Fix: final edits to post

Author: lwasser

_posts/2024-05-23-pyos-pyconus-2024-recap.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ---
 layout: single
-title: "My experience at PyCon US 2024 - pyOpenSci, Python packaging and community"
+title: "pyOpenSci at PyCon US 2024 - Python packaging and community"
 excerpt: "Learn about  pyOpenSci's experience at PyCon US 2024, how pyOpenSci is making Python packaging more accessible and beginner friendly and how the Python community is helping us get there."
 author: "Leah Wasser"
 permalink: /blog/recap-pyos-pyconus-2024.html
@@ -34,48 +34,49 @@ comments: true
 ## Another year, another pyCon
 
 Wow! I wasn’t sure it would be possible to top last year’s PyCon US 2023 experience
-in Salt Lake City, but this year was better. People are learning about pyOpenSci. The community is excited to support our mission to **help
+in Salt Lake City, but this year's [PyConUS 2024](https://us.pycon.org/2024/) *was even better*. People are learning about pyOpenSci. The community is excited to support our mission to **help
 scientists create better software and make their science more open and
-reproducible** so they can tackle the world's greatest challenges. So I was excited to leave for [PyConUS 2024](https://us.pycon.org/2024/) to continue our efforts of building diverse community that supports scientists.
+reproducible** so they can tackle the world's greatest challenges.
 
 PyConUS, run by the [Python Software
 Foundation,](https://www.python.org/psf-landing/) is one of the biggest Python meetings in the world with a record 2,700 registrations this year.
 {: .notice }
 
 
-
 I also knew that I'd get to see a bunch of the friends who I met last year. I was returning to
-this inclusive community, filled with pythonistas like me
+this inclusive community, filled with Pythonistas like me
 who care, who want to learn, and most importantly who want to help each other.
 
 And... Thanks to our incredible community manager,
-[Jesse (`@kiersi` on GitHub)](https://github.com/kiersi), we now have
-a [pyOpenSci](https://www.pyopensci.org) visual brand, and swag and stickers galore.
+[Jesse (@kiersi on GitHub)](https://github.com/kiersi), we now have
+a [pyOpenSci](https://www.pyopensci.org) visual brand -- and stickers galore.
 
 <figure>
-  <img src="{{ site.baseurl }}/images/blog/2024/may/juno-stickers.png" alt="Image of a flat coated retriever chewing on a stick with a bunch of pyOpenSci stickers in front of her cut face. " style="width: 60%;" />
-  <figcaption>My pip Juno prefers sticks, but also likes  pyOpenSci.</figcaption>
+  <img src="{{ site.baseurl }}/images/blog/2024/may/juno-stickers.png" alt="Image of a flat coated retriever chewing on a stick with a bunch of pyOpenSci stickers in front of her cut face. " style="width: 70%;" />
+  <figcaption><i class="fa-solid fa-heart-pulse"></i> My rescue pup Juno prefers sticks, but also loves pyOpenSci <i class="fa-solid fa-heart-pulse"></i>.</figcaption>
 </figure>
 
 ### So different from last year
 
 My experience last year was a bit different. I walked into my first PyCon
 US - having no idea how I'd fit in at the meeting. I didn’t know
 many people. I had never led a [mentored sprint](https://www.mentored-sprints.dev/).
-And I wasn't sure how my packaging talk would be received (packaging is a notoriously thorny
-topic). [But it too turned out pretty great - read more here.](pycon-2023-packaging-presentation-sprints-leah-wasser.html)
+And I wasn't sure how my packaging talk would be received; you see, packaging is a notoriously thorny
+topic.
+
+[Last year turned out pretty great - read more here.](pycon-2023-packaging-presentation-sprints-leah-wasser.html)
 
 However, rather than feeling like an outsider, I met a lot of new people
 who became new Python friends and colleagues. I learned about a lot of cool
-projects and organizations and our sprint session went so well with tons of new contributions. Yaas!
+projects and organizations and our sprints were awesome with many new contributions. Yaas! <i class="fa-solid fa-rocket"></i>
 
 My takeaway: if you are considering going to PyCon but are worried about not knowing
-people YOU SHOULD STILL GO! You can feel the true spirit of open source (and open science) at PyCon US. That is one of my many favorite parts.
+people YOU SHOULD STILL GO! You can feel the true spirit of open source (and open science) at PyCon US. No judgement. All "levels" of Pythonistas welcome.
 
