1 00:00:00,017 --> 00:00:04,737 I'm breaking that in later today. So yeah, Neopitos, the stage is yours. 2 00:00:04,997 --> 00:00:06,637 Good. And don't forget this. 3 00:00:06,957 --> 00:00:09,357 Oh, yeah. Give me a second. 4 00:00:10,777 --> 00:00:15,937 Should be working now. Yeah, awesome. So hi, everyone. Thank you for being here 5 00:00:15,937 --> 00:00:18,477 and for joining me in this talk about building culture. 6 00:00:19,517 --> 00:00:24,377 What I wanted to share with you in this talk is basically some insights on how 7 00:00:24,377 --> 00:00:28,157 we can all collectively shape our culture at KDE, 8 00:00:28,357 --> 00:00:32,677 you know, reflect a bit of what we've been doing so far and how we can change 9 00:00:32,677 --> 00:00:36,937 and evolve this going forward and, you know, sustain a strong community within KDE. 10 00:00:37,137 --> 00:00:41,557 I believe this is like a very, very crucial project in terms of the long-term 11 00:00:41,557 --> 00:00:44,697 success of KDE, both as a community and our projects. 12 00:00:45,697 --> 00:00:50,817 So a bit about myself before we dive in. My name is Nefidos Kolokotronis. 13 00:00:50,937 --> 00:00:53,137 In my day job, I work at CCG. 14 00:00:53,557 --> 00:00:57,417 It stands for Core Engineering Consulting Group. It's specifically a platform 15 00:00:57,417 --> 00:01:00,657 engineering company, and there I'm responsible for our community offering. 16 00:01:01,177 --> 00:01:04,877 I've been a KDE contributor for nearly eight years now, contributing mostly 17 00:01:04,877 --> 00:01:06,737 to community and organizational stuff. 18 00:01:06,997 --> 00:01:10,077 You can see there I've been, nowadays I'm part of the community working group. 19 00:01:10,157 --> 00:01:12,697 I've been in the board of directors of some other working groups, 20 00:01:12,797 --> 00:01:18,297 and I've also been a gold champion in one of the first rounds regarding streamlined onboarding. 21 00:01:19,257 --> 00:01:22,337 This is actually my seventh academy and each 22 00:01:22,337 --> 00:01:25,297 year I'm very very amazed by how much 23 00:01:25,297 --> 00:01:28,277 both as individuals and as a community have to gain from gathering 24 00:01:28,277 --> 00:01:33,177 here together and I think particularly when viewed through the culture building 25 00:01:33,177 --> 00:01:38,597 let's say perspective academy is like a very essential and irreplaceable cornerstone 26 00:01:38,597 --> 00:01:44,417 for our community and for creating shared experiences here so again a big thank 27 00:01:44,417 --> 00:01:47,917 you to the organizers and for making this happen and for you to be here. 28 00:01:48,577 --> 00:01:52,277 So what is culture like to get started in the topic? 29 00:01:52,437 --> 00:01:56,877 In the context of our community, culture is a collective set of all the things 30 00:01:56,877 --> 00:01:58,337 you see there in that box. 31 00:01:58,437 --> 00:02:01,997 So the knowledge we have, the norms that we share, the beliefs, 32 00:02:02,137 --> 00:02:08,497 the rules, our behavior, it's all the things that in a way guide how we interact with each other. 33 00:02:08,677 --> 00:02:14,197 And you could say that all together for this is magic glue that holds us together 34 00:02:14,197 --> 00:02:16,877 and it guides how we interact with each other, how we collaborate, 35 00:02:17,197 --> 00:02:20,197 how we communicate and how we make decisions as well. 36 00:02:21,482 --> 00:02:26,462 It's a deeply social process culture, and this emerges kind of naturally through 37 00:02:26,462 --> 00:02:29,342 our interactions as we engage with the people around us. 38 00:02:29,542 --> 00:02:36,362 There are ways, of course, to improve it and, you know, enact it and reinforce 39 00:02:36,362 --> 00:02:38,322 it, but this grows naturally. 40 00:02:39,582 --> 00:02:44,382 So, according to Wikipedia, to go through some definitions, the way we acquire 41 00:02:44,382 --> 00:02:48,182 culture is by the process of of enculturation and socialization. 42 00:02:49,462 --> 00:02:54,302 In simple terms, this means that by being exposed and adopting knowledge and 43 00:02:54,302 --> 00:02:58,082 norms and customs from other communities, from other people around us, 44 00:02:58,182 --> 00:03:00,962 from other teams and people we interact with. 45 00:03:01,622 --> 00:03:06,582 And as Phoebe points out, it's one of my go-to community building consultancies. 46 00:03:06,842 --> 00:03:08,662 If you're into that, check them out. 47 00:03:09,322 --> 00:03:12,642 They emphasize that like a lot of things that are related to our behavior, 48 00:03:12,902 --> 00:03:16,362 culture is something that we can reinforce. We can point out the good things, 49 00:03:16,422 --> 00:03:18,482 reinforce them and build on top of that. 50 00:03:18,842 --> 00:03:25,262 So let's think of culture as the environment we create all together and that 51 00:03:25,262 --> 00:03:28,602 we maintain together and we should be responsible about evolving it. 52 00:03:29,262 --> 00:03:33,502 Every interaction we have could potentially be contributing to how our culture 53 00:03:33,502 --> 00:03:34,922 is being formed going forward. 54 00:03:35,182 --> 00:03:40,862 And this is what makes culture like a living, breathing organism that grows 55 00:03:40,862 --> 00:03:42,782 with all of us and our community all together. 56 00:03:44,002 --> 00:03:49,482 So, culture is very important, I believe, because it impacts every way, 57 00:03:49,582 --> 00:03:53,342 like most of the things that we do and how we operate in KDN, 58 00:03:53,402 --> 00:03:55,002 in every organization, every community. 59 00:03:55,522 --> 00:04:00,002 Are we supportive? Are we respectful? Are we open-minded? 60 00:04:00,302 --> 00:04:03,642 These are things that are behaviors that are driven by our culture, 61 00:04:03,762 --> 00:04:07,302 our values, and the norms that we have established between us. 62 00:04:07,302 --> 00:04:13,242 It also affects how we communicate with each other, both internally and also 63 00:04:13,242 --> 00:04:15,122 externally, with our users, with our community. 64 00:04:15,502 --> 00:04:21,942 So we use all these platforms, matrix, developer tools, the mailing list, our forum. 65 00:04:22,162 --> 00:04:29,242 So the tone and style of this communication is affected by the culture that 66 00:04:29,242 --> 00:04:32,982 we have and should actually reflect our underlying culture. 67 00:04:32,982 --> 00:04:37,782 Another important role that culture plays is on how we make decisions. 68 00:04:38,562 --> 00:04:42,842 Do we discuss before acting? How do we develop code together? 69 00:04:43,122 --> 00:04:47,662 Do we invite input from other team members? Do we involve people? 70 00:04:48,102 --> 00:04:54,322 So a welcoming, inclusive culture invites participation and in that way, 71 00:04:54,322 --> 00:04:55,882 it nurtures long-time engagement. 72 00:04:56,602 --> 00:05:00,762 Finally, our culture also influences how we interact with other organizations. 73 00:05:00,762 --> 00:05:03,202 And it's not something that affects us internally. 74 00:05:03,422 --> 00:05:06,362 So maybe are we open to collaborations? 75 00:05:06,562 --> 00:05:09,802 Do we want to join larger groups that are similar to what we are doing? 76 00:05:09,902 --> 00:05:12,822 Do we want to form new partnerships, new synergies with people? 