Welcome! This is the home of the Make Community Team for the WordPress open sourceOpen SourceOpen Source denotes software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. Open Source **must be** delivered via a licensing model, see GPL. project!
This team helps the community with official events like:
Discuss: Here we have policy debates, project announcements and status reports. Everyone is welcome to comment on posts and join the discussion.
Plan: Want to organize a meetupMeetupMeetup 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. in your community? Excited to host a WordCampWordCampWordCamps 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.? Check out one of our handbooks to get started.
Assist: Participate in the Meetup Reactivation project, apply to be a Community DeputyDeputyCommunity Deputies are a team of people all over the world who review WordCamp and Meetup applications, interview lead organizers, and generally keep things moving at WordCamp Central. Find more about deputies in our Community Deputy Handbook., or help out as a WordCamp MentorMentorSomeone who has already organised a WordCamp and has time to meet with their assigned mentee every 2 weeks, they talk over where they should be in their timeline, help them to identify their issues, and also identify solutions for their issues..
Discover:Â Any skill level can find a way to be involved in our Team Projects.
Let’s Talk
Office HoursOffice HoursDefined times when the Global Community Team are in the #community-events Slack channel. If there is anything you would like to discuss – you do not need to inform them in advance.You are very welcome to drop into any of the Community Team Slack channels at any time. are held on Slack in #community-events
The first step for organizing a WordCamp or getting a Meetup group added to the chapter program is an application. To get started reviewing applications, you’ll need the following things:
Conduct some research and do some interviewing, see if that applicant is a good fit for a community leadership position, whether they would organize good Meetup events, and how active their local community is currently.
Check the applicant’s dot org profile: Look for activity in the support forums, any contributor badges, and how long the applicant has been a member.
Check the applicant’s presence online: Look for how long the person has worked with WP, if the person has any trademark or GPL violations, and how active the person is in the local community. Check all social media including LinkedIn, Meetup, Twitter, Facebook, about.me, and personal blogs. Especially be on the lookout for anything that indicates bigoted or discriminatory behavior.
Check any background you can in Support Press/Help Scout: Look for unusual email conversations, lack of response, and anything else that might indicate inappropriate behavior. Feel free to ask the Community Team if there is a ModWatch or additional history you should know about.
Check the applicant’s local community: Look for local WordPress activity on Meetup and Facebook. Make sure it is healthy and happy and without signs of ownership; for example, running the user group/meetup for the organizers’ personal gain rather than for the benefit of the overall community. Good leadership is key when looking for organizers.
Did they have a role in last year’s camp? We now have a two-year rule. Lead organizers need to step back after two years. If this organizer has been leading two years in a row, let them know. They can still be on the team, they just can not lead.
Is the person a first time lead? Check to see who was lead last year and contact them before approving the applicant. This allows us to get feedback from the prior lead (who may have stepped back due to the two-year rule) and involves them in the process.
Things you want to know in the end:
Is the person community-oriented?
Keep an eye out for people who seem to want to lead for recognition or business purposes.
Keep an eye out for people who want to have very closed groups or events.
Generally look out for people who talk about organizing events and groups as a tool or means for personal gain rather than as something that is giving back to the community.
Are they good people?
The community is open to all races, genders, creeds, and ages. Organizers should support that idea with their words and deeds.
Keep an eye out for bad publicity. While applicants do not have to be well-known in their local community to become part of this global community, they should at least not be infamous.
Trust your gut sometimes. Just because you can not put your finger on what makes you feel uncomfortable, it does not mean something is not there.
Prospective organizers who don’t know about an existing local community should be introduced to that existing community rather than starting a new one.
Feelings of disdain or negativity toward the local community will not serve people well as a leader in the long run. Talk to people about why they feel the need to start a group given those feelings.
If the person’s entire social presence is focused on their business or the company they work for, be sure to ask questions that get at the heart of why they want to volunteer for the community.
If there is no local community or an inactive community, then the organizers should be directed to start a local group and re-apply after 4 to 6 months.
If the organizer is not very involved in the local community, have them recruit more community members for the organizing team and then get back to you with that list before approval.
The list below is a starting point to begin your application review. Not all of these places will be used in all instances. Additional sites might need to be checked if you are outside North America. This, however, can get you started. Feel free to copy and paste it into your Staff Note in Help Scout so you have something to reference. There is also a Saved Reply on Help Scout called ‘NOTE: Vetting list’ that you can use—which provides a similar list below and has some examples per section.
.org profile has been around since 2010 but has zero activity
The group is semi-closed; members do not need approval, but content is not visible unless you are a member. Some of the Five Goodfaith Rules are posted, although no code of conduct is posted.
ONLINE PRESENCE
Twitter presence is very infrequent, but mostly WordPress. Nothing offensive or bigoted.
Facebook is equally infrequent, but more opinion/political stances. Again, nothing noticeably offensive or bigoted. Nothing that incites violence or bad behavior from others.
Facebook groups are almost entirely marketing related (applicant owns/operates an SEO company)
Linkedin is entirely business focused. No mention of WordPress, though.
.org profile has been around since 2010 but has zero activity
Personal site is only a contact form.
Business site is SEO-specific and has no WordPress trademark or GPL violations. Applicant does not distribute any tools or services that the GPL would apply to.
Meetup group was created the day before the application was sent. The group is semi-closed; members do not need approval, but content is not visible unless you are a member. Some of the Five Goodfaith Rules are posted, although no code of conduct is posted. No events yet, so be sure to check what the plan is.
Google Plus has no posts. Basically being used as a Local search tool.
YouTube has one video and no activity other than that.
SEARCHES
There are a few groups nearby, but they are across the river from Nyack.
Not active in contributing to the project, but clearly has been interested in working with WordPress for many years.
HELP SCOUT
No previous Help Scout history
You can use the following spreadsheet to speed up the vetting process: