CHAOSS Board Election Office Hours - April 23, 2026

CHAOSS Board Election Office Hours - April 23, 2026 ![rw-book-cover](https://img.youtube.com/vi/U102MVcwJ8E/maxresdefault.jpg) 🔗 **Source:** [CHAOSS Board Election Office Hours - April 23, 2026](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U102MVcwJ8E) > [!note]+ Document Notes > tags: #chaoss #community-elections #open-source #community-governance > author: Emma Irwin > source: CHAOSS > reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U102MVcwJ8E > date created: 2024-12-19 14:30 > > # 🏷️ Title: CHAOSS Board Election Office Hours - April 23, 2026 >  ## 🧰 Action Inbox - [H1] Set up demo election for community to practice voting process — mentioned multiple times throughout call #chaoss #elections - [H2] Create candidate engagement opportunities (AMA, videos, written Q&A) — discussed around 25:00 #community-engagement - [H3] Increase election awareness through working groups and social media outreach — discussed around 15:00 #community-awareness ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [[#📝 Summary]] - [[#📖 Main Content]] - [[#🗒️ Notes]] - [[#📚 References]] - [[#🗣️ Paraphrase]] - [[#📰 Newsletter]] - [[#✅ Action Items]] - [[#🧪 Hypotheses]] - [[#📊 Methodology]] - [[#❓ Questions]] - [[#🔮 Future Research]] - [[#💡 Implications]] - [[#🧠 Learning Styles Assessment]] - [[#📊 Accessibility Assessment]] - [[#🌍 DEIB Assessment]] - [[#✅ Logical Validity]] - [[#🛡️ DARVO Analysis]] - [[#🎯 Conclusion]] ### 🔗 References - [CHAOSS Election Documentation](URL) - [Candidate Guide](URL) - [Election FAQ](URL) ## 📝 Summary - What happened: CHAOSS held office hours for their first community-driven board elections with election officials Emma Irwin, Elizabeth Baron, and Alli - Why it matters: This represents a pivotal transition to community governance for CHAOSS, allowing contributors to shape the organization's future - Key stakeholders: CHAOSS community members, potential candidates, voters who contributed in last 12 months - Risks and tradeoffs: Low awareness and participation threaten election legitimacy; balancing accessibility with security in voting process - Bottom line: Election officials are actively seeking community feedback to improve participation and accessibility for this foundational governance transition ## 📖 Main Content CHAOSS is conducting its first community-driven board elections, marking a significant shift toward community governance. The election officials are running open office hours to encourage participation, address concerns, and gather feedback on the process. Key challenges include raising awareness in a busy community and ensuring both candidates and voters feel prepared for the new process. The elections use GitHub contribution history to determine voting eligibility, with a self-attestation process for other types of contributions. The voting platform Eleto provides anonymous ranked-choice voting while preventing gaming of the system. ## 🗒️ Notes #### ⏱️ [00:00](https://youtu.be/U102MVcwJ8E?t=0) — [H1] Introduction to CHAOSS first community elections - Key idea: Emma Irwin introduces office hours for CHAOSS's inaugural community-driven board elections - Evidence: "Welcome to this open office hours for the chaos election... we are the election officials" #### ⏱️ [02:30](https://youtu.be/U102MVcwJ8E?t=150) — [H2] Community participation and voting eligibility - Key idea: Contributors from the last 12 months can vote, identified through GitHub activity and self-attestation - Evidence: "If you've contributed you have a voice in the next election so you are able to vote if you've contributed to chaos in the last 12 months" #### ⏱️ [04:45](https://youtu.be/U102MVcwJ8E?t=285) — [H1] Encouraging board nominations beyond traditional leadership - Key idea: CHAOSS actively encourages diverse candidates to run, emphasizing inclusive leadership over traditional qualifications - Evidence: "You don't have to call yourself a leader to be one... this is inclusive leadership" #### ⏱️ [06:20](https://youtu.be/U102MVcwJ8E?t=380) — [H3] Election timeline and key dates - Key idea: Nominations close May 11th, voting runs May 13th to June 10th, results announced June 15th - Evidence: "Nominations close... May 11th the voting opens May 13th... voting closes June 10th" #### ⏱️ [08:15](https://youtu.be/U102MVcwJ8E?t=495) — [H2] Eleto voting platform provides anonymous ranked voting - Key idea: Eleto enables anonymous voting while preventing gaming through GitHub verification - Evidence: "You'll log in with your GitHub account, but it's not going to like store who voted for who" #### ⏱️ [11:30](https://youtu.be/U102MVcwJ8E?t=690) — [H1] Awareness as the biggest challenge for first election - Key idea: Low community awareness poses the primary risk to election participation and legitimacy - Evidence: "I think awareness is probably the biggest challenge that we have" #### ⏱️ [14:20](https://youtu.be/U102MVcwJ8E?t=860) — [H2] Community member suggests candidate campaigning in working groups - Key idea: Attendee proposes candidates engage with working groups and focus areas for outreach - Evidence: "Is it possible for the candidates to talk about this in their little groups... working groups they are participant of" #### ⏱️ [17:45](https://youtu.be/U102MVcwJ8E?t=1065) — [H3] Exploring candidate engagement formats - Key idea: Election officials brainstorm all-candidates videos, written Q&A, and recorded introductions - Evidence: "Maybe a recorded video... OSI has done like a written thing before where everyone is like asked a couple questions" #### ⏱️ [22:10](https://youtu.be/U102MVcwJ8E?t=1330) — [H2] Creating demo election for community practice - Key idea: Officials consider restoring test election so community members can experience the voting process - Evidence: "I'm wondering if we should put that back so people can like do a pretend election or a mock election" #### ⏱️ [25:30](https://youtu.be/U102MVcwJ8E?t=1530) — [H3] Candidate profile formatting questions - Key idea: Community members seek clarity on paragraph limits and formatting for candidate statements - Evidence: "Will there be a penalty if you exceed the paragraph... what counts as a paragraph" #### ⏱️ [28:15](https://youtu.be/U102MVcwJ8E?t=1695) — [H1] First-time election anxiety and process concerns - Key idea: Candidates express nervousness about participating in an untested community process - Evidence: "I think I don't know how this is going to run. So, I'm a little bit scared because I have not... had an opportunity to witness an election before" #### ⏱️ [32:45](https://youtu.be/U102MVcwJ8E?t=1965) — [H2] Action items for election officials - Key idea: Officials commit to creating demo election and candidate engagement opportunities - Evidence: "Two to-dos. One is to set up a demo election... the second one is to figure out what method would be good to allow candidates to engage with the community" ## 📚 References - [CHAOSS Community](https://chaoss.community/) - [Eleto Voting Platform](https://eleto.org/) - [CHAOSS GitHub Organization](https://github.com/chaoss) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - CHAOSS is transitioning to community-governed board elections for the first time, with election officials hosting office hours to encourage participation and address concerns - The main challenges are raising awareness in a busy community and helping both candidates and voters feel prepared for the new democratic process - Officials are actively seeking feedback and implementing suggestions like demo elections and candidate engagement opportunities to improve accessibility and participation ## 📰 Newsletter **CHAOSS Pioneers Community Democracy with First Board Elections** The CHAOSS community is making history with its inaugural community-driven board elections! Election officials Emma Irwin, Elizabeth Baron, and Alli are hosting office hours to ensure everyone feels prepared to participate in this democratic milestone. **Key opportunities for WordPress community members:** - **Voting eligibility**: Contributors from the last 12 months can vote (GitHub activity or self-attestation) - **Nomination period**: Open until May 11th - no traditional leadership experience required - **Inclusive approach**: Emphasis on diverse perspectives and lived experiences The process uses Eleto for secure, anonymous ranked-choice voting while preventing system gaming. Officials are creating demo elections and candidate engagement opportunities based on community feedback. This represents a valuable model for open source governance transitions that other communities can learn from. **Resources:** [Election Documentation](https://chaoss.community/elections), [Candidate Guide](https://chaoss.community/candidate-guide), [Community Slack](https://chaoss.community/slack) ## ✅ Action Items #### DevRel - Developer advocacy: Create templates for candidate social media promotion and community outreach - Community management: Monitor election help channels, facilitate Q&A sessions, gather participation feedback #### OSPO - Community Engagement: Document election process learnings for other open source communities - Strategic Alignment: Analyze community governance transition models and best practices #### Community - Maintainers: Support working group leader coordination for candidate outreach - Contributors: Implement peer nomination encouragement campaigns using provided templates - Ecosystem: Share governance transition experiences with other open source communities #### WordPress - Community: Adapt CHAOSS election strategies for WordPress community governance needs - Documentation: Create guides for community-driven governance transitions #### The WPCC - Programs: Develop fellowship programs for community governance skills development - Projects: Support documentation of democratic transition best practices ## 🧪 Hypotheses - Demo elections will significantly increase voter confidence and participation rates - Working group outreach will be more effective than general community announcements for candidate awareness - First-time election anxiety decreases with better process visualization and practice opportunities - Peer nomination encouragement increases diverse candidate participation more than self-promotion ### 📊 Methodology - A/B testing of awareness campaigns: working group targeted vs general announcements - Survey data on voter confidence before and after demo election access - Participation rate analysis comparing communities with and without practice elections - Demographic analysis of candidates before and after peer encouragement campaigns ### ❓ Questions - How can open source communities balance voting security with accessibility for diverse contribution types? - What governance transition strategies work best for communities with seasonal participation patterns? - How do practice elections impact actual voting participation and candidate diversity? ### 🔮 Future Research - Comparative analysis of open source community election models and participation outcomes - Long-term impact study of community governance transitions on project sustainability - Development of standardized toolkits for open source community democratization ### 💡 Implications - Practice: Communities need multiple touchpoints and practice opportunities for successful governance transitions - Policy: Voting eligibility criteria must balance inclusivity with preventing system gaming - Education: First-time election processes require extensive community education and support - Funding: Community governance transitions need dedicated resources for outreach and support ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment Reading level estimate: 12th grade (technical governance content) #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: Slide presentations, timeline graphics - Improve: Process flow diagrams, candidate profile mockups, voting interface screenshots #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: Office hours recordings, verbal explanations - Improve: Candidate introduction audio clips, election process podcasts #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: Clear definitions of roles, analogies to familiar processes - Improve: Governance terminology glossary, election narrative guides #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: Planned demo elections, hands-on voting practice - Improve: Interactive nomination walkthroughs, candidate profile builders #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: Clear timelines, structured documentation - Improve: Decision flowcharts, participation requirement matrices #### 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social learners - Present: Office hours, community discussions, peer encouragement - Improve: Candidate forums, voter discussion groups #### 🧘‍♀️ Solitary learners - Present: Self-attestation processes, individual documentation review - Improve: Self-assessment voting readiness quizzes, private candidate preparation guides ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment #### Screen reader semantics - Present: Video has clear verbal structure and announcements - Improve: Provide transcript with heading structure, timestamp navigation #### Keyboard navigation - Present: Video platform supports keyboard controls - Improve: Ensure Eleto voting platform meets keyboard accessibility standards #### Media and captions - Present: Video recording available for asynchronous access - Improve: Add captions and full transcript for hearing accessibility #### Forms and interactions - Present: Simple nomination file format - Improve: Validate Eleto interface for screen reader compatibility ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment #### Cultural breadth - Present: Recognition of seasonal participation patterns, multiple contribution types - Improve: Consider global time zone accessibility for future office hours #### Inclusive language - Present: Emphasis on "you don't have to call yourself a leader to be one" - Improve: Define technical terms like "self-attestation" more clearly #### Representation - Present: Diverse election official team, emphasis on lived experiences - Improve: Highlight examples of non-traditional leadership paths #### Psychological safety - Present: Supportive tone about first-time election anxiety - Improve: Create explicit guidelines about respectful candidate discourse ### ✅ Logical Validity #### Strong reasoning - Inductive strength: Community feedback leading to process improvements shows iterative refinement - Causal reasoning: Low awareness identified as primary barrier to participation - Analogical strength: References to OSI and other community elections provide precedent #### Fallacies - Appeal to novelty: "First election" framed as inherently positive without acknowledging risks - False dilemma: GitHub vs non-GitHub contributions presented as binary rather than complementary #### Tone of voice - Overall tone: Encouraging and inclusive with genuine concern for community participation ### 🛡️ DARVO Analysis - Deny: No problematic denial patterns observed - Attack: No attacks on community members or critics - Reverse victim/offender: No victim/offender reversal tactics present - Assessment: Conversation demonstrates healthy community governance practices ## 🎯 Conclusion This office hours session reveals the challenges and opportunities inherent in transitioning open source communities to democratic governance. The CHAOSS election officials demonstrate thoughtful attention to accessibility, awareness, and community feedback. Their willingness to iterate based on participant concerns—creating demo elections, clarifying candidate requirements, and exploring engagement formats—provides a valuable model for other communities considering similar transitions. The emphasis on inclusive leadership and recognition that governance anxiety is normal helps lower barriers to participation while maintaining process integrity. ## 🧱 Refactor Appendix ### 📚 Literature Split Pad ### [H1] Open source communities need practice elections for successful governance transitions > [!quote] [CHAOSS Board Election Office Hours](https://youtu.be/U102MVcwJ8E) by [[Emma Irwin]] via [[CHAOSS]]. Published 2026-04-23. Accessed 2024-12-19. > "I'm wondering if we should put that back so people can like do a pretend election or a mock election so they can kind of visualize and experience the whole thing." Community members expressed anxiety about participating in unfamiliar electoral processes, leading officials to consider restoring demo elections. [view highlight](https://youtu.be/U102MVcwJ8E?t=1330#H1) #xref #articleseed ID:rw_chaoss_demo ### [H2] Awareness represents the primary challenge for first-time community elections > [!quote] [CHAOSS Board Election Office Hours](https://youtu.be/U102MVcwJ8E) > "I think awareness is probably the biggest challenge that we have. Like from now on, people will know, oh, okay, this is time for the elections." Election officials identified community awareness as more challenging than technical implementation or candidate recruitment. [view highlight](https://youtu.be/U102MVcwJ8E?t=690#H2) #xref ID:rw_chaoss_awareness --- ### 🔖 Atomic Split Pad (Zettel Candidates) #### [Z1] Peer encouragement templates reduce nomination barriers - Scope: Community governance transitions requiring diverse candidate participation - Pointer: 05:30 discussion of nomination encouragement - Links: [[Community-Governance]] [[Inclusive-Leadership]] #### [Z2] GitHub-based voting eligibility balances security with accessibility - Scope: Open source communities with diverse contribution types - Pointer: 02:30 --- ## Full Transcript [00:00] No. [00:03] Okay. Hello everyone. Welcome to this [00:08] open office hours for the chaos [00:10] election. My name is Emma Irwin and [00:12] together with Elizabeth Baron and um [00:16] Alli I'm not sure how to say Alli's last [00:19] name. Um we are the election officials [00:22] and basically what we're your friends in [00:24] this process um of building and making [00:28] successful the first chaos community [00:30] elections. Um yay our first [00:33] communitydriven elections and we can get [00:35] into a bit more about what that means uh [00:38] in the Q&A if you're interested. Um we [00:40] we only have kind of one person here [00:42] today so we're recording this. I'll also [00:44] say that we have the the hash the the [00:47] channel for elections and um you can [00:50] also ping any of us directly and all of [00:53] this is also in the documentation. So [00:55] and we will share the slides also. So, [00:58] um, yeah. So, this is an open office [01:00] hours. We may have more. There was a [01:02] question already. We may have more. If [01:04] that is something that you want, then [01:05] you should respond to any of the threads [01:07] that you see this video in or on the [01:09] election help channel and maybe give us [01:11] some windows around what would be useful [01:13] hours for you to kind of connect with [01:15] us. But, um, we really want to make [01:17] successful successful and accessible for [01:21] folks who want to come and ask [01:22] questions. And we hope that everyone is [01:24] considering either running and is [01:26] definitely going to vote because your [01:27] participation really matters. [01:30] Um yeah, so I mentioned everything on [01:33] this slide. I'm going to go to the next [01:34] slide here. Um so just again emphasizing [01:37] this is a community election. Chaos is a [01:40] community and this is an opportunity to [01:43] kind of have the community shape the [01:45] future of chaos. It's a a really uh [01:47] pivotal moment for chaos to think about [01:49] its future. it's pivotable moment in [01:52] technology like you know it's a really [01:54] uh kind of cool time to get involved [01:57] into to step into leadership and um a [02:01] couple things on that we'll get more [02:02] into nomination I think in the next [02:04] slide but also if you've contributed you [02:07] have a voice in the next election so you [02:10] are able to vote if you've contributed [02:11] to chaos in the last 12 months and um [02:16] that is something that we've done our [02:18] best due diligence to identify those [02:21] folks who voted in the last in the last [02:24] year through GitHub um activities like [02:27] commenting pull requests but also [02:29] through the self attestation process [02:31] which you should have seen in the [02:33] general channel [02:35] um over the last few months but if [02:37] that's not familiar to you it's also in [02:39] the documentation that we'll share after [02:40] this. Um so essentially if you're not [02:43] able to vote at the link then either [02:45] reach out to us or proactively even [02:47] better do the self attestation. so that [02:50] you all turn up. So, um yeah, if you [02:52] contributed, you can vote and um [02:57] yeah, so we've talked a little bit about [02:59] voting here. Um but also we really [03:02] really want to encourage people to run [03:04] for the board and this can be kind of a [03:06] mental barrier for folks to think about, [03:08] well, I've not really been a part of [03:09] chaos long enough or I'm not really a [03:11] leader and all these kind of things that [03:13] might be stopping people from thinking [03:16] about running. But um we really [03:18] encourage you to to think beyond