77 00:05:13,042 --> 00:05:16,782 This is part of our culture. This is part of how we approach this kind of situations. 78 00:05:19,617 --> 00:05:22,857 So, KDE's culture is not something that happened by accident. 79 00:05:23,037 --> 00:05:28,297 It naturally evolves, but we guided it and we provided the means to do that. 80 00:05:28,577 --> 00:05:33,437 So you can see here, I gathered some of the foundational documents and some 81 00:05:33,437 --> 00:05:37,237 practices and initiatives that I feel they act as our cultural framework. 82 00:05:38,217 --> 00:05:43,537 They are in a historical timeline, so from the one that was first to the one that was more recent. 83 00:05:43,537 --> 00:05:48,477 And I find it interesting that to also note when these were last modified to 84 00:05:48,477 --> 00:05:52,457 see that there are actual people that still care about them and they try to 85 00:05:52,457 --> 00:05:56,817 update them and continue to make them, they put in effort to make them relevant. 86 00:05:57,777 --> 00:06:02,117 Quick question. Is there anyone here that knows about the existence of all these 87 00:06:02,117 --> 00:06:04,897 six documents or initiatives? 88 00:06:05,297 --> 00:06:07,317 I have Lydia only. 89 00:06:09,997 --> 00:06:13,897 Volker as well. Okay. I'd assume that most of you know at least four, 90 00:06:14,017 --> 00:06:18,297 like the big ones, let's say, like our code of contact, our manifesto, 91 00:06:18,297 --> 00:06:19,477 the vision and the goals. 92 00:06:19,937 --> 00:06:22,437 Is there anyone that has never heard of any of this? 93 00:06:23,857 --> 00:06:27,857 Oh, that's good. At least we're aware of most of them. 94 00:06:27,937 --> 00:06:34,437 So let's quickly go over them to see what each one is supposed to be doing for 95 00:06:34,437 --> 00:06:35,857 our culture and how they impact us. 96 00:06:36,017 --> 00:06:40,377 So the code of contact, it was actually created 12 years after the community 97 00:06:40,377 --> 00:06:43,997 was started, if my math was correct. 98 00:06:44,317 --> 00:06:49,317 And it's when we decided to make this code of contact an unofficial thing. 99 00:06:49,497 --> 00:06:52,717 And it's a good thing. It's a great sign of a community that is maturing, 100 00:06:52,817 --> 00:06:56,777 that is caring about its members, that it wants to have some guidelines of how 101 00:06:56,777 --> 00:06:59,477 we interact and how we do things together. 102 00:06:59,697 --> 00:07:01,677 So it's of critical significance. 103 00:07:01,937 --> 00:07:04,837 And it's very important that this document came out first 104 00:07:04,837 --> 00:07:07,897 because it gave us like a way to see 105 00:07:07,897 --> 00:07:10,877 how we treat each other and how we ensure 106 00:07:10,877 --> 00:07:13,777 that our community remains a safe space a welcoming 107 00:07:13,777 --> 00:07:19,217 environment so we can build on top of that then came the asking questions uh 108 00:07:19,217 --> 00:07:23,617 wiki initiative i was actually not aware of this before doing this uh the research 109 00:07:23,617 --> 00:07:28,157 for this talk and but it's uh you can see i was pleasantly surprised to see 110 00:07:28,157 --> 00:07:32,657 that it was still updated like a year ago and this it's it looks a bit outwards. 111 00:07:32,737 --> 00:07:37,197 It looks at newcomers and how we expect people to reach out to us, 112 00:07:37,237 --> 00:07:44,557 ask us questions, and in general, how we interact with people that are new to our community. 113 00:07:45,197 --> 00:07:50,277 And then came the KDE Manifesto, of course, another key cultural initiative, we could say. 114 00:07:51,237 --> 00:07:56,577 It more or less outlined our key values, and it provided like a compass, 115 00:07:56,877 --> 00:07:59,977 a very, very high-level level compass of how we want to operate internally. 116 00:08:00,377 --> 00:08:05,337 Um, and then moving closer to more recent times, you could say our vision and 117 00:08:05,337 --> 00:08:06,897 mission statements that were published, 118 00:08:07,477 --> 00:08:12,297 uh, like eight years ago, these are like touchstones that they should be reminding 119 00:08:12,297 --> 00:08:16,597 us about our long-term objectives, the principle we aim to uphold. 120 00:08:17,954 --> 00:08:21,534 And they came in a way to be complementary to our manifesto. 121 00:08:22,154 --> 00:08:26,934 Now, soon after the Goals Initiative was introduced, it helped the community 122 00:08:26,934 --> 00:08:31,394 at large to focus maybe on bigger things, on particular topics that we want 123 00:08:31,394 --> 00:08:34,714 to work on and improve upon over a couple of years usually. 124 00:08:35,294 --> 00:08:38,014 Just yesterday you must have probably heard about the new initiative, 125 00:08:38,134 --> 00:08:40,194 I think it's the fourth round this year. 126 00:08:40,414 --> 00:08:43,694 So it's great to see that this initiative is still fruitful, 127 00:08:43,934 --> 00:08:47,414 it's still productive, and it shapes the way we want to move forward. 128 00:08:47,954 --> 00:08:52,074 And I was happy to see that one of the three goals that was elected is related 129 00:08:52,074 --> 00:08:55,974 to what we're talking today here about, you know, the culture and bringing in 130 00:08:55,974 --> 00:08:57,414 more people and how we do that. 131 00:08:58,214 --> 00:09:03,494 Now, finally, another entry that I wasn't aware of when I was before doing this, 132 00:09:03,534 --> 00:09:07,914 the research for this talk is a kiddie culture wiki entry. It's a very recent one. 133 00:09:08,714 --> 00:09:14,274 And it's according to the wiki itself, it highlights some cultural conventions 134 00:09:14,274 --> 00:09:16,674 that have emerged over time in KDE. 135 00:09:17,134 --> 00:09:19,894 Per the way, these are not formal rules, it's just something, 136 00:09:19,974 --> 00:09:21,914 I think Nate was the one that initiated this one. 137 00:09:22,454 --> 00:09:26,294 It's like norms and guidelines about how to interact again with people in KDE. 138 00:09:26,434 --> 00:09:30,434 So there are a couple of things that were uncovered in other documents and people 139 00:09:30,434 --> 00:09:31,994 felt that they should put them here. 140 00:09:32,194 --> 00:09:36,354 So all these documents, all these initiatives, what they're basically doing 141 00:09:36,354 --> 00:09:41,734 is forming and shaping the backbone of our community, of our culture and helping us. 142 00:09:41,934 --> 00:09:45,154 We should use them as reference points, right? When we come across challenges, 143 00:09:45,374 --> 00:09:49,194 we want to make some big decision, this is where we should be going back to 144 00:09:49,194 --> 00:09:52,354 understand our core values, our principles, how we want to operate. 145 00:09:52,634 --> 00:09:54,654 They should be like our point of reference. 146 00:09:57,177 --> 00:10:01,857 Maintaining a strong culture within any organization, any community, 147 00:10:02,017 --> 00:10:04,677 like it's many, many, many ways and balancing acts. 148 00:10:04,817 --> 00:10:11,497 And this is not only difficult, but it also requires ongoing effort from everyone in the community. 149 00:10:11,757 --> 00:10:15,157 And the main challenge we need to address is change. 