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Improve New Contributor Onboarding via Emoji-Triggered Resource Hub + Weekly Starter Post #8935
Description
Describe the issue
Problem
In the #kubernetes-new-contributors Slack channel, new contributors often introduce themselves but are unsure how to proceed. This leads to:
- Repetitive onboarding guidance from maintainers
- Low follow-up engagement from new contributors
- Difficulty navigating the broader ecosystem (Kubernetes core, SIGs, and related repos)
Proposal
Introduce a lightweight onboarding improvement using:
-
Emoji-triggered Slack workflow
When a new contributor posts an introduction, a maintainer (or community member) reacts with a specific emoji (e.g., 👋)
This triggers a Slack Workflow response sharing a centralized, interactive resource hub:
Such as https://irapandey.github.io/k8s-resource/ - this is a complication of lists I found floating in the channel by maintainers. -
Weekly automated starter post
A recurring message in the channel
- Directs users to the resource hub
- Encourages them to pick a starting path
- Nudges engagement with:
- “Made your first contribution this week? Share it here!”
Why this helps
- Reduces repetitive onboarding responses
- Provides a clear and structured starting point
- Improves discoverability across SIGs and contribution areas
- Encourages organic interaction and community participation
Reacted by Suhail A
Activity
irapandey commentedon Apr 13, 2026
/sig contributor-experience
jberkus commentedon Apr 23, 2026
How are you with building and integrating Slack apps? That's an area where we need help, and creating what you're suggesting will require some expertise there.
irapandey commentedon Apr 26, 2026
I have played around with Slack application at work. I can give it a try.
irapandey commentedon Jun 5, 2026
Hey @jberkus
Actually, I've already coded up this bot with all the security stuff and error handling sorted. Happy to take it from Slack app setup through to deployment.
I am currently working on implementing the bot in a test environment. I will share video recording the bot behavior soon.
k8s-triage-robot commentedon Oct 19, 2026
The Kubernetes project currently lacks enough contributors to adequately respond to all issues.
This bot triages un-triaged issues according to the following rules:
lifecycle/staleis appliedlifecycle/stalewas applied,lifecycle/rottenis appliedlifecycle/rottenwas applied, the issue is closedYou can:
/remove-lifecycle stale/closePlease send feedback to sig-contributor-experience at kubernetes/community.
/lifecycle stale