Steering Committee, Committee/Working Group leaders
To help US-RSE leaders and volunteers distributing community information make use of the US-RSE communications channels, while ensuring that the official US-RSE presence on the internet and in print provides accurate information and reflects the community's values.
- How to Share with the Community - for members to help decide where and how to share information, projects, and resources with the community
- Get Involved - ideas for members who want to get involved by creating content, distributing content on communication channels, joining committees, taking leadership roles, etc.
- Code of Conduct
This is a living document. Substantive updates can be made by Steering Committee members following a routine vote. Editing updates can be made by Steering Committee members.
The US-RSE community uses a variety of communication channels to provide information to its members and the wider community. These channels are detailed below.
This handbook includes guidelines to help ensure that websites, social media posts, and other content or artifacts branded with the US-RSE name, logo, URL, or accounts/handles:
- Align with the goals of the Association,
- Are sustainable, and
- Align with the Code of Conduct.
The US-RSE is a community driven organization. When making decisions about using communication platforms and developing new content, for most content areas, three levels of groups may be involved:
- Minor issues/first pass: Subgroups of individuals as needed for individual sections, websites, changes, etc.
- Routine issues: Appropriate content committee -- Website Committee, Social Media Committee, etc. US-RSE committees are currently defined by the membership in Slack channels. This may change as our governance evolves.
- Major issues/large changes: Steering Committee
We strive for consensus in decisions regarding content policies, guidelines, and directions, as well as when questions about specific changes or new material arise. When consensus cannot be achieved within a reasonable timeframe, the issue should be referred upward within the organization. In addition, plans for large changes (such as new websites or communication channels) should be brought to the Steering Committee before they are implemented to ensure they are consistent with these guidelines and that various groups remain coordinated within the Association.
This document lays out general policies for online content that have been encountered by the organization so far. It also provides guidance on what types of other changes warrant discussion among various committees before being implemented.
When referring to the organization:
- US-RSE Association, US Research Software Engineer Association
- US-RSE as a shorter version if desired after one of the above is used
- US-RSE as an adjective/possessive: US-RSE website, US-RSE Steering Committee
In order to maintain continuity of access, in cases where the organization manages group resources, such as the us-rse.org domain, the GitHub organization, the GSuite account, the Twitter account, and the Slack workspace, there should be at least two, and preferably three, Steering Committee members as administrators. Those administrators will be responsible for providing access to community members who are part of the relevant committee and workgroups responsible for the actual maintenance of the resources.
When creating an account on behalf of the organization with a service or site, use the [email protected] email address. Rules can be set up in this account if needed to forward the messages to others as needed. Contact the Steering Committee if access is needed to this (or for the time being, contact Christina Maimone directly, as she has the password and the two-factor device). The password for this account can be reset by the GSuite Admins if needed.
Official logo files can be found in the logo repository in the organizational GitHub: https://github.com/USRSE/logo. Logos from this repository should be used whenever a logo is needed. Variations in size or file format may be created from the source Adobe Illustrator files. Proposals for changes to the logo (colors, text, elements, etc.) or variants of the logo for specific uses should be submitted as a Pull Request. Agreement must be obtained from the Steering Committee before the PR is accepted or rejected.
Use of the logo implies organizational endorsement of whatever the logo is included on, even if that wasn't the intent. Please do not use the logo to advertise or brand events or products that are not endorsed by the US-RSE. When in doubt, please contact the Steering Committee.
usrse.slack.com
Purpose:
- For US-RSE members to engage with each other and share information
- For the US-RSE Steering Committee to start community discussions and solicit input from the community
- For US-RSE committees/working groups to coordinate and discuss work
Slack is currently the primary channel of communication with US-RSE members. That said, important or official communications about US-RSE activities, membership, policies, etc. should always be shared via email (see below) with US-RSE members in addition to posting on Slack.
All US-RSE members should be invited to Slack. New US-RSE members should be asked to join via the link on the main page of us-rse.org instead of only being invited to the Slack workspace so that there's a record of them and their email address is added to the list.
Members can create (and archive) channels, can create custom emojis, and do other Slack things that are part of the default settings. Our intention is to be permissive regarding what members can do in the workspace until there is a need to implement tighter permissions to 1) enforce the code of conduct, or 2) manage the logistics of a growing membership list.
