Get involved or Contribute tab for the About page — structure and the content

[OlaIola]

Core ticket: https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/23348#comment:53

Get involved Tab for the About page Draft »

My initial suggestion was to represent all teams, then I think it is possible to show them from a user's role, talants, desires and abilities. But grouping teams or telling in short about all possible tasks is a lot of information in which users can be lost. So, I am suggesting to highlight the main difference: technical and non-technical areas with listed easiest tasks which can be accomplished and add a link to the Contributor orientation tool (which needs to be updated and restored). And non-technical areas need to be listed first.

If this will work well, we can bring more new people, but of course not all of them will become contributors and to raise conversion of this pipeline, we need to think throughout the whole new contributors journey from this page as starting point (and other possible places of initial contact) to moment when newcomer can contribute on a regular basic and already hooked in into the awesome community we have. And it looks like the Mentorship program can play an important role in this journey.

[OlaIola]

I created PR with this page draft for everyone to see how it can look like. I believe that this way it will be more clear what content it needs and possibly will persuade developers to look at it and participate.

Trac ticket: #23348 and the patch: 23348.3.diff

It raises several questions:

• Tab title: Contribute vs Get involved — what is most clear and appealing?
• Subtitle: ‘development’ word can make non-tech people close the tab.
• Why readers need and can contribute should stay more clearly and catching.
• Even simple tasks need additional explanation or links and the page will be full of links, and it looks messy. Possible solution: to have a promotional page with a table of content describing in more detail what each team is doing and how readers can contribute to each team. I believe Estela Rueda was collecting this information for WCEU 2023 from each team and this information can be placed at make.wp.org somewhere and reused. We need this because the main Make page is sort of a navigational page and even if it has information about teams it doesn't provide a path for new contributors to follow to get involved and is very crisp not addressing readers needs, has no answers on how to pick up a team, and can be disorienting. People contribute because they have something in return — satisfaction, ability to grow their own skills, nice people to be friends with, safe inclusive environment, have an ability to make an impact and difference for 43% of the internet etc. So, this page can address these needs and tell how the contribution can benefit them as well as the project itself. Contributor days and meetups can also be mentioned there.
• The Orientation tool (I still hope we will have it) needs to be called a “Take the quiz to find out which teams might be of interest to you” or something similar to convey the purpose and what users can expect by following the link.

Please share your ideas here and collaborate on the Get involved Tab for the About page Draft »

[OlaIola]

I updated the Get involved Tab for the About page Draft »

Right now the to-do list looks like:

• Orientation tool update and placement somewhere consistent (Make)
• Dedicated page on Make
• Review and finalise this Tab content
• Ask the Design team to work on this Tab representation
• Add links
• Ask the Polyglots team to translate the tab
• Add/check that #contributor-day or some other dedicated channel is added to newcomers in Slack ‘Welcome’ workflow
• After release: Highlight on social media that this Tab is added

Some parts can be added or improved later. If we strive for perfection before going live, it can never happen.

[sereedmedia]

re: Orientation tool update and placement somewhere consistent (Make) Dedicated page on Make

Update from meta team in today's meeting:

• For first iteration, use the Contribute Tab in core as the "landing page" for contribution, as opposed to a landing page content on make.wordpress.org/contribute

• Because the code for the contribution tool already exists, it is possible to have the Contribution Tool live at make.wordpress.org /contribute.

• Will need a code review and implementation by meta

• Will need a design update and implementing by design (I pinged Joen A. in meta), but would be good to bring it up at the next design meeting. Wednesday - June 7, 2023 @ 22:00 UTC (they meet every other week on Wednesday)

• [ ] Make a meta ticket to review/update the existing Contributor Tool code

• [ ] Work with design team to update design of Contributor Tool and design of Contributor Tool on the /contribute page

• [ ] Work with meta and design to implement the updated Contributor Tool into /contribute page

cc @OlaIola

[estelaris]

For WCEU 2023, I asked the Make teams to answer some questions. The idea was to turn them into few posts to introduce the teams but we ran out of time and decided to turn the info into 7 emails for new contributors. Below is the content of each email

[estelaris]

Email #1: Welcome to Contributor Day

Hi [name], 

Thank you for signing up for Contributor Day at WCEU 2023. Most of the Make Teams will be present, as well as four community initiatives.

