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| + | = Introduction = |
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| ⚫ | ''Social barriers'' are [[Barriers to entry|barriers to entry]] which are created by the culture of the community, i.e. people's behavior towards newcomers |
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| + | = Behavioral norms = |
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| + | For example, rudeness, arrogance and unrealistic demands towards newcomers can be seen as social barriers, and they definity raise the bar for new contributors. |
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| + | = Governance and transparency = |
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| + | David Neary makes a good point in his [http://dneary.free.fr/articles/Community_barriers_to_entry_checklist.pdf barriers to entry checklist] about importance of ''good governance'' and ''transparency''. Here I'll add some further detail into some of the issues raised by him. |
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| + | First, all important decisions should be reached through a public discussion. The idea is to allow everybody to participate in the decision making process and to ensure transparency of governance. Decisions made behind closed doors give the impression that community's feedback is not valued, which can be seen as a sign of disrespect or even arrogance ("we're not interested in your opinions"). |
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| + | Second, ''all'' community members should be held to the same standards. Double standards can be created easily by mistake, e.g. by granting new employees commit access to the project's VCS repository on the first day while at the same time requiring community developers to prove themselves worthy through a long process. From a community member viewpoint a person's "employee status" is completely irrelevant to the project, and should not carry with it any extra privileges. Also, these privilege grants are by their nature closed-door, one-sided decisions which should be avoided. |
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Revision as of 18:24, 7 August 2011
Introduction
Social barriers are barriers to entry which are created by the culture of the community, i.e. people's behavior towards newcomers or others in general.
Behavioral norms
For example, rudeness, arrogance and unrealistic demands towards newcomers can be seen as social barriers, and they definity raise the bar for new contributors.
Governance and transparency
David Neary makes a good point in his barriers to entry checklist about importance of good governance and transparency. Here I'll add some further detail into some of the issues raised by him.
First, all important decisions should be reached through a public discussion. The idea is to allow everybody to participate in the decision making process and to ensure transparency of governance. Decisions made behind closed doors give the impression that community's feedback is not valued, which can be seen as a sign of disrespect or even arrogance ("we're not interested in your opinions").
Second, all community members should be held to the same standards. Double standards can be created easily by mistake, e.g. by granting new employees commit access to the project's VCS repository on the first day while at the same time requiring community developers to prove themselves worthy through a long process. From a community member viewpoint a person's "employee status" is completely irrelevant to the project, and should not carry with it any extra privileges. Also, these privilege grants are by their nature closed-door, one-sided decisions which should be avoided.