150 00:10:15,857 --> 00:10:21,997 Change is both internal and external, right? Our community is 28 years now. 151 00:10:22,997 --> 00:10:28,937 So it has evolved a lot. but its consistency has changed. Members come, members go. 152 00:10:29,117 --> 00:10:33,177 The community itself changes in the way we have evolved over the years, 153 00:10:33,297 --> 00:10:34,757 what we think is important, what not. 154 00:10:35,077 --> 00:10:39,857 So we have also the structure of community changes, new groups, new initiatives. 155 00:10:39,937 --> 00:10:43,737 So all these things evolve and they change the community internally. 156 00:10:44,077 --> 00:10:52,077 At the same time, we have external factors, social things, political factors that come into place. 157 00:10:52,077 --> 00:10:56,577 Like we have technologies, new technologies that bring in new norms, 158 00:10:56,637 --> 00:11:01,817 new practices, and the expectations of our users, their needs also change through the years. 159 00:11:01,977 --> 00:11:08,877 So we are consistently being asked to, on one hand, to remain true to our defining 160 00:11:08,877 --> 00:11:14,017 values, let's say, to being anchored to all the documents that we shared earlier 161 00:11:14,017 --> 00:11:16,357 and the principles, our foundational principles. 162 00:11:16,357 --> 00:11:21,097 And then on the other hand, we need to find ways to evolve, to reinvent ourselves, 163 00:11:21,337 --> 00:11:25,057 to grow our culture, to make a sustainable culture. And this demands adaptation. 164 00:11:25,417 --> 00:11:27,997 This demands evolution of our community. 165 00:11:28,997 --> 00:11:34,277 So what I would say that this means that from time to time, it's important to 166 00:11:34,277 --> 00:11:39,757 go back and look at our culture, go look at other documents and ask ourselves 167 00:11:39,757 --> 00:11:43,717 whether the documents we have, our principles, they still serve our community. 168 00:11:43,717 --> 00:11:48,917 And they align with our goals and where we continue to go, we want to go. 169 00:11:51,569 --> 00:11:56,569 Just to share a simple example of change, like let's pick, I think it's in the 170 00:11:56,569 --> 00:12:00,509 context as well, like a core value is being kind of polite to each other, 171 00:12:00,629 --> 00:12:04,309 which I think at its core, it's easy to understand for everyone, 172 00:12:04,409 --> 00:12:09,209 but you can easily imagine that enacting being kind and polite has changed. 173 00:12:09,369 --> 00:12:13,389 What we mean by being polite is probably not the same, and it's not acted in 174 00:12:13,389 --> 00:12:16,169 the same way that it was acted 30 years ago or 60 years ago. 175 00:12:16,349 --> 00:12:18,949 So in practice, this changes and evolves. 176 00:12:19,189 --> 00:12:23,469 And this is the challenge for us. Is this change reflected in these documents? 177 00:12:23,749 --> 00:12:28,909 Can we go back and maybe we should be refreshing them or updating them to make 178 00:12:28,909 --> 00:12:30,949 them more relevant and keep them updated? 179 00:12:31,369 --> 00:12:37,869 So this is all about finding that sweet spot between growing and embracing new 180 00:12:37,869 --> 00:12:42,249 ideas and new perspectives without losing sight of what this KDE, 181 00:12:42,409 --> 00:12:46,349 what our principles are, and what makes us then unique as a community. 182 00:12:47,189 --> 00:12:52,709 It's not an easy task, but I could summarize like the way we can approach it. 183 00:12:52,769 --> 00:12:55,689 Maybe we can summarize it in like four words, discuss, reflect, 184 00:12:55,949 --> 00:12:57,249 nurture, and reinforce. 185 00:12:58,849 --> 00:13:03,429 Discuss ideas, I would say, reflect on experiences from our members, 186 00:13:03,689 --> 00:13:09,389 nurture relationships and try to reinforce behaviors and values that are very important to us. 187 00:13:10,089 --> 00:13:14,449 We will dive a bit more in the next slides on strategies on how we can do that. 188 00:13:14,449 --> 00:13:21,729 Now, one of the most critical things of building and sustaining a strong culture is onboarding. 189 00:13:21,829 --> 00:13:27,389 When a well-structured onboarding process shouldn't be just introducing the 190 00:13:27,389 --> 00:13:29,689 new members to our processes and our tools, 191 00:13:29,869 --> 00:13:34,709 it should also be about putting effort into integrating new members of our community 192 00:13:34,709 --> 00:13:38,929 into our values and embedding them into our culture and into our community. 193 00:13:40,865 --> 00:13:44,485 Bending is usually it's obviously the first and most often one of the most influential 194 00:13:44,485 --> 00:13:50,185 experiences that new contributors will have And it kind of sets the tone of 195 00:13:50,185 --> 00:13:52,005 their future participation, 196 00:13:52,725 --> 00:13:55,845 I'm pretty confident that the vast majority of you 197 00:13:55,845 --> 00:13:58,825 can probably recall their first experiences when joining the 198 00:13:58,825 --> 00:14:01,685 KDE What was their entry point who they 199 00:14:01,685 --> 00:14:06,305 were talking to and you know It's probably the same in other communities because 200 00:14:06,305 --> 00:14:10,505 I guess most of you are also parts of other communities So I hope that you remember 201 00:14:10,505 --> 00:14:14,945 the impact this had on your own perception about the community and the impact 202 00:14:14,945 --> 00:14:19,405 Like how it affected you so you're still here and you're still contributing, 203 00:14:20,225 --> 00:14:25,565 So you can see why onboarding is so important and why it fits straight into culture. 204 00:14:26,805 --> 00:14:32,865 So effective onboarding and doesn't only help though new contributors like a 205 00:14:32,865 --> 00:14:36,965 big part of like talking to these contributors and making the transition and 206 00:14:36,965 --> 00:14:40,505 their being embedded into our community more smooth, 207 00:14:41,185 --> 00:14:44,645 means that we also strengthen the overlap community because we 208 00:14:44,645 --> 00:14:48,565 ensure that everyone is aligned like a more senior person within our community 209 00:14:48,565 --> 00:14:52,065 is now aligned with a new person because they have they share the same values 210 00:14:52,065 --> 00:14:56,205 they share their same principles so you can understand how this helps in you 211 00:14:56,205 --> 00:15:01,305 know um it basically means less friction between new members and less frustration 212 00:15:01,305 --> 00:15:02,785 between new and older members. 213 00:15:03,305 --> 00:15:09,085 But as I said in the title of this presentation, when viewed from the cultural 214 00:15:09,085 --> 00:15:13,045 perspective, onboarding shouldn't end in those first one, two months, 215 00:15:13,185 --> 00:15:15,505 one or two weeks, depending on how you see it. 216 00:15:15,545 --> 00:15:20,745 It should be an ongoing support, an ongoing engagement, and a key way to reinforce 217 00:15:20,745 --> 00:15:24,785 these cultural values to ensure at least long-term participation. 218 00:15:26,385 --> 00:15:31,705 So going into how we can sustain a strong culture, I split it into three pillars 219 00:15:31,705 --> 00:15:38,505 that made sense to me when I was preparing this talk, starting from participation and ownership. 220 00:15:40,443 --> 00:15:43,883 Good intentions are good, we mean well, we do the documents, 221 00:15:44,123 --> 00:15:51,423 but everyone needs to be active in our community. 