You can get involved in whatever suits your skills and goals. On Thursday, contributing will happen all day, and the beauty of it is that you can continue contributing to the same team or move around, if you prefer. If you are a New Contributor, we will send you a series of 7 emails explaining everything you need to know about the teams and Contributor Day. If you have contributed before but are not an expert, look for the Table Leads who will be happy to help you out.

And if you are an Expert Contributor or a Team Rep, take the time to mentor less experienced contributors. We make WordPress a better community when we all share our expertise and help others.

In any case, don’t forget your computer, notebook and pens. Bring a water bottle that you can refill in the venue. 

These are most important accounts you will need for contributing:

1. WordPress account 
2. WordPress Slack account - Follow the instructions
3. GitHub account
4. Gravatar.com If you’d like to use an image/avatar on your WordPress Profile, create an account on Gravatar.com using the same email that you have used on your WordPress account. This is a recommended step.

The schedule:

• 08.30 Registration
• 09.15 Opening and welcome
• 10.00 Contributing to WordPress
• 12.15 Group photo
• 12.30 Lunch
• 14.00 Contributing to WordPress
• 17.00 Teams summaries and wrap-up

To learn more about Contributor Day and specifics on each team go to the WCEU website. Please be aware that we are not allowed to bring food into the rooms but coffee and water are ok. 

If you have any questions, look for the people with blue WCEU t-shirts, we will be happy to help you.

See you in Athens, The Contributor Day Organizing & Volunteer Team

[estelaris]

Email #2: What to expect at WCEU Contributor Day as a first-time contributor

Dear first-time contributor,

Any Contributor Day can be overwhelming for first timers. Whether it’s the fact that half the people in there already know each other or that you feel clueless and do not know where to go or even amongst the sea of people.

Fear not! We have set up a table for first-time contributors where we will welcome and guide you through the process. Afterwards, a volunteer will walk you to your chosen team table and introduce you.

Contributor Day is a whole day event, and this is the schedule.

08.30 Registration 09.15 Opening and welcome 10.00 Contributing to WordPress 12.15 Group photo 12.30 Lunch 14.00 Contributing to WordPress 17.00 Teams summaries and wrap-up

Some rules to follow:

Follow the Code of Conduct Introduce yourself, network, ask questions, contribute, and above all, have fun! We work hard but we like to do it with a smile on our faces. Even though the event is all day long, you are free to leave at any time, and you are free to change tables too.

If you need anything, look for the volunteers with the blue WCEU t-shirts. We will be there to help you.

Saludos, The Contributor Day Organizing & Volunteer Team

P.S. If you would like to read everything there is to know about Contributor Day, you can review the page on the WCEU site.

[estelaris]

Email #3: How can I contribute to WordPress?

Dear first-time contributor:

Contributions to WordPress can be done in many ways, it all depends on what you like and what your skills are. Of course, the most important part of WordPress is the software itself, there are many routes you can take.

WordPress is open to contributors from website designers, community managers, project managers, mobile developers, technical writers, UX designers, UI designers, typography specialists and so on. It is not a lie, we even have a surgeon and several retirees contributing.

In order to participate, you need to set up some accounts on your computer. A tip from long-time contributors: always use the same email address for ALL your accounts.

WordPress account WordPress Slack account - Follow the instructions GitHub account Gravatar.com If you’d like to use an image/avatar on your WordPress Profile, create an account on Gravatar.com using the same email that you have used on your WordPress account. This is a recommended step.

And lastly, review the Contributor Handbook.

Set this stuff up before Contributor Day and you will be ahead of the game ready for your first contribution in Athens!

If you would like to read everything there is to know about Contributor Day, you can review the page on the WCEU site.

Ciao, The Contributor Day Organizing & Volunteer Team

[estelaris]

Email #4: Introduction to the Make Teams

Dear first-time contributor:

Now that you are ready, how do you choose a team or table? The WordPress community organizes itself in teams, these are known as the Make Teams. Each team deals with something different within the community.

