SecureDrop Community contact nomination: Jennifer Helsby

General
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Bonjour,

With her permission, I hereby propose that @redshiftzero is a contact person and help other community members feel safe when they are in a space for which the SecureDrop Community is responsible (e.g. this forum or other online resources as well as community events).

Back in June 2017, when I was a newcomer to the SecureDrop community, @redshiftzero made me feel welcome and valued my contributions. Although we did not know each other at the time, she took the time to carefully read my contributions. Not all of them were perfect, far from it, but she treated all I had to give with respect.

I remember the first disagreement we had: I proposed that translations are merged directly in the SecureDrop repository and she was in favor of having them on a separate repository to not clutter the history with many small translation commits. Her choice was not only clearly articulated, it also acknowledged that the alternative I proposed was valid and valuable. It was then easy for me to accept that my idea was rejected. In other instances, such as release management, @redshiftzero adopted some of my proposals. These are just two examples of a healthy balance between standing for what you believe and being open to new ideas.

In the recent past I was upset and made a mistake: I reacted publicly and used language I should not have. This was also presumably upsetting for the other person and a few hours later I regretted it. @redshiftzero reached out to me privately immediately and listened to me, let me express my frustration. She also reminded me that my choice of words was not appropriate. I apologized and it did not escalate. This is the kind of gentle diplomatic intervention any community member deserves.

I could go on and provide more examples where @redshiftzero made a difference. Her presence, communication skills and mediation are a big part of what makes the SecureDrop Community a safe and enjoyable place for everyone. I am grateful that @redshiftzero agrees to be a point of contact: it would be both reassuring to newcomers and an acknowledgement of her ongoing mediation.

If there is a consensus within two weeks, I will do the needful for her name to be listed prominently as a contact person. If there is no consensus I will call for a vote.

Cheers

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Wow, thank you @dachary for the very kind words! :heart: :heart: I’m happy to be one of the contact people for the CoC :slight_smile:

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Absolutely in favor of @redshiftzero being designated a community contact for SecureDrop.

Since stepping into the role of SecureDrop Lead Developer, @redshiftzero has led the team to adopt a more disciplined approach to proposing, prototyping, and testing changes to the project. The release process has matured to include more rigorous QA procedures, which have already caught several potential issues prior to shipping a new version.

She has also dramatically improved community engagement, both through written communication across the project’s various online discussion channels, and in-person, during hackathons and pairing exercises. She drove the process to expand maintainership status on SecureDrop to community members outside of FPF, and continues to inspire members of the team with the quality of her contributions, and the clarity of her communication.

When it comes to establishing consensus, I could not have a higher opinion of @redshiftzero’s work. She is respectful, devoted to incorporating feedback from diverse channels, and especially skilled at identifying common ground during disagreements. Any community will inevitably encounter dissent from within and without, and a skilled eye toward recognizing the shared roots to our work on SecureDrop (and other projects) is therefore requisite in any community moderator we might select.

I have the utmost respect for @redshiftzero’s dedication to building an inclusive, welcoming, and healthy community around SecureDrop. She has my full support as community contact.

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+1-ing @redshiftzero’s nomination too

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Also +1 for @redshiftzero’s nomination.

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+1 to @redshiftzero. This human is rad.

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Of course! :slight_smile: Thanks, @redshiftzero, for taking this on.

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It has been two weeks and there is consensus. The global banner was updated accordingly.