Knowing Me, Knowing You  ## Metadata - Author: [[Marieke van de Rakt]] - Full Title: Knowing Me, Knowing You - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: - #wordpress - #community - #open-source Author: Marieke van de Rakt Source: Post Status (Article) Reference: https://poststatus.com/knowing-me-knowing-you/ date created: 2025-08-23 00:00 --- # Title: Knowing me, knowing you — Balancing belonging and openness in the WordPress community ## Table of Contents: - [🎯 Overview](#-overview) - [🧭 Context: Community dynamics](#-context-community-dynamics) - [🤝 The tension: Old guard vs newcomers](#-the-tension-old-guard-vs-newcomers) - [🎉 Proposed solution: Awareness and celebration](#-proposed-solution-awareness-and-celebration) - [🗒️ Notes](#-notes) - [🧩 Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - [🔍 DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🧪 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) - [📰 Newsletter Blurb](#-newsletter-blurb) - [✅ Action Items (aligned to your role and goals)](#-action-items-aligned-to-your-role-and-goals) - [📖 References](#-references) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### References: - Post Status. “Knowing me, knowing you.” https://poststatus.com/knowing-me-knowing-you/ ## 📝 Summary: The article reflects on how the WordPress community can feel paradoxical: welcoming in reputation but exclusionary in practice. A newcomer reports feeling left out at her first WordCamp because existing members clustered with friends. Meanwhile, long-time contributors can also feel unseen or unappreciated. The author argues for awareness and celebration—of both established contributors and newcomers—as parallel strategies to foster belonging and sustainable participation. The piece closes with a call to “party more,” using celebration as a cultural lever to build inclusivity and appreciation. Key quotes: - “Before my first WordCamp… people told me that the WordPress community is so open… But in fact, I did not feel that welcome.” (0%) - “People and companies that contribute… should be celebrated more… As for the newcomers… perhaps they should be celebrated as well.” (50%) Direct links to passages: - Newcomer experience: “Everybody seemed to know each other… I felt left out.” (0%): https://poststatus.com/knowing-me-knowing-you/ - Dual challenge: “We have to nurture and value our long-term contributors… and… welcome potential newcomers… that’s hard.” (0%): https://poststatus.com/knowing-me-knowing-you/ - Solution: “It all starts with some awareness… People and companies that contribute… should be celebrated more… newcomers… celebrated as well.” (50%): https://poststatus.com/knowing-me-knowing-you/ ## 📖 Main Content: The author surfaces a common community paradox: reputational openness can mask social closure at events where insiders naturally gravitate to known relationships. This produces two forms of marginalization: - Newcomers feeling invisible at entry points (e.g., WordCamp hallway tracks). - Long-time contributors feeling taken for granted, especially when recognition mechanisms are informal or inconsistent. The proposed remedy is cultural and programmatic: build awareness of these dynamics and institutionalize celebration for both cohorts. Celebration functions as recognition (retention for veterans) and as onboarding ritual (belonging for newcomers). The subtext is that community health requires intentional design, not assumptions about organic warmth. Personal reflections: - In open-source ecosystems, recognition debt accumulates quietly. Formalizing praise (badges, shout-outs, contributor spotlights) counters burnout. - Newcomer pathways must be visible, scaffolded, and socially escorted (buddies, greeters, “ask me anything” stations). Rituals matter. ### 🗒️ Notes - Newcomer dissonance - Expectation vs reality gap about openness at events (0%). - Social clustering leads to perceived exclusivity (0%). - Emotional impact: ignored, left out. - Contributor fatigue - Long-term contributors feel unseen/unappreciated despite sustained impact (0%). - Risk: disengagement, burnout, attrition. - Strategic tension - Time/attention trade-offs at events: prioritize newcomers vs acknowledging core contributors (0%). - Different strategies needed for different cohorts. - Remedy: awareness + celebration (50%) - Celebrate companies and individuals who contribute. - Celebrate newcomers’ arrival and early steps. - “We need to party more” as shorthand for institutionalized recognition rituals. ## 📖 References: - Post Status article: https://poststatus.com/knowing-me-knowing-you/ - Supplemental context on community onboarding best practices: - Mozilla’s community playbooks and contributor pathways: https://community.mozilla.org/en/ - Open Source Guides on building welcoming communities: https://opensource.guide/building-community/ ## 🗣️ Paraphrase: 1) Original idea (0%): A newcomer expected warmth but felt excluded at WordCamp as established members gravitated to familiar friends, leaving her on the outside. Paraphrase: Despite hearing that WordPress folks are famously friendly, a first-time attendee experienced the opposite—tight-knit groups reconnected enthusiastically while she stood