222 00:15:51,623 --> 00:15:57,623 And when engaging with others, it's required to put active effort to enact this culture. 223 00:15:57,983 --> 00:16:02,123 And in the end, we should all be aiming at becoming like we have the gold champions. 224 00:16:02,643 --> 00:16:05,403 I don't know, maybe we can have cultural champions in a way. 225 00:16:05,483 --> 00:16:10,983 So we should all be aiming at being that. you know, and then it's like feedback and reflections. 226 00:16:11,183 --> 00:16:14,383 These are tools that are very, very important. We're talking about sustainability. 227 00:16:14,583 --> 00:16:16,603 We want to evolve. We want to grow. 228 00:16:16,823 --> 00:16:24,703 So we need to ensure that what we do and the way we do it, it's like it reflects 229 00:16:24,703 --> 00:16:28,163 and it stays in tune with all the new members in our community, 230 00:16:28,303 --> 00:16:30,443 with our community in general, and how it has evolved. 231 00:16:30,823 --> 00:16:35,123 And to do that, We need to make sure that you know, all the voices are heard 232 00:16:35,123 --> 00:16:40,343 that people come in with new ideas We we stop we listen we major we reflect 233 00:16:40,343 --> 00:16:42,123 and we make adjustments as needed, 234 00:16:42,803 --> 00:16:47,603 Uh, therefore the third point is about enacting and enforcing We have the guidelines. 235 00:16:47,923 --> 00:16:53,623 This is a must we have the reference documentation to point people at but um. 236 00:16:54,323 --> 00:16:59,223 Part like These things could easily remain theoretical if we're not acting on 237 00:16:59,223 --> 00:17:02,263 them them, then they are just there and they're not helping us in a way. 238 00:17:02,343 --> 00:17:05,123 We need to be going back to them. We need to be applying them consistently. 239 00:17:05,483 --> 00:17:11,003 We need to have ways to reinforce them. Because without active moderation, 240 00:17:11,363 --> 00:17:14,983 unfortunately, even the strongest communities, if they remain, 241 00:17:15,523 --> 00:17:19,983 without moderation, it means people will come in, the loudest voices will be 242 00:17:19,983 --> 00:17:20,943 the ones driving change. 243 00:17:21,223 --> 00:17:24,723 And this is not necessarily what you want to do here. You need to build an inclusive environment. 244 00:17:25,063 --> 00:17:28,083 You need to protect people that want to share their opinions. 245 00:17:28,083 --> 00:17:35,023 So, even the stronger cultures without enforcement, they tend to fail in the long term. 246 00:17:36,212 --> 00:17:40,052 Now, we talked about change and how important it is in this balancing act between 247 00:17:40,052 --> 00:17:44,252 being true to our values and evolving. 248 00:17:44,672 --> 00:17:50,332 And these are some mechanisms that help us for embracing change and adopting 249 00:17:50,332 --> 00:17:53,052 to new developments. And this is vital. 250 00:17:53,312 --> 00:17:57,952 At the heart of this process is being welcoming to new ideas and willing to 251 00:17:57,952 --> 00:18:01,192 adapt and evolve our culture and our practices. 252 00:18:01,192 --> 00:18:06,652 But we should always consider what we'll adopt and how we'll adopt it should 253 00:18:06,652 --> 00:18:08,872 come back to our values and our principles. 254 00:18:09,052 --> 00:18:12,352 We should make sure that it's in alignment and in accordance with that. 255 00:18:12,512 --> 00:18:16,312 Otherwise, we're just picking up stuff from other communities and things we 256 00:18:16,312 --> 00:18:22,272 see around them and bringing them inside without thinking how we integrate them based on our values. 257 00:18:23,092 --> 00:18:27,712 Now, we talk a lot about diversity by allowing variations, you know, 258 00:18:27,732 --> 00:18:30,752 different viewpoints, learning from each other and experiences, 259 00:18:31,352 --> 00:18:32,812 new suggestions that people have. 260 00:18:33,772 --> 00:18:37,812 We create an environment that allows for creativity. As new people come in, 261 00:18:37,852 --> 00:18:39,972 they bring in new ideas, they bring in new energy. 262 00:18:40,112 --> 00:18:43,152 We see that a lot from various initiatives that we have. 263 00:18:43,432 --> 00:18:47,632 And this openness, let's say, to new perspectives is a very, 264 00:18:47,672 --> 00:18:50,692 very important aspect for a community need to grow, to feel relevant, 265 00:18:50,852 --> 00:18:54,992 to remain relevant, to respond to all the needs of our community members. 266 00:18:55,772 --> 00:19:00,892 And at the same time, relationships, they are very, very important within our community. 267 00:19:01,032 --> 00:19:06,152 It's important to build trust-based collaboration among us and within the community. 268 00:19:06,992 --> 00:19:11,172 We can probably, if you are skillful enough individually, you might be able 269 00:19:11,172 --> 00:19:12,392 in a position to achieve a lot. 270 00:19:12,492 --> 00:19:16,272 But if you want to play the long-term game, you need people around you, 271 00:19:16,332 --> 00:19:22,292 you need the skills of other people, you want the support of teams and groups around you. 272 00:19:23,663 --> 00:19:27,043 Now some key challenges for this effort. 273 00:19:27,383 --> 00:19:31,323 The first one, at least one that I feel is very, very important and I've seen 274 00:19:31,323 --> 00:19:36,483 it in many communities have been involved, is apathy and overcoming it. 275 00:19:36,683 --> 00:19:41,023 So without active participation, I keep going back to that because this is, 276 00:19:41,043 --> 00:19:44,363 I believe, very important and acting this, our culture, 277 00:19:44,523 --> 00:19:48,823 it's very, very difficult to maintain momentum if we are apathetic, 278 00:19:48,943 --> 00:19:52,703 you know, and then there's a risk of stagnation, that that community remains 279 00:19:52,703 --> 00:19:54,303 at something and it never evolves. 280 00:19:54,583 --> 00:20:01,983 And it will inevitably cause and lead into a disconnection between our values 281 00:20:01,983 --> 00:20:05,203 in the way we define them in the documents when we sat down and thought about 282 00:20:05,203 --> 00:20:08,703 this and our mission and our vision and what we do in our everyday practice. 283 00:20:08,923 --> 00:20:13,363 And there will be a misconnection. And this will inevitably cause conflicts and frustrations. 284 00:20:14,203 --> 00:20:19,043 Another key challenge is navigating difficult topics. These are often like sensitivity 285 00:20:19,043 --> 00:20:22,743 issues that they do require some more careful handling. 286 00:20:23,163 --> 00:20:26,863 We want to avoid divisions. We want to avoid conflicts within the community. 287 00:20:28,043 --> 00:20:32,523 I think we have in the past come across such topics. Sometimes we handle them 288 00:20:32,523 --> 00:20:35,603 well. Sometimes we handle with ways that could have improved. 289 00:20:35,863 --> 00:20:40,663 Again, it's important to go back, reflect, and improve. It's always a difficult challenge. 290 00:20:41,303 --> 00:20:45,943 Now, toxicity, negativity, trolling, a lot of behaviors that I'm sure everyone has experienced. 291 00:20:45,943 --> 00:20:53,283 Experience in communities, all these are, they basically like deter participation 292 00:20:53,283 --> 00:20:58,343 and they at all trust and we should be shutting them down as they come. 293 00:20:58,503 --> 00:21:01,163 This shouldn't be an option even for anyone in our community, 294 00:21:01,243 --> 00:21:03,543 right? They should realize that this is not acceptable. 