Navigating Communication Landmines in an Open Source Project
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My WordCamp SLC presentation on rule #1 of the internet. Don't be a jerk on the internet.
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Navigating Communication Landmines in an Open Source Project
- 2. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan
- 3. Navigating Communication Landmines in an Open Source Project How to not to be a jerk on the internet Ryan Sullivan | @ryandonsullivan
- 4. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan Hi, I’m Ryan! @ryandonsullivan
- 5. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan I run a support company
- 6. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan Have you ever said something you wish you hadn’t?
- 7. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan
- 9. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan Don’t Be a Jerk
- 10. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan
- 11. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan http://loopconf.io/talks/
- 12. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan We’re Emotionally Tied To Our Work
- 13. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan Written language can be almost impossible to decipher
- 14. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan Communication Platforms in Order of Horror 0 25 50 75 100 125 In Person Phone Chat Facebook Twitter Stack Overflow Reddit
- 15. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan Take every opportunity to teach
- 16. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan The public callout rarely, if ever, makes things better
- 17. How Do We Fix It?
- 18. Ryan Sullivan | @ryandonsullivan “Always assume miscommunication over malice” Gregory Ciotti | Source: http://www.helpscout.net/blog/remote-work-experience/
- 19. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan Use emoji
- 20. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan Video is amazing!
- 21. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan Context matters
- 22. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan Set clear guidelines
- 23. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan Go To WordCamp
- 24. Things Can Still Go Wrong
- 25. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan
- 26. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan Take a break
- 27. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan Relax
- 28. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan Write a draft
- 29. Ryan Sullivan - @ryandonsullivan Stop. Collaborate and Listen
Editor's Notes
- Start
- I’m Ryan Sullivan. You can find me online anywhere at @ryandonsullivan
- I run WP Site Care and get to talk to all sorts of customers day in and day out I talk with people via email, chat, social media, and any other written medium you can imagine Why are you giving this talk? I’m giving this talk for me more than anyone else. When I first got involved in the Online community I came from Tech Forums and Reddit. Communication in Open Source is not that.
- And then you immediately wanted to take it back and had a moment like this before? Now envision a scenario where you make the same mistake, and it’s written in public, and not only is there very little context surrounding it, there’s also no tone, no body language, and no emotion. Now imagine that you’re saying it to a complete stranger. I’ve said tons of stuff I wish I hadn’t. I have moments like these all the time with my wife, Jackie, but she’s an incredibly forgiving person and knows for the most part that I mean well.
- I spend a lot of the time in my marriage doing this, but the internet doesn’t let us backpedal like this a lot of the time
- Almost none of us would say what we do if we were talking to people face to face
- Steven Word Gave an awesome talk at LoopConf on being empathetic. How many of us take the time to consider where people that we’re conversing with online are coming from? Or do we just react and ask questions later. We’ll circle back to this, but definitely watch his talk when you get a chance.
- How many of us have built something, only to have the concept, our code, our design, or anything else about the work criticized? Is it fun? Of course not.
- All of these platforms have things to offer. But have conversations on the platform that’s appropriate for your topic. Talk about code on Github. Talk about your cat on Facebook
- How many people have committed code, or written software, and had a senior developer give you the Nick Burns treatment? People who are more skilled or have more experience have a responsibility to teach those who are coming up.
- We screwed up by building diviexposed. Even though we weren’t wrong about the dangers and issues with the product, publicly targeting the company immediately put them on the defensive, and also made us look like bullies. The website was up for less than an hour after the backlash. The one exception is Comcast. They’re legitimately evil.
- The remote worker’s version of Hanlon’s razor. Some interactions will feel cold due to the human tendency to misinterpret emotionless text. Jokes and sarcasm don’t translate perfectly, there’s no body language to interpret, and conversations via chat can be interrupted at any time, making it laughably easy to assume a severe tone where one wasn’t intended. Stick to assuming positive intent; when working with great people, you’ll rarely be wrong.
- Amazing tool. Express your love for Emoji Be careful about how you use it though. You can’t say horrible things and add a ;) at the end to make it all better.
- We screwed up by building diviexposed. Even though we weren’t wrong about the dangers and issues with the product, publicly targeting the company immediately put them on the defensive, and also made us look like bullies. The website was up for less than an hour after the backlash. The one exception is Comcast. They’re legitimately evil.
- Talk in the place that’s most appropriate Twitter for quick connection Github for anything code related Facebook for politics
- We’ve released software before that didn’t clearly explain how it worked, or how to extend it, and it blew up in our face. People were responding and telling us it was broken and sucked and everything else. It worked great for its intended purpose, but we weren’t clear enough about what that purpose was
- Spend time with people. Go to conferences, meetups, chamber of commerce. Anything to attach a real living person to their online presence
- How do we respond when this happens?
- iOS app or website. Great opportunity to just unwind Take a hot shower Go for a walk
- You are not part of a special correctness task force
- Write a draft response. Are you still upset? Does your argument still make sense? Sometimes just writing the draft is great therapy, gives you time to gain empathy, and helps you clarify both sides of the argument
- Have an attitude of collaboration. The reality is we all have the same end goal, and finding a common path to building software for 25% of the internet can be really challenging, but it’s also extremely rewarding. It feels good to work as a team.