Notices by Shauna GM (shauna@social.coop)

Just passed a group of national guard who asked if a woman walking by had OnlyFans.

We don't need dozens of national guard at Spirit games and we definitely don't need them harrassing people.

I've reached "bring you your drink before you even order it" at my local coffee shop and I'm not sure whether to be proud or unnerved

The order: hibiscus latte and a glass of water

The ability to simply be ourselves and feel good about it, without having to prove ourselves through achievement, is a cornerstone of psychological health. It is a hallmark of good relationships to be liked for who you are instead of what you can do. To know that even if you mess up - and even if you do absolutely nothing - you are cared for, you belong, you are loved.

Open source contributors are not the only one who struggle under this pressure: open source maintainers have it even worse.

Unlike new contributors, who struggle to find things they can do, maintainers are often overwhelmed by things to do. But, though the reason they cannot do the tasks is different, it's the same fundamental problem.

Both the contributor and maintainer feel the pressure to do what they cannot do, rather than getting to simply be.

The new contributor feels like a failure and leaves the project. The maintainer feels like a failure, and burns out.

Even worse, this can become a self-reinforcing cycle. The maintainer blames themselves for not finding ways to help newcomers contribute. They didn't do enough to help the newcomer do things. The newcomer feels like even more of a burden to the maintainer. See how overwhelmed the maintainer seems? Maybe they'd be better off leaving.

But it doesn't have to be like this.

We can create communities that celebrate being just as much as doing. One of the best ways to do this is by cultivating purely social spaces where you can get to know each other as whole people, share pictures of your pets, talk about your favorite books and tv shows, and vent about your day. I strongly encourage projects to host regular hangouts and happy hours. Not project nights—project nights are fine, but they come with an expectation of doing. We want space where people can simply be.

@linux_mclinuxface

I agree with your definition of "contributor"! But I think we're definitely outside of the norm. Perhaps the way to message this is less "you don't have to contribute" and more "just being there is a contribution" - I'm open to either.

Have you ever thought about the phrase "earn a living"? About how messed up it is? The idea you need to "earn" your life and place in the world?

(I hadn't considered the dizzying toxicity of this phrase until it came up on We Can Do Hard Things - Abby Wambach's podcast that has absolutely nothing to do with soccer.)

The feeling behind the phrase "earn a living" - the idea that you have to do in order to be - is everywhere in our society. Including in open source.

https://relational-tech.com/blog/being-and-doing-in-open-source.html

I've spent the last fifteen years working in open source. I have a lot of specialties by this point but one of them is helping newcomers get involved.

I've lost count of the number of people I've helped make their first open source contribution.

I've learned a lot about how to make it easier. See "Six Ways to Onboard New Contributors": https://relational-tech.com/blog/six-ways-to-onboard.html

But it's still really hard.

Open source projects are complex. People have trouble finding tasks. Trouble setting up dev environments and running tests. Trouble understanding the concepts the project relies on. How to navigate the docs. Who to ask for help.

It's really hard, and that puts pressure on maintainers to make it easier. If you've prepped for a sprint or hackathon you know that vetting a 'good first issue' to make sure it actually is a good first issue usually takes more work than just fixing the issue would.

So...here me out here.

What if open source newcomers DON'T contribute?

What if they just...exist, without contributing? Why do we care so much that they contribute right away? Why is it so urgent?

Are they not enough for us? Why do they have to "earn a living" - earn a place in our communities by doing?

remembering the time Steve (derogatory) gave me his personal phone number and asked me to call so he could explain his side of things

https://bsky.app/profile/squadronang.bsky.social/post/3lxzbowady22g

#NWSL

We are raising awareness but not, primarily, of people outside DC. I am handing out zines. I am chanting at a local soccer game. I am making homemade yard signs while my neighbor makes us all burgers. I am walking around putting up flyers with the neighbor who now catsits for me. I am exploring how to make a Free DC stencil so I can give out cupcakes with a Free DC message because fuck it I love baking and it's not the kind of activism that'll last if you're not doing what you love.

Yesterday I had a great conversation with two national guard troopers about what Home Rule is and why the people of DC care about it.

On Saturday I worked with my neighbors to shut down an ICE checkpoint.

On Friday night I walked around with neighbors in pairs recording national guard and cops as they responded en masse to a high school fight.

All of that happened because we organized. I couldn't or wouldn't have done any of that alone.

"Why aren't there more protests in DC?"

I've seen and gotten this question a lot.

The people of DC are organizing, but we are organizing each other. In a hundred different ways you mostly can't see. We are building relationships that will last. We are refining skills and tactics.

I see the value in mass protest but honestly I'm tired of it. I'm tired of going out into the streets with millions of people and then wondering "what next". What I'm doing now with Free DC...that's what's next.

another day, another ICE checkpoint set up in my neighborhood

all this after a massive federal overreaction to a fight at a school near me that led to sirens for hours

#FreeDC

This is a serious question. ICE has been doing checkpoints around DC, and one of the primary ways to protect against them is going up several blocks each way to warn people about them. But how do you pass the message to people in cars?

We're working on upping our sign game, but people won't always have signs with them. I stood at an intersection this morning with a hastily made, barely legible warning on a paper bag.

A widely understood hand sign could help with this.

https://social.coop/@shauna/115118304441934556

A dc city busy just went by with an advertisement on the side asking, in great big letters, "DO YOU WANT SEXY TEETH?"

And, well, I don't want *unsexy* teeth but please, please capitalism. Stop sexualizing bones in order to commercialize them. Yesterday it was cheekbones and collarbones, today it's teeth, tomorrow it'll occipital bones and tibia. DO YOU WANT SEXY TIBIAE?

Any #NWSL / #BayFC / #WashingtonSpirit fans going to the game today at Oracle Park - please chant #FreeDC in the 51st minute!

And everyone - please boost this and other posts about this for visibility!

https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:j47n2zazjrecrfl6nz2zyk26/post/3lx2z2ntwfk23