Announcing Kinograph Titles (and nominations)!
TL;DR
Nominate someone from the Kinograph community that has made a meaningful contribution. See title levels and departments below.
Kinograph Titles
Kinograph exists because of its community. It is built on the belief that by combining our experience and skills we can build a lasting solution to making the world’s visual heritage accessible now and for the future.
Our community recognizes valuable contributions by granting official titles like “Core Engineer” or “Contributing Designer.” Titles may not mean much these days in the “real” world, but in the Kinograph world they mean something special - that a community of your peers values your ideas, skills and time. Kinograph titles are earned and never expire. Take that, vague corporate nonsense!
Hopefully one day someone at a conference or job interview proudly says they hold a Kinograph title and the person(s) listening will be impressed.
So...how does it work?
Prior to every major release, a nomination period allows any member to propose a title for another member. Contributions might be something like...
A forum post that leads to a change in design direction
Organizing a hackathon
Conducting independent research and sharing it
Performing tests of alternative builds, new components, new methods, etc.
Sketching wireframes that become part of the real software
Advocating for an individual or institution to get funding for Kinograph through grants or partnerships
Reaching out to professional societies and creating ongoing relationships
Creating a curriculum plan based on work digitized by a Kinograph
Contributing code or performing QA on pull requests
Proposing alternative materials or components to make Kinograph more affordable
Documentation of digital workflows that help minimize post-scan time or resources
and on and on and on...
So...what are the titles I can get?
Titles are made up of two parts - a level, and a department. Here’s an example: Core Software Engineer.
The department part is pretty straightforward. It’s based on the type of work contributed. Engineering, design, partnerships, etc. See the full list below, which will inevitably change and grow. If you don’t see your specialty here, let me know and I’ll add it!
The levels reflect the depth of the contribution and the individual’s track record over time. They are:
Consultant
Has contributed to Kinograph in a way that reflects the community’s values of openness, generosity, and collaboration. For example, someone who has contributed regularly to the forums in a meaningful way, or has contributed advice to the Kinograph project based on their experience that influenced the project in some way.
Contributor
Individuals whose input has been directly implemented in the official releases of the platform. For example, someone who designed a part, or wrote code, or designed a webpage, or wrote copy, etc.
Core
“Contributors” who have made significant, on-going contributions to the project. For example, someone who has designed multiple parts, made multiple suggestions that were critical in how Kinograph solved its hardest issues, etc.
Departments (not an exhaustive list - send me your recommendations)
Engineer (Hardware)
Engineer (Software)
Industrial Design
Interactive Design
Graphic Design
Business Design
Community Leadership
Partnerships
Writer
Is this common?
Some, but not all open source projects have instituted similar systems. In the writing of this first iteration of the Community Titles, I was inspired by what postgres has done.
Nominations
Nominations are now open and will be until April 1. There is a thread on the forums for making nominations here.
Please send any feedback or suggestions to info@kinograph.cc. I hope this will encourage and reward participation in our community!
-Matthew