Tech confidence vs. tech competence
Jul. 8th, 2013 03:50 pm![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png){kind=small}
markOne of our volunteers, ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaberett, published an article today.
It's a really great post that captures one of the things that I really think is crucial to Dreamwidth's success as a project (and business), and it's the idea that anybody can contribute, everybody is valuable, and yes -- mistakes can and do happen and it's OK.
To pull out a bit from the article that really resonates with me:
[I]nstead, we work towards fostering tech confidence, through creating a culture where babydevs know that senior devs have their backs; a culture where people feel able to ask questions of the broader community, in public as well as in private; a culture where people learn how to test and debug and Not Give Up; a culture where our co-founders own their mistakes, and do so publicly, so that nobody has to feel alone. When people get discouraged, we give them pep talks. We remind people that it's okay to learn visibly, instead of having to pretend to be entirely competent all of the time. Everyone can learn from the mistake that anyone makes – and mistakes are caught soon after they happen, so consequences can be minimised.
Yup. Couldn't have said it better myself.
Contributing to Dreamwidth isn't about how much you bring to the table when you get here. We don't care how much experience you have or what your resume says or if you even have one. The fact that you're here and that you want to contribute? That's all you need. The rest can be learned.
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Date: 2013-07-08 11:13 pm (UTC)(And, seriously, thank you so much - I am kind of in slightly flappy tears about how much it means to me that y'all think I'm doing you justice here, and that anyone else thinks it is a useful articulation of the concept.)
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Date: 2013-07-08 11:48 pm (UTC)(And I count myself very much in the category of babydev working her jaws experimentally every time you do one of those bait posts, wondering if this will be the time I'll bite.)
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Date: 2013-07-09 03:43 am (UTC)(LCA extended their deadline if you want to possibly go to Perth...)
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Date: 2013-07-09 07:53 pm (UTC)Everything somebody does to make DW better is a contribution, period, no matter how big or small. :)
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Date: 2015-05-26 08:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-11-09 10:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-12-01 04:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-12-01 05:08 pm (UTC)This is my second test. This is just another test.
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Date: 2017-09-26 02:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-09-26 05:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-11-21 08:57 pm (UTC)Thank you also to whomever made the Plain style!
God bless you, and your team. Have a nice day :)