Devrelvocate  [[3. Resources/Readwise/Full Document Contents/Articles/Devrelvocate|Full Document Contents]] ## Document Notes --- tags: - #devrel - #community - #neuroscience - #oxytocin - #ethics - #open-source - #wordpress - #education - #deib - #governance Author: Don Goodman-Wilson (as quoted and summarized) Source: DeveloperRelations.com talk; Community Advice Column newsletter Reference: https://developerrelations.com/ (talk: “Toying with people’s emotions: A cognitive theory of DevRel”) date created: 2025-08-22 00:00 --- # Title: Toying with People’s Emotions — A Cognitive Theory of DevRel ## Table of Contents: - [[#🧭 Overview]] - [[#🧪 Neurochemistry 101]] - [[#❤️ Oxytocin: Love, Trust, and Community]] - [[#🎯 Triggers for Oxytocin in DevRel]] - [[#🔁 Consistency Over One-offs]] - [[#⚠️ The Dark Side: Fragility and Toxicity]] - [[#🧩 A Unified DevRel Theory]] - [[#📦 Programs That Work (and Those That Don’t)]] - [[#👥 Personal Brands vs. Community Health]] - [[#🗒️ Notes]] - [[#📖 References:]] - [[#🗣️ Paraphrase:]] - [[#📰 Newsletter:]] - [[#✅ Action Items (GoDaddy DevRel, OSS, WordPress, OSPO)]] - [[#🧪 Hypotheses]] - [[#📊 Methodology]] - [[#❓ Questions]] - [[#🔮 Future Research]] - [[#💡 Implications]] - [[#🧠 Learning Styles Assessment]] - [[#📊 Accessibility Assessment]] - [[#🌍 DEIB Assessment]] - [[#✅ Logical Validity]] - [[#🔍 DARVO Analysis]] - [[#🎯 Conclusion]] ### References: - “Toying with people’s emotions: A cognitive theory of DevRel” — DeveloperRelations.com (talk transcript and Q&A) - Oxytocin as a social bonding neurotransmitter (general neuroscience literature) - Case reference: Twitter API policy shift impacting third-party devs (2013) ## 📝 Summary: The piece argues that effective Developer Relations is fundamentally about cultivating “developer love,” which, at a neurochemical level, equates to repeatedly triggering oxytocin—the neurotransmitter underlying bonding, trust, and belonging. Acts of kindness, inclusion, validation, timely help, and context-sensitive recognition build this bond only when performed consistently over time. However, oxytocin has a dark side: it heightens in-group sensitivity and can accelerate community fragility and toxicity after a single instance of disrespect. Thus, DevRel carries a moral obligation to act with care and to design programs that foster belonging without manipulating or creating cults of personality. Programs should be evaluated by their ability to reliably trigger oxytocin and support sustainable, inclusive communities. Key quotes: - “Developer relations is a practice of cultivating developer love… we have to trigger oxytocin release.” (≈ 0–6%) - “Treating people with disrespect will kill your community.” (≈ 59–63%) - “Kindness and respect are table stakes… think hard about DEI, values, long-term goals, sustainability.” (≈ 87–90%) ## 📖 Main Content: - 🧭 Overview - The author blends neuroscience and philosophy to propose a testable theory of DevRel: success correlates with cultivating oxytocin-mediated trust and belonging through repeated kindness and respect (≈ 0–19%). - 🧪 Neurochemistry 101 - Neurotransmitters enable differentiated signaling; oxytocin regulates bonding, empathy, social memory, in-group coherence (≈ 18–28%). - ❤️ Oxytocin: Love, Trust, and Community - Oxytocin underpins long-term love and is “literally community,” forming the neurological basis for belonging and trust (≈ 24–31%). - 🎯 Triggers for Oxytocin in DevRel - Feeling welcomed, heartfelt compliments, being praised behind one’s back, timely advice, being heard, relatable stories, context-relevant gifts, and explicit in-group recognition (≈ 31–40%). - 🔁 Consistency Over One-offs - One-time actions trigger serotonin or norepinephrine (happiness/excitement), not oxytocin; repeated, consistent behaviors are required (≈ 37–44%). - ⚠️ The Dark Side: Fragility and Toxicity - Oxytocin amplifies groupthink, group-serving deception, contagion cues, and fear/anger responses to perceived attacks; one act of disrespect can break a community (≈ 40–52%). - 🧩 A Unified DevRel Theory - Theory: DevRel is the “love business,” ethically wielding influence that must be measured against qualitative signs of oxytocin release (returning participation, positive sentiment) and organizational metrics (≈ 50–60%). - 📦 Programs That Work (and Those That Don’t) - Programs must include repeatable oxytocin triggers. Mere logos or product-update blogs seldom suffice unless they convey story, meaning, and belonging (e.g., GitHub sticker cohorts with scarcity and identity narratives) (≈ 60–72%). - 👥 Personal Brands