The us-rse.org domain is the US-RSE Assocation's home online, both in terms of the website and our organizational email addresses and groups/listservs.
Purpose:
- Disseminate official information about the association
- Conduct the business of the association
- Host the main organizational website
- Host information related to association events and activities
- Enable organizational email (run through a GSuite account)
Content hosted in a GitHub repo and site: https://github.com/USRSE/usrse.github.io; discussion via #website channel on Slack
Guidelines, procedures, etc. for the managing and updating the website are determined by the website committee and documented in the GitHub repo. The current guidelines for incremental changes require the use of a PR and a review of the PR. The guidelines are documented here https://github.com/USRSE/usrse.github.io/blob/master/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md.
Large changes to the website including the creation of a new site, platform, subdomain, website section, etc. or a major reorganization or change in theme, styling, function of existing content must be first 1) discussed and agreed to by the Website Committee, and then 2) brought to the Steering Committee, before being added to the domain to ensure they are aligned with the mission of the Association. This includes changes to existing sites that significantly alter the way they function or content they provide. New sites or major changes to functionality should not be deployed under the us-rse.org domain before being reviewed. Instead, they should be previewed under a personal account or other resource. Contact the website committee for technical guidance.
Distribution lists/groups:
- All US-RSE members are added to the [email protected] email list. This is the list to be used for all important/official communications to the community. Members of the Steering Committee can send to the list, but communications should generally come from the overall Steering Committee instead of individual members.
- [email protected] is the main address for people to contact US-RSE leadership. It is a google group that includes all of the Steering Committee members.
- Discussion email lists can be created under the GSuite account, but members should opt into such lists, not be subscribed automatically.
- US-RSE committee leaders, working group chairs, etc. can request discussion or distribution email groups as needed for US-RSE activities.
Individual accounts: We generally do not have personal @us-rse.org accounts/email addresses. While a few do exist, they are for administering the GSuite account and related resources. Instead of personal accounts, use/create positional or group accounts. Currently, the main account to use to send email from (if needed) is [email protected]. See the Steering Committee Metadoc for login information.
Purpose:
- Host the US-RSE website
- Host US-RSE documents and artifacts as needed/appropriate
- Provide repos for US-RSE sponsored activities
Repositories under the US-RSE organizational GitHub are publically viewable and branded with the US-RSE logo, making them representative of the organization as a whole. Be mindful of this fact and ensure that any repositories here follow the same guidelines as content in the us-rse.org domain. New repositories should get agreement from the Website or Steering committee, depending on whether the repository is part of the website.
US-RSE members are encouraged to use their own personal accounts for new ideas/proposals or things under development. The US-RSE GitHub organization is for activities of the US-RSE association rather than a collection of activities of members of the US-RSE association.
The Steering Committee has ownership access to the GitHub organization; Steering Committee members can grant other individuals access to the organization and set appropriate permissions for the person. Access should only be given when needed and limited to an individual repository when possible. People can collaborate on repos without being organizational members.
If you believe that a person's access to a repository or the GitHub organization needs to be removed or changed, please send that issue to the Steering Committee (via email to [email protected]) with the reasoning. The Steering Committee may remove inactive individuals as appropriate.
US-RSE Twitter account (@us_rse); #socialmedia channel on Slack
The master password for the account should not be shared to individual people who may post to the account; instead, give access to individuals through Tweetdeck. Before giving an individual member access, please review their personal tweets to look out for any red flags that may need to be discussed, and ensure that they have read both US-RSE Twitter Guidelines and our Code of Conduct and agree to both.
General guidelines for what content should be posted:
- Sharing US-RSE materials, events, posts, etc.
- Tweeting from events where US-RSE members are in attendance
- Retweeting/liking appropriate tweets from members
- Sharing information of general interest to our membership, including but not limited to job postings
- Tweeting things promoting RSEs
The account can be used for other purposes, such as to promote events or resources or engage with the community or individual members, but other activity should be discussed with and approved by the social media committee on Slack. As with other activities, major initiatives should be brought to the attention of the Steering Committee.
Remove access to the account once individuals have either completed the task/time period for which they were granted access or are no longer part of the social media committee.
US-RSE Twitter Guidelines is intended for sharing with anyone who will be tweeting from the account.