[SeasonOfDocs] Communication channels

[Erin McKean]

Also under the heading of metadocumentation: as we open up to more
contributors, we should have a Communication Guidelines page that expresses
what channels are best for which kinds of questions/discussion/issues, and
what to expect in terms of MTTA (mean time to answer), how/when to escalate
(hint: it's not twenty minutes after posting by putting the project on
blast on social media ...), and what channels we ignore/use in a limited
fashion (eg "don't @ us on Instagram, we aren't there officially and won't
answer questions posed there; our Twitter is announcements-only, DMs are
closed"). CommGuidelines should also link to the relevant Code of Conduct.

Speaking of which, we should have a CoC sooner rather than later!

Erin

On Wed, Jul 3, 2019 at 12:35 PM Jennifer Rondeau <jennifer.rondeau at gmail.com>
wrote:

> I like Cameron's list of communication channels, but I'd amend the
> description of one of them, and suggest that we include one more pair of
> related items (which I assume we'll be using anyway, but it could be useful
> to spell it out in this context too):
>
> - amend: with the requirement of an agenda created ahead of time, it's my
> experience that larger video conference meetings, if held regularly, can be
> great facilitators of project and community velocity, and of general good
> will. This suggestion isn't meant to replace smaller ad hoc or regular
> meetings, however.
>
> - add: GitHub issues and pull requests. We're not ready for these yet, but
> IME these can also be useful communication tools if guidelines for their
> use are set up appropriately. And it's also useful to recommend when to
> file an issue and when to file a PR. (Especially with doc-related changes
> (as opposed to new docs), a PR without an issue can make a lot of sense,
> even if it flies in the face of certain conventions.)
>
> On Wed, Jul 3, 2019 at 3:10 PM Cameron Shorter <cameron.shorter at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Clarence,
>>
>> Felicity has set up https://thegooddocs.slack.com for us already, which
>> we can start using (although name may change). There is a good chance we
>> will rebrand ourselves within the next few weeks, depending upon
>> conversations Jennifer will be starting between us and the WriteTheDocs
>> Guide community.
>>
>> I'd like to hear input on what communication channels we should use. Most
>> of my Open Source work is on mature projects, 10+ years old, where
>> conversations mainly happen on email lists, sometimes with an IRC channel
>> as well. However, as I look into setting up a new project, it appears email
>> lists are not provided by default open source hosting providers.
>>
>> Do people have opinions on what communication channels we should use?
>> Each communication channel is optimised for different cadences and use
>> cases.
>>
>> I'm inclined to suggest making use of:
>>
>> Email lists:
>> * Good for 1 day cadence, crossing timezones and working within volunteer
>> schedules
>> * People tend to choose words carefully, allowing the community to grow
>> to 50+ people relatively efficiently.
>> * Can be archived to later searching
>>
>> Video conferencing:
>> * Very personal which helps to build trust
>> * Facilitates fast brain storming
>> * Becomes unwieldy beyond 8+ people
>> * Good for weekly cadence for small teams, or adhoc meetings for 2 or 3
>> people
>>
>> Chat (eg slack):
>> * Sits between email and video
>> * Good for fast turnaround conversations, which can expand to ~ 30 people
>> * Doesn't archive well
>> On 4/7/19 2:30 am, Clarence Cromwell wrote:
>>
>> This project has a number of good things happening already. Would it be possible to have a slack group for this?
>> It seems that we need a way to follow multiple conversations simultaneously, and email is no longer the best tool for that.
>>
>>
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>> --
>> Cameron Shorter
>> Technology Demystifier
>> Open Technologies and Geospatial Consultant
>>
>> M +61 (0) 419 142 254
>>
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-- 
Erin McKean | Developer Relations Program Manager, Open Source Strategy |
emckean at google.com | she/her
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