 
 ## My first main track PyCon US talk Friends don't let friends package alone
 
-I gave my first main track talk at PyCon this year, titled “Friends Don’t Let
+This year, I gave my first main track talk at PyCon, titled “Friends Don’t Let
 Friends Package Alone.” Getting a main track slot means presenting on a big
 stage to a huge room of people! It was real - headset mic, incredible
 tech support, and even an “escort” from the speaker room to the main stage. Wow!
@@ -86,6 +87,12 @@ the front rows, smiling and supporting me. They both empowered me and gave me ca
 As someone who often battles imposter syndrome, giving a talk on the "big" stage of a tech meeting
 was unforgettable.
 
+
+<figure>
+  <img src="{{ site.baseurl }}/images/blog/2024/may/leah-talking-pyconus-2024.jpg" alt="Image of a woman on a big stage wearing a red tank top talking. On the side is a slide that says pyOpenSci - Save the Date. Open science fall festival september 28-29 2024" style="width: 70%;" />
+  <figcaption><i class="fa-solid fa-heart-pulse"></i> Me talking on the stage! I was so nervous before but once I got up there, everything calmed in my mind.  <i class="fa-solid fa-heart-pulse"></i>.</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
 ### A talk about making Python packaging more beginner friendly
 My talk focused on how pyOpenSci helps beginners by breaking down
 complex packaging concepts into simple, digestible pieces. I leaned into decades of
@@ -112,7 +119,7 @@ for beginners.
 </figure>
 
 
-[I break this all down in more detail here if you want to read more.](#addlink)
+<!-- [I break this all down in more detail here if you want to read more.](#addlink) -->
 
 Giving a talk at PyConUS experience reinforced my belief in the power of community to tackle complex
 problems and support each other in our scientific journeys.
@@ -140,49 +147,55 @@ people within a conference boasting 2,700 registrations. The prep leading up to
 the summit was manageable, but the days before and the day of were quite the
 adventure!
 
-The summit featured amazing speakers, including
+The summit featured amazing speakers, including:
 
 * Leonard Richardson, who shared
 insights on maintaining core tools like [Beautiful Soup](https://pypi.org/project/beautifulsoup4/) for 20 years and tips on
 handling burnout.
-* [Jessica Tegner](https://github.com/JessicaTegner). Jessica became a maintainer of one of the top 1% of all downloaded packages on PyPI - [pypandoc](https://github.com/JessicaTegner/pypandoc). She talked about her experiences taking over a package with over 3 million monthly downloads. Oh and did i mention that Jessica does all this without the ability to see? Yes she is blind. The backgrounds of the maintainers in our open source ecosystem always blows my mind.
+* [Jessica Tegner](https://github.com/JessicaTegner). Jessica became a maintainer of one of the top 1% of all downloaded packages on PyPI - [pypandoc](https://github.com/JessicaTegner/pypandoc). She talked about her experiences taking over a package with over 3 million monthly downloads. Oh and did I mention that Jessica does all this being visually challenged? The backgrounds (and dedication) of the maintainers in our open source ecosystem always blows my mind.
 
- Working alongside Inessa Pawson, Kara Sowles and Chris Rose who are all also rockstars in the open source world was a fantastic
+Working alongside Inessa Pawson, Kara Sowles and Chris Rose who are all also rockstars in the open source world was a fantastic
 experience. Despite some logistical challenges, like the summit filling up
-quickly and a waitlist, the event was a success. Next year, we hope to better pin down registration and also broader the scope of our summit to also include aspiring maintainers and contributors!
-
+quickly and a waitlist, the event was a success. Next year (if we are invited back), will be even better as we try to open the doors to include aspiring maintainers and contributors!
 