295 00:21:03,763 --> 00:21:08,163 It's not a behavior we allow here because many things could go negative. 296 00:21:10,952 --> 00:21:14,992 Bridging communication gaps, also a very, very important topic. 297 00:21:16,292 --> 00:21:20,292 Misunderstandings can easily arise between us. They can lead to conflict. 298 00:21:20,472 --> 00:21:21,512 They can lead to frustration. 299 00:21:22,672 --> 00:21:28,432 Being mindful of how we explain among us, it's a key to helping us here, 300 00:21:28,612 --> 00:21:32,052 which is not always easy to do when there are heated discussions, 301 00:21:32,312 --> 00:21:35,752 when we feel strongly about a topic, when it's something that we've been working 302 00:21:35,752 --> 00:21:40,172 on and we need to receive criticism on that. 303 00:21:40,952 --> 00:21:43,912 And then the final challenge is that of moderation. 304 00:21:45,152 --> 00:21:48,752 Do we over-moderate or do we do inefficient moderation? 305 00:21:49,352 --> 00:21:54,972 Both have their negatives, right? Over-moderating means that we are suppressing free expression. 306 00:21:55,272 --> 00:22:02,012 We need to be careful not to balance between free expression and ensuring that 307 00:22:02,012 --> 00:22:06,212 the conversation remains civil, respectful, and productive. 308 00:22:07,552 --> 00:22:13,212 Otherwise, it will give room to disruption and tension within the community. 309 00:22:13,432 --> 00:22:15,732 So again, not an easy thing to balance. 310 00:22:16,112 --> 00:22:20,692 In the community, in the working room, we also have this issue a lot. 311 00:22:20,852 --> 00:22:25,492 We make a decision and we will always have someone complain about the decision 312 00:22:25,492 --> 00:22:29,672 we made because they see it from a different perspective on this balance, on this game. 313 00:22:30,252 --> 00:22:34,512 Some feel like you are too strict there, some feel that you should be stricter 314 00:22:34,512 --> 00:22:42,092 there. And no matter what we do on this scale, there will always be people that complain. 315 00:22:43,603 --> 00:22:49,783 Now I talked about the challenges. The last part of my talk is about strategies 316 00:22:49,783 --> 00:22:52,843 that we can say that they can help us going forward. 317 00:22:53,003 --> 00:22:55,203 I split them like in four major categories. 318 00:22:56,563 --> 00:23:01,023 The first one is about setting expectations and accountability within our community. 319 00:23:01,483 --> 00:23:05,343 So while I was going through this list, I kept thinking maybe you can try doing the same. 320 00:23:05,863 --> 00:23:09,143 Do we do this in KDE? And if we do it, do we do it well? 321 00:23:09,483 --> 00:23:12,543 Is there room for improvement? Maybe maybe some things we tried them and they 322 00:23:12,543 --> 00:23:15,523 didn't work out, maybe some things we're not doing at all, and maybe someone 323 00:23:15,523 --> 00:23:19,843 here could lead that effort in helping us improve our culture. 324 00:23:20,143 --> 00:23:24,183 So let's quickly go through them. 325 00:23:25,083 --> 00:23:29,543 So first of all, setting expectations. I think this is something you could say we're doing well. 326 00:23:29,623 --> 00:23:33,123 We have all this documentation about our values, our principles, our code of conduct. 327 00:23:34,063 --> 00:23:38,583 So I feel like this is important. It's not like we need a ton of work there, 328 00:23:39,123 --> 00:23:42,943 on what we are doing. At the same time, what we are not doing very well, 329 00:23:43,063 --> 00:23:45,863 and this is apparent also by the work of the community working group, 330 00:23:45,923 --> 00:23:47,303 is the consequences for violation. 331 00:23:48,863 --> 00:23:52,363 People know what they shouldn't be doing, but when they do what they shouldn't 332 00:23:52,363 --> 00:23:54,903 be doing, they don't know what the repercussions of that will be. 333 00:23:55,223 --> 00:24:01,083 So nobody knows how, I don't want to say punished, but how we react in cases 334 00:24:01,083 --> 00:24:06,703 where people go and they have their own behavior based on our code of conduct. 335 00:24:06,703 --> 00:24:09,863 So, this is not currently documented at all. 336 00:24:10,223 --> 00:24:14,503 And even though we more or less know what we can do and how we can react, 337 00:24:14,703 --> 00:24:18,403 we should be documenting this and making it more transparent to everyone so they know. 338 00:24:18,523 --> 00:24:21,763 This is important both for stopping the violence, let's say, 339 00:24:21,883 --> 00:24:25,383 but also for our community to feel like we are consistent, we are fair, 340 00:24:25,503 --> 00:24:27,083 we're efficient in the way we approach things. 341 00:24:30,658 --> 00:24:34,458 Then we have guidelines for escalation. We are also missing those, 342 00:24:34,618 --> 00:24:39,898 like if an issue arises, it should be clear what the process is of how it would 343 00:24:39,898 --> 00:24:41,698 be handled and how it would be resolved. 344 00:24:42,278 --> 00:24:47,418 And this is not currently, again, something that we're doing. We're working on it. 345 00:24:47,978 --> 00:24:52,658 We noticed this early, at least in the new, I could say that community working 346 00:24:52,658 --> 00:24:56,418 group, we have new members over the last two years. and we feel this is again 347 00:24:56,418 --> 00:24:58,858 an important aspect of it. 348 00:24:58,978 --> 00:25:04,618 And then there's consistency in making decisions, whether it's moderation on 349 00:25:04,618 --> 00:25:10,038 the forum or some, I don't know, rights that we're removing from some developer that is misbehaving. 350 00:25:10,078 --> 00:25:12,138 We should be consistent on how we react. 351 00:25:12,338 --> 00:25:15,458 We should be explaining to people why we're doing this voice to this, 352 00:25:15,518 --> 00:25:18,398 both to the people that are affected, but also to the rest of the community, 353 00:25:18,578 --> 00:25:22,118 which is currently something that we're not very transparent about, I feel. 354 00:25:22,118 --> 00:25:27,858 And of course, all this should be guided by the documents and our policies and all that. 355 00:25:28,918 --> 00:25:33,598 Now, moving into another set of strategies that are more about empowering our 356 00:25:33,598 --> 00:25:38,158 community and supporting our community to be better at enacting our culture. 357 00:25:39,058 --> 00:25:43,818 I think in terms of capacity building, we have tried it in the past, 358 00:25:43,898 --> 00:25:45,198 particularly at Academy. 359 00:25:45,438 --> 00:25:49,398 I don't know if there's training this year. I don't recall if we actually booked something. thing. 360 00:25:49,438 --> 00:25:52,978 But I remember being part of some training and in terms of communication and 361 00:25:52,978 --> 00:25:55,598 social skills, things that are relevant to cultural building, 362 00:25:55,818 --> 00:26:01,458 let's say, I also know that the that they, they be the board of directors also 363 00:26:01,458 --> 00:26:05,518 reached out to the community working group offering some training in terms of, 364 00:26:05,538 --> 00:26:09,718 you know, the people within the community working group to learn and, 365 00:26:09,758 --> 00:26:14,058 you know, gain the skills on how we could be better at what we do. 366 00:26:14,198 --> 00:26:16,398 I don't think we ever acted upon that. 367 00:26:16,898 --> 00:26:21,798 Hopefully fully we will in the future because it's not enough to have guidelines, 368 00:26:21,958 --> 00:26:26,978 but we should ensure that the people responsible for enforcing them are well prepared. 