any [03:22] sort of self-doubt you're having and [03:24] think about like is there something that [03:26] you want to do and achieve uh that you [03:28] think KO should be doing then please run [03:30] for the board and we encourage encourage [03:32] you to so um and then yeah we me I [03:36] mentioned this this voting uh [03:40] that we should vote and then the third [03:42] thing is at the bottom here um encourage [03:45] someone to vote uh or to to nominate. I [03:48] definitely encourage people to vote, [03:49] too. But, um, so in our FAQ, we have a [03:52] little template if you're not sure what [03:53] to say to somebody. There's a template [03:55] in there where you can go and say like, [03:56] "Hey, so and so, I really think that you [03:58] should consider running." And that can [04:01] be all that it takes to get someone to [04:03] step up is that kind of validation from [04:05] a peer. I I know certainly that would [04:08] make me feel more inclined than my own [04:10] confidence. So, um, definitely like you [04:13] can't nominate someone else. they still [04:14] need to nominate themselves, but you can [04:16] definitely encourage other people and we [04:17] encourage you to encourage other people. [04:19] See, that's how it works. Um, and then [04:22] again, you know, you don't have to call [04:24] yourself a leader to be one, kind of [04:26] double clicking on this constantly, but [04:28] you know, this is inclusive leadership. [04:30] We we want folks to know that um, you [04:32] know, it's it's a trusted role. It's an [04:34] important role, but it's not one that [04:36] comes with like we don't need to see, [04:38] you know, specifically uh, anyone's [04:40] resume to say certain things. So lived [04:42] experiences, [04:44] um, all these types of things really [04:45] bring a lot. So if you said any of these [04:47] things like, I wish board the board [04:49] would do this or I wish chaos would go [04:51] here, this is your moment. Um, I really [04:53] feel like I'm just pitching [04:55] participation right now, but that is a [04:56] big part of why we're holding these open [04:58] office hours. Um, [05:01] and then I've said this again, if you [05:03] contributed, you have a vote. I [05:04] mentioned all that. Um, this is our [05:06] timeline right now. what happens and [05:09] when this and I think this is up to date [05:11] Elizabeth I double check but um so this [05:13] is the open office hours we may have [05:15] more if folks are interested the [05:17] nominations close and we can I'll [05:21] probably get Elizabeth to maybe talk a [05:23] bit about at the end the Q&A like how [05:26] the actual nominations work again if [05:28] you're curious it's all in the [05:29] documentation um but those have to be in [05:32] by May 11th the voting opens May 13th we [05:35] have all like a whole user user guide [05:37] and everything for how to vote. Um, [05:40] voter exceptions just basically means um [05:44] those folks that may have not been able [05:46] to vote for some reason, we're going to [05:47] look into the problem. And is that what [05:49] we mean by exceptions, Elizabeth? [05:51] >> Yeah. Or folks that um are having uh [05:54] trouble with the GitHub trying to get [05:56] their [05:57] >> contributions added or um just don't [06:00] have like a GitHub account like whatever [06:01] whatever that might be. um because there [06:04] are a lot of other contributions that [06:05] happen across the community. So, we just [06:07] wanted to give a give an outlet for [06:09] those folks to make sure that they're [06:12] >> Yeah. And um it also in our FAQ we do [06:14] cover why GitHub right now. It's not [06:16] that we want to isolate what valuable [06:19] contributions are based on GitHub. It's [06:21] just the tool that we have right now and [06:24] certainly new board members could steer [06:25] us in a different direction in the [06:27] future. So um this is where we are now [06:29] but not necessarily where we have to be [06:31] for for the future. Uh voting closes [06:34] June 10th and June 15th is when we plan [06:36] to you know all goes well uh announce [06:39] the results. Elizabeth, did you want to [06:41] add anything to this timeline? [06:43] >> No, I think that that um that sums it [06:46] up. The reason we have a little bit of a [06:48] break between May 11th and May 13th is [06:50] just so we make sure that everything [06:52] went through okay cuz you know this is [06:54] new for the community as well. So, um, [06:58] we just wanted to give ourselves a [06:59] little bit of a buffer, um, to make sure [07:01] if there were any, you know, anything [07:03] that didn't, uh, happen the way we [07:06] planned it to happen, um, then we have a [07:09] little bit of a buffer to to address [07:10] that before voting opens. [07:13] >> Yeah. [07:15] And I don't have um a slide on Eleto, [07:18] which is the the voting platform we'll [07:21] be using, but it is um we're taking [07:23] inspiration from the native community, [07:25] and Ally has worked with that before. Um [07:29] I don't know that I can do justice of [07:33] what the playbook already says, but [07:35] essentially it is an, you know, [07:37] anonymous um it's ranking. It's it's [07:40] like a like it's a very trusted process [07:42] and and platform. Elizabeth, would you [07:44] add anything there? I have links at the [07:46] end of it. [07:47] >> Yeah, I think it's it's uh it seems like [07:50] a very good um a very good platform for [07:53] keeping voting anonymous while also not [07:57] allowing it to be gamed, if that makes [07:59] sense. So, you'll log in with your [08:01] GitHub account, but it's not going to [08:05] like store who voted for who, if that [08:08] makes sense. It just wants to make sure [08:10] there's a barrier and some kind of like [08:11] verification check. So we don't have, [08:14] you know, folks who are not in the [08:15] community um just kind of flooding with [08:18] random stuff or spammers or any of that [08:21] stuff. It it blocks all of that. So um [08:23] yeah, it seems like it's a a really [08:25] great way to to do elections. I'm I'm [08:28] quite impressed, honestly. [08:30] >> Yeah. And I mean, we didn't want to make [08:32] this too much of a presentation, so I [08:33] don't have we're not really walking [08:35] through that, but because there's just [08:36] such great playbooks and guides, and [08:38] here they are. Um, I don't know if you [08:40] can click on this from the preview, but [08:41] I'll share this afterwards. There's the [08:42] candidate guide, how to nominate, what [08:45] the role involves. Um, which is really [08:47] important because as much as we're [08:48] encouraging people to to nominate [08:50] themselves, it's really important to [08:51] know what the role involves so that you [08:52] feel like that's something you can [08:53] achieve. We don't want more burnout and [08:56] open source, this needs to feel like [08:58] something that that you have time for [08:59] and can invest in. Um, there's a whole [09:03] uh thing here on the mechanics of the [09:05] election which is really helpful. I