What are Open-Source Happiness Packets?
People are generally much more loved than we think we are. But while it's easy for many to complain when they don't like something, we're often fairly silent when things are good. Open-source communities are no different, especially when our main communication channels are textual and virtual.
However, the feeling that you made a difference, that your work matters and has value, and that the people you work with are happy to work with you, is an awesome and important feeling. With Open-Source Happiness Packets, we're trying to spread that feeling.
How does it work?
Openly expressing appreciation, gratitude, or happiness to other people can be difficult. This is especially true when you don't know them very well. Many of us come from cultures in which people are not open by default about such feelings, and naturally feel uncomfortable or even creepy to share them.
Open-Source Happiness Packets is a very simple platform to anonymously reach out to the people that you appreciate or to whom you are thankful in your open-source community. Your message can be sent anonymously if you feel uncomfortable to share your name with the recipient. Of course, we encourage you to share your name, but it's completely optional!
Happiness Archive
If both the sender and the recipient agree, we can publish the Happiness Packet on the website. With this, we're building an archive of open-source happiness that people and communities can use to draw inspiration.
As an example, here are two random messages from our archive:
Anonymous message
Before I joined the OSDC team, I always respected your work and the amount of time and dedication you've helped put into Opensource.com. It's truly become an amazing community hub for a broader open source community. This stands out especially when you see all the different places the authors come from! Once I got involved, it became especially clear how hard-working and committed all of you are to OSDC. There's a positive energy from that and it easily spreads.
I wanted to personally thank you for everything that you do for Opensource.com and also the wider open source community. You're a powerful, open, and motivating leader, and you easily become a positive role model. It makes me happy about how lucky we are to have people like you in the open source community. Thank you!!
From Baptiste Mispelon to Katie ✨🐨✨
Thanks for all the work you do, and in particular for helping me spread the special love of emoji in all its wonder and weirdness.
I've had an idea for an emoji talk float in my head for a while but I could never manage to turn it into something concrete.
The one you made and presented all over the world exceeded anything I could ever come up with.
Thanks for putting it out into the world!
The world of OSS can be lonely and sometimes even 💩, but it's people like you who make it 💯.
May your life be full of 🥄 and your internet pipes full of ✨.
Take care,
Baptiste