R Users at Michigan and Code of conduct

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Discussion of issues related to the running of the UM Software Carpentry group

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R Users at Michigan and Code of conduct #16

Open duffymeg opened 8 years ago

duffymeg commented 8 years ago

Hi all,

I am planning on creating an R users group here, based on the Davis R Users Group: http://www.noamross.net/davis-r-users-group.html I think it would be really nice to have a local community where we can ask R questions.

I'm planning on going with the name R Users at Michigan, since that has a better acronym (RUM) than Michigan R Users Group (or a similar variant). Clearly the acronym is the most important thing to work out, right? :)

The plan is to start by having a listserv (based on an MCommunity group) where people can post questions. Hopefully that will take off and we can then pair it with weekly work sessions where people can plan to gather for a couple of hours a week to work on their own projects and ask questions as needed. I plan on advertising it to the SWC at UMich list, the EEB department, and DANG. If you know of other groups that might be interested, let me know.

@pschloss had the excellent idea that we should have a code of conduct, and that we might base ours off the SWC one: http://software-carpentry.org/conduct/

If anyone has suggestions for modifications to make to that code of conduct, I'd love to hear them. I'm also not sure of the logistics of where to post the code of conduct. I suppose I could make a new github group for RUM? I plan on putting a note in the description for the MCommunity that says that people who join the list are agreeing to abide by the code of conduct, referring them to the online home of the code of conduct (wherever that ends up being).

If anyone has other thoughts or suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

Meg

duffymeg commented 8 years ago

Via twitter, Noam Ross pointed me to the new webpage for the Davis R Users Group: http://d-rug.github.io/

He also pointed me to this page: https://forum.mozillascience.org/t/research-coding-q-a-march-24-2015-3-pm-pdt/214 which has info on starting a users' group (or improving one).

pschloss commented 8 years ago

For the code of conduct I wonder whether you could add a bullet point about condescending language. A lot of what is bad about stack overflow is when people are snarky and respond that something has already been addressed or that the original question is silly/trivial. Of course, it's a two-way street, users need to demonstrate that they aren't wasting everyone's time.

How about something like...

When you submit a question, as much as possible, try to show us what you have already tried with a minimal example and the expected output. We expect that users of this list serve are using it to facilitate their research rather than solve homework problems.
When you answer a question, please be aware of your tone and what effect that tone might have on the original poster and any others on the list. As much as possible avoid condescending language and remember that this is a training instrument.

duffymeg commented 8 years ago

I like those ideas!

One other useful link from Noam Ross via twitter, related to ongoing learning with user groups: http://software-carpentry.org/blog/2014/11/users-groups-for-ongoing-learning.html

pschloss commented 8 years ago

Ana Seekatz (@aseekatz) currently runs the DANG and @michberr has the DARG, which are analogous to what he describes for the "Talks and tutorials". These are geared more toward microbial ecology, but the content presented at each is pretty broad. I'm not sure whether they'd be interested in putting everything under a single umbrella. A possible benefit to them would be the ability to aggregate money/sponsorship to do things like food, outside speakers, and broaden their audience.

On top of a mailing list, SWC/DC, and these other groups I think we could really use an in person consulting service. I suspect your Rmd problems earlier in the week could have been solved by someone like Marian, me, or someone else with Rmd experience working with you at the same keyboard. I'd be very game to invest a couple hours a week to help run an in person work session like Noam describes. For a long time, I've thought about using the model of statistical consulting service for programming consulting service. I'd love to co-run this and helping make this be more peer-to-peer than instructor-to-learner. To get going I think it would require advertising, but also a room and time. Do you have any thoughts on what this would look like beyond the mailing list?

duffymeg commented 8 years ago

A programming consulting service would be wonderful, though I imagine that a free one that was advertised as such would get overwhelmed really quickly. But maybe I'm wrong? But, yes, I was thinking of a peer-to-peer vibe in the work sessions, where someone might ask a question about something they've been struggling with but then also help someone else with a different issue.

In terms of a room and time: Time: I imagine we'd just want to pick a time when a few key people who know about programming and are willing to help out can make it, and assume people will come. Space: I'm happy to help arrange this. It should be relatively straightforward in the summer and harder once the semester begins, I'd guess. I think the keys are wanting a place with a few tables where folks can work. I was going to say we also want it to be centrally located, but I don't know what counts as "central", given that we'll have folks from central campus and the med school, at least, and probably north campus, too. I guess maybe a space in one of the libraries might work?

I had just thought of work sessions and an email list. But if Ana and Michelle think folding in what they've been doing with talks and tutorials would make sense, I'd be happy to talk about that more. I can see advantages and disadvantages to having them all lumped together.

