One of my current projects is helping to improve contributor documentation and tools for Zulip, an open source group chat platform. We recommend that first-time contributors use the Vagrant method of setting up the Zulip development environment. One current downside of this method, in the context of Zulip, is that many of the helper tools …
Life one year after leaving Mozilla
A year ago tomorrow was my last day as a Mozilla employee. Quitting was the one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’m working for myself and I love it. Here are some projects that I’ve been working on: Building a wood bookcase from scratch. Watching and photographing the birds that visit our yard. Recruiting and …
When the Worst Happens (OS Feels 2016)
What follows is the text I used as my guide during my 2016 Open Source and Feelings talk When the Worst Happens. You can also view a video recording of the talk. [Link added 26 August, 2016] Some housekeeping to get us started. First, I have cough-variant asthma. I can usually get through a shorter …
Free speech and its many meanings
The last two weeks I’ve been spending way too much time reading, thinking and tweeting about LambdaConf. If you’re unfamiliar with the situation and want to catch up, read this excellent post by @codepaintsleep. One thing observing the situation has made me realize is that some folks have a very different conception of free speech …
A product development epiphany
At the beginning of the year, I announced Authentic Engine, my new consultancy. I’m going to share a rather honest update about how things are going, and I plan to do so with some regularity. This gives me some trepidation. Visibility nearly always makes me feel vulnerable, even if the attention is subjectively positive. And …
The complex reality of adopting a meaningful code of conduct
A number of prominent, globally distributed open source projects are debating the adoption of a Code of Conduct: Ruby, PHP (rfc, discussion), WordPress. There are probably others. Additionally, thousands of smaller projects have adopted codes of conduct as have many conferences. Why are some communities able to quickly and effortlessly adopt a code of conduct …
Announcing Authentic Engine, my Empathy-Based Leadership Development Consultancy
Since I last posted on the subject, I’ve made quite a bit of progress towards starting the next phase of my career. I’m excited to share that with you all now. One of the things I’ve learned through my 4 years at Mozilla and 8+ organizing in the tech community is that most everyone wants …
Wisdom is lived out in community
I’m in the middle of reading This Odd and Wondrous Calling: The Public and Private Lives of Two Ministers, by Lillian Daniel and Martin B. Copenhaver. In a chapter called Expertise and Wisdom, Copenhaver provides a definition of wisdom that resonates with me deeply. He says: Before going further with this, I need to pause …