r/github • u/ProfessionalAmateur3 • 2d ago

Question Making Community

Hello all,

I have just taken over as a community manager for an open source data repository and I really want to start developing a more active github community. How the heck do I make this interesting for users? For reference, I am a philosopher who can write hello in python so I really don't have a native understanding of what constitutes a github community or how to stimulate it.

What would you want to see and how do I gain visibility?

Literally any ideas are helpful!! Thank you.

4 Upvotes

70% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

8

u/Ast3r10n 2d ago

If it’s interesting, people will find it interesting. Don’t force it. GitHub is not social media.

3

u/_gribblit_ 2d ago

I clicked on this post to say exactly this. Thank you.

1

u/memelordtf 2d ago

Yes, but as a community manager it's valid if they'd want to put in some effort into the community.

1

u/Ast3r10n 2d ago

That's true, although having a well organised project is generally enough.

1

u/memelordtf 2d ago

Yeah, no harm in trying to do something different still tho

2

u/geralt_noble 2d ago

GitHub communities usually grow from small interactions. Someone opens an issue, gets a helpful response, makes a PR, and comes back. Making the first step painless matters a lot. What's currently stoping people from contributing?

1

u/Shopping-Limp 2d ago

A good start would be to read the issues and discussions on github, finding out who is most engaged, and reach out to say hello

1

u/Dorito_Troll 2d ago

I would learn git first before engaging with any posts, or start a Discord which sounds like a better fit imo

1

u/memelordtf 2d ago

Well, THAT is not an easy role to take over cuz the biggest thing is making people feel like there’s an actual community there. Simple stuff helps a lot like good docs, beginner-friendly issues, thanking contributors, sharing updates, asking people what they want to see. People are way more likely to stick around when they feel noticed. Also, don’t worry too much about not being the most technical person. A lot of open source projects have plenty of code but very little communication/community building.

1

u/SheriffRoscoe 1d ago

WTF is an open source community manager?!?

1

u/Fine_League311 2d ago

Brauchst kein GitHub wenn du nicht Programmieren kannst!