Sent a mail today to a developer from Iran:
Subject: GitHub TOS and Iran
Hi,
Would you agree to discuss about how GitHub policy is problematic[0] for developers in Iran[1]? Earlier this year I bootstrapped a “forge federation” project that is about allowing developers from everywhere to work together without being subject to such restrictions[2].
Cheers
[0] x.com Advancing developer freedom: GitHub is fully available in Iran - The GitHub Blog https://fedeproxy.eu
Update: they kindly replied that they have no time to discuss this right now.
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Asked a colleague who used to live in Crimea, over five years ago. He replied that he no longer knows any developers still living there:
pretty much all my friends have moved. But yeah, people are using various proxies. And not just for github, of course.
Sent an interview request to Najmeh Mousavi who works for DAPSI and is also a developer.
I will create a specific topic related to diversity and translation so it is not forgotten.
In my experience, one of the least controversial way to get a diverse user/contributor base would be IMHO translation.
The project summary speak of Iranian developers, but I do not see any iranian living in Iran listed as such on Preparing the User Research . So maybe there is something to do there first, and long term, having a plan to get the software/website/documentation translated in Farsi (and others languages, obviously) would be a way to keep contact with people living in Iran and see if the project is solving their problems.