07 Nov 2023, 23:45 p.m.

Set Contributor Expectations To Reduce Ghosting

Let's say you're a maintainer who's just received a new contribution. A new contributor has submitted a patch/pull request. And the fundamental idea of it is one you like, but the diff itself will require …

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06 Nov 2023, 12:15 p.m.

Category Structure and Oppression - Insight from Shweta Narayan

In August 2014, my friend Shweta Narayan (scholar of linguistics and cognitive science, and speculative fiction author and editor) published an essay on their LiveJournal, "Let's talk about category structure and oppression!" As they said …

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03 Oct 2023, 12:25 p.m.

A Few Tips on Seeking a Lawyer, Psychiatrist or Therapist

Recently I've helped a few folks as they sought professional help from lawyers, or mental health professionals such as psychiatrists or therapists. Here are a few tips; they're more relevant in the United States but …

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28 Sep 2023, 12:30 p.m.

A Celebration of My Friend, Dr. Mel Chua

My dear friend Mel Chua is, as of this year, Dr. Mel Chua, as they have now deposited the doctoral dissertation that they successfully defended several years ago. Yay Dr. Chua!!!There's been a bit of …

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12 Sep 2023, 13:12 p.m.

On Jon Bois's Work

Years ago, I pitched a story to a publication and they didn't take it, but I think the synopsis itself might interest some of y'all, so here it is with a few added links. (I …

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12 Sep 2023, 11:00 a.m.

A Couple Exercise Videos I Recommend

I often exercise with friends via videocall, where we all follow along with the same online video. Recently a friend asked for recommendations of free YouTube videos for beginners. Here's what I said:This New York …

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21 Aug 2023, 11:35 a.m.

User Support, Equanimity, And Potential Cross-Project Tools and Practices in Open Source

I met David Lord at this year's PyCon, talking about maintainer burnout and how to make projects more resilient. Since then, we've been chatting regularly to help us develop material for our respective writing projects. …

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15 Aug 2023, 13:12 p.m.

Shakespeare-Inspired Laws

So, some US states have "Romeo and Juliet laws" involving sexual contact among minors, but THIS BLOG ENTRY IS NOT ABOUT THAT, it is about the fact that I started thinking that a law nicknamed …

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06 Jul 2023, 12:47 p.m.

Syndication and Organization

I tag blog posts rather erratically, and keep meaning to go back and systematically taxonomize my thousands of past posts. One thing that my new blogging platform includes is another way to highlight particular posts …

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06 Jul 2023, 12:07 p.m.

Recently Emitted Elsewhere

A few things I recently wrote in other places, in response to questions and claims by others, and would like to preserve and share here.In-person eventsIn response to a claim about why "online-only conferences won’t …

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