 {% include video id="L-Ok_89QJOM" provider="youtube" %}
 
 
-Also if you were wondering, yes that Monstera (plant) in the background is real! AND YES it is ginormous!
+Also if you were wondering, yes that Monstera Deliciosa (plant) in the background is real! AND YES it is ginormous! <i class="fa-solid fa-leaf"></i>
 
 ## Our second pyOpenSci sprint
 
+This year we had a tremendous turnout of over 20 people from several countries for our 1-day pyConUS sprint. At last count this resulted in about [30 issues and pull requests](https://github.com/orgs/pyOpenSci/projects/12/views/1) where volunteers who were there to support scientists, helped us fix issues on our website, in our tutorials and our packaging and peer review guidebooks. So many long-standing issues and bugs were fixed thanks to this wonderful Python community.
+
 <figure class="half">
   <img src="{{ site.baseurl }}/images/blog/2024/may/pycon-us-24-pyopensci-sprints-juno.png" alt="Image of the puycon us sprint board where projects signed up for different rooms." />
   <img src="{{ site.baseurl }}/images/blog/2024/may/pycon-24-sprints-pyopensci.png" alt="Image of the puycon us sprint board where projects signed up for different rooms." />
   <figcaption>The pyConUS sprint sign-up board had lots of projects. Because the rooms are large projects tend to share spaces. We ended up in the packaging room which was great as it allowed us to do some more difficult work around Python packages with C extensions!</figcaption>
 </figure>
 
 
-This year we had a tremendous turnout of 17 people from several countries and across the United States  for our 1-day sprint. At last count this resulted in over 35 issues and pull requests where volunteers who were there to support scientists, helped us fix issues on our website, in our tutorials and our packaging and peer review guidebooks. So many long-standing issues and bugs were fixed thanks to this wonderful python community.
 
-If you haven’t been to a sprint before, it’s an experience that every open source enthusiast should have. Sprints are where a bunch of people come together to work on a project. If you are running sprints that support software development in a professional environment (i.e. at a company) this might mean a team of people working together on releasing a new software feature. But for open source, sprints can also mean volunteers coming to a space to help maintainers work on various parts of a project - even a project like pyOpenSci that supports other people's software has has it's own software too. We have tools that help us keep track of our [open community-lead peer review process ](https://www.pyopensci.org/about-peer-review/index.html) and other programs.
+If you haven’t been to a sprint before, it’s an experience that every open source enthusiast should have. Sprints are where a bunch of people come together to work on a project. If you are running sprints that support software development in a professional environment (i.e. at a company) this might mean a team of people working together on releasing a new software feature. But for the open source community, sprints can also mean volunteers coming to a space to help maintainers work on various parts of a project that they care about - like pyOpenSci!
+
+pyOpenSci supports other people's software through it's [open community-lead peer review process ](https://www.pyopensci.org/about-peer-review/index.html) and it's online, free [packaging resources](https://www.pyopensci.org/python-package-guide/). But it also has it's own software too. We have tools that help us keep track of our review process, and volunteer contributions so we can acknowledge everyone for their effort.
 
+Acknowledging contributions is so so so (did I mention SO?) important. And we value them so much.
 
 <figure>
   <img src="{{ site.baseurl }}/images/blog/2024/may/pycon-24-sprints-table-pyopensci.png" alt="Image of a round table of people talking and working at computers during our sprints." />
 
   <figcaption>We had people working at multiple tables on pyOpenSci issues. A handful of people worked through our Create Your First Python Package tutorials and provided input and found issues! Included in this image is Jeremiah Paige who is making our packaging guide so much better by adding actual package examples (including on that has C extensions!) using Hatch! </figcaption>
 </figure>
 
-At pyOpenSci, we have a [help-wanted project board](https://github.com/orgs/pyOpenSci/projects/3) where we list things that we could use help with across our organization. Some of the tasks that we need help with are beginner friendly. For example it's useful for beginners to test drive our [online packaging tutorials](https://www.pyopensci.org/python-package-guide/tutorials/intro.html) and then report bugs as GitHub issues. Your feedback might be errors in a lesson, typos or things that were confusing / didn’t work.
+### How to run a sprint
+
+I've learned a lot about running sprints over the past 2 years. At pyOpenSci, we have a [help-wanted project board](https://github.com/orgs/pyOpenSci/projects/3) where we add issues and things that we could use help with across our organization. Some of the tasks that we need help with are beginner friendly. For example it's useful for beginners to test drive our [online packaging tutorials](https://www.pyopensci.org/python-package-guide/tutorials/intro.html) and then report bugs as GitHub issues. Your feedback might be errors in a lesson, typos or things that were confusing / didn’t work.
 
 Some of our help-wanted issues are more technical too. pyOpenSci is a non-profit organization whose heart is a community of volunteers. We have infrastructure that any other open source project would have and as such we need technical help working on CI (continuous integration) workflows, guidebook infrastructure, our website and more.
 
