A. Jesse Jiryu Davis

Length: Long Talk

Target Level: Beginner

Target Audience: Integrator, Designer, User, Developer

On mailing lists, IRC, Stack Overflow, and bug trackers, we often act viciously toward newcomers. Why? Why do we start out trying to be generous to beginners, then turn against them?

Similarly, we often say that we welcome pull requests, but when a newcomer offers one we ignore it or respond rudely. Why do we reject the generosity of others?

I'll propose a theory for why generosity turns to rage, and a method for maintaining our composure and enjoying our interactions with beginners.

See Maurits van Rees' blog post about this talk