WCEU 2020 Online Contributor Day: All that team facilitators and experienced Contributors need to know

Hello WordPress Make teams. It’s only two weeks until 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. Europe 2020 Online 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/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/ https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/. and we can’t wait for the event to start.

First of all, thank you so much for providing us with all the details we asked for, especially within such a tight timeframe and with limited information. The whole WCEU team was thrilled to receive the excellent video introductions from the 15 different Make teams that will be joining us on the day.

We are finally ready to share a detailed update about how the day will work and have a few final requests. This is a long post, but please read it carefully as it contains important information for all members of the Make teams helping at Contributor Day.

Purpose of the day

It’s worth keeping in mind that although the Contributor Day is about encouraging Contributions to the WordPress project, it’s also about getting new Contributors onboard. New Contributors who we help to find their place in the WordPress community will hopefully be more likely to continue helping with the tickets and tasks in the long run.

Contributor Day is also about collaborating with your team members and working together with the other Make teams. Even if we aren’t gathered in the same physical space, don’t forget about the power of teamwork.

Schedule

All times are in UTC. You can use time.is/UTC to convert into your local timezone.

WCEU Contributor Day schedule on 4 June 2020:
13:00 Welcome and opening remarks (link will be sent on the morning of the event)
13:30 Contributing to WordPress starts. Teams can hold introduction sessions in Zoom meetings to kick off the work
18:00 End of Contributor Day (we won’t have closing remarks)

As you will note, other than the opening remarks, there is no fixed schedule. This means that each Make team and Contributor is free to schedule their work as they see best. But please, don’t exhaust yourself or your team members – remember to take short breaks and have lunch! The WCEU team will send reminders about breaks throughout the day.

Opening and closing remarks

Opening remarks will be broadcast live from the WCEU website at 13:00 UTC on 4 June. We will share the pre-recorded Make team videos to introduce each of the teams. A recording of opening remarks will be available on the same page shortly afterward. 

We have decided to skip traditional closing remarks this year as we recognize that not all Contributors will be able to work until 18:00 UTC. Instead, we will be gathering achievements and updates from each team to share later in a blog post.

Platforms

We have slightly refined our plans for platform usage since our last post. Apologies for any confusion, but we hope these changes will ultimately make your work easier.

SlackSlack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/.

Slack is the preferred tool for communication and a place where Contributors from each team can come together during the day. All attendees will be directed to the Making WordPress Slack before the event, on the morning of the Contributor Day, and during the opening remarks. Make sure your team has enough people available to help new Contributors in Slack throughout the day.

In the Make WordPress Slack, we will have a #contributor-day channel. This will be the place for general announcements and to help attendees. Join the channel now if you haven’t already.

In addition to this public channel, there will be a private channel for communication between team facilitators and the WCEU team in case there are any technical problems or any other issues that might affect your team’s ability to work.

Each team will use their existing Slack channel(s) for their team-specific work.

Zoom

We recommend that each Make team holds an introduction session following the opening remarks.

Zoom meeting will be created for each Make team in advance. Each team can use Zoom meetings however they like during the day: for general networking and chit-chatting, for group communication, or as breakout rooms for working on small tasks. 

We will create one main Zoom meeting and as many extra meetings as requested by each individual team. If your team discovers they need another Zoom meeting during the day, you can request this from the WCEU organizing team in the private Slack channel. 

All attendees will receive an email on the morning of the event with the links to the Zoom meetings for each of the different Make teams. The main Zoom meeting for each Make team should be open throughout the whole day, from just after the opening remarks until your team finishes for the day at 18:00 UTC. At least one team facilitator will be expected to be present and monitor each main Zoom meeting during the day. This could be done in shifts.

In case your team does not want to use Zoom meetings during the day for some compelling reason, please let the WCEU organizing team know on 1 June at the latest. During the day, if your team finished earlier than 18:00 UTC notify the WCEU organizing team so we know to close the meeting.

All information will be sent to attendees in one email

All the information that attendees will need during the WCEU 2020 Online Contributor Day will be gathered into a single email. This will be sent out on the morning of the event day. The email will contain a link to the web page with the opening remarks broadcast and Make team introductions, links to the Slack channels, and Zoom meeting(s) for each team.

By the way, you should also be registered as an attendee – please do this right after reading this post if you haven’t already!

Code of Conduct and problematic behavior

Though the WCEU 2020 Online is virtual, we still expect each and every attendee to follow the Code of Conduct (CoC). It is unlikely to happen, but all team facilitators should be prepared to act if they witness a violation of the CoC during Contributor Day. If this happens, contact the WCEU team in the private Slack channel or pingPing The act of sending a very small amount of data to an end point. Ping is used in computer science to illicit a response from a target server to test it’s connection. Ping is also a term used by Slack users to @ someone or send them a direct message (DM). Users might say something along the lines of “Ping me when the meeting starts.” @sippis directly and we will help you.

