RailsGirls & learning in public (2018)
RailsGirls is a good reminder that the hardest part of learning isn’t raw intelligence — it’s finding a starting point that feels safe.
Workshops and beginner-friendly communities matter because they remove two common blockers:
- “I don’t know where to start.”
- “I feel stupid asking.”
RailsGirls isn’t the only example, but it’s a well-known one: a structured format, mentors in the room, and a focus on shipping something small.
Official site: railsgirls.com
What RailsGirls gets right
1) A starter project with guardrails
Beginners don’t need infinite options; they need a narrow path that still teaches real skills.
A good starter project has:
- A simple data model.
- A basic UI.
- A place to make changes and see results.
- A deploy step (even if it’s the simplest thing possible).
Even if you never use Rails professionally, that pattern transfers to almost every web stack.
2) Mentorship as a normal part of the process
The fastest way to learn isn’t reading ten articles — it’s getting unblocked quickly and understanding why the fix works.
If you’re attending a workshop, a useful mindset is:
- Ask the question you’re embarrassed to ask.
- When you get help, write down the smallest version of the explanation.
- If you can, help the next person when they hit the same issue.
That last part matters: teaching (even informally) turns “I followed steps” into “I understand the system.”
If you want to learn Rails now
If you’re starting today, go straight to primary sources:
Then build one tiny app. Not a startup. Not a platform. One tiny app.
Suggested scope:
- One model (e.g. Notes).
- Create, list, edit, delete.
- A simple search.
- Basic validation.
If you want a “good enough” shipping loop:
- Build the feature.
- Write a short README.
- Commit it.
- Deploy somewhere boring and stable.
- Repeat with the next smallest feature.
Learning in public (without performing)
“Learning in public” can be helpful if it stays honest and lightweight.
Good updates look like:
- “I misunderstood X; here’s the doc that clarified it.”
- “I broke Y; here’s the smallest fix.”
- “This took longer than expected; here’s what I’d do differently.”
It’s not about building an audience. It’s about leaving yourself a trail of notes and helping the next person who searches for the same issue.
If you keep notes anywhere, keep them connected to source material. For web work, that often means linking to MDN Web Docs when you touch browser APIs.
A mentorship checklist (for both sides)
If you’re mentoring:
- Ask what they’re trying to achieve, not what command they ran.
- Explain the shape of the system (request, controller, model, view) before debugging the details.
- Encourage small commits so they can return to a known state.
If you’re learning:
- Try to reproduce the issue once.
- Then ask for help with the reproduction steps.
- Write down the fix in your own words.
Related
- Tools we use: /release1-2-tools.html
- A practical deployment guide: /guides/hugo-nginx-cloudflare/
- Phishing basics: /security/phishing/