Contributor Drive Planning Chat – Recap

We met again in 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/. this week to continue our planning from last week. Again the goal is to get our handbook ready for an upcoming contributor drive at the end of the month. From last week we each processed a video (download raw file, add slides, publish to WPTV) and then came back to discuss how that went. What were some pain points we noticed. How can we make the process smoother. Here are the things we discussed:

  • It wasn’t clear if I could use the iMovie software that comes on my mac, so I downloaded the other one, which took a long time. If people need that software they should install before 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/.
  • We are almost done with an iMovie video to edit 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. videos
  • point of confusion #2 was which videos might be good to try and cut slides into. It’s not obvious which ones need it, and which just need simple edits
  • if the slides are already clearly visible in the video, they probably don’t need to be cut in, so that’s probably another thing to note there in terms of which ones need it.
  • I poked around awhile to find the instructions just on cutting in slides and felt like they were buried in lots of things I didn’t need to know for that particular task
  • overall what would make it easier is to have some sort of task based workflow, like 1) do this 2) then do that 3) do that other thing, like a clear map or checklist of what need to be done.
  • @ajhill shared notes about how we might document this process in this Google Doc which is a great start for a task based guide to post-processing.
  • if the idea is to ensure contributor success during the drive, we may want to line up a list of videos that makes the entire process far faster and less painful. (e.g. videos where the slides are partially visible so that they can time based on the visuals)
  • one little note – there is some jargon in there that I didn’t understand, for example, “codec” here: “Any video editor can be used for editing and processing the videos as long as it has a good codec to process the videos”
  • @bethsoderberg volunteered to help copy edit (as a non video expert) to help catch those, and @ubernaut volunteered to help with “non-jargony” alternatives
  • For videos that are already on WPTV (published) but could benefit from edits to add slides, we need a set of instructions on how to access the file and subtitles on WPTV
  • One thing I noted (thinking like a user) is that the spreadsheet is pretty confusing. Not sure how to make it simpler, but I imagine its hard for a new contrib to know where to start
  • @jerrysarcastic added a list of potential things that will trip new contribs up, in this Google Doc.

We also discussed plans for using blog.wordpress.tv as an outlet for topical updates, pro tips, etc. This will let us keep the handbook light and focused, while allowing us to add other important tips in the blog. This gives us a URLURL A specific web address of a website or web page on the Internet, such as a website’s URL www.wordpress.org we can point to when sharing. Also our blue welcome box on make.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//tv needs an overhaul, and 2 hours of straight Slack meetings is for the birds. Well look to move our planning to P2P2 “P2” is the name of the theme the blogs of make.wordpress.org use. When asked to post or view something “on the p2” by a member of the WPTV team, that usually means you’re asked to check https://make.wordpress.org/tv. posts more as we plan going forward. Thanks for sticking it out!

Also present: @tashan @roseapplemedia @johnparkinson @oleg

#contributor-drive, #handbook

February Contributor Drive Planning Chat – Recap

Last week we met in 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/. (#wptv) to chat about the current state of our handbooks, so we can get them ready for a contributor drive that is happening at the end of the month. You can see the things we discussed in the Slack Archive, but here is a brief recap:

  • The focus of this drive will be to find more contributors interested in post-processing raw 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. videos and uploading finished (edited) videos to wptv
  • if you go to our handbook now, Much of the info seems to be there, but it’s not obvious what step one is; for a new contributor it’s kinda hard to know where to start: https://make.wordpress.org/tv/handbook/
  • We also have some resources for WordCamp planners here: https://plan.wordcamp.org/video/video-post-production/
  • One goal is to encourage a new contributor to 1) get a video from the spreadsheet 2) download it to their computer and edit in slides and intro/outro if needed and 3) upload to wptv with the correct metadata
  • We discussed a bit about how we will track contributions

At the end of the meeting we all agreed that for “homework” we would all download and process a video, and upload it to WPTV. Some of us are more familiar with the process than others, so we’ll bring our notes on how we can improve the process to the next meeting.

If you are interested in joining us, we are having another meeting this Thursday Feb 4 at 18:00 UTC (1:00 ET) which is after our usual team meeting, at 17:00 UTC. Hope to see you there!

Convert 18:00 UTC to your timezone here

#contributor-drive, #handbook

WPTV Handbooks planning meeting tomorrow!

Howdy WPTV fans. Tomorrow after our usual team chat (17:00 UTC) we will be meeting to discuss our next steps for improving our onboarding documentation, to make it easier for new contributors to get involved in post-processing.

Here are the deets:
Meeting place: WPTV channel in 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/.
Date: Thursday Jan 28 @ 18:00 UTC

Convert to your timezone here

If you are in attendance for the regular team meeting, stick around!

#handbook

Handbook Front Page

The front page of the handbook is just a copy-and-paste of the about page.

Does anyone have any ideas of what we could put on this page?

Maybe a little WordPresstv history and a statement of purpose perhaps?

#handbook

How to Approve Videos – Now easier to understand!

Howdy Mod Squad!

With @myroseapple‘s help (and awesome video walk through!) we now have a new set on instructions on how to approve videos. Hopefully these will be a lot easier to follow (and refer back to) than the old documentation we used to have.

Take a look:
http://wptvmods.wordpress.com/moderator-handbook/approving-videos/

In addition to that, I would like to propose that we start building out something of a Moderator Handbook (see new widgetWidget A WordPress Widget is a small block that performs a specific function. You can add these widgets in sidebars also known as widget-ready areas on your web page. WordPress widgets were originally created to provide a simple and easy-to-use way of giving design and structure control of the WordPress theme to the user. at the top of our sidebarSidebar A sidebar in WordPress is referred to a widget-ready area used by WordPress themes to display information that is not a part of the main content. It is not always a vertical column on the side. It can be a horizontal rectangle below or above the content area, footer, header, or any where in the theme.) including this new page, and adding sections on the following:

  • Moderating Comments – What to approve, how to respond, clearing out spam, etc.
  • Internationalization/accessibilityAccessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility) – What to to with non-english videos, How to moderate and approve subtitles, etc.
  • Video Standards – Policies regarding technical quality, as well as issues around GPLGPL GPL is an acronym for GNU Public License. It is the standard license WordPress uses for Open Source licensing https://wordpress.org/about/license/. The GPL is a ‘copyleft’ license https://www.gnu.org/licenses/copyleft.en.html. This means that derivative work can only be distributed under the same license terms. This is in distinction to permissive free software licenses, of which the BSD license and the MIT License are widely used examples. and community compliance.
  • Managing wordpress.tv – The nuts and bolts of how the site works—what all the tags, categories, menus, and widgets do, how to keep the home page up to date with fresh content, etc.

I am sure there can/should be others, so if you think I’m leaving something out, please let me know. Also, if docs are your thing, you are welcome to join in and help, so give a shout out in the comments.

#documentation, #handbook