episode 101 of The Community Pulse, the hosts discussed what it means to be welcoming. Not all “welcoming” is the same. Mary Thengvall described what she called “country-club-type welcoming.” In this style of welcoming, you’re welcome so long as you adapt to the community. It promotes homogeneity. Those who can’t or won’t become like the group are no longer welcome. The community is welcoming…sort of.
To contrast that style, another host (whose voice I did not recognize among the other three hosts, sorry!) suggested that communities should evolve and change when new people join. I’ll go a step further: the whole point of adding community members is to change the community in some way.
Of course, there are certain non-negotiable behavior boundaries. These are in service of protecting the vibrancy and well-being of the individuals and the community as a whole, not to promote homogeneous behavior. You don’t want to add people to the community who will make it worse; you want to change it for the better.
Diversifying your community’s skills, experiences, and culture produces a more resilient community and better technical outcomes. Welcoming communities keep people around longer, too. What’s not to love?
Most communities are not intentionally unwelcoming, or even country-club-style welcoming. But intending to be welcoming isn’t the same as being welcoming in practice. You can’t make one decision and be done — welcoming takes active, ongoing effort.
It starts with having — and enforcing — a code of conduct. The goal of enforcement is encouraging behavior within the bounds of what’s acceptable, not punishing bad behavior. Prospective newcomers need to see that the community is a welcoming space, and that often begins before you ever hear from them. If your mailing lists/forums/chats/whatever don’t reflect the kinds of behavior people want to be around, they’ll stay away.
Being actively welcoming includes mentoring and guiding members not just when they join, but as they gain experience in the community. This doesn’t have to be a huge, formalized process, but everyone should feel supported in making contributions and learning in breadth or depth. This relationship building is what makes communities “sticky”, which is key for retaining contributors who have plenty of other things they could be doing with the time they’re choosing to give you. Recognize the value that people bring and acknowledge the positive ways they’ve changed your community.
Of course, you need to make sure what you’re doing is working. Do people stick around or do they show up briefly and leave? Do they never come in the first place? If you find that your community isn’t growing or sustaining in a way that you expect, check to see if you’re being as welcoming as you think you are.
This post’s featured photo by Christopher Alvarenga on Unsplash.