There are 21 teams, so we will split them into 3 emails to give you more time to read and not overwhelm you with a ton of information. A huge recommendation is to read the Contributor Handbook, which almost every team has, that will give you a better idea of what each team does and if it fits with your skills and interests. If any team uses specific software, we will link it below.

If you would like to read everything there is to know about Contributor Day, you can review the page on the WCEU site.

Mach’s gut! The Contributor Day Organizing & Volunteer Team

Accessibility

Handbook

The accessibility team provides feedback on issues for people with disabilities across the WordPress project, including the block editor, admin, themes, etc.

We're happy to help people in the Contributor Day to learn more about assistive technologies and web site accessibility in whatever area of WordPress they intend to work on.

If your goal is to join the Accessibility Team, a strong background in accessibility, assistive technology or web standards is important.

There are two major paths to participating in the accessibility team: you can focus on contributing to other teams - such as editor, meta, or core - and join us for meetings to help keep us up to date on new developments and issues needing testing, or you can follow accessibility meetings so you're available to provide feedback and follow up on emerging accessibility issues.

Community

How to contribute to the community team

The Community Team oversees official events, mentorship programs, diversity initiatives, contributor outreach, and other ways of growing the WordPress community.

The team will have discussions about our community related matters. Which includes various topics such as: How can we onboard / involve new contributors, Next Generation WordCamps, Discussions about DE&I, WordCamp Sponsorship Packages, how we can make the documentation for the community team better, exchanging ideas / knowledge with fellow Meetup organizers, etc.

Core

Handbook

The core team contributes to the background code for WordPress.

Join this table to write new code, update existing code, or even fix bugs.

This is for you if you know PHP, HTML, JavaScript or CSS – there are tasks for all levels.

Core Performance

Handbook

Download a code editor like SublimeText or VSCode

The WordPress Core Performance Team is dedicated to monitoring, enhancing, and promoting performance in WordPress core and its surrounding ecosystem. We build and manage the Performance Lab plugin, a collection of performance-related “feature projects” for WordPress core, as well as other projects related to enforcing and monitoring performance best practices.

Contributors can work hands-on on performance related features, enhancements, or fixes for WordPress core, whether directly in the WordPress core repository or in the Performance Lab repository.

CLI

Handbook Contributing to WP CLI

The CLI team is responsible for working on and maintaining the WP-CLI command-line tool. This tool allows a site administrator to control a WordPress installation via the command-line using scriptable commands (even remotely).

Contributor Day is usually about:

onboarding interested developers to make sure they have a working development setup on their machine that can successfully run the tests. explaining the structure and philosophy of the WP-CLI and the ways in which it differs from WordPress Core development. Finally get as many people as possible to their first "win" by having them create a pull-request (and hopefully even merging it during the contributor day).

Design

Handbook

WordPress Component Library in Figma

The design team focuses on the design of the WordPress.org site as well as the UI and UX for WordPress, including the Block Editor and the different blocks.

If improving the user experience in WordPress is what you like, the design team will welcome you.

Documentation

Handbook

Access to the Documentation Issue Tracker

The Documentation team is writing documentation on how to use WordPress for end-users and how to develop on top of WordPress for developers.

We are famous for always having cookies at Contributor Days because nothing fuels the best documentation as good as sweet food does. We usually have a list of good first issues as well as more advanced tasks, all of which represent the highest priority tasks at the time.

Having no prior knowledge and experience is extremely valuable to us because that’s the true test if our documentation is good and without any holes in explanation.

[estelaris]

Email #5: Introduction to the Make Teams

Dear first-time contributor,

This is the second email on the Make Teams, as we mentioned in our previous email, we have split them into 3 emails to give you more time to read and not overwhelm you with so much information. A huge recommendation is to read the Contributor Handbook, which almost every team has, that will give you a better idea of what each team does and if it fits with your skills and interests. If any team uses specific software, we will link it below.

If you would like to read everything there is to know about Contributor Day, you can review the page on the WCEU site.

Με εκτίμηση, The Contributor Day Organizing & Volunteer Team

Hosting

Handbook

People in this team are closely related to the world of hosting. They work as system administrators, plugin developers etc., and are concerned about improving the relationship between WordPress and the hosting where they are hosted.

