Welcome to Maker Party Frequently Asked Questions

From now to September 15, people around the world will meet up at events, make cool stuff and share it all online. We want to work together to ensure the success of the events and makes. Our community and network of partners are crucial to growing this movement. There's no way any one person or organization can do this alone!

The goal of Maker Party: host a worldwide party celebrating all the amazing things we can make and learn thanks to the web.

Our Get Involved page is a good place to start if you have questions. There you can find all the party details, as well as resources and information on how to attend, make or create an event.

Still have questions? No problem! Look below to see if there are answers. If not email us makerparty@mozilla.org or tweet #teachtheweb with your question.

Need help making something?

Are you already making things online? View our template to share with us what you’re making and add it to the party. Check out some of our maker templates and remix them to make something of your own. Learn how to make your own customized movie poster, post card, poster, photo album and more!

Create your own or remix an existing version of a web video, documentary or gif with Popcorn Maker. Popcorn Maker helps you easily remix web video, audio and images into cool mashups that you can embed on other websites.

Create your own or remix an existing version of a web pages, meme, greeting card or poster with Thimble. Write and edit HTML and CSS right in your browser, then instantly preview your work.

Need help teaching, mentoring or planning events?

I need help with my event

Have a look at our handy event guides to plan your party. They include example agendas, tips and tricks for hosting, and other useful information to help you get started.

Small-sized party: Kitchen Party

Medium-sized party: Hack Jam

Large-sized party: Hive Pop-Up

Use our resources to customize your own event!

Don't forget to add your event to the world map!

How can I find collaborators?

One of the best ways to find fellow event hosts and local support is to hop into our peer-supported community that you can find here.

Passionate people around the world are helping one another to teach and make the web. Introduce yourself and explain who you'd like to collaborate with!

I'm making cool stuff! How do I get it featured?

Get your project featured by following one of the steps below:

Step 1, share your make on Twitter using the #makerparty hashtag. You will not only get our attention but you will also showcase your work among other makers.

Step 2, give your content some relevant tags so others can find it better. Be sure to include the #makerparty tag wherever you can. Here are some instructions on how to tag your work in Popcorn Maker and Thimble.

In Popcorn Maker, go to the 'Project' tab after saving your project and notice the field at the bottom that asks for tags. Separate them with a comma (no spaces) with things that help identify your project, i.e. cats,texas,cowboy,hilarious
On Thimble, you can add a special meta tag between the <head> </head> section of your webpage that adds them to the webmaker.org search engine. Make sure you have one line for each tag. It should look something like this

What do I do if I want to create my own event

Follow our step-by-step guides to plan your party found above in the I need help with my event section. Change it up by using our various Learning Kits.

Learning Kits

Access our activity kits that are filled with information and resources for you and your team to start making things for the web using the Mozilla Webmaker tools. Kits range from fun topics regarding digital storytelling to making a commercial. Each Hacktivities kit includes information on icebreakers, introductions, hacking tutorials, demonstrations, feedback opportunities and more that is sure to make your event a success.

Want to create your own Activity Kits? Here are some templates to get you started

What are badges and why should I collect them?

The web and other new learning spaces provide exciting ways to gain skills and experience -- from online courses, learning networks and mentorship to peer learning, volunteering and after-school programs. Badges provide a way for learners to get recognition for these skills, and display them to potential employers, schools, colleagues and their community.

Using Mozilla’s Open Badges infrastructure, any organization or community can issue badges backed by their own seal of approval. Learners can then collect badges from different sources and display them across the web -- on their resumes, websites, social networking profiles, job sites and more.

By displaying skills and achievements that traditional degrees and transcripts often leave out, badges can help lead to jobs, community recognition, and new learning opportunities.

How can I connect with other mentors?

Join the #teachtheweb Webmaker Mentor community on Google+. This is the place to find other mentors around the world, share ideas, get access to resources, find new partners and get peer support.

I'd like some gear.

