Investigating the Impact of Interpersonal Challenges on Feeling Welcome in OSS
The sustainability of open source software (OSS) projects hinges on contributor retention. Interpersonal challenges can inhibit a feeling of welcomeness among contributors, particularly from underrepresented groups, which impacts their decision to continue with the project. How much this impact is, varies among individuals, underlining the importance of a thorough understanding of their effects. Here, we investigate the effects of interpersonal challenges on the sense of welcomeness among diverse populations within OSS, through the diversity lenses of gender, race, and (dis)ability. We analyzed the large-scale Linux Foundation Diversity and Inclusion survey (n = 706) to model a theoretical framework linking interpersonal challenges with the sense of welcomeness through Structural Equation Models Partial Least Squares (PLS-SEM). We then examine the model to identify the impact of these challenges on different demographics through Multi-Group Analysis (MGA). Finally, we conducted a regression analysis to investigate how differently people from different demographics experience different types of interpersonal challenges. Our findings confirm the negative association between interpersonal challenges and the feeling of welcomeness in OSS, with this relationship being more pronounced among gender minorities and people with disabilities. We found that different challenges have unique impacts on how people feel welcomed, with variations across gender, race, and disability groups. We also provide evidence that people from gender minorities and with disabilities are more likely to experience interpersonal challenges than their counterparts, especially when we analyze stalking, sexual harassment, and gender. Our insights benefit OSS communities, informing potential strategies to improve the landscape of interpersonal relationships, ultimately fostering more inclusive and welcoming communities.
Wed 30 AprDisplayed time zone: Eastern Time (US & Canada) change
16:00 - 17:30 | Human and Social Process 2Journal-first Papers / Research Track at 207 Chair(s): Armstrong Foundjem École Polytechnique de Montréal | ||
16:00 15mTalk | An Empirical Study on Developers' Shared Conversations with ChatGPT in GitHub Pull Requests and Issues Journal-first Papers Huizi Hao Queen's University, Canada, Kazi Amit Hasan Queen's University, Canada, Hong Qin Queen's University, Marcos Macedo Queen's University, Yuan Tian Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Ding Steven, H., H. Queen’s University at Kingston, Ahmed E. Hassan Queen’s University | ||
16:15 15mTalk | Who’s Pushing the Code: An Exploration of GitHub Impersonation Research Track Yueke Zhang Vanderbilt University, Anda Liang Vanderbilt University, Xiaohan Wang Vanderbilt University, Pamela J. Wisniewski Vanderbilt University, Fengwei Zhang Southern University of Science and Technology, Kevin Leach Vanderbilt University, Yu Huang Vanderbilt University | ||
16:30 15mTalk | Understanding Real-time Collaborative Programming: a Study of Visual Studio Live Share Journal-first Papers Xin Tan Beihang University, Xinyue Lv Beihang University, Jing Jiang Beihang University, Li Zhang Beihang University | ||
16:45 15mTalk | Characterizing the Prevalence, Distribution, and Duration of Stale Reviewer Recommendations Journal-first Papers Farshad Kazemi University of Waterloo, Maxime Lamothe Polytechnique Montreal, Shane McIntosh University of Waterloo | ||
17:00 15mTalk | Diversity's Double-Edged Sword: Analyzing Race's Effect on Remote Pair Programming Interactions Journal-first Papers | ||
17:15 7mTalk | Investigating the Impact of Interpersonal Challenges on Feeling Welcome in OSS Research Track Bianca Trinkenreich Colorado State University, Zixuan Feng Oregon State University, USA, Rudrajit Choudhuri Oregon State University, Marco Gerosa Northern Arizona University, Anita Sarma Oregon State University, Igor Steinmacher NAU RESHAPE LAB Pre-print |