Hello World

Oh, cool! Another cis dude decided to dedicate a chunk of the internet to his opinions. Good job!

That’s a completely fair take. Trust me, I’ve let that consideration influence my public contributions for a while. So, what’s changed?

In short: I want to give back to the community that shaped my career.

I know, it looks so dumb written out. And who the hell do I think I am, that I have anything worth contributing back? But bear with me, I might be able to save this.

A reference for anyone that wants it

I’ve been fortunate in my career. Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of mentoring a few budding developers. Some friends, some colleagues, and the occasional stranger referred by the former. And even though I have a tendency to attribute my successes to a lot of dumb luck (classic privilege move), thats a pretty bullshit way to look at it. First of all, that isn’t helpful to anyone that desires a similar outcome. Second, can you even appreciate something that hasn’t been properly reflected on?

All that to say, I’ve always wanted a living reference to point people to. It can be overwhelming to fit a ton of info into an email or a lunch conversation for anyone, myself included.

Personal goals

Obviously, there are a handful of things I hope to get out of this:

• Fill in the gaps between documentation and implementation
• Encourage myself to understand things enough to explain them clearly
• Improve my written communication
• Encourage others to contribute to open source
• Help developers get jobs

Code of conduct

Finally, I want to create content adhering to a code of conduct that is inclusive to th software developement community, at large. Even though I would not refer to myself as a white guy, every time I’ve been detained by law enforcement, I’ve been called in as a caucasian male (humble brag). By writing these out, I can come back to it, and if I stray from them, should anyone care, I can be called on it:

1. Keep contrived examples inclusive, avoiding problematic assumptions
2. Replace problematic tech jargon with inclusive alternatives
3. Promote a11y best practices

I’d personally appreciate any feedback that improves this section.

Conclusion

So that’s it. Now we can get to some code. I hope to see you around!