Add community grant report for May-July 2022

src/content/blog/2023-02-03-community-gardening.md

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+---
+title: Community Gardening, May - July 2022
+tags: ["grants"]
+layout: blog
+date: 2023-02-03
+byline: Benjie Gillam
+permalink: /blog/2023-02-03-community-gardening
+---
+
+> The GraphQL Foundation offers [Community
+> Grants](https://graphql.org/foundation/community-grant/) to help incentivize
+> key technical and community initiatives. As part of the grant, applicants
+> commit to write a blog post report describing their work and its impact on
+> the GraphQL community. The following report was written by successful grant
+> applicant [Benjie Gillam](https://github.com/sponsors/benjie) in August 2022,
+> detailing the community gardening he performed during May, June and July of
+> that year.
+
+## Backstory
+
+In 2019 I started turning up to GraphQL Working Group meetings regularly and
+helping take [the
+notes](https://github.com/graphql/graphql-wg/tree/main/notes). Back then we had
+a system for filing and reviewing action items, but very few people used it, so
+items would easily get lost. Further, the notes and videos would be uploaded in
+batches every few months, which prevented attendees referring to them in the
+interim.
+
+Over the next couple years I set about trying to improve these processes. I
+started by filing the [action
+items](https://github.com/graphql/graphql-wg/issues?q=is%3Aissue+sort%3Aupdated-desc+label%3A%22Action+item+%3Aclapper%3A%22)
+myself. After a while, I started categorizing them into [GitHub
+projects](https://github.com/graphql/graphql-wg/projects?type=classic&query=is%3Aopen+sort%3Aupdated-desc),
+one for each meeting, which made keeping track of them (particularly the old
+ones) much easier and helped us to see progress. Later I introduced a new
+["ready for review"
+label](https://github.com/graphql/graphql-wg/issues?q=is%3Aissue+sort%3Aupdated-desc+label%3A%22Ready+for+review+%F0%9F%99%8C%22+)
+that enabled us to quickly focus on the action items that needed discussion
+rather than trying to go over every item (or skip the lot entirely) each
+meeting. These processes were very much appreciated by the working group, but
+were quite time consuming for one person. As time went on my I found myself
+contributing to GraphQL in more and more ways, and as the time I could dedicate
+to these tasks dwindled, my ability to keep these processes running smoothly
+diminished.
+
+## Funding approved
+
+In May 2022, the GraphQL Foundation kindly approved my application for a [GraphQL
+Community Grant](https://graphql.org/foundation/community-grant/) to enable me
+to dedicate more time to these tasks. I'm a community-funded open source
+developer, so I rely on [sponsorship](https://github.com/sponsors/benjie) to
+fund my open source endeavors - both on my own open source projects ([the
+Graphile suite](https://github.com/graphile)) and also my contributions to the
+[GraphQL](https://github.com/graphql/graphql-spec/graphs/contributors)
+[Working](https://github.com/graphql/graphql-wg/graphs/contributors)
+[Groups](https://github.com/graphql/graphql-over-http/graphs/contributors).
+Since being approved for the grant, I've been better able to execute the role
+of community gardener; let me tell you about some of the ways in which the
+Foundation's grant has enabled me to better support you, the GraphQL community!
+
+The [main GraphQL working group](https://github.com/graphql/graphql-wg) meets
+each month; and it is recorded on Zoom and made available via [the Foundation's
+YouTube
+channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCERcwLeheOXp_u61jEXxHMA/playlists).
+Soon after each meeting I've been uploading the videos not just for the main
+meeting but also for the various other subcommittees ([GraphiQL
+WG](https://github.com/graphql/graphiql/tree/main/working-group), [GraphQL.js
+WG](https://github.com/graphql/graphql-js-wg), [GraphQL-over-HTTP
+WG](https://github.com/graphql/graphql-over-http/tree/main/working-group),
+Metadata WG, [Composite Schemas
+WG](https://github.com/graphql/composite-schemas-wg)) that may have met during
+the previous month. Whilst uploading the video of the main meeting, I file its
+notes and the action items, while also categorizing them making sure they're
+assigned to the relevant person. Recently, I've also started adding timestamped
+links to the YouTube video for each action item, so we can hear the original
+instructions rather than just the paraphrased summaries from the notes - I
+think this makes them even more useful!
+
+## Empowering other contributors
+
+As part of my aim to document our processes and streamline things, I've created
+[a template repository](https://github.com/graphql/wg-template) that can be
+used whenever a new GraphQL subcommittee is created. This enables all
+subcommittees to adopt the GraphQL meeting practices with minimal effort from
+the committee chair - just [a small list of
+edits](https://github.com/graphql/wg-template#working-group-template) that take
+about 5 minutes when setting up the repository and of course the regular
+scheduling.
+
+I've also been working with the Linux Foundation to get subcommittee meetings
+scheduled onto [the GraphQL
+calendar](https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=linuxfoundation.org_ik79t9uuj2p32i3r203dgv5mo8%40group.calendar.google.com),
+and to expand [EasyCLA](https://docs.linuxfoundation.org/v2/easycla) to the new
+repositories to ensure that everyone contributing has signed the [GraphQL
+Membership
+Agreement](https://github.com/graphql/graphql-wg/tree/main/membership). This
+should make releasing future versions of the spec and any subcommittee
+deliverables much easier since the intellectual property paperwork is in place
+from the start.
+
+Thanks to the new funding I've also been able to be more active on GitHub
+issues, PRs, discussions and in [the GraphQL Discord
+server](https://discord.graphql.org/), enabling me to offer assistance to
+people interested in contributing, and to help moderate these environments.
+This includes [explaining how to become a
+champion](https://github.com/graphql/graphql-spec/issues/174#issuecomment-1129621529),
+performing timely moderation actions when the Discord server suffers from spam,
+and giving guidance on how to improve PRs.
+
+## Extra-curricular activities
+
+Whilst not technically under the umbrella of the grant, having the time spent
+on the above tasks funded by the GraphQL Grant has freed me up to dedicate more
+time to other key issues in GraphQL - for example I [recently revived the
+GraphQL-over-HTTP
+project](https://github.com/graphql/graphql-over-http/pull/175) and we're well
+on the way towards v1 of that specification. I've also helped kick-start [the
+GraphQL Composite Schemas working
+group](https://github.com/graphql/composite-schemas-wg) for the community to
+collaborate on shared solutions to common problems felt across all the
+different ways of building a GraphQL schema by combining other GraphQL schemas
+together. I've also finally been able [to follow through on my intent to push
+the "GraphQL Metadata" topic
+forward](https://github.com/graphql/graphql-spec/issues/300#issuecomment-1119676731)
+including researching, digesting, and [sharing my analysis of the existing
+solutions and their problems at the GraphQL
+Conference](https://youtu.be/c1oa7p73rTw), and [suggesting a solution of my
+own](https://github.com/graphql/graphql-wg/blob/main/rfcs/AnnotationStructs.md).
+Another thing that this reduced pressure on my time has enabled is the [new
+SpecNews podcast](https://specnewspod.com/) in which my co-host Jem and I
+summarize the latest GraphQL Specification Working Group session in just 5-10
+minutes.
+
+## Get involved!
+
+If you're interested in contributing to GraphQL and need help getting started,
+feel free to reach out to me, @benjie, on
+[Discord](https://discord.graphql.org) or via a GitHub issue or PR and I'll do
+my best to help!