On 22 April 2014 19:51, Antoine Pitrou <[email protected]> wrote: > On Tue, 22 Apr 2014 07:06:53 +0300 > Ezio Melotti <[email protected]> > wrote: > Not difficult how? In any gamification system, people will work towards > getting new rewards / awards, not towards making meaningful > contributions. > I think something like the Twisted high scores is acceptable (since it's > quite un-serious), but starting displaying awards will really bias how > people contribute (with a definite emphasis on quantity over quality, > IMO).
While I think gamification done right is actually a good way to build community, I also think we have a lot more fundamental issues just smoothing the path for the people that *already* want to contribute. For example, different people have different expectations regarding the cycle times where their efforts will have an impact - whether they want to make a difference in a few weeks, in a few months or in a few years. We're actually in a position to start channelling people more appropriately on that front, since we do different things on all those time scales (weeks: documentation, infrastructure & core workflow tools; months: CPython bug fixes, alternative interpreter development and packaging & distribution tools; years: Python language design and new feature development). Yet we don't currently make it clear that if people "want to help improve Python", there are actually several different ways to go about it according to their skills and inclinations. It's an ever-evolving process, just as the language and standard library will continue to evolve in response to the changes in the world around us. > (it's the same reason I'm rather ambiguous on the whole idea of > sprints) For me, sprints are mostly useful from the perspective of having high bandwidth feedback opportunities, as well as personalising the experience of contribution in a way that isn't easy over IRC, email or the issue tracker. > I think trying to ensure we actually *thank* people goes a long way > towards achieving the same goal, but without the bias. Good metrics are actually a useful way to know who to thank, though. Cheers, Nick. -- Nick Coghlan | [email protected] | Brisbane, Australia _______________________________________________ core-workflow mailing list [email protected] https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/core-workflow This list is governed by the PSF Code of Conduct: https://www.python.org/psf/codeofconduct
