Knowledge Base discussions
[#mozwww] - KB contributor onboarding follow-up
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Here's a summary and update of the KB contributor onboarding session that took place in Whistler.
What were the goals?
Figure out how to make it easier for new contributors to work on the KB.
What has been discussed?
We talked about pain points for contributors when working on the KB. The initial goal was to talk about training new contributors, but we uncovered some issues that longtime contributors have also had to deal with.
What are the next steps?
1. Joni will set up a quick link experiment so users can suggest new articles.
2. Figure out how make it easy for contributors to find the "create an article" page.
3. Experiment with a form-style article template for contributors who aren't familiar with wiki markup.
4. Create a screencast (or a series) on how to edit an article.
5. Implement other suggestions from the etherpad. Since a lot of these are contributor-facing, we might not need to do a lot of experimenting.
How can the Community help with the next steps?
1. Look at the etherpad and prototype and share your feedback and concerns.
2. Add any other suggestions to the etherpad.
3. See any new contributors? Encourage them to share their feedback as well.
How do we make sure the next steps have a positive impact?
We'll check the outcome periodically and ask for feedback regularly.
Here's a summary and update of the KB contributor onboarding session that took place in Whistler.
*[https://etherpad.mozilla.org/mozwww-sumo-kb-onboarding Etherpad notes]
==What were the goals?==
Figure out how to make it easier for new contributors to work on the KB.
==What has been discussed?==
We talked about pain points for contributors when working on the KB. The initial goal was to talk about training new contributors, but we uncovered some issues that longtime contributors have also had to deal with.
==What are the next steps?==
1. Joni will set up a quick link experiment so users can suggest new articles.
2. Figure out how make it easy for contributors to find the "create an article" page.
3. Experiment with a form-style article template for contributors who aren't familiar with wiki markup.
4. Create a screencast (or a series) on how to edit an article.
5. Implement other suggestions from the [https://etherpad.mozilla.org/mozwww-sumo-kb-onboarding etherpad]. Since a lot of these are contributor-facing, we might not need to do a lot of experimenting.
==How can the Community help with the next steps?==
1. Look at the etherpad and prototype and share your feedback and concerns.
2. Add any other suggestions to the etherpad.
3. See any new contributors? Encourage them to share their feedback as well.
==How do we make sure the next steps have a positive impact?==
We'll check the outcome periodically and ask for feedback regularly.
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I really worry helping people to write more new articles, especially new contributors is something that should not be a priority.
Help them edit and update articles? Yes.
Help them understand the processes and need for discussion and collaboration ? Yes.
But making it easy to write a brand new article should be a lower priority and; I consider; may be best aimed at those that already understand the basics of how the KB works, and what it should cover.
I really worry helping people to write more new articles, especially new contributors is something that should not be a priority.
Help them edit and update articles? Yes.
Help them understand the processes and need for discussion and collaboration ? Yes.
But making it easy to write a brand new article should be a lower priority and; I consider; may be best aimed at those that already understand the basics of how the KB works, and what it should cover.
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I agree with John99 that the place to start for new KB editors would be to improve existing KB articles, not creating new ones. See Improve the Knowledge Base which links to articles that need to be updated].
What about reviving the Technical Writing program? Technical writing program - How to write Knowledge Base articles is currently archived.
As far as making it easier for contributors to find information, the SUMO home page has a "Volunteer for Mozilla Support" link that goes to https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/get-involved ... and that page links to https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/get-involved/kb Write Help Articles]. Maybe those mozilla.org pages could be improved?
I also remembered some recent bug reports on making things easier for new KB editors and other contributors:
- Bug 1107583 - Help New contributors find stuff better: Tracking bug for 2015
- Bug 1182645 - Auto-suggest existing article titles when creating new articles
I agree with John99 that the place to start for new KB editors would be to improve existing KB articles, not creating new ones. See [[Improve the Knowledge Base#w_help-us-improve-existing-articles]] which links to [https://support.mozilla.org/contributors/need-changes articles that need to be updated]].
What about reviving the Technical Writing program? [[Technical writing program - How to write Knowledge Base articles]] is currently archived.
As far as making it easier for contributors to find information, the [https://support.mozilla.org SUMO home page] has a "Volunteer for Mozilla Support" link that goes to https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/get-involved ... and that page links to https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/get-involved/kb Write Help Articles]. Maybe those mozilla.org pages could be improved?
I also remembered some recent bug reports on making things easier for new KB editors and other contributors:
*[https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1107583 Bug 1107583] - Help New contributors find stuff better: Tracking bug for 2015
*[https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1182645 Bug 1182645] - Auto-suggest existing article titles when creating new articles
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Followup here:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/forums/knowledge-base-articles/711828 Need Feedback Please! New and rewritten articles for Knowledge Base contributors
See Joni's Feb 16, 2016 post on page 2 of that thread.
Followup here:
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/forums/knowledge-base-articles/711828 ''Need Feedback Please! New and rewritten articles for Knowledge Base contributors''
See Joni's Feb 16, 2016 post on [https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/forums/knowledge-base-articles/711828?&page=2#post-68343 page 2 of that thread].