was [09:07] also really impressed. [09:09] Um just a bunch more resources including [09:11] the FAQ and then we have the blog that [09:13] Elizabeth shared recently if you want to [09:16] share with others. Um people are very [09:18] busy. So I guess we would also encourage [09:21] for chaotics that are not you know [09:23] looking at Slack or checking the blog to [09:25] do that shoulder tap to make sure that [09:28] people know this is happening. [09:30] So those are the links and then yeah I [09:32] was just this is really an open office [09:34] hour so I really didn't want to talk too [09:35] much but I wouldn't Elizabeth is there [09:37] anything else you'd add? [09:39] >> I was just going to say um the only [09:41] thing I would add is that to your point [09:43] it because this is a first time of the [09:46] community doing this. I think awareness [09:48] is probably the biggest challenge that [09:50] we have. Like from now on, people will [09:52] know, oh, okay, this is time for the [09:54] elections. I'm ready. But for now, it's [09:56] kind of just like trying to drive the [09:58] point home to people that, hey, this is [10:00] a thing you can do and you please, [10:01] please do it. Like, please, you know, [10:03] engage and participate. Um because your [10:05] voice is important and um yeah, but to [10:08] your point, people are busy. So yeah, [10:11] that's kind of why I would rather see us [10:14] as a community just kind of over over uh [10:18] promote if we you know I mean you by the [10:22] end everybody's going to be sick of it [10:23] but I think that's the only way to [10:25] really make sure that you know yes we [10:28] keep driving this point home that it's [10:29] happening and don't forget and yes [10:31] especially towards the end I think [10:33] there'll be a little more of a push [10:34] because it's like your last chance you [10:36] know but um here at the beginning and [10:38] then at the end yeah probably So, so we [10:40] really do rely on the community to help [10:42] us spread the word cuz the three of us [10:44] are only three people. So, yeah. [10:47] >> Yeah. We don't definitely don't want to [10:48] hear when the announcements are like, [10:49] "What? There was an election?" Like, we [10:51] just do not want to hear that. [10:53] >> Yeah. That would be awful. I would I [10:55] would be very sad about that for sure. [11:00] >> Questions. [11:02] >> Yes. Um, I think I have a question now [11:07] and that's um, following up on what [11:10] you've just said, I kind of like sense [11:14] low enthusiasm in the community. Can you [11:17] hear me clearly? [11:18] >> Yes. [11:19] >> Yes. So, enthusiasm and then an [11:22] awareness. So, just imagine it's just [11:25] three of us. Imagine I didn't come in [11:27] today. It will just be you and then [11:30] Hema. So I I am wondering um so how do [11:34] we get people [11:36] >> to be aware and even be enthusiastic [11:40] about voting? [11:42] So um uh the previous ones I've seen [11:46] other communities do is that candidates [11:49] usually go on LinkedIn social media [11:52] platform to campaign and say hey I'm [11:55] running for um [11:59] I'm running for um the board uh come on [12:02] um elect me and vote for me and all [12:04] that. But I'm I'm grateful that we don't [12:08] have to do that that chaos. But the [12:10] question that I have is is it possible [12:12] for the candidates to talk about this in [12:15] their little groups um maybe the working [12:18] groups they are um participant of or [12:22] their focus groups and all. So [12:30] >> um I'll just jump in here real quick [12:32] with I think that that is a very good [12:36] question. Um we have not really talked [12:39] about that in the election officers [12:41] group meetings. Um I would I have two [12:44] thoughts on that. Um I think that one um [12:47] we could encourage working group leaders [12:49] to to carve out space for that in the [12:52] meetings just to make sure that like [12:54] that's you know that is something that [12:56] you're able to do. I'm also wondering if [12:58] it would make sense to have um like a [13:00] dedicated [13:02] um like uh a place for [13:07] uh candidates to like show up and answer [13:11] questions or talk to folks. Like I don't [13:13] know what that would look like if that [13:14] would be like a special meeting of like [13:17] a I don't know. Is that weird to have [13:20] like a just a meeting on the calendar [13:22] and like okay candidates are going to [13:23] show up and they're ready to answer your [13:25] questions from their point of view like [13:27] what how their what their vision is for [13:29] the community or you know how they [13:31] approach things. Um that might be [13:32] something helpful. Um and then actually [13:34] I have the third thing which is we could [13:36] also um if we wanted like I don't want [13:39] them the barrier to be too high for [13:41] folks but also you know maybe a recorded [13:44] video or something if candidates want to [13:46] do that. I don't know. I don't know. [13:52] Yeah. Um yeah, I mean I I think I said [13:56] at least maybe it was before the [13:58] recording that we want to improve this [13:59] process for next year too. So these are [14:01] the types of questions that are good. I [14:03] mean um I think that would be cool to [14:06] have an all candidates video if we could [14:08] find a time that work for everyone. It [14:09] depends how many people there are. Or we [14:12] can do a writ [14:14] OSI has done like a written thing before [14:17] where everyone is like asked a couple [14:19] questions. Maybe those I don't know if [14:20] we have time. It depends. We're [14:22] brainstorming here of course. Um [14:25] >> but that way it's not having to turn up [14:27] but that there's like a question that [14:28] everyone can read when it works for [14:30] them. And then on the sharing I think [14:33] it'd be great of working group. Maybe we [14:34] could post that in the working group [14:35] leaders. I also think of chaos as like a [14:38] community of communities. Like a lot of [14:41] us people come here because they were [14:43] part of a you know Drupal or an Ospo [14:46] like you know or they you know they came [14:48] here because they're interested in the [14:50] metrics and they participated but they [14:51] might not be watching it all the time. [14:54] >> And I don't know Elizabeth I mean we [14:57] what that outreach might look like to [14:59] folks that are just not paying [15:00] attention. It won't be on LinkedIn. It [15:02] might be in the Slack. I don't know what [15:03] the answer is. Can we spam people one [15:05] time or? [15:08] Yeah, that's a good question. Um because [15:11] to your point, we have a lot of folks [15:12] who are um [15:15] maybe seasonal in their participation or [15:18] um [15:19] >> you know, they come and go as as they [15:21] have the capacity to join. Um yeah, to [15:24] your point, especially folks who are [15:26] kind of um h have uh obligations [15:29] elsewhere in other communities and jobs, [15:32] home, family. Um [15:35] so that's a yeah, I'm have to think [15:37] about that. [15:38] I I I know that um from the chaos [15:41] community account, we plan to post [15:44] several messages on LinkedIn um [15:46] reminding folks out there. Uh that seems [15:49] to be where most of the community is as [15:52] opposed to like Mastadon or X or um [15:55] things. But uh yeah, I'm wondering what [15:58] we can do as far as bringing visibility [16:01] for the candidates as well. Um I don't [16:05] know. [16:09] I see Adrienne's comment there. Adrien, [16:14] >> I think. Yeah, Adrien. Yeah, go ahead. [16:17] >> I was just saying welcome. [16:23] >> Oh, Adrienne, we can't hear you if [16:24] you're talking [16:26] or Adrian might be multitasking. [16:31] >> He's good at that. [16:32] >> Yeah. [16:34] >> Okay. Oh, got it. Just going to use [16:37] chat. [16:47] Yeah, we definitely could use an [16:48] announcements um if if we do decide to [16:51] create an announcements channel. Um [16:53] >> Oh, we don't have one. [16:54] >> No, we don't. Um [16:59] >> that's kind of what general is or [17:00] >> That's kind of what general is. And also [17:02] I kind of spam every channel. A lot of [17:04] channel, not every single one, but a lot [17:06] of them with the same messages if it's [17:08] something that's communitywide. [17:10] >> Can you add the general channel? I don't [17:12] know if we can add in the Slack. No, but [17:14] you might be able to. Is it admin or [17:16] something? [17:17] >> Yeah, we can. We can create one for [17:19] sure. I think it the question is how do [17:21] we get people in it? [17:22] >> Oh, no. I meant at like in the general [17:25] at all like I know it seems to be [17:27] disabled in our Slack because I've tried [17:29] to all in our working group where you [17:32] like or channel [17:34] >> sorry that's a team's reference all I [17:36] think but or channel or something. [17:38] >> Yeah, there's a there's an at channel. [17:40] There's also an at here which is like [17:41] just pings everybody that's active [17:44] currently. [17:44] >> Oh, okay. Yeah. [17:45] >> So that's good too. [17:49] Yeah, we've not really used the at [17:52] channel only because there's like 3500 [17:55] people in there. [17:56] >> Yeah, [17:58] >> this might be the one time. This might [17:59] be the one time, right? [18:01] >> People [18:03] >> sometimes this is something they might [18:05] want to know. [18:06] >> Yeah, [18:06] >> but I don't want to be presumptive. [18:11] >> I mean, it's definitely not something [18:12] we've abused. So, at least there's [18:14] >> there's at least that we've never used [18:16] it. So it's like, okay, this is [18:17] important. [18:18] >> Yeah. [18:23] Any other So we'll I'll I'll kind of [18:25] leave that. That's your domain, [18:27] Elizabeth. I I think to share like [18:30] what's appropriate like sharing thing, I [18:32] guess. Or we can talk about it, too. [18:34] >> Yeah. [18:34] >> There any other questions? And we could [18:36] also create a I was just thinking as far [18:38] as for not candidates to so we've talked [18:41] about having a question maybe that's in [18:44] the a written format that anyone can [18:46] read or an all candidates kind of video [18:50] call. Maybe there's also a template that [18:52] we can put in the in our elections [18:55] folder that's something you can use for [18:58] LinkedIn or whatever. I'm running for [18:59] this or you know like maybe we could do [19:01] that. Um if that's helpful too. [19:04] >> Yeah. Yeah, I'm wondering too to your [19:07] question about uh or to the idea about [19:09] asking [19:11] uh questions of like a common question [19:13] for each candidate. I wonder if that's [19:15] something we maybe I don't know this [19:16] year but next year we could add to like [19:19] the the file that they upload of like [19:22] okay tell us about yourself now here are [19:24] like two questions or three questions or [19:26] whatever what would your approach be for [19:28] these three things so that when people [19:29] are voting they have that all that [19:33] information would show up right [19:35] kind of where they stand on things is [19:37] that right if I remember from the test [19:39] election [19:40] >> I think so [19:42] >> yeah but I remember as an OSI voter, I [19:46] didn't really pay attention to anything [19:47] except those answers that were written. [19:49] So that not that what works for me works [19:51] for everyone, but it certainly is like [19:52] low access for readers. [19:54] >> Yeah. [20:01] Yeah, definitely something to think [20:02] about and your feedback's noted there, [20:04] Adrian. Thank you. [20:07] Any other questions or concerns or [20:09] suggestions is great. [20:15] No. [20:20] So maybe what we can do then is um in [20:22] the thread that I shared this in general [20:26] I will share this slide and recording [20:29] and then ask just remind people to go to [20:32] elections help for questions. [20:35] Yeah. [20:38] Cool. [20:40] Um, I'm I'm curious um to the the two [20:44] folks that are here um asking questions. [20:48] I I'm just curious um to hear and you [20:51] don't have to share this if you don't [20:52] want, but I'm just curious to hear your [20:54] um your experience or your your [20:57] anticipation, I guess, of of um the [21:00] nomination process, like filling out [21:02] that um one-page markdown file, [21:06] submitting it, like how does that seem I [21:08] guess my question really is, does that [21:10] seem intimidating to you? Does that seem [21:12] like doable? Does it seem weird? Like [21:14] what? Um, I just want to get your [21:17] perception of that. [21:22] Is that the file that talks about uh one [21:25] paragraph about yourself and another [21:28] paragraph about why you were running? [21:31] >> I think it's good. One paragraph is a [21:34] lot because um it's little rather and [21:37] that means that I have to condense [21:40] everything I have been doing to one [21:42] paragraph. So, I have to um be very [21:47] focused with what I put out there. So, I [21:49] I think that's good. That's good. Um so [21:54] far [21:55] um I think I'm okay with the process, [21:59] but it's just that I've not had [22:01] opportunity to um vote. So, I'm just [22:04] going straight to nominating myself. So, [22:08] I don't know how the process will run. [22:10] This is the first time for me. So, I'm [22:12] just trying to see how it goes. [22:18] >> Yeah, there's a lot of [22:21] >> So, I had one person express um to me [22:24] that, oh, I think I don't know how this [22:27] is going to run. So, I'm a little bit [22:29] scared because I have not um had an [22:32] opportunity to um witness an election [22:36] before. So, um it's kind of like scary a [22:39] bit because we really don't know the [22:40] process, but then we just go for it and [22:44] see how it goes. [22:45] >> Yeah. I can see [22:46] >> I'm wondering if um so we we had the [22:49] three of us, the three election officers [22:50] had a test election out there so we [22:52] could kind of make sure that we [22:54] understood the process and could could [22:56] visualize it. I'm wondering if we should [22:58] put that