Celebrating the rOpenSci Community

# Overview rOpenSci marks 15 years as a community focused on open tools for research. A long-time member recounts how involvement over several years taught practical lessons about participation, communication, and contribution. The account emphasizes concrete activities that helped both the author and others grow within the project.

# Stretching your comfort zone

# Respectful review culture rOpenSci places community tone ahead of polish. Its reviewer and editor guides open with an explicit message: reviews should be open, non-adversarial, and focused on improving software quality. The author, who has served as an associate editor for rOpenSci's software peer review, links this approach to practical outcomes: technical issues are easier to fix than ruptured relationships. The community code of conduct and reviewer guidance shape everyday interactions.

# Ways to contribute that aren't code The piece lists many contributions that don't require writing packages or large technical commitments. Specific examples include:

• mentoring, reviewing grant applications or talks, and offering recommendations.

Most of these actions are available without invitations and can be added to a CV or kept as community service.

# Growing the community Good communities rely on people inviting others in. The author uses editorial roles to nominate new editors and encourages peers to submit and review packages. These recruitment steps are described as straightforward ways to shape the community's direction and meet people who become regular collaborators.

# Programs and events mentioned

# Personal connections and travel Several face-to-face meetings are cited as examples of community connections: gatherings at a CZI meeting in Boston, the Posit conference in Seattle, and the Georgia Aquarium after a Posit conference in Atlanta. These encounters illustrate how in-person meetings complement online collaboration.

# Practical advice If you want to get involved, consider small, consistent actions: attend an event, contribute documentation fixes, ask or answer questions on Slack, offer to review or mentor, or propose someone else to join. Many impactful roles need no particular technical credential.

# Final note The author frames rOpenSci as an active, procedural community: it uses explicit guidance and programs to onboard people, supports a range of contributions, and prioritizes human interaction as a daily practice within technical work.