Contributing to This Guide

First of all — thank you for being here. This guide is a community effort, and every contribution matters, whether that’s fixing a typo, sharing your streaming setup, or writing a whole new section.

We want this to be a resource by the RSE community, for the RSE community. That means it works best when people with different backgrounds, experience levels, and perspectives are involved.

Who Can Contribute?

Everyone. Genuinely.

You do not need to be an expert in streaming. You do not need to have done this before. If you are:

  • An RSE who has streamed a coding session and learned something the hard way
  • Someone who tried to get started and found a gap in this guide
  • A complete beginner who spotted something confusing
  • A lurker who just wants to fix a broken link

You belong here, and your contribution is welcome.

Ways to Contribute

Fix something small

Spotted a typo, broken link, or unclear sentence? Open a pull request directly — no need to file an issue first for small fixes.

Suggest a change or addition

Not sure how to make the change yourself? Open an issue describing what you think is missing or could be improved. A short note is plenty.

Share your setup or experience

Have you streamed a research demo, a coding session, or a conference talk? Your real-world experience is exactly what this guide needs. Consider adding a short section or a tip to an existing page.

Review someone else’s contribution

Looking over pull requests and offering constructive feedback is a valuable contribution in itself, especially for people still getting comfortable with Git.

Translate or improve accessibility

If you can help make this content available in other languages, or spot something that could be made clearer or more accessible, please do raise it.

How to Contribute

Via GitHub (preferred)

  1. Fork this repository
  2. Create a branch with a short descriptive name, e.g. add-obs-tips or fix-twitch-embed
  3. Make your changes — pages are written in plain Markdown
  4. Open a pull request with a brief description of what you changed and why
  5. A maintainer will review it, usually within a week or two

If you are new to GitHub or pull requests, the GitHub Docs quickstart is a friendly place to start. You are also very welcome to open an issue instead and someone can help.

Via an Issue

If you would rather not use Git at all, open an issue and paste your suggested text or describe your idea. We will take it from there.

Writing Style

This guide is aimed at people who may be technically confident in their own domain but new to streaming. Please keep that in mind:

  • Be direct and friendly. Write as if you are explaining to a colleague over coffee, not writing documentation for a software release.
  • Avoid jargon where possible. If you need to use a technical term, briefly explain it on first use.
  • Use plain Markdown. Headings, bullet points, numbered steps, and code blocks are your main tools. Keep formatting simple.
  • Screenshots and examples are welcome. If you add images, please include a descriptive alt text for accessibility.
  • First and second person is fine. “You will need to…” and “I found that…” are both welcome tones.

Use of AI Tools

Contributors may use AI tools, such as chatbots, code assistants or writing assistants, to help draft, edit or review contributions. However, AI-generated material should be used responsibly and must be checked carefully before submission.

If you use AI tools when contributing, please follow these principles:

  • You are responsible for the contribution. Do not submit AI-generated text, code or recommendations that you have not reviewed and understood.
  • Check accuracy. Streaming platforms, software tools, moderation features and accessibility options change over time. Please verify factual claims against current documentation where possible.
  • Avoid invented references. Do not include citations, links, tool names, statistics or claims unless you have checked that they are real and relevant.
  • Respect copyright and licences. Do not paste large amounts of generated or copied text from sources that are not compatible with this project’s licence.
  • Protect privacy. Do not put private data, unpublished research, personal information, credentials, chat logs or confidential project material into AI tools unless you have permission to do so.
  • Preserve community voice. This guide should reflect real experience from RSEs and adjacent communities. AI can help with wording, but it should not replace lived experience, practical knowledge or community review.
  • Disclose substantial AI assistance. If AI tools made a significant contribution to the text, structure or code in your pull request, please mention this briefly in the pull request description.

Examples of helpful AI use include:

  • improving clarity or grammar
  • suggesting alternative headings
  • turning notes into a first draft
  • checking for inconsistent terminology
  • helping produce a plain-language summary

Examples of AI use that need extra care include:

  • recommending specific software, hardware or services
  • making claims about platform rules or pricing
  • generating accessibility, legal, privacy or security advice
  • summarising someone else’s work without checking the original source

Maintainers may ask contributors to revise, source or remove AI-assisted content if it is inaccurate, too generic, unsourced, or inconsistent with the aims of the guide.

Code of Conduct

This project follows a simple principle: be kind.

We are committed to a welcoming environment for everyone, regardless of background, identity, career stage, or level of experience. Constructive disagreement is fine; dismissiveness or unkindness is not.

If you experience or witness behaviour that makes you feel unwelcome, please contact the maintainers directly or open a private issue. We take this seriously.

We broadly follow the Contributor Covenant values, and contributions to this guide implicitly agree to uphold them.

Maintainers

This guide is currently maintained by a small group of RSEs. We are volunteers doing this in the gaps between everything else, so please be patient with review times. We appreciate your understanding and your contributions enormously.

Attribution

The first version of this website was created at the SSI’s Collaboration Workshop (2026), during Hackday. All contributors are acknowledged on the website.

Thank you for helping make this resource better for everyone in the RSE community.