back. I saw Ally deleted it [23:00] just to not have confusion, but I'm [23:02] wondering if we should put that back so [23:03] people can like do a pretend election or [23:06] a mock election so they can kind of [23:08] visualize and experience the whole [23:10] thing. Would that be helpful? [23:14] >> I'm not sure I saw that. [23:18] >> The visual. [23:21] Yeah, we we were just using it for the [23:23] three of us to make sure like see how [23:25] the data would would populate the [23:27] election and like what the screens look [23:29] like and things, but um Alli Alli [23:32] removed that from our repo so that it [23:34] didn't get confusing for others of like [23:36] what is this thing? [23:36] >> Oh, so do you mean like a demo? [23:39] >> Yeah. Yeah. [23:40] >> Oh, that would be nice honestly for [23:44] people to even have like a feel of how [23:47] it's going to look like like a walk [23:49] through. Yeah, that would be nice. [23:52] >> Yeah, I think the guides have [23:53] screenshots, but that's not actually the [23:56] same as being able to, you know, poke [23:58] around and like have that experience of [24:00] clicking and voting and seeing what that [24:02] looks like. And yeah, totally [24:04] >> learn by doing is how a lot of us learn [24:06] really. That's an open source thing. [24:07] Hello world in the voting aspect. Yeah. [24:11] >> Yeah. [24:14] >> I think that's something we could pretty [24:16] easily do. [24:18] We could even just revert revert Alli's [24:21] Alli's commit where he took it out. We [24:23] probably revert and put it back in. Um [24:25] if not, we could create one, you know, [24:26] with just some like pretend candidates [24:29] um to speak. So you could from a voting [24:31] perspective what that looks like and [24:33] also from a candidate expect um [24:35] perspective of how your information will [24:37] be shown to voters. [24:40] >> That would be really nice honestly. Very [24:42] helpful. [24:44] >> Okay, that's we can do that. Mhm. [24:57] Do um do either of you have questions on [24:59] like how the rankings are calculated or [25:03] like how that how that works? [25:09] So for me, not really. Um my only [25:12] concern is even getting people to be [25:15] aware and enthusiastic about what is [25:17] going on. Um I I trust the process that [25:21] it's transparent. It's clear. It's [25:24] simple. The officers have put in a lot [25:26] of work to this. So it's not a concern [25:29] for me at all. I think it my own is just [25:32] that community members might not really [25:36] um be enthusiastic about what's going [25:38] on. [25:40] Yeah. [25:43] >> Yeah. And it's hard, you know, again [25:44] that first time, you know, people aren't [25:47] sure what to expect. They don't know if [25:50] Yeah. They don't know what's happening [25:51] or if it is even happening. Um so yeah, [25:55] that's that's kind of a challenge this [25:56] first time. I feel like um next next [25:59] year that won't be quite such a a a [26:02] barrier or a a an obstacle challenge, [26:05] however you want to say it. Um, [26:09] but yeah, I think too like once people [26:12] start to kind of nominate themselves, [26:15] then it's like, oh, this is actually [26:17] real now. Like it's still a little bit [26:20] um ethereal now. It's all very, you [26:24] know, it's hard to go first, too. I [26:25] almost feel like maybe we should have a [26:27] placeholder. Maybe we have a placeholder [26:29] voter. We could remove them later. I [26:30] don't know. We're brainstorming again [26:33] just to see what it looks like. Are you [26:36] fine with going first? Amazing. [26:38] Thank you. [26:39] >> I think you could post You could add [26:41] links, I think. Don't you think, Emma? [26:44] That would be fine to put link to posts [26:45] you've [26:46] >> Yeah, I think that would be really [26:47] helpful for people. They'll be looking [26:49] for stuff like that. Yeah, can encourage [26:51] that, too. We can update that. We can [26:54] update that in the [26:57] >> So, um we're learning more than teaching [26:59] in this call. Sorry, I didn't mean to [27:01] interrupt. [27:02] >> It's it's okay. So um a question here [27:06] will there be a penalty if you exceed [27:08] the paragraph. [27:13] I don't I don't know about a penalty. I [27:15] don't know if I mean I assume it would [27:18] parse correctly. That would be my only [27:20] thing is it might mess up. It might not [27:22] display properly. I don't know though, [27:24] like I don't know um how that [27:28] information is like technically pulled [27:30] in from the from the um markdown file, [27:34] but like as far as you know, no, you're [27:37] not going to get kicked out from our [27:39] side. [27:41] You're going to say, "Oh, nope. Sorry." [27:45] >> Okay. [27:51] Yeah, just like Adrian, I'm working on [27:53] my on my content, too. [27:57] And um I didn't have to like cut a lot [28:01] of things off to make it um fit into the [28:04] one paragraph. [28:17] Okay. Bullet list, Adrian. [28:29] Perfect. This is great. [28:50] Yeah, maybe we can for our demo, we can [28:54] have the quoteunquote candidates [28:57] have different things in their in their [29:00] files like the bulleted list, like a [29:02] multi paragraph, like something else, [29:04] links, whatever, so that, you know, [29:06] everybody can see what that's going to [29:08] look like and the best way then to [29:11] display your information, if that makes [29:14] sense. [29:15] like you might look at a at um like when [29:17] it goes to Alcto to actually see the [29:19] page so that you know if if you're like [29:22] oh yeah I really like how those bullet [29:24] points come across that's what I want to [29:26] do in mine or if if you're more of like [29:28] oh I appreciate the long form [29:30] storytelling like that's better for me [29:32] that that makes sense for me but it's it [29:34] is kind of hard to know what that's [29:36] going to look like without seeing that. [29:38] >> Yeah. [29:39] >> Yeah. So that that got me thinking, [29:41] should we go with what counts? [29:47] >> What counts as a paragraph? [29:50] Um [29:50] >> yeah, [29:52] >> that's [29:54] we did not get that far. [29:56] >> No impressive [29:59] if it's a paragraph or three. I mean [30:02] >> I mean just to reduce the confusion to [30:05] say um okay [30:07] >> I just have this limit and I'm going to [30:09] stay within this limit because um then [30:12] the confusion is what counts as a [30:14] paragraph. So [30:16] >> or maybe it's a word count instead. I [30:18] don't know. [30:18] >> Oh yeah, that would be [30:20] >> that's how most things work. Yeah. like [30:22] a lot of [30:23] >> application type things try and it I [30:26] think it's more just it helps it [30:27] encourages people to be concise [30:30] rather than like think about how many [30:33] lines something is [30:36] yeah I mean you all know how people tend [30:39] to be they don't tend to read lot a big [30:43] wall of text so that might just be [30:45] something to consider um you know you [30:48] can tell them everything but they might [30:50] not read that. So yeah. [31:06] So