369 00:26:27,158 --> 00:26:30,018 They know how to do that. They have the tools, but they know how to use them. 370 00:26:31,207 --> 00:26:35,767 I talked a lot about the community working group and active community working group is key here. 371 00:26:35,947 --> 00:26:40,347 In my personal opinion, we should be doing much more than just policing the 372 00:26:40,347 --> 00:26:42,667 community, which is more or less what we're doing now. 373 00:26:42,827 --> 00:26:46,327 I feel, provided we have the resources and the availability, 374 00:26:46,727 --> 00:26:50,167 we should be much more active in supporting and nurturing the community, 375 00:26:50,327 --> 00:26:54,367 nurturing our culture, helping the community evolve. 376 00:26:54,707 --> 00:26:59,567 We are now limited to policing and even that we're not doing it very well in 377 00:26:59,567 --> 00:27:01,427 terms of we don't have enough time. 378 00:27:01,967 --> 00:27:05,867 Now we talked already about zero-tolerance-to-toxic behavior. 379 00:27:06,167 --> 00:27:07,627 I think this is easy to understand. 380 00:27:09,127 --> 00:27:13,547 Maybe we should be doing more, as I mentioned earlier, on defining the processes 381 00:27:13,547 --> 00:27:18,827 and sharing them with our community, but overall I don't think we have so many 382 00:27:18,827 --> 00:27:20,407 cases of this within our community. 383 00:27:20,867 --> 00:27:26,767 And then developing Developing clear, accessible methods that help our people 384 00:27:26,767 --> 00:27:28,307 resolve conflicts is also important. 385 00:27:29,047 --> 00:27:33,247 I'm thinking here like how-to guides for people that have issues. 386 00:27:33,887 --> 00:27:38,187 Like an algorithm, when this happens, do this. We don't have these instructions for our community. 387 00:27:38,327 --> 00:27:41,927 So they're more or less left on their own when they come across an issue or 388 00:27:41,927 --> 00:27:46,947 a misbehaving people, person, they need to decide that time what to do and they'd 389 00:27:46,947 --> 00:27:48,327 have nowhere to look to, right? Right. 390 00:27:48,487 --> 00:27:52,567 Um, people do reach out. And if you've seen the reports yesterday, 391 00:27:52,907 --> 00:27:56,787 we had like a lot more, uh, complaints this year in the community working group. 392 00:27:56,887 --> 00:28:02,267 I feel that that's a success because now we're open and people feel like they can, they can come to us. 393 00:28:02,467 --> 00:28:06,487 But again, we should be empowering them to also to handle this. 394 00:28:07,867 --> 00:28:12,947 Third big category is like fostering positive engagement and collaboration. Sorry. 395 00:28:14,127 --> 00:28:18,587 Now, one thing we should all be remembering is that it's not enough to just 396 00:28:18,587 --> 00:28:20,627 complain when someone misbehaves. 397 00:28:20,707 --> 00:28:24,787 I think we're not doing enough of actually giving people kudos when they are 398 00:28:24,787 --> 00:28:28,327 doing well, when they are like the cultural champions I mentioned earlier. 399 00:28:29,847 --> 00:28:33,627 We like to point at the people that are misbehaving. We rarely say, 400 00:28:33,727 --> 00:28:36,607 hey, this person is like very, very good with newcomers. 401 00:28:36,667 --> 00:28:41,747 This person is very good whenever collaborating with. We do that maybe through 402 00:28:41,747 --> 00:28:43,787 the awards out here at Academy from time to time. 403 00:28:43,867 --> 00:28:47,147 I think there's a relevant category, but in general, I don't think we're very 404 00:28:47,147 --> 00:28:49,487 good at pointing out the people that are doing really well. 405 00:28:50,327 --> 00:28:54,247 Another key thing is leading by example. This is particularly important for 406 00:28:54,247 --> 00:28:58,267 people that are in positions that, you know, either they are more senior members 407 00:28:58,267 --> 00:29:01,287 maybe of their community, so junior members look up to them, 408 00:29:01,387 --> 00:29:03,727 or they're engaging much more with our community. 409 00:29:03,727 --> 00:29:10,027 We have people in positions that actually interact with new members or our community 410 00:29:10,027 --> 00:29:11,927 in general much more often than others. 411 00:29:12,147 --> 00:29:15,947 And these people are the ones that should be leading by example, right? 412 00:29:16,507 --> 00:29:20,487 Every interaction with you, that person who is like the most senior, 413 00:29:20,547 --> 00:29:24,487 let's say, or someone who is interacting with the community is an opportunity 414 00:29:24,487 --> 00:29:25,847 for the new members to learn. 415 00:29:26,007 --> 00:29:29,727 It's an opportunity for them to adopt and understand something more about our culture. 416 00:29:31,208 --> 00:29:34,748 And then what I think we've been doing very well is creating opportunities for collaboration. 417 00:29:35,168 --> 00:29:38,828 We have many ways to collaborate, and we do it also in person a lot. 418 00:29:39,148 --> 00:29:42,568 We participate in programs like the Google Summer of Code and the Summer of 419 00:29:42,568 --> 00:29:47,828 KDE, where we bring more senior members of our community with newcomers within our community. 420 00:29:48,228 --> 00:29:52,608 We have sprints. The board in their report yesterday also talked about, 421 00:29:52,708 --> 00:29:55,068 we should be doing more. There are resources. 422 00:29:55,208 --> 00:29:58,128 If you have ideas, you are part in a team that wants to do more, 423 00:29:58,128 --> 00:30:00,568 or go ask for those resources. 424 00:30:01,128 --> 00:30:04,208 And we are here, of course, at Academy, which is the highlight of this effort. 425 00:30:04,828 --> 00:30:09,148 So the more our community comes together, the better it is for the health of our culture. 426 00:30:10,228 --> 00:30:14,888 Finally, it's important to gain the skills of reflecting before acting. 427 00:30:15,188 --> 00:30:20,988 Like, we still see people that go in interactions that become personal, 428 00:30:21,108 --> 00:30:22,848 and they add fuel to that fire. 429 00:30:23,068 --> 00:30:26,748 And, like, after all these years, people still don't know how to manage that. 430 00:30:26,908 --> 00:30:33,248 And we should be trying more to keep discussions constructive and like focusing 431 00:30:33,248 --> 00:30:35,628 or resolving the issue and not making them personal. 432 00:30:35,848 --> 00:30:40,168 But it's true that, you know, the internet, things will get there. 433 00:30:40,208 --> 00:30:42,568 Things will get personal, things will get overwhelming. 434 00:30:43,548 --> 00:30:47,388 And what I would advise is just disengage, like close the laptop, 435 00:30:47,568 --> 00:30:51,928 close what you're doing, go take a breath and try to calm down and seek support 436 00:30:51,928 --> 00:30:52,828 from other contributors. 