Chris Gorgolewski: Multiple Comparisons

In the past decade, we have seen a big switch from client run software to online services. Some services such as scientific data repositories were a natural fit for a centralized online implementation (but one day we can see a distributed versions of those). Others, such as Science-as-a-Service platforms, were more convenient and scalable versions of the client/desktop based software. One thing is certain - online platforms, available 24/7 via a web browser have proven to be very convenient in a range of tasks such as communication, sharing data, and data processing. Non-profit sector (such as projects funded by scientific grants) has also entered this domain. There are countless examples where modern web technologies based on centralized services can benefit scientists and general public even if the service they provide is not part of a commercial operation. This is especially true due to increased trend to share data and materials in science. Those outputs need to be stored and made …

We live in truly wonderful times to develop software. Thanks to the growth of the Open Source movement and emergence of platforms such as GitHub, coding became something more than just an engineering task. Social interactions, bonds between developers, and guiding new contributors are sometimes as important as sheer technical acumen. A strong and healthy developer community revolving around a software tool or library is very important. It makes the tool more robust (tested in many more environments), sustainable (the progress does not depend on a single person), and feature rich (more developers == more features). Even though there exist some excellent guides on how to build a welcoming and thriving community they miss out on one aspect that is specific to software development performed by academics - academic credit. For those not familiar with how things run in academia a quick refresher: the main currency of science is papers (manuscripts) and the number of times they are referenced …