Title: Sourdough: The Local-Community Starter Kit (proposal) Author: Larry Swanson Published: October 4, 2017 Last modified: October 5, 2017 --- [ ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/laryswan/) [Larry Swanson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/laryswan/) 6:58 pm _on_ October 4, 2017 Tags: [proposal ( 20 )](https://make.wordpress.org/community/tag/proposal/) # Sourdough: The Local-Community Starter Kit (proposal) Local WordPress communities could benefit from having access to a **basic business infrastructure that enables ongoing, non-event community activities**. A local-community starter kit like this could serve as a catalyst to further democratize WordPress community organizing. ## Background We recently launched a non-event-specific [WordPress community entity in Seattle](https://wpseattle.org/). Modeled on similar initiatives in [Kansas City](https://wpkansascity.org/) and [Portland](https://pdxwp.com/), we felt the need for a virtual destination for our community that wasn’t tied to the Meetup.com and WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. [Learn more](https://central.wordcamp.org/about/). event- management systems. Members of our community rounded up a long-ago-registered domain name, found a web host, created a MailChimp mailing list, and launched a simple website that 1) guides folks to our local WordCamp, MeetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our [Meetup Organizer Handbook](https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/meetup-organizer/)., and SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform [https://slack.com/](https://slack.com/). The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at [https://make.wordpress.org/chat/](https://make.wordpress.org/chat/) sites and 2) offers a sign-up for the new Mailchimp list. Some members of the community immediately raised concerns about the ongoing administration and governance of the new entity: * Who controls the domain-name registration? * Who has access to the website? and how do they decide which level of access other users have? * Who pays for the web hosting? * Who owns the email list? * Which email addresses are associated with the community’s social-media account logins and who has access to them? * Where do we deposit the check when a local sponsor offers to support the entity? * What **is** the entity, legally? We all know what a “community” is, but goverments and tax collectors don’t recognize it. * Ours is a friendly, professional, and responsive community, but what if an account holder became incapacitated? what if a key community leader moves? what if a bad actor were to get control of an account login? These are all valid concerns, but they need not prevent a local WordPress community from creating a new entity alongside the current Meetup and WordCamp programs. ## Proposal I propose exploring the feasibility of a WordPress Community SupportWordPress Community Support WordPress Community Support PBC is a Public Benefit Corporation, created specifically to be the financial and legal support for WordCamps, WordPress Meetup groups, and any additional “official” events organized within the WordPress Community Events program.-backed program (tentatively called Sourdough) that would provide support for the creation, development, and administration of a very basic local WordPress community infrastructure. Much of the proposed technical and administrative infrastructure already exists as support mechanisms for the current WordCamp and Meetup community-event programs. But there would be some additional development and, possibly, staffing needs, hence the request for WordPress Community Support help. Like any good program, Sourdough introduces at least one new acronym, the LCO, Local- Community Organizer (or LOCO, if we want to allude to the sometimes crazy-making nature of community wrangling). ### Program Components The components of the proposed basic infrastructure: * a new **role** – Local-Community Organizer – much like current event-organizer roles; vetting for this role could be fast-tracked for existing Meetup and WordCamp organizers * a community **email address** (one address for all social-media and other account logins) accessible both to the Local-Community Organizer(s) and to super-admins at WordPress Community Support * a **domain-name** registration service * website **hosting** * a mechanism for granting **access** to the community’s website, email list, Slack administration, and social-media profiles to vetted community members (such vetting could be administered by the LCO at the local level) * access to WordPress Community Support’s **money-handling** capabilities for receiving sponsor funds and paying vendors * a virtual **inventory** system (could be as simple as a Google Docs sheet) to track swag, lanyards, print collateral, and other community property, which may reside in many different physical locations A deluxe version of the infrastructure might also include: * a PO box or mailing service to give the community a **physical address** * a small **storage** facility for leftover swag, print collateral, etc., which could also serve as a receiving facility for exhibitor shipments to WordCamps and other local events * a **group password manager** like LastPass or 1Password to more precisely and securely grant and control access to community accounts ### Program Benefits Benefits to the local community: * **one-stop shopping** for local event and other community information * creates a **portal for recruiting** into the local WP community members of the broader local community (articles on how to get involved, what WordPress is, what a WordCamp is, what happens at meetupsMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our [Meetup Organizer Handbook](https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/meetup-organizer/)., etc., examples of which could be collected and shared at make.wp.org) * **cross-promotion** opportunities for existing community event programs * ability to build an opt-in **email list** of local community members who are interested in both current and future WordPress-related events, activities, and