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:
Anonymous message
Just wanted to say thanks for being a great organizer, "participater", and all around supportive person. You are one of those bright shining stars that make work and volunteering more fun and our work environment more human.
"This Love has whispered secrets in your ear that don't make sense to anybody else. You know who You are. You are the shining star."
--Rumi
Anonymous message
I wanted to say thanks for your wisdom, unique insights, and mentorship that you brought into the open source clubs event this past weekend. I always appreciated when you would add a point that some of us might not have thought of or when you would craftily and strategically change the course of a discussion to think about the big picture and how to accomplish our goals. I felt you were a unifying force and energy over the whole weekend, and I definitely feel like we benefited from having you at the event with us. I wanted to share my appreciation with you for all of the behind-the-scenes work that you did and how valuable I felt like it was to have your presence in Philadelphia. I'm sincerely looking forward to the next opportunity to see you soon, and definitely looking forward to having your feedback on how we grow our own communities forward and outward. We're lucky to have people like you in open source.