-As an Executive Director and Founder of pyOpenSci, I created most of this infrastructure to support our mission myself early on. While I cherish times when I have bandwidth to work on technical things, it’s hard to keep up. So I really appreciate when community members can help us tick off open issues - big and small.
+As an Executive Director and Founder of pyOpenSci, I created most of this infrastructure to support our mission myself, early on. This means that sometimes, its not the prettiest code <i class="fa-regular fa-face-grin-squint-tears"></i>. But it works.
 
+While I cherish times when I have bandwidth to work on technical things, it’s hard to keep up. So I really appreciate when community members can help us tick off open issues - big and small.
 
 ## Our first pyOpenSci Open Space
 
@@ -214,21 +227,22 @@ rather than tools. We plan to tackle some of these and other topics during our F
 
 
 ## Packaging summit
-Last but not least, pyOpenSci had a strong presence at the PyConUS packaging summit this year. The summit was organization by Pradyun Gedam, Jannis ... CAM, Filipe Laines. As I have mentioned several times, packaging is one of the more thorny topics in our Python ecosystem. However, this year, things felt different compared to last.
+Last but not least, pyOpenSci had a strong presence at the PyConUS packaging summit this year. The summit was organization by [Pradyun Gedam](https://github.com/pradyunsg), [Jannis Leidel](https://github.com/jezdez), [CAM Gerlach](https://github.com/CAM-Gerlach), [Filipe Laínes](https://github.com/FFY00). As I have mentioned several times, packaging is one of the more thorny topics in our Python ecosystem. However, this year, things felt different compared to last.
 
-For one there were a lot more people in the room and people with different perspectives. For one, last year I was 1/3 women in the room - this year there were people from many backgrounds and identities in the room! Last year also felt more technical whereas this year was a perfect mix of  discussing technical topics combined with a strong theme of considering user experience in both installing Python and creating packages (plus documentation - yes PLEASE)!
+For one there were a lot more people in the room and people with different perspectives. For one, last year I was 1 of 3? female-identifying people in the room - this year there were people from many backgrounds and identities in the room! Last year also felt more technical whereas this year was a perfect mix of  discussing technical topics combined with a strong theme of considering user experience in both installing Python and creating packages. PLUS - documentation - yes PLEASE!
 
 The Executive Director of the Python Software Foundation was in the room and there could be financial support in the future to make packaging better!
 
 I'm hopeful.
 
 From my perspective the biggest challenges in our ecosystem revolve around:
+
 *  too much focus on tools and not enough focus on user experience and documentation, and
 * too many options and opinions that prevent users from have early success.
 
 There is a path forward. And people who are working on tools in the ecosystem really do care -- a lot. So please thank them - thank the maintainers and people who work on the tools that you use - or might use in the future. It's all volunteer time.
 
-A few other highlights for m e included meeting Ofek, the maintainer of [Hatch](https://ofek.dev/projects/hatch/). Ofek has a condition which makes travel difficult. It was incredible that he was able to make it to PyCon. He also gave a talk which I will link to here once it is online!
+A few other highlights for me included meeting Ofek, the maintainer of [Hatch](https://ofek.dev/projects/hatch/). It was a big deal for Ofek to attend this meeting in person! He also gave a talk on his end-to-end packaging tool Hatch.
 
 ## Wrap up
 
@@ -237,6 +251,8 @@ A few other highlights for m e included meeting Ofek, the maintainer of [Hatch](
   <figcaption>Image of Juno my pup with my PyConUS thank you gifts. PyCon provides letters and gifts for people who either give talks or lead / organize events. This year I did both and got a pint glass to remember it all - #rescuedogapproved. </figcaption>
 </figure>
 
-I left pyCon US 2024 overwhelmed by the support that pyOpenSci received. People at pyCon generally care a lot and are invested in making scientists' experience in the Python ecosystem better. I also exhausted. I am an introvert by nature so even the best days of interacting with friends makes me tired!
+I left pyCon US 2024 overwhelmed by the support that pyOpenSci received. People at pyCon generally care a lot and are invested in making scientists' experience in the Python ecosystem better. I also needed a week to recover. I am an introvert by nature so even the best days of interacting with friends makes me tired!
 
 I look forward to attending the meeting again next year - once again in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. And I look forward to seeing my newly expanded Python family again too.
+
+See you there!