As part of rOpenSci’s 15th anniversary celebrations, Community Manager Yani sits down with community member Mo to talk about how a first software review turned into years of involvement across R-Universe, the Champions Program, the Slack community, and core package work. Mo reflects on what has kept her engaged and also offers advice for anyone just discovering this community.

• How did you first end up in rOpenSci’s orbit, what was the very first interaction or moment that pulled you in?

I actually don’t recall. I think it was a natural evolution of my general career progression using R as a scientist and slowly transitioning into a research software engineer. Still working in academia, and mostly on tooling, analysis, and data management using R, rOpenSci felt like a very natural community to get involved in.

I believe I was first introduced to it through Maëlle Salmon, who was/is a fellow RLadies+ global team member. My first interaction may have been as a software reviewer for a package, which Maëlle asked me if I was interested in doing.

• Over the years, you’ve shown up in a lot of different ways: R-Universe, the Champions Program, an active participant on the Slack, and a contributor to our core packages. Looking back, how would you describe the arc of your involvement?

It’s been such an easy community to be involved in. I’ve felt that every suggestion, discussion, and help request has been met with kindness, collegiality and with a true sense of people wanting to share their knowledge. Seeing this [atmosphere] in the Slack has lowered any barrier I had for asking “stupid” questions, and always felt like any contribution has been genuinely valued. I’ve also felt very humble in how some interactions have altered my own perception of myself as an Research Software Engineer (RSE). I remember in particular when you asked me if I would consider being a Champion’s mentor, and being so humbled. I had actually considered applying as a Champion, but didn’t have the time to set aside for it at that moment. Being asked to be a mentor instead made me shift my own understanding of my expertise level.

• Of all the ways you’ve participated, is there one that feels like “the” rOpenSci experience for you? The one you’d point to first?

I actually think the Slack is the pinnacle of how it is to be part of the community. Which is likely frustrating for anyone not in that Slack to read. While it’s not the most active space, the activity is generally always useful and/or enjoying. It’s like a friendly bubble of R-geeks just wanting to make cool things.

• Across all these different roles, has your sense of what rOpenSci is, or what it’s for, changed over time?

That’s a hard one. I feel like it’s been quite stable over the years I have participated, but there have likely been subtle changes over time that are hard to put a pin in.

• Was there ever a moment you felt surprised by how much you’d ended up doing, or by where it led?

All the time. It’s almost like having a second set of colleagues, that technically don’t work with me (as in at the same company), but are equally important to my work and its robustness. Between the software review, blog posts, collaborative tutorials, Champion mentoring, rOpenSci package tooling development, discussions in Slack (let us not forget the awesome cat pictures in the cat channel), I feel like I have quite immersed myself in the community. But I have gotten much more back that I have contributed, I believe. Not only in the obvious ways visible, like mentor training, learning more about collaborative development etc., but also in getting feedback on my funding applications and on my personal development projects. It’s all been invaluable for my own development.

• How does participating in rOpenSci activities compare to other ways you’ve been involved in open source more broadly?

I’m not someone who has contributed a lot to open source in general. I’m pretty much in my lane with rOpenSci, RLadies+ and The Carpentries, three organizations I feel all emulate pretty much the same core values in how to treat contributors. This has given me the confidence to participate openly and without fear, and has also given me strength when I’ve received some less than courteous responses in other places.

But comparing it to certain Stack overflow and social media interactions I have had outside these communities, it’s for sure a much more wholesome and pleasant experience. Not being afraid of being seen as incompetent for asking what someone else thinks is a basic question, is so important for how a community can keep growing and thriving.

• What does rOpenSci mean to you at this point, fifteen years in?

A lot. As I am sure you can tell from all that I write here. rOpenSci is really my second professional “home”, where I know I can get support and feedback from those willing to take the time (and even if no one has the time, one generally always gets a positive nudge to continue).

• What would you want someone just discovering rOpenSci today to know?

Don’t hesitate to contact and get involved. Start wherever you feel you can; doing a software review as a reviewer is a nice experience and a really good place to start. You get to learn a little about reviewing others’ work, how to work with git and github, and communicate with other professionals. It really is a very good starting point.

What a kind vision of rOpenSci! This post is part of our 15th anniversary celebration series, and we still have more to come!