.. _communications-guidelines:

Communication guidelines

These guidelines are applicable when acting as a representative of Matplotlib,

for example at sprints or when giving official talks or tutorials, and in any

community venue managed by Matplotlib.

.. _communication-channels:

Official communication channels

The following venues are managed by Matplotlib maintainers and contributors:

* https://github.com/matplotlib/matplotlib

* https://discourse.matplotlib.org/

* https://gitter.im/matplotlib/

* https://github.com/matplotlib/matplotblog

Social Media

* https://twitter.com/matplotlib

* https://instagram.com/matplotart/

* https://www.tiktok.com/@matplotart

Mailing lists

* https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/matplotlib-announce

* https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/matplotlib-users

* https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/matplotlib-devel

.. _social-media-coordination:

Social media coordination

team mailing list: matplotlib-social@numfocus.org

public chat room: https://gitter.im/matplotlib/community

Content guidelines

Communication on official channels, such as the Matplotlib homepage or on

Matplotlib social accounts, should conform to the following standards:

- be primarily about Matplotlib, 3rd party packages, and visualizations made with Matplotlib

- also acceptable topics: Python, Visualization, NumFOCUS libraries

- no gratuitous disparaging of other visualization libraries and tools; criticism is acceptable so long as it serves a constructive purpose

- follow visualization communication best practices

- don't share non-expert visualizations when it could be harmful

- put on meeting agenda when answer isn't clearly to hold off on sharing.

- clearly state when the visualization data/conclusions cannot be verified

- do not rely on machine translations for sensitive visualizations

- example: https://twitter.com/matplotlib/status/1244178154618605568

- verify sourcing of content (especially on instagram & blog)

- Instagram/blog: ensure mpl has right to repost/share content

- make sure content is clearly cited

- example: a tutorial using someone else’s example clearly cites the original source

- Limited self/corporate promotion is acceptable, but should be no more than about a quarter of the content of the blog/discourse post.

- if you think content is borderline, ask on the :ref:`_social-media-coordination` channels before publishing it

- acceptable image guide:

- keep it geared towards science/data visualization, and non-controversial images

- must be conform to the guidelines of all sites it may be posed on:

- https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/twitter-rules

- https://help.instagram.com/477434105621119

Accessibility

Images in communications should be as accessible as possible:

- add alt text to images and videos when the platform allows

- https://webaim.org/techniques/alttext/

- https://medium.com/nightingale/writing-alt-text-for-data-visualization-2a218ef43f81

- warn on bright, strobing, images & turn off autoplay if possible

- for images made by the social media team:

- make graphic perceivable to people who cannot perceive color well, due to color-blindness or low vision

- do not make bright, strobing images

- more guidelines at https://webaim.org/techniques/images/

Social media account information

Behavior

When acting as a representative of the library, keep responses polite, and assume

user statements are in good faith unless they violate the [Code of Conduct](https://www.python.org/psf/conduct/)

Persona

On social media, Matplotlib:

* Is a sentient visualization library, so talks about itself as a we, us, our, and it. Avoids talking about itself in the 3rd person.

* Is very earnest, eager to please, and aims to be patient & painfully oblivious to snark and sarcasm.

* Gets over-excited over shiny visualizations - lots of emojis and the like - and encourages folks to share their work.

* Highlights various parts of the library, especially the more obscure bits and bobbles.

* Acknowledges that it is a sometimes frustrating tangle of bits & bobbles that can confuse even the folks who work on it & signal boosts their confuzzlment.

Social graph

- only follow organizations/projects - mostly NumFocus projects

- especially 3rd party packages

- should at least be visualization related

- sponsors are also acceptable

- do not follow individual accounts for any reason (even maintainers/project leads/Guido!)

Recurrent social campaigns

- Release Announcements

- Highlight new features & major deprecations

- Link to download/install instructions

- Ask folks to try it out.

- signal boost third party packages

- GSOC work during GSOC recruiting and work times

- John Hunter Excellence in Plotting, submission and winners

communication_guide