[Blog] The legendary Maintainer Vivek Vishal

src/collections/blog/2024/10-18-meet-the-maintainer-vivek-vishal/post.mdx

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+---
+title: "Meet the Maintainer: Vivek Vishal"
+subtitle: "An interview series with Layer5 Maintainers"
+date: 2024-10-18
+author: Kate Suttons
+thumbnail: ./vivek-vishal-meshery-maintainer.png
+darkthumbnail: ./vivek-vishal-meshery-maintainer.png
+description: "In Layer5's Meet the Maintainer series, open source maintainers share their insights and experiences."
+type: Blog
+category: Community
+tags:
+  - Open Source
+featured: false
+published: true
+resource: false
+---
+
+import { BlogWrapper } from "../../Blog.style.js";
+import { MeetTheMaintainer } from "../../MeetTheMaintainer.style.js";
+import { Link } from "gatsby";
+import { BlockquoteAlt } from "../../../../reusecore/Blockquote/Blockquote-alt-style";
+import ForkLift from "../../../../assets/images/app/hero/forklift.svg";
+
+
+<BlogWrapper>
+<MeetTheMaintainer>
+
+<div class="intro"><p>Continuing in our Meet the Maintainer series, we sit down with Vivek Vishal, a maintainer of <a href="https://docs.meshery.io">Meshery Docs</a>. </p></div>
+
+<div class="interviewer">
+<span>Kate:</span>
+  <p>
+    Vivek, thank you for joining me today. Many people inside and outside of the Layer5 Community have seen the effects of your contributions, but may not know the backstory as to who Vivek is and how you arrived at your maintainer role. Indulge us. How did you discover the Layer5 community? What made you stay?
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewee">
+<span>Vivek:</span>
+  <p>
+    It's great to be here, Kate! I first came upon Layer5 while [HERE] in [YEAR]. I was immediately drawn to the community's welcoming atmosphere and the impressive work being done on Meshery.  What made me stay?  The people, for sure. Everyone is so passionate and supportive. Plus, I really believe in Layer5's mission to simplify cloud native infrastructure.
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewer">
+<span>Kate:</span>
+  <p>You’re a <Link to="/projects/meshery">Meshery</Link> Maintainer and have been for some long time now. What does being a Meshery maintainer mean to you?</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewee">
+<span>Vivek:</span>
+  <p>
+    Being a Meshery maintainer is an honor and a responsibility. Meshery is the 9th fastst growing CNCF project (out of over 200 projects), so it's a big deal. My role involves reviewing and merging pull requests, triaging issues, and ensuring that Meshery continues to meet the needs of its users.
+  </p>
+  <p>
+    It also involves guiding new contributors, supporting existing contributors, and collaborating with an amazing team to constantly improve Meshery. It's about giving back to the community that has given me so much.
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewer">
+<span>Kate:</span>
+  <p>
+    Have you worked with any other open source project? How does Layer5 compare?
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewee">
+<span>Vivek:</span>
+  <p> 
+    I cursorily explored other open source communities, and I'm sure there are some amazing communities out there, however, Layer5's community is preceeded by its reputation for a strong focus on mentorship and inclusivity - all the way down to core architecture and roadmap decisions. It's a place where everyone feels empowered to contribute, regardless of their experience level. This is atypical of behavior that you don't see in other communities.
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewer">
+<span>Kate:</span>
+  <p>
+  Layer5 has a number of active, <Link to="/projects">open source projects</Link>. You’ve been consistently contributing to a few of them. Which one(s) are you currently focusing on? 
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewee">
+<span>Vivek:</span>
+  <p>
+    Overtime, I've been involved in each of them, but there are couple that the lion's share of my focus currently. 
+    [HERE]
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewer">
+  <span>Kate:</span>
+  <p>
+    What’s the coolest Meshery demo you have done/seen?
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewee">
+<span>Vivek:</span>
+  <p>
+    [HERE]
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewer">
+<span>Kate:</span>
+  <p>
+    What is your favorite blog post or piece of documentation that you have written or come across in Meshery?
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewee">
+<span>Vivek:</span>
+  <p>
+    [Mention a specific blog post or documentation that you find valuable, e.g., a getting started guide, a tutorial on a specific feature, a deep dive into a technical aspect]. It's a great resource for anyone wanting to learn more about [topic related to the chosen resource].
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewer">
+<span>Kate:</span>
+  <p>
+    What is your hot tip for working with Meshery that others may not know?
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewee">
+<span>Vivek:</span>
+  <p>
+    [Share a practical tip that can help users be more efficient with Meshery, e.g., a keyboard shortcut, a lesser-known feature, a debugging technique]. 
+    It might not be obvious at first, but you can drag and drop Kubernetes manifests from your local machine onto Kanvas and it will automatically render them for you. The intelligence inside of the project is impressive.
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewer">
+<span>Kate:</span>
+  <p>
+    Where do you see opportunities for contributors to get involved within Meshery and Layer5 community?
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewee">
+<span>Vivek:</span>
+  <p>
+    There are tons of opportunities! We always need help with [mention specific areas where contributors are needed, e.g., documentation, testing, design, development]. Even small contributions can make a big difference.
+  </p>
+  <p>
+    In fact, <Link to="/community/members/lee-calcote">Lee Calcote</Link> wrote about all the various roles community memebers play and the mechanics of those roles in his blog post, <Link to="/blog/open-source/ways-to-contribute-at-layer5">Ways to Contribute at Layer5</Link>, which I recommend to anyone interested in getting involved.
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewer">
+<span>Kate:</span>
+  <p>
+    Your most often used emoji? Your preference: movie or book? Morning person or night owl? What have you worked on in the past year that you’re particularly proud of?
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewee">
+<span>Vivek:</span>
+  <p>
+    [Provide lighthearted answers to these personal questions.  Example: "My most used emoji is 🤔, I'm a movie buff, a night owl, and I'm proud of the work I did on improving xxxx this past year."]
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewer">
+<span>Kate:</span>
+  <p> 
+    Do you have any advice for individuals hopeful to become Layer5 contributors or potentially maintainers?
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewee">
+<span>Vivek:</span>
+  <p>
+    Jump right in! Start by exploring the Layer5 community and finding an area that interests you. Don't be afraid to ask questions and contribute in any way you can.  Consistency and quality are key.  
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewer">
+<span>Kate:</span>
+  <p> 
+    In other words, whether your contribution is big or small, it sounds like aiming for high-quality contributions that add value to the projects is key.
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="interviewee">
+<span>Vivek:</span>
+  <p>
+    Absolutely! Every contribution matters. 
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="note">
+  <img src={ForkLift} height="100px" />
+  <p>
+    The Meshery project moves at an impressive pace thanks to maintainers like Vivek. Be like Vivek. Join the <a href="https://slack.layer5.io">Layer5 Slack</a> and say “hi”.
+  </p>
+</div>
+
+</MeetTheMaintainer>
+
+</BlogWrapper>