vs. Community Health - Avoid cults of personality; build attachment to the org and community, not a single figure. Personal brands should not capture community identity (≈ 90–100%). ### 🗒️ Notes - Foundations - Oxytocin = bonding, trust, belonging; “literally community” (≈ 24–31%). - Consistency requirement for oxytocin vs. one-off serotonin/norepinephrine spikes (≈ 37–44%). - Ethical Frame - Moral obligation to avoid manipulation; respect is table stakes; consider DEI and sustainability (≈ 78–90%). - Positive Triggers - Welcome rituals and inclusive cues (≈ 31–36%). - Timely, context-aware help; recognizing developers publicly and privately (≈ 31–40%). - Story-rich artifacts (stickers with status/identity; narratives in content) (≈ 64–72%). - Risks - In-group fragility: one disrespectful act can collapse trust (≈ 48–52%). - Group-serving deception, groupthink, heightened anger to perceived attacks (≈ 44–52%). - Cults of personality; ensure relationships transfer to organizations (≈ 94–100%). - Programs/Measurement - Evaluate initiatives by repeatable oxytocin triggers and movement on North Star metrics (≈ 60–66%). - Product-update blogs and logo stickers typically weak unless tied to identity and value stories (≈ 64–72%). - Case Example - Twitter’s 2013 API clampdown as disrespect → community backlash (≈ 59–63%). ## 📖 References: - DeveloperRelations.com: “Toying with people’s emotions: A cognitive theory of DevRel” (talk transcript and Q&A) - Background neuroscience on oxytocin and social bonding (general literature) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase: 1) Original idea (≈ 24–31%): “Oxytocin is a neurotransmitter responsible for love… and literally community.” - Paraphrase: Oxytocin isn’t just associated with romance; it chemically drives trust, belonging, and the formation of tight-knit groups. In practice, it’s the biological engine behind community itself. 2) Original idea (≈ 60–72%): “Programs that don’t trigger oxytocin serve no purpose… logo stickers and product-update blogs rarely connect unless they tell a story and create belonging.” - Paraphrase: If an initiative doesn’t reliably foster a sense of inclusion and recognition, it’s unlikely to matter. Generic swag and release notes fall flat unless they craft identity, scarcity, and meaning that make people feel part of something. ## 📰 Newsletter: This week in the WordPress and open-source orbit: let’s talk about developer love—the real kind. Neuroscience says oxytocin underpins trust and belonging. Translation for DevRel: consistent kindness, timely help, and meaningful recognition turn casual users into committed contributors. We’re seeing this in action across the community: contributor office hours that prioritize listening, mentorship cohorts with clear outcomes, and swag that tells a story (not just a logo). On the tooling front, check out new plugins focused on performance profiling and block-editor a11y testing—perfect for teaching modern WP dev while building empathy for users. If you’re learning web dev, start small: ship a block, write tests, and pair up in a contributor chat—your oxytocin will thank you. For inspiration, revisit the neuroscience > [!note]+ Document Notes > tags: > - #devrel > - #community > - #neuroscience > - #oxytocin > - #ethics > - #open-source > - #wordpress > - #education > - #deib > - #governance > Author: Don Goodman-Wilson (as quoted and summarized) > Source: DeveloperRelations.com talk; Community Advice Column newsletter > Reference: https://developerrelations.com/ (talk: “Toying with people’s emotions: A cognitive theory of DevRel”) > date created: 2025-08-22 00:00 > > # Title: Toying with People’s Emotions — A Cognitive Theory of DevRel > <!-- deep-read:sections start --> ## Table of Contents: - [🧭 Overview](#-overview) - [🧪 Neurochemistry 101](#-neurochemistry-101) - [❤️ Oxytocin: Love, Trust, and Community](#-oxytocin-love-trust-and-community) - [🎯 Triggers for Oxytocin in DevRel](#-triggers-for-oxytocin-in-devrel) - [🔁 Consistency Over One-offs](#-consistency-over-one-offs) - [⚠️ The Dark Side: Fragility and Toxicity](#️-the-dark-side-fragility-and-toxicity) - [🧩 A Unified DevRel Theory](#-a-unified-devrel-theory) - [📦 Programs That Work (and Those That Don’t)](#-programs-that-work-and-those-that-dont) - [👥 Personal Brands vs. Community Health](#-personal-brands-vs-community-health) - [🗒️ Notes](#️-notes) - [📖 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#️-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items (GoDaddy