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diff --git a/staff/culture.md b/staff/culture.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4d90a4a --- /dev/null +++ b/staff/culture.md @@ -0,0 +1,150 @@ +--- +title: Introduction to SourceHut culture +--- + +Welcome to SourceHut! + +SourceHut's mission statement is as follows: + +> We are here to make free software better. We will be honest, transparent, and +> empathetic. We care for our users, and we will not exploit them, and we hope +> that they will reward our care and diligence with success. + +This is the philosophical ethos that underlies our business. This presents +itself in the way we act. Because we are empathetic, we value accessibility, +working to make our UI easy to use for anyone and to have great performance on +low-end hardware and networks so that no one is a second class citizen. We are +transparent, which motivates our public ops, financial reports, and the fact +that this page is on a public wiki. We are honest, by telling users quickly and +frankly when we make mistakes that affect them, and in explaining our incentives +and motivations so they can make informed decisions about their relationship +with us. + +This extends to our internal culture as well. When we make mistakes or aren't +sure what to do, we talk to each other about it, as an extension of our +principle of honesty. We are empathetic, which is why we understand and forgive +those mistakes, and care for each other as human beings before anything else. +We have a steadfast commitment to integrity in all of our affairs that we hope +can set an example for the industry as a whole, and it is our hope that you will +keep these principles in mind in all of your work with SourceHut. + +# In practical terms + +Think of SourceHut's engineering culture as a dynamic, mutual collaboration +between equals, who aim to support each other in achieving our shared ambitions +in free software. We have essentially attempted to reproduce the FOSS +community's collaboration environment, and to some extent, governance model, in +the context of a business. + +## What should I work on? + +Most SourceHut engineers choose their own work. You may work on the projects +that you find interesting and important, at your own discretion, including +projects which are not maintained by or in the direct interests of SourceHut. +You can also choose your own tasks and priorities within those projects. The +only caveat is that it must be free and open source software. + +You must do this with an attitude that honors and values the feedback and advice +of your peers, and seek to establish mutual trust. For example, junior engineers, +and senior engineers who are junior to a new project or field, will generally be +well-advised to seek the advice of the more experienced peers (be it fellow +SourceHut staff, or the maintainers of a third-party project) regarding what +tasks to work on. And likewise, those maintainers and mentors will honor and +value your growth, experience, feedback, and opinions, to create a healthy +balance of trust between participants. + +## Rely on your peers + +**Ask questions early**. We are here to support each other. There is no shame in +not being sure of what to do, struggling with a hard problem, or having made a +mistake. The shame is in not trusting your peers to help. + +## Accepting responsibilities + +In addition to proactively choosing to work on projects and tasks that you find +important, you may also accept long-term responsibilities that you find +important. A simple example of this is your long-term commitments as the +maintainer of your personal FOSS projects, which you may have already made +before even joining SourceHut. You will have similar opportunities to accept +responsibilities in the future. For example, you may become responsible for +various subsystems of sr.ht software, or in third-party projects, or have +certain responsibilities to your peers and users, such as being on-call for +infrastructure issues. + +This is also done at your discretion, according to your wisdom on what +responsibilities are important and suited to your skills. This is also a means +by which you can build trust with your peers and the larger community, by being +someone they can depend on. + +## Communication + +We have a private channel on Libera.Chat at #sr.ht.staff, which you will be +invited to. We also have the #sr.ht and #sr.ht.watercooler channels, which are +open to the public and respectively handle forge support and SourceHut-adjacent +discussions. Aim to use the right channel: if appropriate, many matters should +be discussed in public, but we needn't bother these spaces with the day-to-day +activities internal to SourceHut. + +Also remember that you represent SourceHut when you communicate with the outside +world — something you are expected to do often. Remember to be respectful, +to remember the human, and to avoid flamewars. You are building a relationship +with the community. This is not to say that you shouldn't stand by your +principles, but to be respectful of those who disagree. Give your peers +feedback, but remember to praise in public and criticise in private. + +## Meetings + +Everyone has a bi-weekly 1-on-1 meeting with their assigned mentor. This person +is there to help you smooth along your work, lend you their ear when you ask for +advice or are having trouble, and be your advocate to the broader organization. +The scope and goals of these meetings is a matter for you and your mentor to +agree upon, and it can evolve over time. This person is also your first stop for +any formal businessy business, for anything you would talk to a manager about. +They are not, however, a manager in the traditional sense, and don't have +special authority over you. + +We also have monthly all-hands meetings where we will discuss our long-term +interests, matters relevant to the whole company, updates on interesting things +that are being worked on, and so on. + +Beyond this, meetings are established on an as-needed basis. For example, we may +schedule meetings with consulting clients. + +## Planning + +Informal planning is done in the meetings described above, but formal planning, +such as ticket tracking, agile-style planning, and so on, is minimal at +SourceHut. We find that formal systems are often the product of non-engineers +wanting to boil their engineering teams down to numbers and apersonal measures +of progress, which is not appropriate for an organization built on mutual trust +and communication. + +However, it is often *useful* to have some means of tracking the things on our +mind and communicate our intentions to others. Many of the projects we work on +have bug trackers, and mailing list archives are a good place to put proposals +and RFCs. We leverage planning tools and systems as they are helpful for us to +achieve our goals, and remove them when they are not. Work with your peers to +figure out what works for your projects. + +## Time off + +If you need time off, take it. It is important for you to be healthy and happy, +and that means taking time off work sometimes. There are no formal limits on +time off, and no formal process to request it. Let people know when you'll be +away so that they can work around your absence. If you have responsibilities +that you won't be tending to, see to it that they're accounted for first. + +## How and when do I get paid? + +Make sure Drew has your bank information for wire transfers or direct deposit. +We prepare invoices on or near the first of the month to send out to our +clients, and we pay the monthly base to staff on this date as well. We will also +wire you payment for any consulting invoices which were paid over the previous +month at this time. + +## Expenses + +If you have reasonable work expenses, for instance on work-related equipment, +books, and so on, ask Drew and he'll comp you. SourceHut will also cover your +travel and accommodations for work-related events, such as conferences, if +agreed upon in advance. diff --git a/staff/index.md b/staff/index.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4c044fc --- /dev/null +++ b/staff/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,7 @@ +--- +title: Staff Resources +--- + +The intended audience for this part of the wiki is SourceHut staff. + +- [Culture introduction and onboarding](/staff/culture.md) |