mhdawson
commented
5 years ago I talked to @SMotaal last week before suggesting he open this issue. One of the discussions to be had is how to understand the challenges (which are likely not obvious to many of us already engaged) and then what we might do within the project to help new contributors
One of the concrete examples we discussed was around handling conflict and that some additional guidance might help. For example, to recommend that if you need to step away from a discussion it is important to let other participants know you are doing that and some additional context (are you dis-engaging completely, cooling off and then you'll come back or whatever?)
SMotaal
bnb
saulonunesdev
codeekage
Trott
Roadmap**Goals** 1. Establish appropriate long-term space/efforts for this dialog to begin, so that more dialog can happen, towards less conflicts from biases/assumptions in communication styles/conventions. **Next Steps** - [ ] Open an issue proposing and detailing an initiative towards better odds for equal-access across official collaboration mediums (maybe). - [x] Create a public slack channel for discussions > **Note**: Discussions ongoing in [#equal-access-initiative](https://app.slack.com/client/T043VB7PW/CMQM6ME1Z) > > [Join the slack Node Slackers workspace!](http://www.nodeslackers.com). - [x] Set up an out-of-band meeting for first steps > Thanks for everyone who joined — no meetings scheduled for this time. - [ ] Seek a champion #539 - [x] Put out "feeler" survey questions #538 - [ ] Parse the data and Make it count!
ExplainerFor someone who has to always put so much effort into doing things others take for granted, there seems to be a disconnect between our excitement and sentiment of making our communication mediums more accessible and how much it actually takes from them to feel that they are able to attain appropriate relevance of their communication among their peers. So aside from what obviously is not meant here, I am sure that some of us out there collaborating (or trying to) in open source projects often feel the unintentional but overbearingly disabling and sometimes maybe unwittingly misappropriated exclusion by the impatience and false assumptions forming around their attempts to communicate. The sad reality of it, at least from personal experience, these challenges are not easily relatable to others, and while most are able to focus on making their point heard, others are left dealing with odds that take away any contribution they offer. To elaborate on this, cautiously but realistically speaking, others reading more similarly being the systematically inherent bias forced on people who cannot keep up with what is taken for granted, what is intended and quickly gleaned, let alone what was assumed to be (or not) implied between-the-lines. And, because it is not relatable to others, the discrimination burdens of our norms of pace and adherence to naturally biased communication means, forces one to choose either to withdraw and perpetuate this bias or to become increasingly the one burdened by observing it unfolding on to them. And, because it is not relatable to others, the logical foregone conclusion that it is only downhill to even try when one starts noticing their best efforts are considered their own burden of wanting to be part of a so called "dialogue", and I quote, "it is on the messenger to…" — as in if fail happens, where they know you struggle (sometimes even because of the knowing bit itself), they are in and you are out 😞 — not what is said, and certainly not what is intended, but is more often than not the less popular conclusion some in particular are too too often left to draw when they are inevitably becoming omitted from many a discussion by conventions and norms. Please appreciate that the above is my best effort to try to state this, and the goal here in my mind at least is not to point fingers or complain. Instead, my hope is to take my readiness to openly disclose my own experience (and hopefully others) as the missing feedback from a segment of our community that finds struggles in subtle aspects of our collective collaboration experience that can be gradually improved upon when suitable feedback and response mechanisms are in place to make that possible.