What are Open-Source Happiness Packets?
People are generally much more loved than we think we are. But while it's easy for many to complain when they don't like something, we're often fairly silent when things are good. Open-source communities are no different, especially when our main communication channels are textual and virtual.
However, the feeling that you made a difference, that your work matters and has value, and that the people you work with are happy to work with you, is an awesome and important feeling. With Open-Source Happiness Packets, we're trying to spread that feeling.
How does it work?
Openly expressing appreciation, gratitude, or happiness to other people can be difficult. This is especially true when you don't know them very well. Many of us come from cultures in which people are not open by default about such feelings, and naturally feel uncomfortable or even creepy to share them.
Open-Source Happiness Packets is a very simple platform to anonymously reach out to the people that you appreciate or to whom you are thankful in your open-source community. Your message can be sent anonymously if you feel uncomfortable to share your name with the recipient. Of course, we encourage you to share your name, but it's completely optional!
Happiness Archive
If both the sender and the recipient agree, we can publish the Happiness Packet on the website. With this, we're building an archive of open-source happiness that people and communities can use to draw inspiration.
As an example, here are two random messages from our archive:
From Jeff Triplett to Rebecca Conley
Thank you for everything that you have done for the Django community. Between doing the boring legwork of keying in all of our talks into Guidebook for DjangoCon US 2016 to helping me get the Django CoC Committee back on track to helping the DSF by volunteering to be the Secretary to a year later running for the board to be our Treasurer to helping with DjangoCon US 2017 with all the random things. Thank you for the many conversations that we have had about inclusivity and diversity. Quite frankly thank you for giving a damn, rolling your sleeves up, and putting in the time to make the community a better place for everyone.
From Alberto RodrÃguez Sánchez to Alisha Mohanty
Hello Alisha,
Many thanks for your help with the Join SIG. Is amazing to see you around after the GSoC and will be great to meet you again on next events :)