437 00:30:53,068 --> 00:30:56,588 Like like talk it through with someone else. Make sure you're on the right side 438 00:30:56,588 --> 00:30:59,188 of things. Make sure you're not doing yourself something wrong. 439 00:31:00,168 --> 00:31:03,108 Reach out to the community working group. We try to be responsive, 440 00:31:03,248 --> 00:31:07,988 which we might not always do it in the way we like, but we are there and we 441 00:31:07,988 --> 00:31:12,428 are very happy to actually receive more and more of these requests. 442 00:31:12,848 --> 00:31:15,848 So again, don't just come to complain, but also come for support. 443 00:31:16,008 --> 00:31:18,148 We can help you if you don't know how to respond to someone, 444 00:31:18,268 --> 00:31:22,448 if you are having issues, if you think you yourself will misbehave when you're 445 00:31:22,448 --> 00:31:24,408 talking to someone with misbehaving. 446 00:31:24,528 --> 00:31:27,408 So by doing that, we obviously are 447 00:31:27,408 --> 00:31:30,808 maintaining a respectful and supportive environment that helps everyone. 448 00:31:31,973 --> 00:31:36,753 Now, the fourth, let's say, big group of strategies, it's about continuous improvement, 449 00:31:37,093 --> 00:31:40,273 continuous adaptation and moving forward. I talked a lot about this. 450 00:31:41,193 --> 00:31:43,973 Feedback, again, it's very, very important. 451 00:31:44,913 --> 00:31:50,613 We should be regularly gathering feedback from our community and particularly 452 00:31:50,613 --> 00:31:56,393 in regards to our culture, our practices, that will help us understand our current 453 00:31:56,393 --> 00:31:59,793 status and then consider what we need to adjust to move forward. 454 00:32:00,273 --> 00:32:03,693 So, There are various ways to do that. 455 00:32:03,833 --> 00:32:06,833 In KDE, we tend to gather feedback by talking to each other. 456 00:32:06,913 --> 00:32:10,833 We come here to the academy, I talk to three people, then I would pick up something 457 00:32:10,833 --> 00:32:13,673 that someone said and go talk to someone that's more relevant regarding that. 458 00:32:13,873 --> 00:32:17,133 And this is how we communicate feedback between us. 459 00:32:17,573 --> 00:32:21,113 We can probably do better than that in having more systematic ways of gathering 460 00:32:21,113 --> 00:32:24,893 feedback, whether that is some polls or whether that is, I don't know, 461 00:32:24,933 --> 00:32:27,713 some surveys that we do from time to time, just to make sure that, 462 00:32:27,813 --> 00:32:29,913 as we mentioned earlier, our community is changing. 463 00:32:29,913 --> 00:32:33,153 Are we receiving that feedback? What is the change that is happening? 464 00:32:33,453 --> 00:32:37,273 How is the demands? How are the needs of the community? And how do they change? 465 00:32:38,373 --> 00:32:40,873 I've already talked about encouraging inclusive participation. 466 00:32:41,313 --> 00:32:43,433 I think we have many initiatives on that front. 467 00:32:43,833 --> 00:32:47,633 It should be better for the people that don't feel they're included to be talking about that. 468 00:32:47,833 --> 00:32:51,493 So I don't want to go and say we're doing it well, because I feel like people 469 00:32:51,493 --> 00:32:54,113 here will strongly believe that we could be doing better. 470 00:32:54,293 --> 00:32:59,093 So better feedback. Again, we need to be asking people if they feel we're doing 471 00:32:59,093 --> 00:33:00,853 this well, not just deciding by ourselves. 472 00:33:01,093 --> 00:33:04,253 So again, we come back to why feedback is very, very important. 473 00:33:05,033 --> 00:33:10,713 Our goals, also, I come back to them. It's a great way to onboard new people, new ideas. 474 00:33:10,953 --> 00:33:14,173 I know that firsthand because I was part of the first round of goals, 475 00:33:14,253 --> 00:33:17,093 and that's how I was lured in to KDE, actually. 476 00:33:18,033 --> 00:33:22,013 And a big part of why I stayed, we're talking about onboarding as well, 477 00:33:22,173 --> 00:33:25,793 is how the first people, when I joined the community, treated me. 478 00:33:25,793 --> 00:33:31,133 Me, how the first people I interacted with engaged with me. And I felt welcomed. 479 00:33:31,393 --> 00:33:35,153 I felt like I had people to reach out to. I felt like I was, 480 00:33:35,193 --> 00:33:38,853 these people kept reminding me that my contributions are important. 481 00:33:39,033 --> 00:33:42,353 Go, do things, like join the community and push it forward. 482 00:33:43,733 --> 00:33:44,813 Five minutes, right? 483 00:33:46,179 --> 00:33:49,019 Yeah, okay. Two? Okay. I'm wrapping up. 484 00:33:49,139 --> 00:33:54,399 So this is why I strongly believe that our culture is key for more and more 485 00:33:54,399 --> 00:33:58,739 people to feel that feeling, which is very, very nice to feel like when you're 486 00:33:58,739 --> 00:33:59,619 joining a new community. 487 00:33:59,699 --> 00:34:03,879 And we want to pass that, like the KD magic, let's say, on. 488 00:34:04,039 --> 00:34:07,379 We want new people to come in and then bring other people in and make more people 489 00:34:07,379 --> 00:34:08,999 feel that, like our culture. 490 00:34:10,379 --> 00:34:15,179 So, wrapping up here, I would like to urge you to all become cultural champions. 491 00:34:15,599 --> 00:34:19,319 We all need to take more ownership of our collective environment. 492 00:34:19,619 --> 00:34:22,919 We need to build it together in order to maintain the community and our culture 493 00:34:22,919 --> 00:34:25,019 healthy and evolving at the same time. 494 00:34:25,599 --> 00:34:31,439 So, please try to remember that all of our actions in the end shape our culture and our community. 495 00:34:31,599 --> 00:34:36,839 All our interactions matter. And it's a lot of little things that they add together 496 00:34:36,839 --> 00:34:41,119 to form, let's say, these things that we're talking about and we refer to as culture. 497 00:34:41,859 --> 00:34:45,179 If you have new ideas, new initiative on how to improve it, lead that. 498 00:34:45,319 --> 00:34:48,779 We have ways, we have the goals, we have other things that you can gather people 499 00:34:48,779 --> 00:34:50,799 around that and you can improve. 500 00:34:51,459 --> 00:34:55,359 And to consider joining the community working group. It's a core support mechanism. 501 00:34:55,659 --> 00:34:59,319 We could be doing more. So if you have the time and you feel like you have the 502 00:34:59,319 --> 00:35:04,079 skills, join us and help us do more there. And yeah, let's work together to 503 00:35:04,079 --> 00:35:07,879 make KDE, you know, a vibrant and welcoming community with a strong culture 504 00:35:07,879 --> 00:35:09,939 over the years. Thank you. 505 00:35:13,879 --> 00:35:19,479 So we have time for questions. Okay. I actually have a question or a comment 506 00:35:19,479 --> 00:35:23,839 that's burning in me, but I'll give it first, Albert, and maybe we can talk afterwards. 507 00:35:29,552 --> 00:35:34,192 So, yeah, I definitely agree. We need a bit more, even on the onboarding side, 508 00:35:34,372 --> 00:35:35,212 a bit more of guidelines. 509 00:35:36,112 --> 00:35:39,612 I happen to, like, review lots of people's new patches. 510 00:35:40,312 --> 00:35:46,832 And, like, I never know how to encourage them to actually join the community, 511 00:35:46,952 --> 00:35:47,932 right? Like, they send a patch. 