Mozilla Support (a.k.a. SUMO) is a collaborative space where enthusiastic volunteers and staff working together to help users through the Community Forums, Knowledge Base articles, and article localization. As a staff member, the Community Forum is a great place to connect directly with users. It’s a space where you can gain a unique window into the user’s perspective — challenges they face as well as the things they truly value in our products. This article outlines guidelines for Mozilla staff members who want to take part in the Community Forums, helping us ensure a healthy environment for everyone to participate. __TOC__ =Staff participation guidelines= As staff, your participation is highly valued, and we want to ensure that interactions remain respectful, transparent, and supportive. Here are a few important guidelines to keep in mind: * '''Review the general rules''' Before engaging, please take a moment to review the general [[Mozilla Support rules and guidelines]]. These apply to everyone in the community, including staff. * '''Do not share NDA information''' Remember that the SUMO Community Forum is public-facing. Do not share confidential project details, or anything that isn’t already public knowledge. If you’re unsure, it’s better to hold back and confirm first. * '''Staff label and visibility''' If you sign up with your Mozilla email, our system will automatically apply a Mozilla Staff label to your account when you participate in the Community Forum. You can adjust your profile settings (username, bio, etc.) as you like, but please keep in mind that your comments will be read as coming from a staff member. This means your words carry extra weight in shaping the conversation. * '''Representing Mozilla ''' When you participate, you represent Mozilla to the community. Be mindful of tone — aim to be clear, supportive, and collaborative. Even when clarifying policies or correcting misunderstandings, make sure to do so with respect. * '''Respect the process''' Contributors, [/groups/forum-moderators/ Forum Moderators], [/groups/knowledge-base-reviewers/ KB reviewers], and [/groups/sumo-locale-leaders/ L10n Locale Leaders] are essential partners in this space. Respect their role and the processes we’ve set up for moderation, content creation, and content review. Collaboration works best when we give space to each other. * '''Escalating issues''' If you encounter a question or situation that goes beyond your expertise, don’t feel pressured to resolve it yourself. Instead, flag it to the SUMO team (by reaching out to us on [https://chat.mozilla.org/#/room/#SUMO:mozilla.org Matrix] or #sumo-team on Slack) or direct the user toward appropriate resources. You can also directly reach out to the [[Meet the Team|Community Team at CX]]. =Creating an account on SUMO= * Go to [http://support.mozilla.org support.mozilla.org] and click on the Sign in/up in the top right corner of the page. * SUMO is using Mozilla account for authentication. Make sure to use your employee email to log in. That way, our system will automatically apply a Mozilla Staff label to your account when you participate in the Community Forum. ;[[Image:Staff label in the Community Forum]] * You can adjust your profile settings (username, bio, etc.) as you like from the [/users/edit Edit Profile] page. However, since we’re using Mozilla account for authentication, you’ll need to update your avatar through your Mozilla account settings in order for it to appear here. =How to get started in the Community Forums= Watch the following tutorial video for a quick overview on how to get started in SUMO Community Forums. <!-- [[Video:https://youtu.be/]] Video placeholder--> =Do and Don’t= ==✅ Do == * '''Link to our official documentation whenever possible''' When answering questions, always prioritize linking to Mozilla’s official Knowledge Base (KB) articles, developer documentation, or other trusted Mozilla resources. This ensures that users receive accurate, up-to-date, and well-maintained information. * '''Use the release wiki as a reference''' SUMO contributors often rely on the Firefox release wiki page to collect details about new releases. It’s a useful resource to stay informed about changes, trending issues, and incidents, and it also includes links to community discussions for each release. If you come across something important that isn’t reflected in the release wiki, please let the [[Meet the Team|Community Team]] know! ==❎ Don’t== * '''Avoid suggesting pref changes in about:config''' Modifying preferences in the Configuration Editor (about:config) can lead to serious issues, including reduced browser stability, security vulnerabilities, or performance problems. For this reason, anyone should not recommend these changes unless explicitly documented in our official support articles. * '''Avoid recommending UI modifications with custom style rules''' While it’s technically possible to customize Firefox using userChrome.css and other custom styles, Mozilla strongly discourages suggesting these changes to general users. Such modifications are not officially supported, may cause unexpected behavior, and can break Firefox functionality after updates. These approaches should be left to advanced developers who are fully aware of the risks.

