Another alternative to in-person communities are online communities. Online communities can be a great way to find others. They gather folks from many different locations and bring them to a common area. Part of the reason I made my jump into meeting folks in person was because of the good experiences I had with these folks on IRC. I enjoyed the company of these folks I met online and felt comfortable meeting them in person.
+The low barrier to entry for many online communities can allow us to see what the community is about. What are their priorities? Are they kind to folks who are starting out? Do they have a pattern of helping folks like us or do they tend to hurt others? Do they have members who nurture their fellow members or are they cutting each other down?
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-The low barrier to entry for many online communities can allow us to see what the community is about. What are their priorities? Are they kind to folks who are starting out? Do they have a pattern of helping or of hurting? Do they have members who nurture their fellow members or are they cutting each other down?
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-I'm not aware of a good strategy for determining if a community is going to be helpful or hurtful. It takes some effort to put ourselves out and be vulnerable for a bit to see if others will be gentle with us. Communities are made up of people and people are fickle and irrational creatures. What might be an amazing community for one person may be a toxic environment for another.
+I'm not aware of a good strategy for determining if a community is helpful or hurtful. It takes some effort to follow a community and get a sense of who they are. It is emotionally draining to put ourselves in situations where we are vulnerable in order to see if others will be gentle with us. Communities are made up of people and people are fickle and irrational creatures. What might be an amazing community for one person may be a toxic environment for another. While I don't have a strategy I do have some ideas on key elements that make up a community.
## Things to look for in a good community
There are a list of things that I would look for in a community. This is not a definitive list of everything that makes up a good community but it will give some guidelines for what I think is important:
-* Code of conduct: There needs to be some list of things that the community will accept, tolerate, and abhor. It should be visible to all members of the community. It must also be enforced. If you note discussions where the code of conduct is selectively enforced you should be wary of that community.
-* Moderators: There needs to be someone in the community that can diffuse situations and meter out meaningful punishments if folks get out of hand. They should demonstrate that they are following a visible code of conduct by their actions.
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+* Code of conduct: Good communities have guidelines for things that the community will accept, tolerate, and abhor. It should be visible to all members of the community, and each member of the community must be accountable to those guidelines. It must also be enforced. If you note situations where the code of conduct is selectively enforced against certain members you should be wary of that community.
+* Moderators: There needs to be someone (or a group of people) in the community that can diffuse situations and meter out meaningful punishments when folks get out of hand. Moderators should be even-handed with their decisions. They should also be as consistent as possible with their decisions. They should demonstrate that they too are following a visible code of conduct by their actions in the community. A good moderator should be visible but not overbearing. You should feel free to engage the moderators if you have questions about the community and feel welcomed by their presence.
* Spaces for questions and guidelines for good questions: There should be a place for folks to be safe in asking questions of the members of the community. People should feel safe in asking questions, and the community needs to be clear on what considers a good question. Is the space OK for beginner questions? If not, can such a space be made? What sorts of questions would the community be happy to answer and what sorts of questions would upset the community?
* Joy: Do the people in the community seem pleased to discuss things? What's the tone of the conversations? Are folks being positive with each other or are they resorting to insults and name-calling? Are questions welcomed or are they discouraged or ignored?
* Compassion and empathy: Does the community allow for people to make mistakes? When something goes wrong does the community try to help as best it can?
projects / themediocreprogrammer.git / commitdiff