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MDN/Hack on MDN/How to guide: Difference between revisions
→During the event
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* Do you want to attract new people to contribute to MDN? | * Do you want to attract new people to contribute to MDN? | ||
* Do you want to increase cohesion among existing community members? | * Do you want to increase cohesion among existing community members? | ||
Based on these factors, choose a duration and a format. This guide focuses primarily on in-person events, but it is possible to have a Hack-on-MDN event that includes remote participation or even one that is entirely virtual. | |||
===Pick dates and times=== | ===Pick dates and times=== | ||
For in-person stand-alone events that require travel, we've found that three days (such as two weekend days plus one weekday) is enough time to get some significant work done, without taking too much time away from everyone's normal lives. | For in-person stand-alone events that require travel, we've found that three days (such as two weekend days plus one weekday) is enough time to get some significant work done, without taking too much time away from everyone's normal lives. | ||
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Note: Scheduling a Hack-on MDN-event ''during'' another conference or event has historically not worked well; attendees are typically more interested in the main event, and don't have blocks of time to concentrate on hacking. | Note: Scheduling a Hack-on MDN-event ''during'' another conference or event has historically not worked well; attendees are typically more interested in the main event, and don't have blocks of time to concentrate on hacking. | ||
===Get in touch=== | |||
Once you have decided the focus and date of the Hack-on-MDN event (or even before), be sure to tell the MDN staff team (contact Janet Swisher, jswisher@mozilla.com). We will try to make sure we have a team member either attending in person or standing by remotely to help with the event. (In particular, creating new pages is an elevated privilege, so there should be someone involved in the event who has this privilege if any new articles will be created.) | |||
===Promote the event=== | ===Promote the event=== | ||
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Use the social media channels that are appropriate to reach your target attendees. We have found that for Web developers, this means Twitter, more than Facebook or LinkedIn. However, popular channels can vary geographically (such as Orkut in Brazil). Reach out to a few well-connected people who have a large following among your target audience, and ask them to re-share your posts. | Use the social media channels that are appropriate to reach your target attendees. We have found that for Web developers, this means Twitter, more than Facebook or LinkedIn. However, popular channels can vary geographically (such as Orkut in Brazil). Reach out to a few well-connected people who have a large following among your target audience, and ask them to re-share your posts. | ||
Here is a template you can use to describe a Hack-on-MDN event. Feel free to add more detail, and give it your own tone: | |||
: Come help improve {topic} on MDN Web Docs! In this full day hack-a-thon we'll be working to improve MDN Web Docs, the premier free resource for web developers. MDN Web Docs (developer.mozilla.org) is a source of references, guides, and tutorials on standards-based web technologies, much loved by web developers. It was chosen as #1 for Documentation in the Developer’s Choice Awards for 2018, conducted by SlashData. | |||
: Yet, MDN Web Docs needs help from {topic} experts and enthusiasts—whether you are a programmer, designer, or someone else who cares about {topic}. You can choose to work on {activity1}, work on {activity2}, or anything that you think makes sense. | |||
: During this {duration} hackathon, you will become familiar with how to contribute to MDN, and have fun collaborating with other participants. Activities will include a lot of coding, chatting, food, and fun. | |||
===Budget and resources=== | ===Budget and resources=== | ||
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It is a good idea to charge a nominal fee, to discourage people from registering but then not attending. An amount that roughly equals the per-person food budget is reasonable. | It is a good idea to charge a nominal fee, to discourage people from registering but then not attending. An amount that roughly equals the per-person food budget is reasonable. | ||
Make sure that your registration process sends a confirmation of the date and location, and includes reminders of what to bring, | If you are including remote participants in the event, have them register, too (with a no-fee option), so that you know who to expect and can contact them with information about how to participate remotely. | ||
Make sure that your registration process sends a confirmation of the date and location, and includes reminders of what to bring or prepare. In particular, participants need: | |||
* Their own laptop (seems obvious, but a reminder never hurts) | |||
* A GitHub account, as GitHub is used for authentication on MDN | |||
===Planning the work=== | ===Planning the work=== | ||
Ahead of the event, once you know the topical focus, you can collect tasks that can attendees can work on during the sprint. There may be generated lists that can be helpful, such as lists of pages with a particular [https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/tag/Web tag] or [https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/needs-review/editorial flag], or bug reports, etc. Or you might collect items that need to be worked on into a spreadsheet for tracking purposes. | Ahead of the event, once you know the topical focus, you can collect tasks that can attendees can work on during the sprint. There may be generated lists that can be helpful, such as lists of pages with a particular [https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/tag/Web tag] or [https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/needs-review/editorial flag], or bug reports, etc. Or you might collect items that need to be worked on into a spreadsheet for tracking purposes. | ||
== During the event == | |||
If you have remote participants, be sure that they have all the same information as on-site participants, through online tools, conferencing, and chat apps. Include remote participants in the opening and closing phases of the event, via video conferencing, if possible. | |||
===At the start=== | ===At the start=== | ||
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===Tracking tasks=== | ===Tracking tasks=== | ||
Have a way to track what tasks need to be worked on, who is doing what, and what has been completed. A Google Doc or etherpad can be good for this purpose. | Have a way to track what tasks need to be worked on, who is doing what, and what has been completed. If you have remote participants, the task-tracking tool should be available online. A Google Doc or etherpad can be good for this purpose. If all the participants are present in person, then a whiteboard with sticky notes can also work well. | ||
Often, people want to help but don't know where to start, and deciding among many options takes too much mental effort. For any given participant, give them a couple of possible tasks ("you could do A, or B"); this simplifies their choice, without making them feel like they're being bossed around. | Often, people want to help but don't know where to start, and deciding among many options takes too much mental effort. For any given participant, give them a couple of possible tasks ("you could do A, or B"); this simplifies their choice, without making them feel like they're being bossed around. | ||