“Shirts! We’ve got your t-shirts right here!” Except we don’t.
No one is entitled to freebies. But let’s talk about why we’re fond of giving free shirts to (presumably) well-paid people anyway.
I’m a developer evangelist & community builder. When it comes to software, “community” can feel like an abstraction. What does “community” even mean, right?
A community is comprised of people who share an attribute that’s important to them, that feels distinct from those who don’t have it in common, and which is tied to a sense of personal identity.
“I live in San Francisco” is a statement of geographical fact; whereas “I am a San Franciscan” reflects an aspect of my identity. My sense of belonging to something that will outlast me. My passion & loyalties. San Francisco is my community. I feel this way about other things, too. Ruby community has its flaws, but it’s a community I am invested in long-term regardless of what else I’m doing.
“What does this have to do with t-shirts?” you might be wondering. Let’s circle back to the question of why the heck we give away swag shirts. Some reasons:
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We need people’s passive help in getting the project or brand known better.
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We want people to associate the project or brand with being cool, whether anyone knows anything else about it whatsoever.
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We want people to feel appreciated, and feel that others are being treated well too.
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We hope people feel proud to wear our logo; proud to be associated with it.
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We intend that when someone sees a crowd full of people wearing the shirt, that they’ll feel they’re missing out and be excited to go do something about it.
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We intend that it’ll ultimately lead to questions, usage, contributions, and personal identification.
Every time someone walks away with a shirt that doesn’t fit them right, or there’s no shirt to fit them at all, that’s a lose-lose situation for us all.
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A failure to elicit help bolstering the image of the project or brand.
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A thoughtless decision that looks decidedly uncool.
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Showing due appreciation to some, while disregarding others who equally deserve appreciation.
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Implicitly communicating that some people needn’t take interest in what we’re building.
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Making people feel they’re missing out, then reinforcing the accuracy of that conclusion.
It is possible to build software community without caring about swag shirt inclusivity; but it makes that mission unnecessarily harder.
Here’s a nice writeup about gender-inclusive shirts. It details what swag shirt inclusivity entails. Swag shirt inclusivity goes beyond gender considerations, but it’s a solid start.
Yep, this stuff takes effort to do well. But it serves a community builder’s mission.