DevRel, OSS, WordPress, OSPO)](#-action-items-godaddy-devrel-oss-wordpress-ospo) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - [🔍 DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### References: - “Toying with people’s emotions: A cognitive theory of DevRel” — DeveloperRelations.com (talk transcript and Q&A) - Oxytocin as a social bonding neurotransmitter (general neuroscience literature) - Case reference: Twitter API policy shift impacting third-party devs (2013) ## 📝 Summary: The piece argues that effective Developer Relations is fundamentally about cultivating “developer love,” which, at a neurochemical level, equates to repeatedly triggering oxytocin—the neurotransmitter underlying bonding, trust, and belonging. Acts of kindness, inclusion, validation, timely help, and context-sensitive recognition build this bond only when performed consistently over time. However, oxytocin has a dark side: it heightens in-group sensitivity and can accelerate community fragility and toxicity after a single instance of disrespect. Thus, DevRel carries a moral obligation to act with care and to design programs that foster belonging without manipulating or creating cults of personality. Programs should be evaluated by their ability to reliably trigger oxytocin and support sustainable, inclusive communities. Key quotes: - “Developer relations is a practice of cultivating developer love… we have to trigger oxytocin release.” (≈ 0–6%) - “Treating people with disrespect will kill your community.” (≈ 59–63%) - “Kindness and respect are table stakes… think hard about DEI, values, long-term goals, sustainability.” (≈ 87–90%) ## 📖 Main Content: - 🧭 Overview - The author blends neuroscience and philosophy to propose a testable theory of DevRel: success correlates with cultivating oxytocin-mediated trust and belonging through repeated kindness and respect (≈ 0–19%). - 🧪 Neurochemistry 101 - Neurotransmitters enable differentiated signaling; oxytocin regulates bonding, empathy, social memory, in-group coherence (≈ 18–28%). - ❤️ Oxytocin: Love, Trust, and Community - Oxytocin underpins long-term love and is “literally community,” forming the neurological basis for belonging and trust (≈ 24–31%). - 🎯 Triggers for Oxytocin in DevRel - Feeling welcomed, heartfelt compliments, being praised behind one’s back, timely advice, being heard, relatable stories, context-relevant gifts, and explicit in-group recognition (≈ 31–40%). - 🔁 Consistency Over One-offs - One-time actions trigger serotonin or norepinephrine (happiness/excitement), not oxytocin; repeated, consistent behaviors are required (≈ 37–44%). - ⚠️ The Dark Side: Fragility and Toxicity - Oxytocin amplifies groupthink, group-serving deception, contagion cues, and fear/anger responses to perceived attacks; one act of disrespect can break a community (≈ 40–52%). - 🧩 A Unified DevRel Theory - Theory: DevRel is the “love business,” ethically wielding influence that must be measured against qualitative signs of oxytocin release (returning participation, positive sentiment) and organizational metrics (≈ 50–60%). - 📦 Programs That Work (and Those That Don’t) - Programs must include repeatable oxytocin triggers. Mere logos or product-update blogs seldom suffice unless they convey story, meaning, and belonging (e.g., GitHub sticker cohorts with scarcity and identity narratives) (≈ 60–72%). - 👥 Personal Brands vs. Community Health - Avoid cults of personality; build attachment to the org and community, not a single figure. Personal brands should not capture community identity (≈ 90–100%). ### 🗒️ Notes - Foundations - Oxytocin = bonding, trust, belonging; “literally community” (≈ 24–31%). - Consistency requirement for oxytocin vs. one-off serotonin/norepinephrine spikes (≈ 37–44%). - Ethical Frame - Moral obligation to avoid manipulation; respect is table stakes; consider DEI and sustainability (≈ 78–90%). - Positive Triggers - Welcome rituals and inclusive cues (≈ 31–36%). - Timely, context-aware help; recognizing developers publicly and privately (≈ 31–40%). - Story-rich artifacts (stickers with status/identity; narratives in content) (≈ 64–72%). - Risks - In-group fragility: one disrespectful act can collapse trust (≈ 48–52%). - Group-serving deception, groupthink, heightened anger to perceived attacks (≈ 44–52%). - Cults of personality; ensure relationships transfer to organizations (≈ 94–100%). - Programs/Measurement - Evaluate initiatives by repeatable oxytocin triggers and movement on North Star metrics (≈ 60–66%). - Product-update blogs and logo stickers typically weak unless tied to identity and value stories (≈ 64–72%). - Case Example - Twitter’s 2013 API clampdown as disrespect → community backlash (≈ 59–63%). ## 📖 References: - DeveloperRelations.com: “Toying with people’s emotions: A cognitive theory of DevRel” (talk transcript and Q&A) - Background neuroscience on oxytocin and social bonding (general literature) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase: 1) Original idea (≈ 24–31%): “Oxytocin is a neurotransmitter responsible for love… and literally community.” - Paraphrase: Oxytocin isn’t just associated with romance; it chemically drives trust, belonging, and the formation of tight-knit groups. In practice, it’s the biological engine behind community itself. 