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Concrete Action / #BLM Post #110

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Concrete Action: Initial edited draft
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56 changes: 56 additions & 0 deletions pages/news/2020-XX-XX-concrete-action.html
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
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title: Concrete Action: Taking a Stand with Terminology and Recruitmenty
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author: Core Team, Edited
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date: 2020-06-08 01:00:00

{% extends "post.html" %}

{% block post %}

{% load markup %}
{% filter markdown:"extra" %}

Alongside the protesters in the US and around the world, the Mixxx team unequivocally renounces police brutality.
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The systemic racism that burdens people of color every day is the responsibility of white people around the world to address.
Mixxx leadership has been discussing concrete actions we can take as a community and today we announce two efforts: first, to eliminate "master" and "slave" terminology from our code base and second, to recruit paid interns from underrepresented communities to join our contributor base.
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## Terminology Changes

Major projects like [Python](https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/8x7akv/masterslave-terminology-was-removed-from-python-programming-language), [Go](https://www.reddit.com/r/golang/comments/gy9ylr/go_has_removed_all_uses_of_blacklistwhitelist_and/fte1zk0/), and now [Github](https://www.cnet.com/news/microsofts-github-is-removing-coding-terms-like-master-and-slave/) have all worked to eliminate the use of the problematic terms, "master" and "slave," and today Mixxx joins them.
The issue of nomenclature and terminology in software is one example of how deeply embedded white privilege is around the globe and we hope changing these terms is one small step towards a more inclusive and diverse coding community.

Although we eliminated the use of the word "slave" back in [2016](https://github.com/mixxxdj/mixxx/commit/e59916caf72a256bb28b1722759a629c5cc9cf81), "master" still appears in a number of places.
We have a "master" code branch, a "Master Sync" feature, an "EngineMaster" object, and more.
We are working to migrate our code away from these words, even in cases where the particular meaning of "master" was never explicitly associated with a problematic context.

It’s important to note that there will be some cases where the word will remain.
Many DJ controllers have buttons marked "master" on them, and we need to refer to those buttons by name.
There are also the audio engineering concepts of a "master tape" or "audio mastering", so there may be areas of our documentation or code that would be less understandable if we tried to use synonyms.
But in situations where master is used in code and previously was part of a master/slave terminology pairing, we commit to changing the language we use by DATEDATEDATE **TKTKTKTK commit to a timeline to change the main branch?? TKTKTKTKTK**.
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But changing language is not enough.

## Diversifying Recruiting
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In our discussions, we quickly noted that the Mixxx contributor base is largely white, male, and either American or European.
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For some of our coders, the experience of working on Mixxx has been a doorway to employment at some of the most prestigious software companies, and we want that door to be open to anyone.
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I feel uncomfortable about this sentence. While it is true that making unpaid contributions to free software can help one get a job and people with more privilege are more likely to have time to do that, I don't think that's why anyone contributes to Mixxx.

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I have no problem with someone joining mixxx and being an awesome contributor because they hope to put it on their resume and get a job based on that.

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One of the systemic problems with open source is the culture that demands that people are doing it "for the love". People in underserved groups often don't have the resources to spend time on extracurricular projects just because they want to, they need to be efficient and effective and make sure they are building their reputation for employers. By making it clear that working on Mixxx can have concrete career outcomes, we show how diversifying the contributor base will help give more people a leg up when they are applying for jobs

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In that case we should make this more explicit IMHO. Maybe something along the lines of:

Among other things, income inequality along ethnic lines and the tacit expectation to "prove themselves" in the eyes of their employer make it less likely for POC to spend time on extracurricular projects.
On the other hand, the experience of working on open-source projects like Mixxx has been a doorway to employment at some of the most prestigious software companies.
In that regard, the lack of resources that prevents POC from getting involved in open-source development can become a source of inequality by itself. We want to break this vicious circle and ensure that this door is open for everyone.

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@ThisGrrrlFriday recommended that we don't imply that POC have less means than white people as the reason for the lack of their participation. Plenty of people have means and still find themselves unable to join the industry.

It is our goal to make the Mixxx project as inclusive, accessible and welcoming as possible.
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As such, it is our responsibility to actively seek out and promote the participation of traditionally underserved groups.
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As a small volunteer-led project with no regular income, budget, or employees, we don't yet know for sure what the demographic makeup of our contributors is -- but we are aware of the research that shows that blind admission and hiring tends to result in less diverse outcomes.
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To that end we plan to sponsor an [Outreachy](https://www.outreachy.org/) intern in December 2020, the next available cycle.
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Outreachy’s stated goal is to provide "internships to work in open source and free software, for women (both cis and trans), trans men, and genderqueer people" and "residents and nationals of the United States of any gender who are Black/African American, Hispanic/Latin@, Native American/American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander."
They encourage "anyone who faces under-representation, systemic bias, or discrimination in the technology industry of their country" to apply.

Our goal is that this Outreachy intern will be the first of an increasing number of valued contributors from underserved communities that will help us be a healthier, more sustainable open source project.
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With your help, we intend to continue the internship process semiannually for at least 5 cycles and at that time assess if we should continue with the program or if our diversification efforts would be better served with a new approach.
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Suggested change
With your help, we intend to continue the internship process semiannually for at least 5 cycles and at that time assess if we should continue with the program or if our diversification efforts would be better served with a new approach.
With your help, we intend to continue participating in Outreachy as long as the community keeps funding it.

I don't understand why we would stop doing this?

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Let's try it first and evaluate.
Who knows, maybe there are / will be projects that are better in some regard. For example the same concept on a global scale.
If it works out well we simply continue.

Btw, that's also the reason I'd rather omit "for at least 5 cycles".

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We should figure out our specific intent on Zulip

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One of the asks I've seen from POC is that white people commit to specific and ongoing efforts to fight racism, which is why I think setting a number is important, although it could certainly be smaller than 5. Goal setting also increases accountability.

I added the opportunity to reevaluate since it's entirely possible a different program that is even more suited to the Mixxx community will be available in the future.

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"as long as the community keeps funding it" is specific and ongoing.

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but maybe we should set a fundraising goal for more than one round?


An Outreachy intern will cost Mixxx $6,500 to sponsor.
Because we don't have the money to do this ourselves, we are asking the Mixxx community to step up and pitch in to help raise the necessary funds for this sponsorship.
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We have never and will never charge for Mixxx, so this is a chance for you to contribute money that will go directly to a person working on the project.
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`DETAILS ABOUT CAMPAIGN, LINK`

We hope by taking this stand for diversity and inclusion our medium-sized open source project can show that doing the right thing is not just about renaming branches, but doing the hard work of changing culture, even on a small scale.

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{% endfilter %}
{% endblock %}
10 changes: 8 additions & 2 deletions plugins/news.py
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -12,8 +12,9 @@
POSTS = []
AUTHOR_METADATA = {
'': {
"name": "Mixxx Team",
"url": "https://github.com/orgs/mixxxdj/people",
'name': 'Mixxx Team',
'url': 'https://github.com/orgs/mixxxdj/people',
'email': 'core-team@mixxx.org',
},
'Be.': {
'github': 'Be-ing',
Expand All @@ -34,6 +35,11 @@
'Pegasus': {
'github': 'Pegasus-RPG',
},
'Core Team, Edited': {
'name': 'The Mixxx Core Team, edited by April M. Crehan',
'url': 'https://github.com/orgs/mixxxdj/people',
'email': 'core-team@mixxx.org',
},
}


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