apart, unsure how to join in. 2) Original idea (50%): We should cultivate awareness and amplify recognition for both long-standing contributors and people just arriving—yes, we should celebrate more. Paraphrase: Let’s intentionally notice these dynamics and shine the spotlight on contributors at every stage. Veteran efforts deserve public appreciation, and fresh faces merit warm acknowledgment. In short: make celebration a habit. ## 📰 Newsletter: WordPress Weekly: Learning, Building, Belonging - Learn the stack: Whether you’re polishing your PHP and JavaScript or leveling up with modern tooling, don’t skip the fundamentals—HTML, CSS, Git, and GitHub workflows pay compounding dividends. For a refresher, the Open Source Guides on contributing are gold for newcomers and mentors alike: https://opensource.guide/how-to-contribute/ - Community pulse: Post Status asks a timely question—why do some newcomers feel invisible while veteran contributors feel unappreciated? The suggested fix: more intentional awareness and celebration for both groups. Worth the read: https://poststatus.com/knowing-me-knowing-you/ - New and notable: Keep an eye on contributor experience tools, from better onboarding docs to “first issues” labels across GitHub orgs. Also explore event practices like dedicated “Newcomer Hour” and contributor spotlights in meetup intros. - Plugins to try: Onboarding helpers such as WP Welcome Guides, event-oriented plugins for schedules/announcements, and contributor recognition addons for sites that want to showcase credits. Evaluate performance, accessibility, and maintenance cadence before deploying. Pro tip: At your next meetup or WordCamp, invite someone standing alone into the conversation. Two minutes for you can be a turning point for them—and for the project. ## ✅ Action Items (aligned to your role and goals): - Map recognition pathways - Draft a contributor recognition ladder (first PR, first release, triage hours, mentorship) and propose it to Make teams. - Pilot monthly contributor spotlights across GoDaddy OSS channels featuring both individual volunteers and sponsoring companies. - Onboarding architecture - Design a “Newcomer Track” playbook for meetups/WordCamps: greeter program, buddy system, “ask me about” badge stickers, and a 20-minute Welcome Circle. - Create a reusable workshop kit on “First Contribution to WordPress” with PHP/JS prerequisites, Git practice, and hands-on issue walkthroughs. - Sustainable funding advocacy - Publish a transparent framework for sponsorship recognition tiers tied to contributor time, not just dollars. - Facilitate a roundtable on funding maintainers, capturing metrics on impact and equity. - OSPO readiness - Document policies for contributor time allocation, mentorship credits, DEIB goals, and metrics dashboards (participation diversity, rete - Summary: The author reflects on the inclusivity of the WordPress community, noting that while it is known for being open and friendly, some newcomers may not feel welcomed. The author acknowledges that the community has its own close-knit group, which can make it challenging for outsiders to join. They emphasize the importance of nurturing long-term contributors while also welcoming new members. The author suggests that celebrating and appreciating both long-term contributors and newcomers can help create a more inclusive community. - URL: https://poststatus.com/knowing-me-knowing-you/ Last week, I was talking with someone about ‘the WordPress community’. ‘Before my first WordCamp,’ she said, ‘ people told me that the WordPress community is so open and the people are so very nice. But in fact, I did not feel that welcome.’ ‘Everybody seemed to know each other,’ she continued, ‘they all hugged each other and immediately wanted to catch up and I felt a bit ignored. I felt left out. It’s nice that everybody is friends, but for an outsider, that makes it very hard to step in.’ We’re a weird bunch of people – the WordPress community. We want people to get involved and participate, but we also like our own crowd. That made me wonder. How open are we? And how open should we be? People who have been long-term contributors to the WordPress project often feel unappreciated. Unseen even. They’re definitely part of the community, but they can feel like they’re outsiders too. We have to nurture and value our long-term contributors to the WordPress project and, at the same time, welcome potential newcomers to our community. And let’s face it: that’s hard. Because these two things often need completely different strategies. Should you spend your time talking to newcomers at a WordCamp, or should you pay attention to those hardworking core contributors who are struggling? I think it all starts with some awareness. And perhaps with some celebration (I just love parties). People and companies that contribute to the WordPress community should be celebrated more. Much more. By all of us. They deserve a place in the spotlight and should feel appreciated. As for the newcomers that enter the WordPress community, perhaps they should be celebrated as well. By all of us. This means: we need to party more…, Knowing Me, Knowing You, Marieke van de Rakt, 01hdp5d0gatp8qet8pyj6evrdj.