A few final requests

  1. Decide on your Make team facilitators and let the WCEU team know their Slack usernames in the comments under this post – we’ll invite them to the private Slack channel.
  2. Decide which facilitator will be the first host in your Make team’s Zoom meeting. If your team requested more than two Zoom meetings, name two facilitators. Let the WCEU team know their Slack usernames in the comments under this post.
  3. Make sure that someone from your team is taking notes on achievements during the day that we can share with everyone after the event.
  4. Have a good time during WCEU 2020 Online Contributor Day!

See you soon at WCEU 2020 Online Contributor Day!

The WCEU 2020 Online Contributor Day Team
Abha, Laetitia, Marco, Michael, Pedro, Timi


Q&A

When will the WCEU Contributor Day take place?
Thursday, 4 June 2020, 13:00 UTC to 18:00 UTC

When we will have links for the Zoom meetings?
The WCEU team will share the Zoom meeting information with dedicated Make team facilitators soon. Keep the information to yourself and do not share any Zoom meeting links. The WCEU team will send all Zoom meeting information in one email to attendees on the morning of the event day.

Can we share the Zoom meeting links or password during the day?
Do not share the Zoom meeting password publicly! Links can be shared in Making WordPress Slack. All Zoom meeting information will be sent to attendees in one email on the morning of the event day.

What if our team does not want to use Zoom?
The WCEU team will create Zoom meeting(s) for each team in advance. We highly encourage each team to use this tool, because having other ways than Slack to communicate during the day makes the experience much better. Some things are also easier to solve and brainstorm when actually talking to others. Let us know in case your team does not want to use Zoom for some compelling reason.

What Slack channels are being used?
#contributor-day will be the main channel for the general announcements, for contacting attendees and helping them. Make teams will work in their usual channels during the day. In addition, we will have a private channel for coordination between Make team facilitators and the WCEU team.

Where will opening and closing remarks take place?
Opening remarks will start at 13:00 UTC and will be broadcast live from the WCEU 2020 Online website. All registered attendees will receive a link to that page on the morning of the event day. We will not have closing remarks.

What if my team encounters a technical problem with Zoom?
First of all, do not panic – we’ve got your back. Secondly, contact the WCEU team in the private Slack channel. We will help with problems during the day.

What if my team finishes earlier than 18:00 UTC?
Please let the WCEU team know about it in the private Slack channel, so we know to close the Zoom meeting and update our records.

When will attendees receive all this information?
The WCEU team will send an email tomorrow (Friday 22 May) to registered attendees, with times, schedule for Make team office hours and some practical information on preparing for the day. On the morning of the event day, we will send a second email to all registered attendees with the remaining information they will need.

Can I leave the computer to take a break?
Please do, and encourage your team members to as well! Really – taking a short break keeps you refreshed, helps you focus, and makes you feel much better overall. We will be reminding you about this. Encourage members of your team to work in shifts to take care of attendees in Slack and Zoom during the five hours of the event.

This is so much information, I can’t remember it all!
Take a break and come to read this post again after a while 🙂 The WCEU team will also share a summary of the most important things to remember on the morning of the event in the private Slack channel.

Can you remind me what I need to do?
Comment under this post with the Slack names of all of your team facilitators. In the same comment, tell us who will be the first host for your team’s Zoom meeting(s). Make sure someone in your team makes a note of all your team’s achievements during the day. Enjoy the day!

I don’t / my team member does not have a ticket.
No problem! Contributor Day registration is still open. Just answer the “Will you be attending Contributor Day?” question “Yes” while registering for your ticket or update your answer to this question in your ticket (you should have received a link to do this via email after you signed up).

Anything we missed? Something you want to know but we haven’t covered? Do you have concerns about anything? Let us know in the comments and the WCEU team will answer 🙂

+make.wordpress.org/polyglots/
+make.wordpress.org/support/
+make.wordpress.org/themes/
+make.wordpress.org/training/
+make.wordpress.org/tv/
+make.wordpress.org/accessibility/
+make.wordpress.org/cli/
+make.wordpress.org/community/
+make.wordpress.org/core/
+make.wordpress.org/design/
+make.wordpress.org/docs/
+make.wordpress.org/hosting/
+make.wordpress.org/marketing/
+make.wordpress.org/mobile/

#online-contributor-day, #wceu2020cd, #wceu2022cd, #wordcamp-europe, #wordcamp-europe-online