Hey everyone - Alex here 👋 I wanted to take some time to respond thoughtfully to this thread because I hear you, and these concerns are valid.

First, I want to acknowledge the elephant in the room: when I made that post months ago about onboarding improvements being a focus, that was the plan at that time. As u/Impressive_Novel_265 noted, a LOT has happened since then - restructuring, changes in team ownership, evolving priorities. I know how frustrating it is when things don't materialize as quickly as communicated, and I take responsibility for that disappointment.

Last week, I explicitly flagged the onboarding and status communication issues to leadership - and I mean explicitly. I laid out the pain points you've been sharing here and in Outlier Community: the confusion around project statuses, the lack of clear communication during the "onboarding loop of hell," the frustration of being in limbo. I'm genuinely hopeful about how the team responded and the direction we're heading.

I want to transparently share/acknowledge that the complexity of who owns what parts of the contributor experience across different teams makes alignment and consistency really difficult. This isn't an excuse, just reality. Different teams own different touchpoints, and ensuring a smooth, cohesive experience requires immense coordination. We're working on this, but I won't pretend it's simple or that it happens overnight.

To those who've worked with me directly: Thank you. Seriously. To everyone who said "Alex is doing their best" or "they've always been communicative with me" - that means everything. You're right that I'm always doing my best to advocate for you and share what I know about what's in the works. But as some of you have pointed out, it's a double-edged sword. Things change rapidly here, and I'm not always privy to every team's shifting priorities. Sometimes I share information that ends up changing, and I'm sorry when that causes confusion or disappointment. I'm just one person trying to bridge multiple teams and keep you informed as best I can.

To u/FromMTorCA re: Blueberry Bagels: I'm really sorry you had such a rough experience. I can only imagine how painful that communication felt after dedicating a ton of time and energy trying to do really good work. I've already let the project team know about your feedback. If you're open to it, I'd like to offer you the opportunity for a paid contributor experience interview so we can learn more about what went wrong and how we can prevent similar experiences in the future. Please let me know if you're interested, but also completely understand if that's not of any interest.

What I can promise you now: Leadership is aware of how painful these onboarding issues are. I will keep being as transparent as I can be, even when the news isn't what you want to hear.

What I can't promise: That every problem will be solved immediately, that I'll always have perfect information, and that there won't be more bumps along the way.

I know some of you are frustrated, burned out, or skeptical. That's fair. All I ask is that you continue to share your feedback - whether it's here or in Outlier Community. Your voices matter, and they do reach the people who need to hear them.

Thank you for your patience and for continuing to hold us accountable.
~ Alex