announcements * ability to **showcase community members** on the community website (directory or similar non-promotional listing, equally accessible to all community members) * non-promotional **community blogging** on topics of interest to the local community * create a **community legacy** archive documenting the background and history of the community and sharing its lore – sort of like the old “newspaper of record” * ability to **engage event-averse introverts** with a way to virtually and anonymously participate in the community * create **virtually accessible local special-interest groups** for folks not mobile enough to travel to meetups and other events (kids, seniors, disabled, etc.) * virtually augment the new physical **[Community Bazaar](https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/attendee-information/community-bazaar/) presence** at WordCamp US * **maintain a minimal community presence** if there are not currently active Meetups or other events Benefits to WordPress Community Support: * similar **community-building and -nurturing** benefits as existing event programs * proactively and **preemptively manage potentially messy issues** around account access and other local community-resource stewardship issues ### Conclusion I know how stretched for time community members are, so not expecting immediate action. I just want to get this idea out there and see what even-better ideas folks in the community might have on this subject. [#proposal](https://make.wordpress.org/community/tag/proposal/) ### Share this: * [ Threads ](https://make.wordpress.org/community/2017/10/04/sourdough/?share=threads) * [ Mastodon ](https://make.wordpress.org/community/2017/10/04/sourdough/?share=mastodon) * [ Bluesky ](https://make.wordpress.org/community/2017/10/04/sourdough/?share=bluesky) * [ Facebook ](https://make.wordpress.org/community/2017/10/04/sourdough/?share=facebook) * [ X ](https://make.wordpress.org/community/2017/10/04/sourdough/?share=x) * [ LinkedIn ](https://make.wordpress.org/community/2017/10/04/sourdough/?share=linkedin) * [Login to Reply](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fmake.wordpress.org%2Fcommunity%2F2017%2F10%2F04%2Fsourdough%2F%23respond&locale=en_US) 1. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/b022797152ac62a3b3a4274567b18d69f89882f000e53267bf2ffe1d88fff202? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 2. [Saurabh Shukla](https://profiles.wordpress.org/saurabhshukla/) 7:19 pm _on_ October 4, 2017 3. This is amazing news. We (Indian organisers) were discussing recently how something like this would be super awesome and something on these lines was discussed long ago. 4. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/202ce1b45f58b52e3bdc192d304bcd338cceb759aa65f0080a153754a437fb80? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Sheila](https://profiles.wordpress.org/sheilahoff/) 7:28 pm _on_ October 4, 2017 * Larry & I are co-chairing this year’s WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. [Learn more](https://central.wordcamp.org/about/). in Seattle. We’ve been working on this for many months. One of the motivators is the reality that each year folks opt-in to be notified about that year’s WordCamp but to reach previous attendees we must log into previous WC websites. We wanted a single opt-in for year-round communication. * It was my suggestion that since we already have a person vetted & approved why not just modify their role to include this LOCLines of Code Lines of code. This is sometimes used as a poor metric for developer productivity, but can also have other uses. responsbility, rather than create yet another volunteer role. * Also, our plan is to create a directory of local members what offer WP services. That’s still in the planning stages but another community-building element to having a “portal” website. * We were fortunate to have one of our MeetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally- organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis( commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our [Meetup Organizer Handbook](https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/meetup-organizer/). organizers step-up to both design and host our new portal site. I think it’s helpful that it’s self-hosted which allows for more freedom of design and tools. - ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/202ce1b45f58b52e3bdc192d304bcd338cceb759aa65f0080a153754a437fb80? s=32&d=mm&r=g) - [Sheila](https://profiles.wordpress.org/sheilahoff/) 7:47 pm _on_ October 4, 2017 - Sorry for the typo above, can’t find any way to edit (3rd paragraph should read WHO offer not what!) - Meanwhile, I thought I’d add that we’ve also created a poster and postcard to use at WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. [Learn more](https://central.wordcamp.org/about/). to promote the new portal site and encourage folks to sign up for the new mailing list. 5. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/2a9a436a279049025e6d68d400ef12f39d4ef00898b745428aaabecbc42a171d? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 6. [Sallie Goetsch](https://profiles.wordpress.org/wpfangirl/) 11:27 pm _on_ October 4, 2017 7. I like this idea a lot. Our meetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our [Meetup Organizer Handbook](https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/meetup-organizer/). has had [its own website](https://eastbaywp.com) (hosting donated by Pagely) since 2009. We don’t have a separate business entity for it: I registered the domain name and signed up for the hosting, and pay for the domain registration out of sponsor money, as declared on our sponsors page. 8. Right now I’m the one who ends up posting the slides and doing all the management. If we had an actual job description that included various responsibilities and processes, it would be much easier to set someone up as an emergency fallback and also to allow someone else to step up and take over the job. 9. I also have a business card for the meetup that’s on the back of my own business card. It points to our own website and our meetup.com website. (It needs updating, but then, so does my own card. I bought 1000 of them in 2011 and am waiting until I run out.) 10. Anyway, I’m happy to talk to anyone who wants to hear what we’ve done and how. Also, I know the SF Meetup has a website, though they are not part of the community program, or weren’t when I last checked. They also have a SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform [https://slack.com/](https://slack.com/). The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at [https://make.wordpress.org/chat/](https://make.wordpress.org/chat/) account, as does the Sacramento WP community. (I’m of two minds about creating one for the East Bay group: I’m not sure how many people would use it vs. the mailing list, and it would mean something else to keep track of. I suppose I should ask the members.) 11. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/72e377074ead3ea2058213f66ecfcdc22a5af679b86fc9d3932df0f26df4bc6b? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Larry Swanson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/laryswan/) 4:24 am _on_ October 5, 2017 * Thanks, Sallie. * I’m kind of embarrassed that we missed your site as we looked for models. You’re doing amazing stuff there. That MeetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our [Meetup Organizer Handbook](https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/meetup-organizer/). intro video, in particular, is very engaging. I can see that all by itself roping folks in. * FWIW, we have a SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform [https://slack.com/](https://slack.com/). The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at [https://make.wordpress.org/chat/](https://make.wordpress.org/chat/) account here in Seattle, and it’s pretty well used. We have very active channels for our WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. [Learn more](https://central.wordcamp.org/about/). and Meetup programs, with both public and organizer channels for each, as well as #business and #developer channels, and even a fairly well-used #watercooler channel. * If this proposal goes anywhere, I **_really_** hope you’ll stay involved. - ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/2a9a436a279049025e6d68d400ef12f39d4ef00898b745428aaabecbc42a171d? s=32&d=mm&r=g) - [Sallie Goetsch](https://profiles.wordpress.org/wpfangirl/) 5:12 pm _on_ October 5, 2017 - I definitely will. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/72e377074ead3ea2058213f66ecfcdc22a5af679b86fc9d3932df0f26df4bc6b? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Larry Swanson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/laryswan/) 5:25 pm _on_ October 5, 2017 * 🙂 ! 12. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/eae9b03fdf1750ad9ecddf610003712fb406bce09006a0c4596071960057ea0e? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 13. [Ulrich](https://profiles.wordpress.org/grapplerulrich/) 7:20 am _on_ October 5, 2017 14. It good that we are having the discussing but I like to see the best in people and not create extra bureaucracy when not needed. For that reason I am normally happy to give anyone access to social media or the website if they need/ask for it. 15. Giving multiple people access does not solve the problem of loosing the accounts as one of the admins can easily remove other people’s access. 16. Generally I feel that is very important that there are at least two people leading a meetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our [Meetup Organizer Handbook](https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/meetup-organizer/).. I was very lucky that I had someone else join me about a year after the meetup started to help out. This has taken a lot of stress off me. For me it is more to do with working on a culture of collaboration instead of a single group owning the community. 17. I created [a basic site](https://wpbern.ch/) to add the summaries of our meetupsMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our [Meetup Organizer Handbook](https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/meetup-organizer/). so that others can profit if they are unable to attend and also build a bit of content to rank better on Google. 18. Two people in the Swiss community have set up a Swiss SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform [https://slack.com/](https://slack.com/). The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at [https://make.wordpress.org/chat/](https://make.wordpress.org/chat/) account which is used across the country. There are many more language or country based slack accounts. A list can be found here: [https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/handbook/about/teams/local-slacks/](https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/handbook/about/teams/local-slacks/) 19. I sponsor the costs for the domain name and I host the site on my account with Siteground. If need be in the future I suppose I could move the site to host that is willing to sponsor the hosting. 20. The proposal seems to be quite specific to the US which is understandable but something you need to be aware of in the discussions. 21. The entities will be different depending on the countries. I know that France have a registered social club that they use for their finances. Though recently we were discouraged from creating something similar in Switzerland by the community team. 22. From my experience a number of people in Europe have struggled with the centralisation of the community in the US. There is a certain feeling of losing control by transferring the domain to a central registry or having a central hosting platform. 23. The German speaking community has [a central website](https://wpmeetups.de/) where it list all of the meetups and their events. In 2015 that website was successfully transferred from an individual to the Frankfurt Meetup group who manage and maintain the site. 24. The thing that I feel the Swiss community can work on is a mailing list. 25. Sorry this ended up being a bit of a brain dump. 26. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/2a9a436a279049025e6d68d400ef12f39d4ef00898b745428aaabecbc42a171d? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Sallie Goetsch](https://profiles.wordpress.org/wpfangirl/) 4:07 pm _on_ October 5, 2017 * Appreciate you chiming in, Ulrich. We Americans tend to be very US-centric unless someone whacks us over the head to remind us that any undertaking like this has to cater to the WHOLE community. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/72e377074ead3ea2058213f66ecfcdc22a5af679b86fc9d3932df0f26df4bc6b? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Larry Swanson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/laryswan/) 5:29 pm _on_ October 5, 2017 * Thanks, Ulrich. I love a good brain dump 🙂 * I actually tried to de-U.S.-ize my proposal, changing to “tax collector” from“ IRS” (our taxing agency), for example. But I know I can always do better, so I really appreciate your perspective. 27. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/a7873a730eebbbf667e941eaefba2f3f16ee7fe49a5661507569ada7f46b94dc? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 28. [Birgit Pauli-Haack](https://profiles.wordpress.org/bph/) 9:42 pm _on_ October 5, 2017 29. Hmm, I am probably stepping on a few toes here. I was wondering why there isn’t a WordPress multi-site instance for MeetupsMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our [Meetup Organizer Handbook](https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/meetup-organizer/).. It would make the whole access credentials administration be so much easier. And with RSS feeds support via social media for each meetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our [Meetup Organizer Handbook](https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/meetup-organizer/). could be somewhat automated and coordinated. I know of a few meetups who have their own websites… Maybe I haven’t fully thought this through. I know we considered something like this when we discussed the microgrant process at WCEUWCEU WordCamp Europe. The European flagship WordCamp event. Contributor dayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of [https://make.wordpress.org/](https://make.wordpress.org/) There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. [https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/](https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/)… 30. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/2a9a436a279049025e6d68d400ef12f39d4ef00898b745428aaabecbc42a171d? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Sallie Goetsch](https://profiles.wordpress.org/wpfangirl/) 11:00 pm _on_ October 5, 2017 * I did belatedly (as in, this morning) think of that possibility–that WPCSWordPress Community Support WordPress Community Support PBC is a Public Benefit Corporation, created specifically to be the financial and legal support for WordCamps, WordPress Meetup groups, and any additional “official” events organized within the WordPress Community Events program. could set up a central website for meetupsMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our [Meetup Organizer Handbook](https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/meetup-organizer/). the way they do for WordCamps. It’s possible that people who have already set up their own sites would find it restrictive, but it could make things easier for meetups that don’t yet have their own sites and are facing the problems inherent in registering domain names and setting up hosting. - ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/72e377074ead3ea2058213f66ecfcdc22a5af679b86fc9d3932df0f26df4bc6b? s=32&d=mm&r=g) - [Larry Swanson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/laryswan/) 11:18 pm _on_ October 5, 2017 - This is an interesting idea. Makes me wonder how many communities have: * active MeetupsMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our [Meetup Organizer Handbook](https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/meetup-organizer/). * a regular WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. [Learn more](https://central.wordcamp.org/about/). * a desire for a non-event virtual presence - I suspect many communities might be MeetupMeetup Meetup groups are locally- organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our [Meetup Organizer Handbook](https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/meetup-organizer/). only, and a multi-site destination might work just fine for them. 31. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/55f2188ca0c42f9f62b562fbf9747c54f088782ce3af48cf6db567bc53428ac0? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 32. [Thomas Bruehl](https://profiles.wordpress.org/00sleepy/) 10:06 pm _on_ October 15, 2017 33. We’ve discussed something like this for over a year now in the german WordPress community, and it was still on my list to do a posting like this here to propose it. 34. Our Idea is about to have something like de.wordcamp.org for the whole german community with a newsletter and a single point of contact to all the wordcamps and meetupsMeetup Meetup groups are locally-organized groups that get together for face-to-face events on a regular basis (commonly once a month). Learn more about Meetups in our [Meetup Organizer Handbook](https://make.wordpress.org/community/handbook/meetup-organizer/).. 35. Our main concern is not losing all the subscribers to WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. [Learn more](https://central.wordcamp.org/about/). Sites with every other year and to have one central communitcation to the press and big sponsors. 36. On the other hand, most of the german meetups have their own websites beside the meetup.com group. 37. As far as I know there is a project on central to do a community hub for all this things, but I guess it needs support and help to get real. 38. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/202ce1b45f58b52e3bdc192d304bcd338cceb759aa65f0080a153754a437fb80? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Sheila](https://profiles.wordpress.org/sheilahoff/) 10:10 pm _on_ October 15, 2017 * Yes, not losing subscribers and starting over each year has been one of our primary concerns. 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