If you’ve ever been involved with the Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs), you know that the review process can be both rewarding and a bit overwhelming. EIP editors play a crucial role in reviewing, updating, and ensuring that the proposals evolve smoothly toward adoption. Keeping track of your own contributions, understanding how you compare with your peers, and managing open pull requests (PRs) can be a daunting task. But thankfully, EIPsInsight offers two powerful tools—the Editors Leaderboard and the EIP Board—that can help editors and contributors navigate this process with ease.

These tools are not just helpful; they can actually transform how editors collaborate, monitor their activity, and prioritize their work. Let's dive into how they work and how you can use them together to maximize efficiency.

The Editors Leaderboard: Tracking Contributions Over Time

What It Does:
The Editors Leaderboard is like a performance dashboard for EIP editors. It allows you to see the total number of pull requests (PRs) you’ve reviewed over time, and it does this on a monthly basis. You can track your performance in real time or look at historical data, going all the way back to 2015!

How It Helps:
Think of it as a report card, but for all your EIP review activities. The leaderboard helps you understand how consistent your contributions have been, how many PRs you’ve reviewed compared to your peers, and if you’ve been active or need to catch up. It's not just about quantity but also about quality, as the leaderboard shows a clear picture of your involvement.

Example Use Case 1:
Imagine you're an EIP editor who’s been active in reviewing PRs for several months, but you’ve noticed a drop in your contributions recently. The Editors Leaderboard allows you to easily spot this trend. It shows that in January, you were reviewing dozens of PRs, but in the past few weeks, the number dropped. Armed with this insight, you can plan to focus more on reviewing PRs or delegate tasks to other editors if needed. You can also compare your activity with that of other editors to see if there’s a broader trend or if you're an outlier.

Example Use Case 2:
Let’s say you're an editor who's been active but feels that your contributions aren't being recognized. By looking at the leaderboard, you can see that your monthly review numbers are among the highest, and you can use that data to demonstrate your commitment to the team. This can also help EIP coordinators identify top contributors who deserve acknowledgment or additional responsibilities.

The EIP Board: Prioritizing Open Pull Requests

What It Does:
The EIP Board is an essential tool for managing open pull requests (PRs). It sorts all open PRs by the oldest author interaction after the most recent editor response. Essentially, it shows you which PRs are waiting the longest for review, helping you prioritize your work.

How It Helps:
By displaying the oldest PRs first, the EIP Board ensures that no PR gets stuck in the queue for too long. If a PR is waiting for multiple reviewers or editors, it can be flagged for group discussion in meetings like EIP Editing Office Hours or EIPIP meetings. This transparency helps maintain a smooth flow in the review process.

Example Use Case 1:
Let’s say you’re part of a team of editors working on various PRs. You log into the EIP Board and see that a particular PR has been waiting for review for a long time, but no one has picked it up yet. This could be due to the complexity of the PR or the availability of the right editor. Armed with this information, you can jump in and start the review or bring it up in an upcoming meeting to get the attention it needs.

Example Use Case 2:
If you’re working in a team where multiple editors are responsible for different repositories, the EIP Board lets you quickly see which repositories have backlogs and which ones are being actively worked on. For example, if one repository has several PRs waiting for review, you can focus your efforts there or ask your fellow editors to help prioritize it.

How Can These Tools Work Together?

While the Editors Leaderboard helps track individual contributions, the EIP Board helps prioritize collective work. So, how do these two tools come together in practice?

  1. Tracking and Prioritizing:
    Let’s say you're an editor with a lot of PR reviews on your plate. By using the Editors Leaderboard, you can check how many PRs you’ve reviewed over the last few months. If you find that you’ve been reviewing more PRs than usual and the leaderboard shows you as one of the top contributors, you can use the EIP Board to identify the PRs that need immediate attention. The EIP Board will tell you which ones have been waiting the longest, so you can focus your efforts on clearing out the backlog without feeling overwhelmed.

  2. Spotting Bottlenecks:
    If you’re a team lead or coordinator, you can use both tools to ensure that no one is carrying an unreasonable load. The Editors Leaderboard can show you who’s been the most active (and who might need a break), while the EIP Board can highlight PRs that are waiting for review. If you notice a particular editor has been very active (based on the leaderboard), you can suggest they take on fewer PRs while others step in. This collaborative approach ensures that reviews are timely and that editors aren’t overburdened.

  3. Transparency and Communication:
    Imagine you’re an editor who feels like you’re doing a lot of work but not getting enough recognition. You can pull up your stats from the Editors Leaderboard and show them to your team. Additionally, the EIP Board can help demonstrate how quickly PRs are being reviewed and if any PRs have been pending for too long. This transparency makes it easier to communicate with your peers and ensures that all contributions, both big and small, are acknowledged.

  4. Improving Efficiency Across Teams:
    If multiple teams are reviewing PRs for different EIPs, the EIP Board can give an overview of which teams need more support. Let’s say one EIP is stuck in the review process, while another is moving quickly. The Editors Leaderboard can show you who has the bandwidth to assist with the slower EIP, thus promoting collaboration and timely reviews across the board.

Conclusion: Working Smarter, Not Harder

In short, both the Editors Leaderboard and EIP Board are invaluable tools for anyone involved in EIP contributions. The Editors Leaderboard helps individual editors track their contributions, giving them insights into their work habits and recognizing their efforts. The EIP Board, on the other hand, helps editors prioritize PRs, ensuring that no proposal lingers too long without review.

When used together, these tools help editors and contributors communicate effectively, stay organized, and ensure that the review process runs smoothly. Whether you’re an experienced editor or a newcomer, these tools are designed to make your job easier and more efficient, helping to move Ethereum Improvement Proposals forward while fostering collaboration and recognition within the EIP community.

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