Facilitating the Documentation table at Contributor Day

Facilitating the Documentation table at 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/ means helping contributors understand what the Documentation Team does, guiding them toward suitable tasks, answering questions throughout the day, and making sure their contributions are recorded for follow-up and recognition.

Before Contributor Day

Before the event, prepare to help both new and experienced contributors get started quickly.

• Review the current Documentation Team handbook, issue tracker, and active contribution areas.
• Prepare a short introduction to the Documentation Team, including what the team works on and the different ways contributors can help.
• Identify a few beginner-friendly tasks in advance so new contributors can start contributing without too much setup.
• Be ready to explain where contributors should report issues, ask questions, and find work after the event.
• If possible, coordinate with other Docs contributors or team reps ahead of time so you are not facilitating alone.
• Be prepared to explain the difference between end-user documentation, developer documentation, and contributor documentation.

At the start of the day

Start by welcoming contributors and helping them understand what kind of work they can do with the Documentation Team.

• Welcome contributors, and briefly explain what the Documentation Team does.
• Ask attendees about their experience level, interests, and whether they are new to contributing to WordPress.
• Help new contributors create or confirm access to the accounts they may need, such as:
  • a WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/ account
  • WordPress 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/ access
  • GitHubGitHub GitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged by the repository owner. https://github.com/ access, if needed for their task
• Explain that documentation work is open to many kinds of contributors, including writers, editors, developers, support-minded contributors, and first-time contributors.
• Give a quick overview of the types of tasks available that day.

During the session

As contributors begin working, help them stay unblocked and make steady progress.

• Onboard as many new contributors as possible and help them feel comfortable asking questions.
• Match contributors with tasks based on their interests, skills, and confidence level.
• Prioritize small, achievable tasks for first-time contributors so they can complete meaningful work during the event.
• Check in regularly with contributors to answer questions, remove blockers, and help them move forward.
• Encourage contributors to document what they worked on, including relevant links, so their contributions can be recognized later.
• Make sure contributors know where to continue contributing after Contributor Day if they want to stay involved.

Recording participation

Keep track of who contributed and what they worked on so the team can follow up accurately after the event.

• Record the name and WordPress.org username of each contributor at the Documentation table.
• If possible, also note what each person worked on.
• Include links to relevant issues, pages, or updates where available.
• Use this information later when preparing the Contributor Day recap post or confirming contributions for recognition.

Wrapping up the day

At the end of the event, help contributors understand what to do next and how to stay connected with the team.

• Thank contributors for their work and let them know how to stay involved with the Documentation Team.
• Share the key links they will need after the event, such as:
  • the Documentation Team handbook
  • the Documentation Issue Tracker
  • the #docs Slack channel
  • the team blog
• Remind contributors how to submit or report their contributions if needed for recognition.
• Follow up after the event by preparing or contributing to a recap post that includes the names of participants and a summary of the work completed.

Possible tasks can be found on this link: https://github.com/WordPress/Documentation-Issue-Tracker/issues/374