I’m hanging on the couch with a coffee and I want to tell you about some recently merged work that @MalvikaSharan and I have been considering for many months: how to best acknowledge contributors to @turingway. https://the-turing-way.netlify.app/community-handbook/acknowledgement.html #AcknowledgeAllTheWork

You’ll know that we’re super into #Diverse and #Inclusive communities at @turingway. We really want everyone to leave feeling empowered and like they contributed in whatever way they were able. We’re here to support learning in all directions. #AcknowledgeAllTheWork

But there are also risks to the project if we do NOT build that inclusive atmosphere. If someone writes a chapter and then others are uncertain about whether they can / should edit it, we can’t benefit from the readers seeing how the work can be improved #AcknowledgeAllTheWork

Many of you will know that I want it written in my obituary (hopefully a long time from now) that I had something to do with getting rid of ordered authorship (first, last etc). I think it’s one of the most immediately toxic elements of modern academia #AcknowledgeAllTheWork

Putting people in order of decreasing (& then increasing again) contribution to the final output completely misses the multidimensional and - hopefully - interoperable contributions to scientific work. “Middle authors don’t get jobs” needs to burn #AcknowledgeAllTheWork

In the Acknowledging Contributors chapter of the @turingway Community Handbook we lay out:

who our contributors are
how we create opportunities for shared ownership
how we record contributions to #AcknowledgeAllTheWork
the different types and contribution pathways

Shared ownership: https://the-turing-way.netlify.app/community-handbook/acknowledgement/acknowledgement-members.html

We believe in continuous & iterative development. That’s what is so cool about @turingway. The whole project changes every time someone joins and contributes. We’re always listening, learning and adapting #AcknowledgeAllTheWork

“Everyone who contributes to this book, no matter how small or big their contributions are, is recognised as a contributor and a community member.”

You fix a typo? Add alt text? Give a talk about @turingway? Brainstorm new content? YOU’RE IN!!

#AcknowledgeAllTheWork

Now, not all of these contributions are the same. Some work takes a lot more time, effort, expertise and/or commitment than others. And if we’re going to get rid of ordered author lists then how will we know who did what??

RADICAL IDEA: We’ll report it!!

#AcknowledgeAllTheWork

If you made substantial contributions to @turingway - in any of many different dimensions - then you’re an author.

(We haven’t done a release to Zenodo for a long time & that is TOTALLY MY FAULT We needed to nail these processes down first #SoSorry!)

#AcknowledgeAllTheWork

Substantial is subjective - but you (and importantly @MalvikaSharan and I) know it when we see it.

But that isn’t great for scaling. What if you see the contribution differently? How can you learn if it’s all in our heads??!!

#AcknowledgeAllTheWork

In fact - this is what @MalvikaSharan and I had to do anyway - I had to get my gut feeling out onto the page so that we could discuss our processes for giving credit.

Those writings became our Record of Contributions: https://the-turing-way.netlify.app/community-handbook/acknowledgement/acknowledgement-record.html

This file - which we now need all of you wonderful @turingway contributors to help us fill in - lets every author define in the way that makes most sense to their needs what it is that they have contributed.

Here’s mine: https://github.com/alan-turing-institute/the-turing-way/blob/master/contributors.md#kirstie-whitaker

#AcknowledgeAllTheWork

There’s contact info, description of what I’ve done AND I get to phrase it in a way that is valuable to me.

Looking to show in a job application that you know about CI (& you’ve contributed to continuous integration in @turingway!)? You can say that!

#AcknowledgeAllTheWork

Maybe you did lots of writing (thank you ) and want to shout about it! DONE!

Maybe you reviewed a few chapters (thank you ) and want to evidence that you can give constructive feedback? DONE!

#AcknowledgeAllTheWork

Maybe you helped with infrastructure (YAY), translation (merci!), promoting the project (so great), organising events (traditionally so invisible), or otherwise maintaining this beautiful community (). We want to see all of it.

#AcknowledgeAllTheWork https://the-turing-way.netlify.app/community-handbook/acknowledgement/acknowledgement-record.html

I had a bunch of fun with a random name generator writing up example personas in the Different Contributions and their Acknowledgments chapter!

Check it out-there are so many ways to help us out. Be like Kendra, Jordon & Yan

https://the-turing-way.netlify.app/community-handbook/acknowledgement/acknowledgement-examples.html

#AcknowledgeAllTheWork

Friends! I’m now 10 mins late for my meeting w @MalvikaSharan. My coffee is half drunk & cold, and I’m outta gif inspiration

Tell me what you think. Are there improvements we could make? How can we best promote this beautiful collaborative creation?

#AcknowledgeAllTheWork

But most importantly THANK YOU. All of you beautiful @turingway community members.

Thank you for wanting to help others learn these skills.

Thank you for thinking about how we can work together more effectively.

Thank you for caring to change the world.

#AcknowledgeAllTheWork