We usually work in the Handbook and the Documentation, primarily the Advanced Administration handbook. If you work in a hosting company, or you are a sysadmin person, this is your place!

Marketing

Handbook

The Marketing team promotes WordPress to current and future users and contributors. We create and amplify campaigns to support the growth of the WordPress project.

The Marketing team manages tasks via GitHub, so all of our contribution is based around that. After greeting our table leads, contributors will be asked to introduce themselves in the Marketing Slack channel and "check in" by leaving a comment on an introductory GitHub issue (#225)

That GitHub issue will lead contributors on a choose-your-own-adventure style exploration through the open Marketing GitHub issues and discussions, where they are encouraged to comment, edit and create marketing materials, or provide ideas as needed.

We will have a few issues of special focus throughout the day. A more specific schedule will be available closer to the day of the event.

Meta

Handbook

The Meta team works on everything related to the websites used by the WordPress project itself, such as WordPress.org, WordCamp.org, Learn.WordPress.org, etc.

WordPress.org is the first touch point for most people when getting started with WordPress, and continues to be a highly valuable ongoing resource as they progress. Meta contributions improve that experience and value for new and seasoned WordPress folks alike.

The projects will be using a bundled development environment, and this will also require Docker, Composer, and Node/NPM to be installed. Experience with WP Env is helpful.

In order to be able to start coding straight away, attendees should install and configure either WordCamp, Learn, or Pattern Directory.

Non code contributors will be able to help in other ways, for example working with issues on Meta Trac.

A code editor like SublimeText or VSCode is also useful.

Mobile

Handbook

For code contributors the following IDEs are recommended:

Android Studio for WordPress-Android XCode for WordPress-iOS (a Mac is needed for this) VSCode for Gutenberg Mobile (prerequisites)

The mobile team builds the iOS and Android WordPress mobile apps. The team also works on the mobile version of Gutenberg.

These are some ways to contribute:

Write and submit code. If you’re a developer, you can contribute to the app’s codebase by submitting pull requests through GitHub: WordPress for iOS is ~80% Swift, with Objective C making up some parts of the codebase. WordPress for Android is written in Kotlin (~66%) and Java (~34%). If React Native is your jam, you could consider contributing to the editing experience in both apps with Mobile Gutenberg.

Photos

The Photo Directory team moderates every photo submitted to the WordPress Photo Directory, maintains and improves the directory site itself, and provides resources and documentation to educate, encourage, and facilitate photo contributors.

During Contributor Day, the team will be reviewing photos. Learning what makes a good photo, and what must be declined.

Polyglots

Handbook

The Polyglots team translates WordPress into more than 200 languages and language variants. The team also builds and maintains local translation communities, organises translation contributor sprints, and collaborates with the core and meta teams to ensure WordPress users have access to the software in their own language.

During contributor day you will be encouraged to get in touch with your local translation team and after contributor day you can continue communicating with both your local and the global translation team in WordPress Slack

Plugins

The plugins theme is being reorganized and they would like to focus on creating new onboarding documents

[estelaris]

Email #6: Introduction to the Make Teams

Dear first-time contributor,

This is the last email on the Make Teams, as we mentioned before, we split them into 3 emails to give you more time to read and not overwhelm you with all the information.

A huge recommendation is to read the contributor handbook, which almost every team has, that will give you a better idea of what each team does and if it fits with your skills. If any team uses specific software, we will link to it below.

If you would like to read everything there is to know about Contributor Day, you can review the page on the WCEU site.

Com os melhores cumprimentos, The Contributor Day Organizing & Volunteer Team

Openverse

Contribution guide

We build and manage:

• Openverse, a search engine for openly-licensed media, including images and audio
• the API, for integrating Openverse into your own applications
• the catalog, to index and surface the 1.4B openly-licensed creative works on the web

We have maintainers at the table representing backend and frontend development, and design. Once a track has been chosen from the Contribution guide, contributors can expect to get help finding and resolving issues in their preferred track.

