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rsrc_channels.qmd
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## Communication channels {#channels}
The [Humans of rOpenSci](#humans) connect and contribute online across many timezones.
We carry out our work using multiple channels for one-way and multi-way communications that involve different levels of commitment.
**GitHub** is the platform we use to host our software and documentation projects using Git version control.
Our **newsletter**, delivered every two weeks, is the ideal way to stay informed without being overwhelmed by communication channels.
We use our public **discussion forum**, **Mastodon**, and **Slack**,
each for specific modes of making announcements, promoting contributions from community members,
asking and answering questions about rOpenSci packages and recommended best practices,
knowledge-sharing and exploration of ideas,
as well as more passive learning by "listening" to community wisdom.
The following table lists every communication channel and its purpose.
Below that we describe how we use a few specific channels and provide some advice on deciding whether a question you might have is one for rOpenSci or belongs in a more general forum.
```{r, results = "asis", echo = FALSE}
library(tibble)
library(kableExtra)
tribble(~Channel, ~Purpose,
"Website <https://ropensci.org/> <https://github.com/ropensci/roweb3>", "Home of rOpenSci",
"[Newsletter](https://ropensci.org/news/)", "A digest of R package news, use cases, blog posts, events, curated every two weeks. [Subscribe](https://ropensci.org/news/) via RSS (XML), JSON feed, or email.",
"[Videos](https://vimeo.com/ropensci)", "Videos from past Community Calls on Vimeo",
"[Mastodon](https://hachyderm.io/@rOpenSci)", "Posts about rOpenSci software, use cases, blog posts, tech notes, events",
"Video conferencing", "Community Calls and remote co-working sessions on Zoom",
"[GitHub - ropensci](https://github.com/ropensci)", "Mature R packages contributed by rOpenSci staff or community-contributed peer-reviewed packages; software peer review system; rOpenSci website",
"[GitHub - ropenscilabs](https://github.com/ropenscilabs)", "Experimental packages and code experiments from staff, collaborators, and participants of unconfs and related events",
"[GitHub - ropensci-org](https://github.com/ropensci-org)", "Non-code repositories like this guide, the blog guide, ideas for Community Calls",
"[Discussion forum](https://discuss.ropensci.org/)", "Public forum on Discourse for use cases, Q & A about rOpenSci packages, exploration of ideas and best practices",
"Slack", "A semi-open space for communications among people who contribute to rOpenSci",
"Email: info at ropensci dot org", "To reach rOpenSci staff when other modes are not suitable") %>%
kable(format = "markdown")
```
<div id="channels-github"></div>
**GitHub**
The majority of rOpenSci's work happens on GitHub.
In this Guide we use terms like "opening an issue" to refer to tracking ideas,
enhancements, tasks, or bugs in a project,
and "making a pull request" to submit your proposed fix or new feature.
If you'd like some general information on the language and workflow of GitHub,
see [Collaborating with issues and pull requests](https://docs.github.com/en/github/collaborating-with-issues-and-pull-requests).
To learn about Markdown formatting for interacting with others in issues and pull requests see [Getting started with writing and formatting on GitHub](https://docs.github.com/en/github/writing-on-github/getting-started-with-writing-and-formatting-on-github).
For guidance on connecting R to GitHub we recommend Happy Git and GitHub for the useR - [https://happygitwithr.com/](https://happygitwithr.com/).
<div id="channels-forum"></div>
**Public discussion forum**
[The forum](https://discuss.ropensci.org/) is where we encourage people to have Q & A on a wide range of topics.
It is organized in categories including [**Use Cases**](#usecases) where people post examples of how they've used rOpenSci packages,
[**Blog**](#blog) where an entry is made every time a new post or tech note appears on our blog, [**Statistical Software Peer Review**](#statsreview) for discussion related to developing a software peer review system for statistical software in R,
**Wishlist** for discussions about requested new R packages,
**Antarctic** for discussions about R in Antarctic and Southern Ocean science, and others!
It includes posts like "How do you hire data people in a fair and unbiased way?" in the Community category, to specific help requests about our packages like "Taxize: Get rank of lowest common taxon".
The benefit of posting to our forum, rather than our semi-open Slack space or by email,
is that it is open for others to benefit, searchable within the forum,
and discoverable by browser-based searches.
Posting in the forum requires login and we encourage people to use their real names.
<div id="channels-slack"></div>
**Slack**
We use [Slack](https://slack.com/intl/en-ca/help/articles/115004071768-What-is-Slack-) as a semi-open space for communications among people who have made specific contributions to rOpenSci.
These include people who:
* have begun the [software review process for their package](#devguide)
(once it's determined to be in scope)
* are assigned to [review a package](#devguide)
* made significant contributions to rOpenSci,
including taking over maintenance of an rOpenSci package
* have written a [blog post or tech note](#blog) that is published on our site
* presented in a [Community Call](#commcalls)
* participated in an [unconf](#unconfs)
* use R in a research domain that rOpenSci is explicitly supporting,
such as Antarctic and Southern Ocean Research
People join Slack by invitation from our Community Manager or other staff.
If you are eligible, you may contact us via our [contact form](https://ropensci.org/contact/);
provide your full name and email address.
<!-- COMMENT: (STEFFI) Perhaps include a sentence explaining the rational for a Slack being a semi-open space. -->
The benefit of Slack is the ability to more directly access rOpenSci staff and community members,
including some more experienced folks in channels like #software-review or #package-maintenance,
or to watch for postings in #jobs.
People consider it an easier place to ask questions or explore ideas because while it has over 500 members,
it's not fully "in the open".
[We actively welcome new members](https://ropensci.org/blog/2017/07/18/value-of-welcome/) and ensure that all conversations are collegial.
<div id="channels-help"></div>
**How to get help**
There is an etiquette to getting help and asking questions.
We focus on using, developing, documenting code and infrastructure,
and building community, as they specifically align with [our mission](#mission).
People looking for more general R learning may refer to [RStudio Education](https://education.rstudio.com/) and [The Carpentries](https://carpentries.org/).
Read these posts if you have an R question:
[Where to get help with your R question?](https://masalmon.eu/2018/07/22/wheretogethelp/), by Maëlle Salmon;
[Getting help in R: do as I say, not as I've done](https://sctyner.me/post/2019-2-17-rhelp/), by Samantha Tyner.
If you're asking for R help, reporting a bug, or requesting a new feature,
you're more likely to succeed if you include a good reproducible example, a "reprex".
There's a [well-documented package](https://reprex.tidyverse.org/) for that including a video,
and an rOpenSci Community Call - [How to Ask Questions so they get Answered! Possibly by Yourself!](https://ropensci.org/commcalls/2017-03-07/), with Jenny Bryan, JD Long, and Scott Chamberlain.
### How to contribute?
* Read our [Code of Conduct](https://ropensci.org/code-of-conduct/) to ensure you are ready to participate
* **Follow [rOpenSci on Mastodon](https://hachyderm.io/@rOpenSci)**
* **Subscribe to our [Newsletter](https://ropensci.org/news/)**
* **Ask or answer questions**. Participate in discussions in the [forum](https://discuss.ropensci.org/), on GitHub or on Slack
* **Try a 2-hour [remote co-working session](https://www.cscce.org/2020/02/04/online-co-working-partnerships-are-community-of-practice-in-action/)** with someone in our Slack #co-working channel
* **Seek community feedback on your package ideas in the "Packages" category in our [forum](https://discuss.ropensci.org/c/packages)**