Nice to Meet You: The Role of Communicative Signaling in GitHub Profile Biographies

Description

Abstract (English)

Coding platforms such as GitHub have introduced a social aspect to collaboration, in what is termed "social coding". As an enhancement over traditional version-control systems, such as 'stock' Git, any GitHub user -- ranging from developers to maintainers to casual contributors -- has a social profile in addition to their contributed artifacts in a repository. However, there is limited work on studying how these social profiles signal competence, ability, and other social cues exhibited by GitHub users.
To address this gap, we collected a dataset of GitHub profiles and conducted a user survey to investigate the role of communicative signaling in GitHub biographies. Specifically, we examine what are the common themes, tone, and language use employed in GitHub profile biographies, and how do these characteristics influence perceivers' impressions of a user's technical competence and expertise? We also explore whether linguistic properties such as self-presentation strategies, humor, and emotional expression play a significant role in getting pull requests (PRs) accepted by others, and what specific features are most important for successful PR acceptance. Furthermore, we examine how GitHub profile biographies influence recruitment outcomes, such as whether a user is considered for a project or invited to collaborate on an open-source initiative, and which bio characteristics are most strongly associated with these outcomes.
Our findings have implications for the development of more effective collaboration tools and strategies in software development communities. By understanding how GitHub profiles convey social cues, developers can optimize their online presence to attract collaborators, mentors, and even potential employers. Additionally, our research highlights the importance of considering the social aspects of coding platforms in the design of future collaborative technologies.