Hug Reports: Supporting Expression of Appreciation between Users and Contributors of Open Source Software Packages

TL;DR

A technology probe is described that provides users a communication affordance within their code editors, through which users can convey appreciation to contributors of packages they use, and reveals the moments in which users expressed appreciation and how contributors' reactions to appreciation were influenced by their perceived level of contribution.

Abstract

Contributors to open source software packages often describe feeling discouraged by the lack of positive feedback from users. This paper describes a technology probe, Hug Reports, that provides users a communication affordance within their code editors, through which users can convey appreciation to contributors of packages they use. In our field study, 18 users interacted with the probe for 3 weeks, resulting in messages of appreciation to 550 contributors, 26 of whom participated in subsequent research. Our findings show how locating a communication affordance within the code editor, and allowing users to express appreciation in terms of the abstractions they are exposed to (packages, modules, functions), can support exchanges of appreciation that are meaningful to users and contributors. Findings also revealed the moments in which users expressed appreciation, the two meanings that appreciation took on -- as a measure of utility and as an act of expressive communication -- and how contributors' reactions to appreciation were influenced by their perceived level of contribution. Based on these findings, we discuss opportunities and challenges for designing appreciation systems for open source in particular, and peer production communities more generally.

Figures (4)

• Figure 1: Hug Reports extension user flow. A button () is rendered on every line of the file that interfaces with an imported package. Right-clicking the button (1) pulls up a contextual menu with the option to "Say Thanks". Clicking the option (2) logs a thanks to the cloud database, after which users are shown a success message with the option to "Say More" (3). If they click "Say More" (4), they are redirected to a web form where they can type out a personal note that is then logged to the cloud database.
• Figure 2: (A) The Hug Report notification was delivered via an email that provided the contributors with context about our project so that they could understand the conditions under which the users had directed these thanks and personal notes towards them. (B) The Hug Report notification, itself, was organized so that each segment (B1) showed one object that the contributor had been thanked for (B2). Above the object, the notification showed the number of thanks corresponding to it (B3). Below the object, were any personal notes associated with it (B4)
• Figure 3: Summary of users' engagement with the Hug Reports extension. (A) The 18 users logged a total of 107 thanks. Thanks were expressed more often at import statements (72 instances) than other lines interfacing with a package (35 instances). (B) Users included personal notes with their thanks on 23 occasions. (C) The affordance was more often accessed near the start of a file than later on.
• Figure 4: Summary of contributors' responses to the survey. We include some contributors' responses to the open-ended questions in the survey to provide further context for some responses. (A) Most contributors reacted positively to the notification, and only 1 participant reacted negatively (whose survey response suggests it was because they found the thanks and personal note too generic). (B) Most contributors were surprised to receive the notification, however, few contributors who belonged to large projects were not. (C) Most contributors felt no or low levels of awkwardness being appreciated. One contributor, who felt 'extremely awkward' noted that receiving a 'hug' from a stranger felt awkward.