I think you are right that what I've been trying to figure out in Rmd would be really easily addressed by someone who already had experience with it. (I found myself wishing that my postdoc hadn't already left for Evolution by the time I decided to start the process, as she has some experience with Rmd.)

aseekatz commented 8 years ago

Hi Guys,

Did I miss an email? I might not be on the email list, and can only see the last 2 emails. Thanks for including me and Michelle (who is leaving U of M soon), but before I comment, I wanted to make sure I knew all of the info!

Anna

On Fri, Jun 17, 2016 at 4:58 PM, duffymeg notifications@github.com wrote:

A programming consulting service would be wonderful, though I imagine that a free one that was advertised as such would get overwhelmed really quickly. But maybe I'm wrong? But, yes, I was thinking of a peer-to-peer vibe in the work sessions, where someone might ask a question about something they've been struggling with but then also help someone else with a different issue.

In terms of a room and time: Time: I imagine we'd just want to pick a time when a few key people who know about programming and are willing to help out can make it, and assume people will come. Space: I'm happy to help arrange this. It should be relatively straightforward in the summer and harder once the semester begins, I'd guess. I think the keys are wanting a place with a few tables where folks can work. I was going to say we also want it to be centrally located, but I don't know what counts as "central", given that we'll have folks from central campus and the med school, at least, and probably north campus, too. I guess maybe a space in one of the libraries might work?

I had just thought of work sessions and an email list. But if Ana and Michelle think folding in what they've been doing with talks and tutorials would make sense, I'd be happy to talk about that more. I can see advantages and disadvantages to having them all lumped together.

I think you are right that what I've been trying to figure out in Rmd would be really easily addressed by someone who already had experience with it. (I found myself wishing that my postdoc hadn't already left for Evolution by the time I decided to start the process, as she has some experience with Rmd.)

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/UMSWC/Administration/issues/16#issuecomment-226879933, or mute the thread https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe/AJuhZM16sALAC_yWXzPHvVG2RjStr3FIks5qMwp3gaJpZM4I4c9h .

duffymeg commented 8 years ago

Hi Anna,

Are you on the swcarpentry@umich list? The only other discussion related to this has been there (all of it today).

Meg

duffymeg commented 8 years ago

via twitter, Jeff Hollister pointed me to Mozilla Science Study Groups, which look like a neat idea: https://science.mozilla.org/blog/introducing-mozilla-science-study-groups

Here's the Vancouver R Study Group page: http://minisciencegirl.github.io/studyGroup/

aseekatz commented 8 years ago

I don't think I am, but I will sign up :).

Anna

On Sat, Jun 18, 2016 at 1:00 PM, duffymeg notifications@github.com wrote:

Hi Anna,

Are you on the swcarpentry@umich list? The only other discussion related to this has been there (all of it today).

Meg

— You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub https://github.com/UMSWC/Administration/issues/16#issuecomment-226953063, or mute the thread https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe/AJuhZKPtzHYKrn6bp9FT8DtSIlEZKXzLks5qNCRAgaJpZM4I4c9h .

marschmi commented 8 years ago

A few thoughts:

It's awesome that the Mozilla Science Study group even created a template website for UseR group organizations! This could be a great resource for us to kickstart our UM group. The Vancouver study group has used the template, too.
Thanks to @pschloss 's ideas regarding the code of conduct and not using the group for homework. Inserting a point about a reproducible example could be important to note as well.
Noam Ross had some great ideas on his swc blog. He noted that the work sessions with applied tutorials have more attendance. I especially appreciate the presentations being available via video on their website! These videos/tutorials might also be a good leverage point to start our group. It also reminded me of the Data Intensive Biology Training program that Titus Brown has created that posts videos and lesson materials (not only R-related) that are related to data analysis for biology. The DIB training program was the impetus behind my RMarkdown lesson.
@duffymeg - Would this group be R-specific or would it also be a place for people to receive help with Python, C++, Matlab, SQL and other relevant programming languages? I see pros and cons to being program specific. However, if we go with the "R Users at Michigan" then we will lose those who are seeking help with and those who are advanced users of other programming languages, like @bsmith89 and his python skillz.
DANG covers non-R related topics, however, maybe we could collaborate with @aseekatz during DANG meetings that are R-related?
@duffymeg and @pschloss - Do you know if there's a way for people to get credit for something like this via U of M? Is it too late to create a journal club-style 1-credit course that people could sign up for Fall 2016? Or maybe something through MIDAS might work? If it is sponsored by MIDAS, then we might be able to host it at their location.
Finally - As a student, I love the R Courses at Davis Page on the D-RUG website! It would be helpful to create a page like this for U of M folks - a great local resource.