2) Original idea (≈ 60–72%): “Programs that don’t trigger oxytocin serve no purpose… logo stickers and product-update blogs rarely connect unless they tell a story and create belonging.” - Paraphrase: If an initiative doesn’t reliably foster a sense of inclusion and recognition, it’s unlikely to matter. Generic swag and release notes fall flat unless they craft identity, scarcity, and meaning that make people feel part of something. ## 📰 Newsletter: This week in the WordPress and open-source orbit: let’s talk about developer love—the real kind. Neuroscience says oxytocin underpins trust and belonging. Translation for DevRel: consistent kindness, timely help, and meaningful recognition turn casual users into committed contributors. We’re seeing this in action across the community: contributor office hours that prioritize listening, mentorship cohorts with clear outcomes, and swag that tells a story (not just a logo). On the tooling front, check out new plugins focused on performance profiling and block-editor a11y testing—perfect for teaching modern WP dev while building empathy for users. If you’re learning web dev, start small: ship a block, write tests, and pair up in a contributor chat—your oxytocin will thank you. For inspiration, revisit the neuroscience of community-building and why one disrespectful policy can shatter years of trust. Links: - Building trust through consistent acts of inclusion - WordPress Contributor Mentorship Program - Block Editor Accessibility resources Stay curious, ship often, and remember: make developers the heroes of their own story. ## ✅ Action Items: Purpose-built prompt to align each article with your DevRel/OSS focus and OSPO goals Use this prompt with any article you read: - Objective alignment: Explain how the article informs open-source advocacy within WordPress and broader ecosystems, especially around transparency, sustainability, and inclusive governance. - Contributor engagement: Identify tactics that increase newcomer onboarding, retention, and psychological safety; specify which acts map to “oxytocin triggers” (welcome rituals, timely support, identity-building narratives). - Educational design: Extract teachable moments for PHP/JS/HTML/CSS/Git/GitHub curricula; propose exercises, workshops, and office hours that reinforce the article’s lessons. - Program strategy: Propose repeatable, scalable programs (e.g., mentorship cohorts, contributor sprints, code-along series) that demonstrate respect and belonging; define clear success metrics aligned to DevRel North Stars (returning contributors, PR throughput, time-to-first-PR). - Governance and OSPO readiness: Surface risks (e.g., fragility, cults of personality), and recommend policies (code of conduct enforcement, transparent decision logs, contributor ladders, funding models) that institutionalize inclusive practices. - DEIB and accessibility: Specify improvements to content, events, and repos (alt text, keyboard nav, inclusive language, translation workflows, time-zone inclusive meetings). - Ethical guardrails: Identify manipulation risks and document an ethics checklist for programs (informed consent for community research, data minimization, opt-outs). - Communication plan: Frame narratives that celebrate contributors over products; ensure relationships transfer to the org—not an individual advocate. - Sustainability: Map how the recommendations support long-term health (bus factor reduction, succession planning, mentorship-to-maintainership paths). - Output: Deliver a one-page program spec with hypotheses, metrics, timeline, resourcing, and risks with mitigations. ## 🧪 Hypotheses: - H1: Repeated, personalized acknowledgments and timely support increase contributor retention and return participation rates more than feature marketing. - H2: A single disrespectful incident from maintainers measurably reduces contribution volume and positive sentiment for ≥90 days. - H3: Cohort-based mentorship with identity-affirming rituals (welcome posts, sticker/story artifacts) increases time-to-first-PR success and decreases churn. - H4: Reducing personal-brand centrality and distributing “recognition power” across maintainers lowers conflict incidents and increases perceived fairness. - H5: DEIB-grounded moderation (rapid response to disrespect) buffers oxytocin-fragility effects and preserves community trust during incidents. ### 📊 Methodology: - Data sources: Git/GitHub events, PR/issue retention cohorts, community forum sentiment, event attendance, NPS/CSAT, moderation logs. - Designs: - A/B programs: mentorship vs. no mentorship; story-based swag vs. logo swag. - Interrupted time series: track contribution/sentiment before/after an incident. - Cohort analysis: newcomer onboarding outcomes by intervention type. - Social network analysis: centrality scores to detect personal-brand overconcentration. - Analysis: Survival analysis for retention; logistic regression for first-PR success; sentiment/time-series modeling; SEM for pathways from respect → oxytocin-proxies → retention. ### ❓ Questions: - What low-cost, high-frequency acts of respect can be automated without feeling impersonal? - How do we detect early signals of oxytocin-fragility before a rupture (e.g., micro-disrespect events)? - What narratives best translate “belonging” in diverse global WordPress communities without creating exclusionary in-groups? - How should we measure oxytocin-proxies ethically and transparently? ### 🔮 Future Research: - Operationalizing “oxytocin triggers” as behavioral metrics (e.g., acknowledgment density, response latency). - Incident recovery protocols that repair trust faster than baseline decay. - Personal-brand risk modeling and guidelines for brand-to-org relationship transfer. - Cross-cultural validation of triggers and fragility across regional WordPress communities. ### 💡 Implications: - Advancing evidence-based DevRel: clearer causal pathways from respect to retention. - Influencing practice: standardizing trust-sustaining rituals and incident response playbooks. - Informing policy: OSPO guidelines for recognition, moderation, and governance that minimize fragility and prevent toxic in-groups. ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment: - Readability: Conversational and narrative; general audience level ≈ Grade 9–10. - Visual (Spatial) - Present: Conceptual slides implied, sticker narratives discussed. - Improve: Add diagrams mapping triggers → oxytocin → outcomes; flowcharts for incident response. - Aural (Auditory) - Present: Talk format originally. - Improve: Provide audio summary and podcast-style discussion. - Verbal (Linguistic) - Present: Storytelling, analogies (pasteleria), clear lists of triggers. - Improve: Include glossary and linked studies. - Physical (Kinesthetic) - Present: Program design suggestions. - Improve: Hands-on exercises (run a “welcome sprint,” perform incident tabletop). - Logical (Mathematical) - Present: Testable hypotheses. - Improve: Provide metrics frameworks, sample dashboards. - Social (Interpersonal) - Present: Community-building focus. - Improve: Group workshops and peer mentoring templates. - Solitary (Intrapersonal) - Present: Ethical reflection prompts. - Improve: Journaling prompts for advocates after events/incidents. - Naturalistic - Present: Minimal. - Improve: Use ecosystem analogies (resilience, biodiversity) for community health. ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment: - Screen Reader Compatibility - Improve: Semantic headings, alt text for images/stickers, transcript for talks. - Keyboard Navigation - Improve: Ensure focus states, skip links, ARIA where needed. - Contrast and Readability - Improve: High-contrast palettes, scalable fonts, line-height for readability. - Text Resizing - Improve: Responsive typography; avoid layout breakage at 200% zoom. ### 🌍 DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging) Assessment: - Cultural Relevance - Improve: Include diverse case studies and multilingual examples. - Inclusive Language - Improve: Define terms; avoid insider jargon where possible. - Neurodiversity Support - Present: Clear headings and lists. - Improve: Chunk content, summaries, predictable structure, avoid overload. - Representation - Improve: Showcase varied contributor stories and imagery. - Psychological Safety - Improve: Add content notes for sensitive topics; encourage respectful discourse; publish moderation standards. ### ✅ Logical validity: Strengths - Causal reasoning: Links repeated respectful behaviors to oxytocin, and oxytocin to bonding and trust (≈ 24–44%). Strengthens the case for consistency in DevRel. - Testable hypotheses: Clear, falsifiable predictions about kindness/respect effects (≈ 56–60%). Enhances scientific rigor. - Ethical reasoning: Recognizes power asymmetry and risk of manipulation (≈ 78–90%). Grounds the practice in accountability. - Balanced view: Addresses benefits and risks (fragility, toxicity, cults of personality) (≈ 44–52%, 90–100%). Potential weaknesses or fallacies - Hasty generalization: Inferring broad DevRel success from oxytocin mechanisms without extensive cross-context evidence. Improve by citing more empirical studies and multi-community data. - Appeal to anecdote: Pasteleria analogy and Twitter 2013 case illustrate but don’t prove generality. Improve with larger datasets and controlled comparisons. - Correlation vs. causation risk: Oxytocin correlates with bonding; interventions may be proxies for broader cultural health. Improve by triangulating with controlled trials and qualitative research. Tone: Engaging, candid, slightly provocative, ethically reflective. 🔍 DARVO Analysis - Deny: No denial tactics present; the author acknowledges both positive and negative aspects of influence. - Attack: No ad hominem attacks; critique of Twitter’s 2013 policy is issue-focused. - Reverse Victim and Offender: Not present; the piece emphasizes responsibility rather than victimhood. - Rhetorical notes: Uses vivid metaphors (“branded molly”) to underscore ethical stakes, not to reframe blame. - Emotional cues: Urgent caution blended with humor; sympathetic to developers and community members’ wellbeing. ### 🔍 SEO Evaluation: - Keywords: Strong thematic keywords available: developer relations, community building, oxytocin, trust, inclusion, toxicity, DevRel metrics. - Placement: Ensure keywords in title, intro, and H2s; add meta description with “developer relations” and “oxytocin.” - Title Tag: Keep within 60 chars, e.g., “A Cognitive Theory of DevRel: Oxytocin and Trust.” - Headers: Already structured; include keywords in H2s. - Content Length: Adequate for in-depth post (aim 1,500–2,000 words). - Links: Add authoritative external links to oxytocin research and historical developer-platform case studies. - URL: seo-friendly, e.g., /devrel-oxytocin-community-theory - Images: Use descriptive alt text; optimized file sizes. - Mobile Optimization: Responsive layout, lazy-loaded media. - Engagement: Add CTAs for discussion, mentorship signups, related posts. - Schema: Article schema; add FAQ schema for common DevRel questions. - Social: Open Graph/Twitter Card meta; share images with pull-quotes. ## 🎯 Conclusion: The central claim is that DevRel succeeds by repeatedly eliciting oxytocin—a biological basis for trust, belonging, and community—through consistent acts of kindness, respect, and context-aware recognition. One disrespectful incident can rapidly unravel this trust due to oxytocin’s dark side: heightened in-group sensitivity and fragility. Therefore, DevRel must be ethically intentional, DEIB-aligned, and designed to avoid manipulation and cults of personality. Programs should be judged by their capacity to reliably foster belonging and move organizational metrics, with sustainable governance and inclusive practices to protect community health. Position note: You are at 100% of what you’ve read so far. <!-- deep-read:sections end --> ## Highlights - Developer relations is a practice of cultivating developer love. If we want to cultivate developer love, we have to trigger oxytocin release. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h19ncnefj3tvqdztgfhdbrcx)) - Making an effort with developers, and making them feel special and included, goes a long way in building community relationships. It’s always about lifting developers up. Make developers a hero of their own story. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h19nfrvexw4c8ddaygyp83s9)) - We have a moral obligation as DevRel people. We must be sensitive to the emotional effects of our actions on community members. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h19ng6pn2q0ej9x6ecwzsfz2)) - Oxytocin can increase the propensity for self-serving group deception, where the unity of a group leads to a distortion of the way they see things. It can create a tendency to perceive the group in an overly favourable way.  Communities are fragile and have a natural ingrained tendency towards toxicity. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01h19ngx6jxm6r4f4p1b0kbzsd))