Lessons in Community from Open-source Projects

Janet Swisher, MozillaTechnical Writer/Community Steward

STC Toronto Management Day, Feb 29, 2012

Discussion is encouraged

Photo by HoboElvis

What I’m planning to talk about

• What is community?

• What is community-generated content?

• How does community work?

• Contributing to an open source community

• Managing community-generated content for business

Tell me about yourself

DEFINITIONS

What is community?

“It is not merely the group that generates community, but the interactions within it.”―Jono Bacon, The Art of Community

What is community-generated content?

• Wiki-based docs• Wiki-based

knowledge article• Open source docs

(parallel to code)

• Comments on web-based docs

• Comments on blogs

• Support forums

What CGC is NOT

“Crowds aren’t smart. Communities of peers are.” ― Matt Thompson, Mozilla

Photo by blmurch

What CGC is NOT

Which comes first?

“The Apache Software Foundation … believes that its first order of business is creating healthy software content development communities focused on solving common problems; good software content is simply an emergent result.”―Brian Behlendorf, former president of the Apache Software Foundation

Listen

ConnectShare

CGCCommunity

Solutions

CONTRIBUTING

Start modestly

• Introduce yourself• Listen• Get to know the

community• Contribute in small

ways• Build support for

bigger changes

Photo by sean dreilinger

Meritocracy

• Balance getting stuff done vs. talking about it

• Your expertise may be respected, or not

• Others will edit your content

Photo by sarahbest

Communication Channels

• Embedded in the system • Mailing lists• Newsgroups — whut?• IRC — whut?

A few words about style guides

MANAGING CGC

Who is your community?

Tech PubsSales

Engineering

Consulting

Support

Partners

Customers

General Public

Realistic expectations

Photo by JoshBerglund19

Who will contribute?

90%: “lurk” but never contribute

9%: do a little 1%: do a lot

Jakob Nielsen, Participation Inequality: Encouraging More Users to Contribute

Image by verbeeldingskr8

Why do people contribute?

“Why do people contribute free documentation? Results of a survey,” Andy Oram

Challenges

• Access–Who can see, contribute, approve?

• Accuracy–How do you make sure it’s correct?

• Authority–How can readers trust it?

Review Process

Patch Model• Submit > Review >

Publish• Content is not public

until it is reviewed.

Wiki Model• Submit > Publish >

Review• Content is public

immediately.• May want to visually

differentiate unreviewed content.

Pitfalls

Image by @joefoodie

Villains

Photo by istolethetv

Avoiding pitfalls and villains

• Vigilant content review

• Good, easy-to-find guidelines and templates

• Patience

• Constant community engagement

Paths to success

• Welcome Wagon• Tasks for newbies• Multiple communication channels• Recognition and reputation• Mentor and empower• Gratitude

Take-aways

Photo by renaissancechambara

Resources

• The Art of Community: Building the New Age of Participation, Jono Bacon

• Conversation and Community: The Social Web for Documentation, Anne Gentle

• “Participation Inequality: Encouraging More Users to Contribute,” Jakob Nielsenhttp://www.useit.com/alertbox/participation_inequality.html

• “Why do people write free documentation? Results of a survey,” Andy Oramhttp://onlamp.com/onlamp/2007/06/14/why-do-people-write-free-documentation-results-of-a-survey.html

Thanks!

Twitter: @jmswisherEmail: jswisher@mozilla.com