it looks like the election officers [31:08] have a to-do which is actually two two [31:13] to-dos. Two to-dos. [31:16] Um, one is to set up a demo election so [31:20] everybody can visualize and click [31:22] around. The and I don't know how to do [31:25] that, but we'll figure it out. Um, the [31:27] second one is to figure out what um [31:32] method would be good to allow candidates [31:35] to [31:37] engage with the community directly. So [31:40] whether that's a um you know an AMA an [31:43] ask me anything thing that um Adrianne [31:45] mentioned whether it's a recorded video [31:48] whether it's a standard interview set of [31:50] questions written um I don't know what [31:53] that looks like yet but that will be on [31:55] I think the election officers to at [31:57] least set something up um and we'll try [32:00] it this year and see how that works. Is [32:02] that is that what everybody else is [32:04] thinking? Those are kind of our two [32:06] things to to work on. [32:36] Do you all have any other questions [32:38] about um Oh, Adrienne says, "How [32:40] urgently should I try and set up the [32:41] announcement channel?" I don't I don't [32:43] think it's super super urgent. Um people [32:45] know to expect things in general now. [32:48] So, if we are posting in general, I [32:50] think that's not going to be out of [32:53] scope of what people are used to. So [32:56] yeah, [32:57] >> I think it's fine how it is. If you [33:00] know, but if we get it set up, that's [33:02] cool. We may even also want to double [33:04] post for a bit just so people [33:06] understand, [33:08] you know, oh, this was also in the in [33:10] the chat. Maybe not. Maybe that's too [33:12] confusing. I don't know. But yeah, how I [33:14] don't however that works. [33:22] Great. I mean that's a lot of takeaways [33:24] for us. [33:36] Well, thanks thanks so much for coming [33:39] um and helping us think about how to get [33:42] more folks [33:44] um participating and visible and [33:47] involved and being the first to go. [33:50] Also, thank you. Uh, yeah, I think I [33:53] think that's all that we had and [33:55] Elizabeth and I and Ally will connect [33:57] again around some of this. [33:59] >> Yeah, thank you very much and thank you [34:02] for all the work you have put into this. [34:05] I think it's going to be an exciting [34:07] ride. [34:09] >> No, I think it's [34:11] >> Yeah. And then, you know, I think next [34:13] year especially will be like people know [34:16] and have that experience. I think that [34:17] was something you were saying like we're [34:19] building the experience now. Next year [34:20] it'll be more familiar and so it's kind [34:22] of it's exciting in that way. So [34:24] >> yeah, we won't have to try so hard to [34:26] let people know. They'll expect like oh [34:28] yeah, this is a thing that's coming. [34:30] >> Yeah. Yeah. Well, all right. Well, we'll [34:33] leave it with that and I will share this [34:34] in the thread that I already have going [34:36] and connect with you and Ally later, [34:39] Elizabeth. [34:40] >> Awesome. Sounds great. [34:41] >> Take care everyone. [34:42] >> Thank you all. See you everybody. [34:44] >> Bye.  📄 **Full text:** ![[Full Document Contents/Articles/CHAOSS Board Election Office Hours - April 23, 2026.md|CHAOSS Board Election Office Hours - April 23, 2026 by YouTube]] ## Highlights - elections. Um yay our first communitydriven elections and we can get into a bit more about what that means uh in the Q&A if you're interested. Um we we only have kind of one person here today so we're recording this. I'll also say that we have the the hash the the channel for elections and um you can also ping any of us directly and all of this is also in the documentation. So and we will share the slides also. So, um, yeah. So, this is an open office ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kq2qz6p5mtqnjk0dwtsx4718)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - uh thing here on the mechanics of the election which is really helpful. I was also really impressed. Um just a bunch more resources including the FAQ and then we have the blog that Elizabeth shared recently if you want to share with others. Um people are very busy. So I guess we would also encourage for chaotics that are not you know looking at Slack or checking the blog to do that shoulder tap to make sure that people know this is happening. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kq2qz6q44b961ffrjrv4xd66)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - So those are the links and then yeah I was just this is really an open office hour so I really didn't want to talk too much but I wouldn't Elizabeth is there anything else you'd add? >> I was just going to say um the only thing I would add is that to your point it because this is a first time of the community doing this. I think awareness is probably the biggest challenge that we have. Like from now on, people will know, oh, okay, this is time for the elections. I'm ready. But for now, it's kind of just like trying to drive the point home to people that, hey, this is ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kq2qz6qvkjt67ppejh0b47p4)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - >> um I'll just jump in here real quick with I think that that is a very good question. Um we have not really talked about that in the election officers group meetings. Um I would I have two thoughts on that. Um I think that one um we could encourage working group leaders to to carve out space for that in the meetings just to make sure that like that's you know that is something that you're able to do. I'm also wondering if it would make sense to have um like a ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kq2qz6rsetzax4fjnvkfa5de)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - what's appropriate like sharing thing, I guess. Or we can talk about it, too. >> Yeah. >> There any other questions? And we could also create a I was just thinking as far as for not candidates to so we've talked about having a question maybe that's in the a written format that anyone can read or an all candidates kind of video call. Maybe there's also a template that we can put in the in our elections folder that's something you can use for LinkedIn or whatever. I'm running for this or you know like maybe we could do ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kq2qz6tpmkb95ba4f53ev8y7)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - that. Um if that's helpful too. >> Yeah. Yeah, I'm wondering too to your question about uh or to the idea about asking uh questions of like a common question for each candidate. I wonder if that's something we maybe I don't know this year but next year we could add to like the the file that they upload of like okay tell us about yourself now here are like two questions or three questions or whatever what would your approach be for these three things so that when people are voting they have that all that ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kq2qz6yffg1nqxqfxfq4p7nh)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted