[Events] OpenHatch Boulder?

[Asheesh Laroia]

Excerpts from Tim Kellogg's message of Sat Apr 28 19:36:48 -0400 2012:
> Hi,
> 
> I think that lots of people want to contribute to open source projects, but
> few actually do. I ran a survey (
> http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22FJY9L3RZ3) and found out that the main
> reasons for not contributing to open source are (1) time, (2) the project
> is too large and/or complex and (3) my code won't be good enough. I think
> we can address all three of those concerns.
> 
> I'm proposing starting a meetup group in Boulder that's oriented around
> breaking down these barriers. The bulk of the time for each meeting will be
> pair programming on designated projects. Ideally, most people will be
> working on the same project, maybe even the same bugs/features. The goal
> for each meeting is to have each person leave with a sense of direction and
> confidence to dive deeper into that particular project. The goal is not to
> compete to finish bugs first, nor to write programs that make unicorns
> dance across the screen. We're just focused on building confidence and
> providing guidance.

This sounds awesome! Sorry it took me a bit to get back to you!

> *ROLES*
> 
> The target audience is junior to mid-level developers, older college
> students, and people who want to learn a new language. There's something
> different for each of these people. Junior to mid-level developers can pair
> with older guides to learn new skills and get tips at how to get better at
> their jobs. College students can network and get a feeling for what work
> might be like after college. Everyone will get a chance to learn new
> technologies and techniques through hands-on pair programming and problem
> solving.
> 
> In order to reach the target audience we'll need a rich pool of
> senior-level developers and architects to be guides. Guides will pair with
> the one or two other people to show them the ropes. By coming to these
> meetings, guides will gain experience in teaching and guiding younger
> developers. They'll also get a chance to network with other senior
> engineers and architects to learn about new technologies and techniques -
> all while giving back to open source projects.
> 
> I think there will be quite a bit of organizational work to do for each
> meeting. The organizer(s) will have to select projects that will be easy to
> contribute to, contact mentors to make sure there's enough experience in
> the room to accommodate the target audience, and find a facility to use
> that has enough chairs and tables.
> 
> I think there is also value in getting corporate sponsorship. Companies can
> provide facilities, pizza/beer, and encourage attendance. By being
> involved, companies also get their name out, enhance their employees'
> skills, and engage in useful networking. I also think that many modern open
> source projects exist because of companies - just as much as companies
> exist because of open source software takes care of most of the hard
> problems (my opinion). I would like to try banning recruiters from
> attending because I don't think they have much value to add to the group.

I'm glad you see it will be a lot of work! (-:

I wouldn't "ban recruiters," but I might make the environment especially focused on
active contribution to open source. I say this because sme recruiters I know want
genuinely to learn programmming!

> 
> *SCHEDULE*
> *
> *
> This is still a work in progress, we'll probably experiment some before
> settling in. For now, lets say we'll hold the meeting once a month, on a
> weekday night. It will last 2 hours. Of course, I'm wide open to
> suggestions. Here's the schedule (times are offsets from the beginning of
> the night):
> 
> 0m-15m: people arrive, find a seat, make sure they have a computer and tools
> 15m-30m: short introduction to the project of the week, directions for
> setting up with source control, ensure guides are distributed evenly and
> that groups know what to work on
> 30m-90m: pairing. Mostly working toward understanding the code base and task
> 90m-100m: break to get people to mingle and see how they're doing in
> relation to everyone else, share pointers and eat more
> 100m-120m: wrap up what you're doing. Goal is to make sure people are
> comfortable going home and finishing the task on their own.

I think this is a really aggressive timeline, and it's hard fr it
to work without *extensive* prep before-hand by the guides. But it's all
worth trying, so long as you report back how it went and aim at improving
it over time! (:

> 
> *OPENHATCH*
> *
> *
> I live in Boulder, Colorado so I want the group to happen downtown
> somewhere. Since the goals of this meetup line up so neatly with the goals
> of OpenHatch, I would like to have OpenHatch sponsor the meeting in name.
> Mostly, I want to have my group be part of a bigger network, so it's easier
> to spread. Also, I just like succinct and catchy names like "OpenHatch:
> Boulder". I'm writing to you for two reasons: (1) I want permission to use
> your name and (2) I want your support. For support I mean that I want
> people to help with organizational activities like finding projects,
> networking with companies, launching new meetups for new languages or
> cities.
> 
> I should also mention that I want to focus on C# initially. The reason for
> focusing on one language in particular is just that it would be too
> overwhelming to organize if it wasn't. The reason for C# is because it has
> the worst ratio of open source consumption to contribution, so it's low
> hanging fruit. I don't want to exclude other languages, but I also don't
> want to plan for them either, initially. From talking to people, I know
> there is already interest in expanding into JavaScript, Ruby and possibly
> PHP.

This sounds great. I will be there on IRC for you, and available by the list.

As for the name: Call it "OpenHatch X Boulder". What I would love to see is
the lessons and experiences from your event be picked up by similar events
elsewhere!

As a sketch, here's what I imagine would be required to be called an
OpenHatch X event:

* Have the organizers commit to a "friendly space policy" like
  this one: https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Friendly_space_policy

* The event should be organized with the goal of helping people
  participate in open source projects

* The event should have an organizer who checks in periodically on this
  Events list and is reasonably responsive to emails here (my response
  time is clearly 2-3 days, so 0-5 days is probably "reasonably responsive")

* For the first OpenHatch X event in your city, you should email this
  list before the event, and within a week of the event, so we can all
  enthusiastically talk about how great it was (or help you improve for
  next time)

That's the baseline.

What I'd like to see beyond that is:

* Preferably, take really nice photos like the ones we take at
  campus.openhatch.org events. (-:

* Preferably, do a good job with diversity outreach, such as sending
  invitations to the group to women in CS groups, and other under-
  represented groups based on the demographics.

* Preferably, collaborate with me and each other on the wiki with
  checklists and other tools that would make life easier for
  other event organizers.

One warning:

* OpenHatch X events are independently-organized from the OpenHatch
  non-profit organization. We want you to succeed, and we're happy to
  spread the word about your events. If your event turns into something
  terrible we might stop wanting to lend you our name.

Tim, I think it's awesome that you want to do this, and if you like the gist
of the above thoughts, then please run with our name! (-:

I'd also be curious to hear what other list denizens think!

-- Asheesh.