The Openverse team works on a very diverse stack, from Python (Django and Airflow) on the backend to JavaScript (Vue.js/Nuxt) on the frontend. For development contributions, some familiarity with the language is helpful. It also has avenues to contribute outside code, to aspects such as design (Figma), documentation (Sphinx) and translations (GlotPress).

Our GitHub repo has a number of open "good first issues" and "help wanted" issues for new contributors and the contribution guide, which contains detailed help for new contributors.

Support

Getting started at a Contributor Day

The Support Team provides end users, and developers help with a wide array of issues they may encounter, from changing their site title, to how to approach building plugins or themes.

Generally, contributor days are all about getting familiar with what support is, what focuses you prefer, and being able to start giving help with experienced contributors around to give suggestions or help picking up those nuanced troubleshooting tricks that are hard to put into words on a page.

Providing support gives a unique opportunity to both give back to the project, but also to expand your own knowledge. By helping to troubleshoot, and research questions and problems others have, you also expand your own knowledge of WordPress and how it works, both as a user, but also as a developer, depending on your focus

Test

Get started at Contributor Day Test team handbook

Other software:

• Gutenberg plugin
• WordPress Beta Tester plugin

The Test team works to help improve WordPress quality and usability, and advance the development process. While much of the team’s focus is centered on Core and Gutenberg, the test team also helps test WordPress release packages, themes, importers, feature projects, and more.

Themes

Handbook

The Themes Team reviews and approves themes submitted to be included in the official WordPress Theme directory. We do license, security, and code quality reviews. Prior knowledge is not actually necessary.

Themes are the primary part of WordPress. You will learn what the themes are, how Themes work, what is block and classic themes and more. Besides that, our table lead will create fun sharing memes and will provide chocolates too. ;)

Tide

The team doesn’t participate at Contributor Day but if you wish to join after WCEU, you can read their contributing guide.

Training

Self-guided team onboarding program

The WordPress Training Team helps people learn to use, extend, and contribute to WordPress through learn.wordpress.org. Team creates and manages content on Learn WordPress such as Lesson Plans, Video Tutorials, Courses, Quizzes and Online Workshops.

The training team has five areas of expertise we invite people to contribute through: Content Creator, Content Translator, Editor, Subject-Matter Expert, and Administrator.

WPTV

Handbook

The TV team reviews and approves every video submitted to WordPress.tv.

Join this table to work on video and captioning and subtitling of published videos.

[estelaris]

Email #7: What happens after Contributor Day?

Keep in touch: stay connected with the WordPress community by sticking around on Slack and joining the meetings. Also, engage in social media, it's a great way to stay up-to-date with news, updates, and announcements. You can also find your local community, and if there isn’t one - great, maybe get one started yourself! (Learn all about this at the Community Table during Contributor Day!)

Use what you’ve learned: apply the knowledge and skills you've gained during the event in your work and personal projects. Share your experience with others and encourage them to jump on WordPress for their web projects and join future WordCamp events.

Give feedback: we REALLY value your feedback and want to improve this event in the future. Please take a few minutes to complete our survey and share your thoughts, suggestions, and ideas.

Thank you for your participation at Contributor Day and enjoy WordCamp Europe 2023!

asante sana, The Contributor Day Organizing & Volunteer Team

[estelaris]

The questions, without edition, are in this document

[estelaris]

Lessons learned during the organization of Contributor Day at WCEU 2023:

1. Before the event, as an organizer, one must:

• Talk to the Make Teams, join the meetings, ask questions and make suggestions. What do you need from them, what to expect, what information do you need and give them a deadline.
• Leaving messages in their Slack channel is not productive as they don't know what you need from the teams.
• Post information about CD on the WordCamp or Contributor Day website.
• If you receive questions from attendees, refer them to the Make Teams, they usually have the best answers
• Keep a list of New Contributors, email them, give them instructions, download software before the event
• Always answer attendees' questions
• Make sure that they are registered for CD. At WCEU main registration, there is a questions that says "do you plan to attend CD?" This question is only to give us an idea of how many people is interested in attending, doesn't mean that they are registered. If your WordCamp does the same, make sure you clarify the input to attendees, either with a post or social media.

