Matt Yonkovit is Percona’s Head of Open Source Strategy and a member of SHA (Silly Hats Anonymous).
“Over the past decade, many of us in open source have tried to improve inclusiveness and diversity in our communities. STEM programmes in schools, training programmes at corporations, and efforts within universities have all improved diversity. The barrier to entry for first timers can be very high and often off-putting. Currently, we aren’t always well set up to make new contributors successful when they try to engage. For example, I have seen project maintainers dismiss pull requests or bug reports if they’re not the same as those submitted by longtime contributors. We have to consider how we make the process easier, and offer assistance to those getting in touch for the first time. This covers all areas – from submitting bugs and contributing code through to getting help with documentation. For these developers, their opinion of open source will be tied to how we help them contribute and whether they feel like they belong. We have to be willing to step outside our own comfort zones and consider new ways of working. This will help new contributors get involved, get started, and contribute to the community over time.”