Onboarding

🚧 This page is under construction and is considered incomplete. 🚧

Even the greatest was once a beginner. Don't be afraid to take that first step.
Muhammad Ali

We are excited that you have decided to contribute to the Sustainable Progress and Equality Collective (SPEC). Whether you are a new researcher or developer, this page will help you learn the ins and outs of getting started at SPEC. Simply go through each step in the checklist below and you should be able to get up and running at SPEC in no time!

1. Remember you can always email us.

For general inquiries or if you need to get in touch with our team please email us at [email protected].

2. Please review and agree to our code of conduct.

Before joining any of SPEC's platforms please review our code of conduct. It is critical that you understand our community's rules and how to participate professionally using inclusive and accessible language and treating fellow community members with respect and accountability.

Contributors who fail to follow our code of conduct may be temporarily or permanent banned from SPEC and removed from our platforms.

Code of Conduct

3. Learn about our netiquette protocols.

In addition to our code of conduct, we require all SPEC contributors to follow its protocols for online communication and collaboration. SPEC's netiquette currently lives in our Google Drive.

Mattermost is an open-source communication platform the provides persistent chat rooms (channels) organized by topic, private groups, and direct messaging. We use Mattermost as our primary means of communication and is the fastest we to get in touch with us. When you have completed your onboarding process, we will provide you with an invitation link.

5. Say hello to the team!

Yay you are signed up for Slack! You should be able to login in on your phone or computer. If you are new to Slack we recommend following Slack's quick start guide. Once you've successfully signed in, feel free to introduce yourself in our #general channel!

6. Touch base with your project lead or mentor.

If your project lead or mentor hasn't already sent you an introduction email or message on Slack, feel free to look them up on Slack and send them a message. If you have any trouble connecting with your lead you can always reach out via [email protected].

7. Read SPEC's expense policy

Before you start working on a paid project for SPEC, make sure you read the collective's expense policy. You should know what times of work and activities are considered billable and non-billable. If you have any questions about whether a task is billable please reach our to your manager, mentor, or email us at [email protected].

Expense Policy

Toggl Track is a time tracking software company that offers online time tracking and reporting services. We recommend RAs and contributors use the tool to track their time and generate invoices. If you are a contractor and already have tool you use thats fine too! Just make sure whatever tool you use can generate invoices with the information required by our Expense Policy.

9. Register for Open Collective

Open Collective is an online funding platform for open and transparent communities. It provides the tools to raise and share your finances in full transparency. If you are a paid research associate or contributor you will need to register to Open Collective to submit your expenses / reimbursements.

10. Create a Github Account

If you will be contributing to SPEC's software projects, writing documentation, or conducting research, you will probably need to create a Github account.