2. During the event:

• Make a list and have an idea of how many contributors per team will there be. Numbers are more a calculation than a reality as many, especially new contributors, sign up for 4 or 6 teams.
• Print 1 extra card per team just in case. And always print cards without teams for emergencies.
• In the slideshow, mention only the teams that will be present at CD
• Thank your sponsors

3. After the event

• Send a thank you for attending contributor day email, mention the following:
• Thank you for attending
• What happens after CD (Keep in touch, use what you learned, give feedback)
• Meet the teams in Slack (link to the meetings page)

[courtneyr-dev]

Helpful resources on Learn to link to:

• https://learn.wordpress.org/lesson-plan/creating-joining-wordpress-slack-orientation-to-channels-and-etiquette/
• https://learn.wordpress.org/lesson-plan/creating-a-wordpress-org-account/#example-lesson
• https://learn.wordpress.org/tutorial/set-up-a-wordpress-org-account/

[OlaIola]

When this tab will be finally in the Core, we can consider taking an interview from original ticker reporter: https://profiles.wordpress.org/mt_suzette/

[courtneyr-dev]

Suzette no longer uses that account from her days at Media Temple. However, I can help us get in touch with her still. I've shared with her that this ticket is getting attention now and she's delighted. She was a contributor to the Training team during this time AND part of the New User Experience working group. https://make.wordpress.org/test/tag/nux/

[sereedmedia]

Haha, I spoke to Suzette yesterday about this! She used to be a cohost on my podcast before she left the community.

[sereedmedia]

This is the final draft of the text for the Get Involved/Contribute tab: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1F2-75YqtZ2-15DWiNEc0Q6XYg0d-KS7tBFZlpkATbyk/edit

Pasting here for reference and posterity.

It's been reviewed by lots of people so ... all in all I am pretty sure this is DONE!!!!!!!

---

Tab title: Get Involved

H1: Get Involved

H2: Be the future of WordPress Do you use WordPress for work, for personal projects, or maybe even just for fun? You can help shape the long-term success of the open source project that powers millions of websites around the world.

Join the WordPress contributor community and connect with others who are passionate about maintaining a free and open web.

• Be part of a global, open source community
• Apply your skills or learn some new ones
• Grow your network and make new friends

H2: Find your team Finding the area that aligns with your skills and interests is the first step toward meaningful contribution. With more than 20 Make WordPress teams working on different parts of the open-source WordPress project, there’s a place for everyone, no matter what your skill set is.

H3: No-code contribution WordPress may thrive on technical contributions, but you don’t have to code to contribute. Here are some of the ways you can make an impact without a single line of code:

• Share your knowledge in the WordPress support forums
• Write or improve documentation for WordPress
• Translate WordPress into your local language
• Create and improve WordPress educational materials
• Promote the WordPress project to your community
• Curate photos or submit your own to the WordPress Photos Directory
• Organize or participate in local WordPress Meetups and WordCamps
• Lend your creative imagination to the WordPress UI design
• Edit videos and add captions to WordPress.tv
• Explore ways to reduce the environmental impact of millions of websites

H3: Code-based contribution If you do code, or want to, you can contribute technically in numerous ways:

• Find and report bugs in the WordPress core software
• Test new releases and proposed features for the block editor
• Write and submit patches to fix bugs or help build new features
• Contribute to the code, improve the UX, and test the WordPress app

WordPress embraces new technologies, while being committed to backward compatibility. We use the following languages and libraries:

• Core and Block Editor: HTML, CSS, PHP, SQL, JavaScript, and React
• WordPress app: Kotlin, Java, Swift, Objective-C, Vue, Python, and TypeScript

H2: Help make WordPress better Whether you speak at a local meetup, provide your perspective on a feature proposal, or submit a bug report, your contributions will make a difference.

Find your team → [link to make.wordpress.org/contribute]

[abhansnuk]

Hi I have moved this from the to do for column to review in progress, to reflect Se’s last comment. There were contributors to this on the google doc, so it maybe that there are other things still happening. Is there any further help needed on this? Asking with maintainer hat too as we triage tickets. Thanks @olalola

[sereedmedia]

This is complete and this ticket can be closed!! Excellent work to all involved.