When early programmers needed to share code on punch cards and magnetic tape in the 1970s, they needed to explain how to use it, warn about bugs, and provide context. The code on its own wasn't enough, so the README file was born. But READMEs have never been entirely utilitarian forms of documentation. Instead they became (and remain) very human. A 1974 README ends with "Good luck!", and in 1978, The Jargon File connected the name itself to Alice in Wonderland, suggesting that "Read Me" should stand beside "Eat Me" and "Drink Me" in a surreal, hidden world.
This talk reveals how READMEs have always been where developers get to be human. Be it an exasperated warning from the 1970s, a 2009 README that became a complete fairy tale, or today's projects built solely to help developers add jokes to their docs, the pattern holds across five decades: READMEs are where we connect, welcome, and guide each other.
You'll leave with practical principles for writing READMEs that invite contribution and build community, grounded in this history. If you want contributors to your open source project, your README is likely their first impression and invitation. Make it count.
Rather than talking about using README files as a mechanism to make it easier for people to contribute, this talk focuses on how README files surface community culture and can make people want to contribute.
This talk uses historical examples spanning five decades to reveal patterns that remain relevant: READMEs have always been where developers connect with each other, not just with code. That connection makes people want to contribute. If you want people to contribute to your project, the README is likely their first impression. Make it human. Make it welcoming. Make it a door, not a wall. The history of computing shows us that developers have always known this. They've just expressed it in different ways across the decades.
Daina Bouquin is Senior Developer Relations Engineer at Anaconda with over 12 years of experience spanning astrophysics, library science, and software development. She previously served as Head Librarian at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, where she led projects on software citation, preservation, and recovering the contributions of early women in computing. This work gave her deep familiarity with historical computing collections in addition to experience supporting scientists doing computational research. At Anaconda, she creates educational content and strengthens connections between engineering teams and the broader open source community. She believes documentation isn't just about clarity, it's about building communities where people want to participate.