We want to invite all OSD GitHub members, so the question is how to do that in an efficient manner. Discourse supports bulk invite via csv with the caveat “Invites only work if SSO is not enabled and local logins are enabled”.
I have checked out the GH api, but there is no easy way. I can get names, but not emails. There are some scripts floating around that will scrape GH emails, but they produce too many false positives.
Advertising an invite here and on GH and getting people to send an email to a dummy gmail etc address may be the easiest way. However, this will not capture inactive members and some people may not wish to share their data with Google. I can cross-reference names with GH login names, but it is not fool proof, though I guess spammers are not much of an issue right now.
As far as netiquette goes (it seems to be coming up a lot recently) it’s my impression that harvesting people’s e-mail addresses from a third party site (GitHub) to bulk invite them to an organization is bad etiquette. I would almost classify it a spam tactic.
If people had directly given us their e-mail address by signing up to an e-mail list or a similar thing that would be something else, but I wouldn’t assume that because they joined OSD that they think we should be at liberty in harvesting their e-mail addresses. Some OSD members really don’t like their e-mail addresses being used without their permission.
@simonv3 given that I am only using publicly available addresses on the OSD GitHub site which are voluntarily given and that this forum is intended to be an part of OSD, of which the GitHub organisation is part, I do not consider it too spammy. However, I am happy not to bulk invite.
I think part of the confusion stems from my misunderstanding that invites were the only way for OSD members to join without letting other people join. I’m actually still unclear as to whether people can join using their GitHub account and whether it is only reserved for OSD members.
[quote=“studiospring, post:7, topic:28”]
… whether people can join using their GitHub account [/quote]
I enabled GitHub login for Discourse on the day that I gained access to this forum. I used the github_client_id and github_client_secret that were available to me (as GitHub user grahamperrin).
The feature remains enabled, but we’re in a period of transition.
The current Site maintenance banner is short and sweet. Here’s a longer explanation. The READ ME FIRST… page for local site staff draws attention to publicly available Configuring GitHub login for Discourse - howto / admins - Discourse Meta. Two steps there. I completed step two, using the opensourcedesigngithub_client_id and github_client_secret that were shared with me.
As far as I can tell, it is impossible for me to perform (or repeat) step one, so just over a day ago I drew the howto to the attention of the opensourcedesign person who gave me the secret.
It’s not limited to any group.
e-mail
Also: if I see a person’s e-mail address in an issue, I should not treat the issue-specific publicity as licence to use their e-mail address in connection with other issues.
A brief ramble: when I joined OSD, mid-March it was primarily/solely to ‘CHAT’ as invited at the foot of http://opensourcedesign.net/ … and I preferred to chat because as a medium, it’s less intrusive than e-mail. I was quietly shocked and surprised by the resulting set of subscriptions, which (too soon) led to unwelcome e-mails; moreover I was quietly disappointed that the direction to join OSD had not allowed me to chat.
I should include, in a notional active group, anyone who reads but apparently never writes (or has not recently written).
That’s a subtle but important distinction … I don’t expect everyone to understand or agree … my reasoning for the perception might become a future spin off topic. For now – for brevity in this topic – the essence is that it may be surprisingly difficult and/or time-consuming to determine whether a person is truly inactive.
If a person isinactive: we should be thoughtful about the timing and positioning of the awakening. Too soon, or in a disagreeable way, might lessen the likelihood of rekindling activity by that person. The place for thoughtfulness might, again, be opensourcedesign/organization/issues/73 …
About how to invite people, we should not assume people want to be invited/added to Discourse, unless we’ve gotten their permission for they previously.
We should
advertise it (possibly with an @all?) in the org repo on GH inviting people to add themselves
-advertise it for a couple of weeks on the twitters
on the website
People should be able to add themselves using their GH account, or straight signup with email address.
We did that already, not with an @all though. As mentioned before I’d like to resolve our organizational issues, which includes getting rid of the private categories, and establishing proper useful ones.
As mentioned before I’d like to resolve our organizational issues, which includes getting rid of the private categories, and establishing proper useful ones.