Mozilla Support (a.k.a. SUMO) is a collaborative space where enthusiastic volunteers and staff working together to help users through the Community Forums, Knowledge Base articles, and article localization. As a staff member, the Community Forum is a great place to connect directly with users. It’s a space where you can gain a unique window into the user’s perspective — challenges they face as well as the things they truly value in our products.

This article outlines guidelines for Mozilla staff members who want to take part in the Community Forums, helping us ensure a healthy environment for everyone to participate.

Staff participation guidelines

As staff, your participation is highly valued, and we want to ensure that interactions remain respectful, transparent, and supportive. Here are a few important guidelines to keep in mind:

• Review the general rules

Before engaging, please take a moment to review the general Mozilla Support rules and guidelines. These apply to everyone in the community, including staff.

• Do not share NDA information

Remember that the SUMO Community Forum is public-facing. Do not share confidential project details, or anything that isn’t already public knowledge. If you’re unsure, it’s better to hold back and confirm first.

• Staff label and visibility

If you sign up with your Mozilla email, our system will automatically apply a Mozilla Staff label to your account when you participate in the Community Forum. You can adjust your profile settings (username, bio, etc.) as you like, but please keep in mind that your comments will be read as coming from a staff member. This means your words carry extra weight in shaping the conversation.

• Representing Mozilla

When you participate, you represent Mozilla to the community. Be mindful of tone — aim to be clear, supportive, and collaborative. Even when clarifying policies or correcting misunderstandings, make sure to do so with respect.

• Respect the process

Contributors, Forum Moderators, KB reviewers, and L10n Locale Leaders are essential partners in this space. Respect their role and the processes we’ve set up for moderation, content creation, and content review. Collaboration works best when we give space to each other.

• Escalating issues

If you encounter a question or situation that goes beyond your expertise, don’t feel pressured to resolve it yourself. Instead, flag it to the SUMO team (by reaching out to us on Matrix or #sumo-team on Slack) or direct the user toward appropriate resources. You can also directly reach out to the Community Team at CX.

Creating an account on SUMO

• Go to support.mozilla.org and click on the Sign in/up in the top right corner of the page.
• SUMO is using Mozilla account for authentication. Make sure to use your employee email to log in. That way, our system will automatically apply a Mozilla Staff label to your account when you participate in the Community Forum.

• You can adjust your profile settings (username, bio, etc.) as you like from the Edit Profile page. However, since we’re using Mozilla account for authentication, you’ll need to update your avatar through your Mozilla account settings in order for it to appear here.

How to get started in the Community Forums

Watch the following tutorial video for a quick overview on how to get started in SUMO Community Forums.

Do and Don’t

✅ Do

• Link to our official documentation whenever possible

When answering questions, always prioritize linking to Mozilla’s official Knowledge Base (KB) articles, developer documentation, or other trusted Mozilla resources. This ensures that users receive accurate, up-to-date, and well-maintained information.

• Use the release wiki as a reference

SUMO contributors often rely on the Firefox release wiki page to collect details about new releases. It’s a useful resource to stay informed about changes, trending issues, and incidents, and it also includes links to community discussions for each release. If you come across something important that isn’t reflected in the release wiki, please let the Community Team know!

❎ Don’t

• Avoid suggesting pref changes in about:config

Modifying preferences in the Configuration Editor (about:config) can lead to serious issues, including reduced browser stability, security vulnerabilities, or performance problems. For this reason, anyone should not recommend these changes unless explicitly documented in our official support articles.

• Avoid recommending UI modifications with custom style rules

While it’s technically possible to customize Firefox using userChrome.css and other custom styles, Mozilla strongly discourages suggesting these changes to general users. Such modifications are not officially supported, may cause unexpected behavior, and can break Firefox functionality after updates. These approaches should be left to advanced developers who are fully aware of the risks.