512 00:35:48,152 --> 00:35:50,792 Cool. And I merge it and I say, yay, welcome, blah, blah, blah. 513 00:35:51,092 --> 00:35:55,792 And then they send another patch. But like there's this step from the guy has 514 00:35:55,792 --> 00:36:02,052 sent five patches to the how do I make them ask for an account, right? 515 00:36:02,432 --> 00:36:05,892 And there's no guideline on that, right? And for some people, 516 00:36:05,912 --> 00:36:07,012 we do it with five patches. 517 00:36:07,192 --> 00:36:12,872 Some other people, they send 100 patches and we've never asked them to become part of the community. 518 00:36:13,232 --> 00:36:19,352 And something similar happens with the EV part, right? We have no guidelines on that. 519 00:36:19,472 --> 00:36:23,532 And always people say, oh, why is this person not part of the committee? 520 00:36:23,672 --> 00:36:25,952 Because nobody asked for it. 521 00:36:26,312 --> 00:36:30,912 Because we don't have a guideline for it. Should they be involved for five years? 522 00:36:31,012 --> 00:36:34,572 Should they be involved for five months? I mean, I know there's not a set into 523 00:36:34,572 --> 00:36:39,872 stone answer, but I feel like having a guideline on those is like, what do we feel? 524 00:36:40,592 --> 00:36:44,352 So I could go and say, okay, this person has sent one patch. 525 00:36:44,812 --> 00:36:48,832 Obviously not, right? But then I've said 20, if the guideline says 20, 526 00:36:48,912 --> 00:36:55,172 like, oh, well, maybe I can, like, when do I start gauging the I should tell 527 00:36:55,172 --> 00:36:59,512 them they should take the next step, right? Because, like, that's the thing. 528 00:36:59,632 --> 00:37:05,332 Like, we want them to be part of the community, and I have no idea myself when 529 00:37:05,332 --> 00:37:10,572 I should tell them to make the next step, and I don't think we have a guideline 530 00:37:10,572 --> 00:37:12,512 on that, so I would really, really appreciate, 531 00:37:13,272 --> 00:37:15,232 some kind of guideline on that. 532 00:37:15,232 --> 00:37:20,272 Like, I'm not an answer, not a question, sorry, but what's your opinion on that? 533 00:37:21,612 --> 00:37:26,232 My quick answer would be like from the first contribution, you should be treating 534 00:37:26,232 --> 00:37:30,292 them like possible newcomers to our community and like pushing them to do more, 535 00:37:30,412 --> 00:37:36,172 like again, and re-enhancing the positive back. Hey, this is a great patch, as you mentioned. 536 00:37:36,352 --> 00:37:38,812 This is already doing a lot for that person that reached out. 537 00:37:38,912 --> 00:37:41,492 Because remember that that first step is not always easy. 538 00:37:42,852 --> 00:37:46,152 It's like joining a group where everyone knows each other and you're the one 539 00:37:46,152 --> 00:37:47,392 that's just the new guy there. 540 00:37:47,652 --> 00:37:51,512 So it's very, very important, even that first approach. Let's start from that. 541 00:37:51,632 --> 00:37:56,172 But I definitely agree that we don't have this process sorted out in some sort of guide. 542 00:37:56,272 --> 00:38:01,212 It's a, what if, when this happens, do that kind of way. And we could be doing more there. 543 00:38:01,932 --> 00:38:06,492 Now, drawing lines, like at the fifth patch, we consider it a personal part of the community. 544 00:38:06,552 --> 00:38:09,452 Or in the 20th patch, obviously, it is something that happens naturally. 545 00:38:09,452 --> 00:38:11,052 Early and I wouldn't draw lines there. 546 00:38:11,192 --> 00:38:13,872 I had Joe, you wanted to ask something. 547 00:38:14,432 --> 00:38:18,212 A follow up to that. And then I do have a comment. Um, we actually were just 548 00:38:18,212 --> 00:38:22,312 talking about this earlier at lunch and it might be nice to have some sort of, um. 549 00:38:25,465 --> 00:38:27,145 A PDF that says, you're now part 550 00:38:27,145 --> 00:38:30,845 of the KDE community that you send to someone by email or put into, uh, 551 00:38:31,045 --> 00:38:34,865 you know, the somewhere that's visible to them as just a, like, 552 00:38:34,925 --> 00:38:37,365 you're now one of us, because I think a lot of people do contribute, 553 00:38:37,465 --> 00:38:40,545 not thinking I'm now a part of this community, you know, they are, 554 00:38:40,705 --> 00:38:43,765 um, and having some sort of official statement. 555 00:38:44,165 --> 00:38:48,065 My comment was, is I think personally, I've thought about some of this, 556 00:38:48,125 --> 00:38:49,605 um, in a different context. 557 00:38:49,845 --> 00:38:53,525 And I think some of this falls under the purview of the community working group, 558 00:38:53,605 --> 00:38:57,645 in my opinion, in the charge to be proactive in maintaining community health. 559 00:38:57,965 --> 00:39:02,905 And I think it would be nice if there were a way to move beyond just an informal. 560 00:39:05,785 --> 00:39:10,645 Undefined onboarding team to something that is perhaps more formalized, 561 00:39:10,745 --> 00:39:17,585 perhaps even a training for people who onboard and give some structure to that. 562 00:39:17,645 --> 00:39:21,845 Because I think it is such an important part of building the community 563 00:39:22,005 --> 00:39:27,865 and maintaining the community health is establishing the, as you said, 564 00:39:27,945 --> 00:39:32,145 expectations at the onset and giving the necessary information about what people 565 00:39:32,145 --> 00:39:34,625 need to know when they start. It's just a comment. It's not a question. 566 00:39:34,905 --> 00:39:39,585 Like to add to that, I think in the past while I was writing the onboarding, 567 00:39:39,605 --> 00:39:41,925 there was a discussion about doing a WorldCat team, 568 00:39:42,025 --> 00:39:46,345 which ended up having a WorldCat chat on Matrix where I still see a lot of people 569 00:39:46,345 --> 00:39:50,605 joining there when it's their first entry to our community and it's active and I'm happy about that. 570 00:39:50,605 --> 00:39:53,825 And I don't recall who I was talking to the other day in the host. 571 00:39:54,085 --> 00:39:57,625 There's discussion from what I know about building the Go Welcome team again, 572 00:39:57,765 --> 00:40:01,565 like in a more official way. So we have like a process of that. 573 00:40:01,745 --> 00:40:04,585 And going back to the Eric comment, I totally agree, 574 00:40:04,725 --> 00:40:08,585 like joining other communities from time to time, it happened to us that after 575 00:40:08,585 --> 00:40:12,305 like three weeks from my first contribution, I received something like in the 576 00:40:12,305 --> 00:40:17,005 mail, and it was just a sticker or something saying, thank you for your contribution. 577 00:40:17,105 --> 00:40:19,205 It had my name on it. And it's something that I keep like on, 578 00:40:19,325 --> 00:40:21,385 you know, And I cherish that. 579 00:40:21,685 --> 00:40:25,645 And there were little things, but they matter in the end, like if they add up, 580 00:40:25,705 --> 00:40:26,705 you know, and it's important. 581 00:40:27,365 --> 00:40:30,505 SPEAKER 1- Psychologically, it makes you a part of the community in a way that 582 00:40:30,505 --> 00:40:31,685 you weren't . FELIPE HOFFA- It's your first impression, right? 583 00:40:31,745 --> 00:40:33,405 And it's like a feel-good thing. 584 00:40:37,705 --> 00:40:38,265 Thank you.