Welcoming People (and Other Hard Problems)
summary
Argues that measurable, concrete practices increase newcomer retention: a clear README and tag issues on GitHub, short acknowledgement comments plus fast code review so contributors don’t drop off (Mozilla finds week‑long waits lose people), and reusable canned responses to save time and stay kind. Gives vivid failures—Apple glass staircases, tattoos breaking Apple Watch pulse sensing—and shows maintainers burning out on popular projects, then recommends operational fixes (respond to every PR comment, set scope and expectations) and reports those fixes actually help.
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chapters (13)
- 0:00Intro
- 0:43Quote
- 1:31Tags
- 2:15Why Care
- 3:58Feedback
- 6:18Feedback is actionable
- 6:45Every person is unique
- 7:22How to convert people
- 8:28Code reviews
- 9:59PRs
- 10:54Canned Responses
- 14:11Common Knowledge
- 15:56Conclusion
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