Proposal for #docs Channel Extension

*this is a cumulative doc/proposal from the Docs Onboard Team

Purpose

To create an area away from the high traffic active postings in the main channel that new and existing Contributors can go for assistance and support. Members can also ask a quick question in the new channel. This would declutter the existing #docs channel from error reports and questions, while distinguishing it exclusively for docs related discussions.

The idea is to is to have a combination of:

-On Demand Lists (ie: /newcontributor-tasks, /specific-itemlinks, /handbook-sections)

*returns info we setup

—>> using Slackbot for the lists

-Live in Channel Support (General Operating/Convention QA, Orientation Hub)

Naming

Some ideas for possible naming convention:

#docs-help

#docs-support

—————————————

Reason

At this point, we’ve been direct messaging people and working with them one on one to get started, but this would allow us to have a hub to do so, while information supplied to others could also be of benefit as reference.

Presently, we’ve noticed (especially in the case of new contributors), they tend to get overwhelmed and also intimidated by asking for information in the channel. We’re also duplicating quite a bit of human effort in the case where we have potential solutions to make this process more efficient.

Estela Rueda 4:03 pm on July 27, 2020

I think naming the channel Docs-help or docs-support is going to confuse everyone. Other contributors may use this channel to ask for help or clarification on a docs article. The name has to be related to new contributors. Help and Support are related to something else
Jeffrey Paul 6:35 pm on August 4, 2020

If I understand the problem being described, then it sounds like another option (and one I’d recommend with the information I’m aware of) would be to utilize Slack Workflows for these regular questions/answers, tasks, links, etc.. You can see an example of how this works by joining the #buddypress channel and you’ll get a message from Slackbot with some intro tips (see example here).

I would also recommend getting some of those common questions/answers, tasks, links, etc. added to the Docs Handbook so that these workflows can reference there (and also hopefully help folks who are searching for this content and stumble upon it on their own).
- Tom Ford 6:32 am on August 6, 2020
  
  @jeffpaul Do you think it’s a good idea to have a separate channel or no?
  - Jeffrey Paul 1:30 pm on August 6, 2020
    
    I don’t fully understand what sorts of topics you would expect to happen in the proposed help and support channels, how they would differ from what happens in the main docs channel, and how contributors would know the differences and take their questions/concerns/comments/etc to the correct channel. All that to say, with what I know at the moment, no I do not think separate channels would help solve the problem as I understand it.
    - Tom Ford 2:57 pm on August 6, 2020
      
      Overall idea was to have a less intimidating place for new contributors to get started and also have live support as the main channel tends to be super busy…and we thought we could utilize the Slackbot to provide up to date task lists for new people. We do already have these documents, but it was more of a facilitating concept.
      - Jeffrey Paul 3:01 pm on August 6, 2020
        
        The coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. team has a weekly “new contributor meeting” that has helped dramatically handle these sorts of scenarios. Those happen every two weeks just before the weekly core devchat, details can be found here: https://make.wordpress.org/core/tag/new-contributors/. Maybe a regular meeting like that could help?
        
        Tom Ford 3:31 pm on August 6, 2020
        
        We have a little mini mentoring team, will bring up the meetings. We’ve mostly been direct contacting people. There’s been a pretty heavy influx of new people since we started the mentor team, so that’s why we started the team.
        
        Jeffrey Paul 3:38 pm on August 6, 2020
        
        Handling those requests in DMs may not be best either, doing so in the channel can allow for others to see/search+find it later. Also highlights areas that may be ripe for adding to your handbook so you can easily link people to in the future.
        
        Tom Ford 5:45 pm on August 6, 2020
        
        Thanks for taking time to provide feedback on this. Agreed on the DMs, the fact that the information isn’t front facing to others is primarily the reason we started looking into this.
Andrea Middleton 11:46 pm on August 7, 2020

I agree with Estela that using the terms “help” or “support” would definitely be confusing for users.

95% of the time, I think the long-term benefits of keeping everyone in the same channel… outweigh the challenges that come with it. Duplicated messages in DMs are definitely a drain of time and resources — I feel your pain there! — but usually we address this by writing documentation or tutorials that anyone can access, synchronously or asynchronously. Then most teams use special meetings for new contributors, or office hours, or other measures to carve out time for new contributors.

Presently, we’ve noticed (especially in the case of new contributors), they tend to get overwhelmed and also intimidated by asking for information in the channel.

Do you know what’s causing the feeling of intimidation? Is conversation in the channel unwelcoming, or do experienced contributors respond dismissively to questions? Is there an unusually high volume of interaction in the channel?
- Estela Rueda 1:01 pm on August 17, 2020
  
  Do you know what’s causing the feeling of intimidation? Is conversation in the channel unwelcoming, or do experienced contributors respond dismissively to questions? Is there an unusually high volume of interaction in the channel?
  
  The docs meetings are not unwelcoming at all. I think the intimidation comes from overproductive and well-attended meetings. We follow an agenda and everyone is very precise about giving updates. Discussion topics have a good flow, without them becoming heated, but can be too fast/too technical for new contributors. I have seen a similar issue happening in coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. team meetings, where conversations flow smoothly but can be too fast or too technical for new contributors.
  
  On another note, maybe instating an “office-hours” meeting for new contributors in the channel is not a bad solution. Timewise? weekly, every other week, monthly? Whatever works for the team.
- Tom Ford 5:49 pm on August 17, 2020
  
  Hi Andrea and Estela. I think we have a lot of amazing ideas here.
  
  We’re trying to bounce all these around now. Having an in channel meeting definitely sounds like a starter.
  
  Thank you for the feedback. Yes, the main channel is definitely going well and the meetings are not unwelcoming, we just want to do whatever we can to get folks to stick around and really get involved.

Want to get involved?

Weekly meetings

Proposal for #docs Channel Extension

Purpose

Naming

Reason

Want to get involved?

Weekly meetings

Purpose

Naming

Reason

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