Code RED #36 – OpenTelemetry in Practice: How to Contribute, Grow, and Build Community with Marylia Gutierrez
Jan 22, 2026
Marylia Gutierrez, principal software engineer at Grafana Labs and OpenTelemetry maintainer, talks about how contributors find their footing and grow into maintainers. She highlights the importance of non-code contributions like docs, localization, and governance. Marylia explains SIGs, coordination across projects, mentorship paths, and practical tips for getting reviews and onboarding.
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Accidental Full-Database Deletion
- Marylia accidentally deleted a production database and backups by running a destructive delete command on a lab server.
- She recovered data when an external API (Segment) resubmitted stored events, buying time to restore customer data.
Own Your Contributor Journey
- Own your contributor journey: choose where to spend time and signal your intent to the project.
- Join SIGs and be explicit about what you want to work on so maintainers can guide you.
Governance Guides, Don’t Dictate
- Governance should guide, not dictate: offer help and alignment while preserving SIG autonomy.
- Use governance to resolve conflicts and highlight cross-cutting priorities, not to micromanage.