add interacting w/ new contribs guide

Author: kne42

content/maintainers/_index.md

@@ -8,4 +8,8 @@ This is a draft document.
 
 The scientific Python ecosystem welcomes your expertise and enthusiasm!
 
+- [Interacting With New Contributors]({{< relref 
+"/maintainers/interacting-with-new-contributors" 
+>}})
 - [Project Meetings Guide]({{< relref "/maintainers/meeting_types" >}})
+

content/maintainers/interacting-with-new-contributors.md

@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+---
+title: "How to interact with new community 
+members"
+---
+
+{{< notice warning >}}
+This is a draft document.
+{{< /notice >}}
+
+As a maintainer, you will be the first point of 
+contact for new community members. It is important 
+to embody a positive and helpful force for the 
+health of your community.
+
+### Be welcoming
+Always behave polite, patient, and understanding. 
+Many contributors are acting on their own time so 
+try to create an environment that is energizing, 
+not draining.
+
+Use language to show that you are excited and 
+grateful about their contributions to the project. 
+Avoid saying things that could be construed as 
+meaning otherwise or being too short.
+
+Many first-time contributors are intimidated and 
+nervous about making mistakes, so keep in mind for 
+both you and them that mistakes are natural and 
+part of the learning process. Assure and empower 
+them with your help and mentorship so that they 
+feel supported and comfortable contributing to the 
+project.
+
+### Provide resources, not solutions
+While some level of shepherding is needed, be 
+careful not to micro-manage contributors, as it 
+hinders the learning process and can be 
+frustrating for both parties. First offer guidance 
+before using more hands-on approaches.
+
+For tasks that may be too advanced or daunting for 
+a first-time contributor, such as comprehensive 
+testing, benchmarking, or doc-building, offer to 
+handle that part or to lend your support while 
+they try it themselves.
+
+Avoid excessive nitpicking as requesting constant 
+small changes can be discouraging to a new 
+contributor. Instead, you can make a follow-up PR 
+after the merge to fix these or use an opinionated 
+formatter, such as 
+[`black`](https://github.com/psf/black), to handle 
+most style-related nitpicks.
+
+### Recognize contributions
+Remember that contributions are a good thing that 
+should be celebrated and encouraged. Communicate 
+your appreciation for the work your community 
+members are doing and connect the impact their 
+contributions have to your project's goals and how 
+it will help many others.
+
+By providing a positive contributing experience, 
+you can create a positive feedback loop where 
+community members enjoy and want to continue their 
+amazing contributions to your project!