We talk about community a lot in open source. Communities can make or break any open source project. There are some common traits–universal lessons that can be taken from working with open source communities–that any open source community can benefit from understanding and approaching thoughtfully. So what are common traits amongst successful–and not so successful–communities? How can you begin to apply the lessons others have learned, instead of re-inventing the wheel? Most importantly, how can you help ensure _your_ community is successful?

1. J U N E 1 5 , 2 0 1 8
Building Open Source Communities

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Who am I?
• Developer Advocate at NodeSource
• Chairperson, Node.js Community Committee
• “Human Clickbait”

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What is an
Open Source
Community?
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Open Source community is
everything beyond the code.

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“What is an Open Source Community?”
nsrc.io/oss-community

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TL;DR:
There isn’t consensus on any one
definition or thought process.

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So, how does one build an open
source community?

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Lessons Learned from
Building Open Source Communities
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Tent
My Open Source Community Experiences

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Don’t Build Too Much
Lesson From:
Lesson #1

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Having empty spaces to “grow
into” limits and discourages
growth.

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Too much red tape limits growth

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Ensure Contributors are Empowered
Lesson From:
Lesson #2

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Empowering contributors to do the
work they want to do enables
communities to grow naturally

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Once empowered, individuals can
begin to get needed and work.

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Accept Help Along the Way
Lesson From:
Lesson #3

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Communities can be led, but
not owned.

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Communities can outgrow
their leaders.

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Once you let Community lead,
things change in interesting ways.

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Take Multiple Approaches
Lesson From:
Lesson #4

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Not everyone uses the same media,
or has the same preferences.
Cater to as many as possible.

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Certain channels will eventually emerge as
your primary channels. That’s okay!

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Time for a recap!
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Don’t Build Too MuchLesson #1
Ensure Contributors are EmpoweredLesson #2
Accept Help Along the WayLesson #3
Take Multiple ApproachesLesson #4

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How you can apply these four lessons, today:
• Have a purposeful plan and scope.
• Have a path to meaningful contributions.
• Don’t “own” a community. Be a part of a community.
• Communicate your intents precisely and dynamically.

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Linkdump:
• These Slides (Keynote Format): https://nsrc.io/oss-community-key
• These Slides (PDF Format): https://nsrc.io/oss-community-pdf
• “What is OSS Community” Twitter Moment: nsrc.io/oss-community
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35. Thank you.
Tierney Cyren
tierney@nodesource.com
@bitandbang

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Q&A
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