wetneb / hello-elebitzero Goto Github PK

Hi @elebitzero!

OpenRefine currently has a grant to improve diversity and inclusion in the project, and we want to use part of that to work on the accessibility of the UI.

You have recently been active in that area, for instance adding missing <label> and aria in the UI, improving the contrast of the histogram of the numerical facets, and so on. Therefore I would like your opinion on how we could support that effort.

One thing we are thinking about is to commission an accessibility review of the UI. There are plenty of agencies which offer those services, producing a report explaining in which ways a website or application differs from the WCAG for instance.
We could then break down such a report into actionable GitHub issues, and potentially fund work to tackle some of them.

Alternatively, I can imagine you have already identified some accessibility problems, and perhaps commissioning such a review can feel wasteful if we expect to get told things we were already aware of before. So I think it should also be possible to fund accessibility fixes straight away, without having to first go through an external review (which could still be done later on, when we think we have covered all issues we are aware of).

Let me know what you think about this! Also, if you think it is worth getting an external review, and if you have agencies to recommend for that, I would be interested.

Cheers!

Hello @elebitzero,

I wanted to write to you for some time, but GitHub does not have a private message functionality, and I do not know how to reach out to you via other media, so there you go!

You have opened nearly 100 pull requests on OpenRefine. All of really high quality. This is huge. I am extremely grateful for your involvement in the project.

I just want to make sure I do everything in my power to make that last. So do let me know if there is anything holding you back, anything you wish we were doing differently.

Specifically, I am thinking about the following things:

• You are already play a maintainer role, in many respects (by tackling a lot of maintenance tasks, giving your opinion on pull requests, and so on). If you have any interest in reviewing pull requests (which you have already done a
  few times) or cutting out releases, you are very welcome to. I totally trust your judgment with the Merge button. But I am also happy to keep working on this - so no pressure.

• We have funding opportunities, and hiring you on those funded projects would be really great in my opinion. With knowledge of what you are interested in working on, we can also direct the funding applications to make your work fit in it. With most of our grant applications, we are only able to hire developers as contractors, and for fairly short-term contracts, but we are also looking into ways to create proper stable jobs around OpenRefine. If you have any interest in this, let us (@trnstlntk or me) know. That being said, I also understand that this might not fit in your personal situation, and I want to make sure you can also keep contributing in a volunteer capacity without being sidelined by the funded projects.

• The advisory committee of OpenRefine is the body which is responsible for the project within Code for Science and Society, our fiscal sponsor. You are also welcome to join this. This would be in a volunteer capacity.

• We can send you to events related to OpenRefine, and represent the project there. Open source conferences, Wikimedia-related events, events organized by other user communities: let us know. This year I attended Data Harvest (a European data journalism conference) and it felt like in 3 days of conference I gathered enough motivation to keep working on the project for 5 more years. Meeting OpenRefine enthusiasts in person just makes me very happy.

• We also participate in internship programmes (Outreachy, Google Summer of Code) and are always looking for people to mentor interns in those programmes. If that is something you would be interested in, I am sure you would make a great mentor.

Again, if you can think of any other way you would want to contribute, let me know.

And perhaps things are just fine like they are, and that is totally fine - I really would not want to push you to a task you do not enjoy. I only want to propose those things just to make it clear that they are possible.

Keep up the amazing work, and all the best!

Antonin

@elebitzero

I am following up with this repo to contact you. I wanted to take a moment to express my appreciation for your contributions to the OpenRefine project. Your dedication and effort have made a significant impact, and I genuinely appreciate the time you have invested.

I have recently transitioned from the advisory committee to the project manager position for OpenRefine. This role allows me to dedicate more time to the project, and part of my focus is on better understanding the motivations and perspectives of community members, such as yourself, about OpenRefine.

I would like to invite you to a virtual coffee meeting to discuss your thoughts on OpenRefine, and its current direction, both in terms of upcoming features and governance changes. Your insights and experiences would be invaluable in helping us improve the project and create a supportive environment for our contributors while attracting new members.

If you are available over the summer, I would appreciate the opportunity to connect with you. Please use this scheduling page to book a suitable time for the call. The available time slots on the page reflect that I am in Europe until July 28 and in Quebec afterward.

I genuinely look forward to connecting with you and engaging in a meaningful discussion about OpenRefine. Your participation would be highly valued. Thank you once again for your contributions and for considering this invitation.