You can request Webmaker stickers, t-shirts and tablecloths that you can use at your events. There are different gear packages depending on your event size. Please allow for 2-3 weeks for delivery. You'll need a link for your event and a shipping address.

Request gear for your party here.

Having technical difficulties?

What should I do?

Sorry for the recent hiccups using webmaker.org. We've launched a major technical update to make your experience better but, as with all updates, we are finding some bugs: Thimble and Maker Party events are particularly affected.

Don't worry – all your previously published Thimble work and Maker Party events are safe and will be restored shortly.

We hope to have everything running smoothly soon.

If you're still experiencing issues, hop into our peer-supported community and we'll help you troubleshoot:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/106022863174952221205

Something went wrong with my makes and I can't find them.

Make sure you are logged in to the site and click on "My Makes" at the top right of the page (or go to http://webmaker.org/me ).

You should be able to access all of your makes there. If for some reason you think something is missing, try doing a search for the title of your make here.

I don't understand the instructions to make something. Can someone help me?

We're happy to help! Share your question in our peer-supported community, and one of our smart volunteers will help you get started.

What if English is not the language I'm most comfortable speaking?

We are hoping supportive communities will develop in as many different languages as possible. Right now here are some communities that are currently available in languages other than English.

There's something weird or obscene on webmaker.org. Please delete it!

The freedom of the internet opens up a gateway of human connection and possibility unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. Mozilla believes that the freedom to tinker and remix is critical to fostering innovation and improvement in the world. However, these freedoms present challenges, as individuals find ways to exploit them for personal gain or amusement at the expense of everyone else.

Our terms of service states what we find unacceptable; including hate speech, copyright violations, encouraging violence or cause to harm, or would otherwise be illegal. If you feel like a user submission on webmaker.org violates our terms of service, you can state your case to our support staff at makerparty@mozilla.org and we will investigate these claims, with the possibility of removing the account or piece of work that violates our terms of service.

Our Terms of Service can be found here - https://webmaker.org/terms

I found something that's broken. How do I fix it?

It's possible you may have found a bug within the site. We use Bugzilla to track all the issues we're having and we love it when people file bugs :) So if you're up for it and want to contribute toward making our site better, go ahead and file a bug here.

If you'd rather have us do it, that's fine, you can email makerparty@mozilla.org and describe the issue that you're having. The important thing is that you give as much detail as possible. Outlining the steps you went through to get the error, as well as what browser, operating system and date you experienced the error will help us reproduce it ourselves and diagnose the problem. More information on being a superhero when it comes to filing bugs can be found here.

Need help with our events page or finding events?

A map with all the Maker Party events around the world can be found here. We are excited to see events going on all around the world. Your event can also appear on the map!

How do I add my event to the webmaker events page?

Adding events are easy. You will first need to log in/create a persona. Once you have logged, click the +Add an Event button and fill in as much of the requested information as possible.

Note: You will need to log in for the submit button to become active.

How can I edit an event already entered?

To edit an event, log in with the persona the event was created under. Once you are logged in you will have the ability to change certain information. If the event was entered by another individual, only their persona will have the ability to edit.

How do I find an event near me?

On our events page, you will a box called Find an Event. In that box you can type in the location of the event and the date. Continue clicking on the blue location dots until you find the one you're looking for. Still can't find your event? Let us know!

What will come up when I search for an event?

When you put a date in the "when" box our events page is configured to show you all the events up to the date you entered.
When searching by "where", the map will zoom into that location. Events from other locations are still visible, and you can see them by zooming out.
When searching by both "when" and "where," it will narrow down to all events that are taking place up until that date, and then zoom you into the location.

We know this can sometimes make it difficult to find an event so if you're having trouble let us know.

Useful links

Maker Party Communications Information

Maker Party Press Kit

File A Bug (Click here for help filing a bug)

Need Help Troubleshooting

Maker Party Stencil

Maker Party/FAQs

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